Stock control spreadsheet or app: which is better for a small business?
An Excel stock control template is enough while one person keeps a few dozen products up to date at a desk; once you want to scan barcodes, sell from your phone, work with staff on several devices or be warned when stock runs low, a simple stock control app such as Ofisx Inventory Management ("Inventory Management: Barcode" on Google Play and the App Store; Android, iPhone and web, free to download and sign up) is easier — and it imports your product list from Excel, so it can replace your stock sheet without retyping. If instead you need something that works with no internet on a single device, with no account and the data kept on the phone, there is Ofisx Offline Inventory (Google Play, App Store): free up to 100 items and 300 transactions, with Pro as a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Below we compare spreadsheets and apps honestly — including the option of simply staying with Excel.
Short answer: spreadsheet or app?
- Under roughly 100 products, one person, updates done at a desk: a spreadsheet is fine — Excel, LibreOffice Calc or Google Sheets. One sheet of products, one log of stock in and out, and the balance worked out with SUMIFS. It costs nothing and the file is yours.
- You sell at the counter and want to scan with your phone: Ofisx Inventory Management — sales, purchases and returns by scanning barcodes with the phone camera, stock updated immediately, a notification below minimum stock, stock counts, a full stock movement history, and customer and supplier accounts. You import your products from Excel in one go.
- Several people or devices work on the same stock: a cloud app (Ofisx Inventory Management, Sortly, Zoho Inventory) instead of file copies that drift apart. A shared Google Sheet is the free halfway house — but with no scanning and no alerts.
- No internet in the stockroom, one device, and you want the data on the phone: Ofisx Offline Inventory — works 100% without internet and without an account, scans barcodes, backs up to Google Drive or iCloud. Free up to 100 items and 300 transactions; Pro as a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase, so a subscription is not required. No multi-user access and no web version.
- You need card payments and a till first: Square for Retail — a point of sale with stock built in; the UK Free plan includes low-stock alerts and GTIN/SKU barcodes.
- Moving from Excel to an app in 4 steps: 1) export or save your sheet as CSV/Excel; 2) clean it up — one row per product with a unique SKU, the barcode, name, price, VAT rate and quantity; 3) import it into the app (Ofisx Inventory Management imports products from Excel) or enter the products; 4) do an opening stock count by scanning, then record every sale and delivery only in the app and keep the old spreadsheet as an archive.
Spreadsheets and stock control apps compared
| Option | On the phone | Barcode scanning | Several people | Free option | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Excel | Mobile app exists, but awkward at the counter | No (a USB scanner types the code into a cell; stock does not change by itself) | Possible via OneDrive, but there must be one master file | Excel for the web free with a Microsoft account; desktop Excel is paid (Microsoft 365) | A short product list kept by one person at a desk |
| Google Sheets | Yes, Android and iPhone app | No | Yes, real-time shared editing | Free with a Google account | A small team that wants to share one sheet for free |
| LibreOffice Calc | No (desktop program) | No | No — one file on one computer | Free (open-source) | Anyone who wants a free spreadsheet that works offline with no account |
| Ofisx Inventory Management | Yes — Android and iPhone apps, plus a web version (web.ofisx.com) | Yes, with the phone camera; several barcodes per product | Yes — staff accounts with permissions, data in the cloud | Free download and sign-up; Premium features by subscription | Shops, boutiques, hardware stores and wholesalers selling at the counter who want to replace an Excel stock sheet |
| Ofisx Offline Inventory | Yes — Android and iPhone, 100% offline | Yes, with the camera, no connection needed | No — one device, no web version | Free up to 100 items and 300 transactions; Pro monthly/yearly subscription or one-time lifetime purchase (a subscription is not required) | A sole trader with no internet in the stockroom who wants the data on their own device |
| Sortly | Yes — iOS and Android apps, plus web | Yes, barcode and QR in the app | On paid plans | Free plan: 100 unique items, 1 user | Tracking items, tools, equipment and supplies with photos |
| Zoho Inventory | Yes — iOS and Android apps, plus web | Barcode generation in the Premium plan | Yes, depending on plan | Free plan: 50 orders, 1 user, 2 locations; Standard £25 per organisation per month (billed annually) | Sellers with an online shop, sales and purchase orders |
| Square for Retail | Square Point of Sale app and online dashboard | Yes (GTIN and SKU barcodes) | Yes | Free plan £0 per month (card fees apply, 1.75% in person); Plus £49 per month per location | Shops that need card payments and a till first |
The options in detail
Microsoft Excel
The classic stock control template: a "Products" sheet, a "Log" sheet (one row per stock in or out) and a "Stock" sheet calculated with SUMIFS. Microsoft offers Excel for the web free of charge; a worksheet holds 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns, so size is never the problem for a small business.
The limits are elsewhere: every sale is typed in by hand (often twice, if the invoice is made somewhere else), there is no low-stock warning, one overwritten formula skews the whole sheet, and several copies of the file soon disagree. It is also hard to see who changed what, and when.
