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Inventory needed per square foot calculator

One of the tough questions a business always faces is that of how much inventory is needed. While the answer is found by answering the question of how much sales you want to produce, there actuall is a calculation you can make that will help you with determining the exact dollar amount.

Begin this exercise by entering the width and length of the square footage the inventory is going to occupy. This could be a display area or the entire store. The height of the display is not a necessary component of this calculation. The total square footage will then appear in the third line of data.

The next component of information needed is your desired sales per square foot. This is expressed as a dollar amount. The next row will give you a calculation of the amount of sales for the area you are calculating.

The third section is where you enter your anticipated, or desired annual turn rate. Doing so will give you a dollar amount of inventory, at retail, needed for this space . When you enter your gross margin, the last row will calculate for you the amount of inventory at cost.

This calculation helps so that you have enough inventory to produce the results you desire, but not have so much inventory that there are dollars sitting on the sales floor that are not productive.

Inventory needed per square foot calculator from Profits Plus
 
Width (in feet)
length (in feet)
Total square footage
   
Desired sales per square foot (at retail)
Sales desired for this square footage
   
Annual turn rate
Inventory per square foot needed at retail
Gross margin %
Inventory per square foot, at cost, needed
   
 

      

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SEPTEMBER 2026
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Our September advisory is titled, "What do you sell?" My favorite example of someone getting it wrong has an email that starts with, "Sallysellsinsurance@."

 

Yes, that may be the product that Sally sells, but what she is really selling is peace of mind in knowing that if something happens, you are not going to pay the entire cost of the loss.

 

This is but one example. Our September advisory - What do you sell?

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Article of the Month

When you think about a customer who makes a point to talk to you and your staff, have you ever thought about getting them to talk about your business with their friends? The September Article of the Month shares an idea.


Book of the Month

The Art of the Exit is our suggested book of the month. The author, Jackb Orosz, discusses ways of getting out of your business whether it is retiring or just time to move onto something else.

All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.

BOOK US

With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

Small Business

Advisories

Our September advisory is titled, "What do you sell?" My favorite example of someone getting it wrong has an email that starts with, "Sallysellsinsurance@."

 

Yes, that may be the product that Sally sells, but what she is really selling is peace of mind in knowing that if something happens, you are not going to pay the entire cost of the loss.

 

This is but one example. Our September advisory - What do you sell?

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

Yes, selling does include translating features into benefits. But it does not stop there. What if the benefit is not relevant to the customer? Then, there might not be a sale. This is where advantage comes into consideration, and that is our top story of the month.


Article of the Month

When you think about a customer who makes a point to talk to you and your staff, have you ever thought about getting them to talk about your business with their friends? The September Article of the Month shares an idea.


Book of the Month

The Art of the Exit is our suggested book of the month. The author, Jackb Orosz, discusses ways of getting out of your business whether it is retiring or just time to move onto something else.

 

All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.