Google Sheets
The same stock sheet as in Excel, but shared: everyone sees one version, which fixes the problem of file copies. According to Google's help page, a spreadsheet can hold up to 20 million cells (or 100 MB). To work offline on a computer, Google says you need Chrome or Edge and the Google Docs Offline extension.
No barcode scanning, no minimum-stock warning, and nothing stops a colleague deleting a row or formula by mistake.
LibreOffice Calc
A free, open-source spreadsheet that opens Excel files, so the same stock templates work offline and without an account.
The same limits as Excel: manual entry, no scanning, no alerts, and the file lives on a single computer.
Ofisx Inventory Management
You import your products (price, VAT, photos, several barcodes) in bulk from Excel and can export them back to Excel at any time. Then you record sales, purchases and returns by scanning with the camera: stock updates immediately, and you get a notification when an item drops below its minimum level. Stock counts and a full stock movement history are included — exactly what a spreadsheet does not do on its own.
In the same app: customer and supplier accounts (payments, due dates with reminders), receipts and invoices as PDF, printing on 58/80 mm thermal receipt printers, quotes, expenses, profit, sales, VAT and cash reports, sales per employee, and an e-catalogue you share by link. Several users work on the same account on phone, tablet and the web.
Needs internet (no offline mode). It is not an EPOS till system, not HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital software, and has no sync with online shops or marketplaces.
Ofisx Offline Inventory
For a different need from the online app: no internet, one device, no account, the data stays on the phone. You can import products from Excel, scan barcodes and record stock in and out with no connection; backups go to Google Drive or iCloud.
No multi-user access and no web panel. Free up to 100 items and 300 transactions; Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription or as a one-time lifetime purchase.
Sortly
Cloud inventory with photos, folders and barcode/QR labels. Paid plans (Advanced 500 items/2 users, Ultra, Premium, Enterprise) are priced in US dollars; on 10 October 2026 Sortly showed a first-year discount on yearly plans.
Strong at showing what is where; counter sales, receipts and customer accounts are not its focus.
Zoho Inventory
Cloud order and inventory management with sales and purchase orders and shop integrations. The free plan is tight for a business that sells every day.
A real step up from Excel for e-commerce, but it needs more setup than a shop app.
Square for Retail
A point of sale with stock built in. According to Square's UK pricing page, the Free plan includes low-stock alerts, GTIN/SKU barcodes, bulk item import and stock count export; the inventory counting tool, barcode label printing, purchase orders and vendor management are in Plus.
The right choice when you also want Square to take card payments; the cost is mainly in processing fees.
How to choose between a spreadsheet and an app
- How many products and movements a day? — A few dozen products and a handful of sales a day are easy to keep in a spreadsheet. When every sale has to be typed in afterwards and the log grows every week, gaps and stock-take differences appear — that is the sign you have outgrown it.
- Typing at a desk or scanning at the counter — A spreadsheet is filled in afterwards with the keyboard. An app reads the barcode with the phone camera at the moment of the sale or delivery: recorded once, at the right time.
- One person or a team — A file passed around by email or USB stick always ends up in several versions. If staff sell too, you need one shared stock — at least a shared Google Sheet, better a cloud app with user accounts.
- Minimum stock, stock counts and history — A spreadsheet does not warn you — you have to remember to look. An app tells you when stock drops below the minimum, corrects the balance after a stock count and keeps every movement, so differences can be traced.
- Internet and where the data lives — Excel and LibreOffice work without internet and without an account. If that matters to you, choose a true offline app rather than a cloud app — with the trade-off that only one device uses it.
- Real cost and a way out — The spreadsheet is free but costs time. With an app, compare the free plan's limits and the price after that, and check that it imports your Excel file and exports your data back to Excel — so you are never locked in.
What Ofisx Inventory Management does not do
- Ofisx Inventory Management is not an EPOS or till system and is not HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital (MTD) software; it does not submit VAT returns. Use your till and accounting software for those, and ask your accountant if in doubt.
- It has no sync with online shops or marketplaces such as Shopify, Amazon or eBay.
- Ofisx Inventory Management needs internet and has no offline mode; Ofisx Offline Inventory works with no connection, but on one device only, without multi-user access or a web version.
- An app does not replace care: if sales are not recorded, the stock figure will be wrong — just as in a spreadsheet. Plan an opening stock count and regular counts after that.
Frequently asked questions
Stock control spreadsheet or app — which is better for a small business?
A spreadsheet (Excel, LibreOffice Calc or Google Sheets) is enough when one person keeps a few dozen products and records movements at a desk. An app is worth it once you scan barcodes at the counter, work with staff, want low-stock warnings or also keep customer accounts. Ofisx Inventory Management ("Inventory Management: Barcode", Android, iPhone and web, free download) does this and imports your product list from Excel.
Is there a free Excel stock control template?
Yes, most free templates follow the same layout: a products sheet, a log of stock in and out (one row per movement) and a stock sheet with SUMIFS (opening stock + in − out). It works the same in LibreOffice Calc and Google Sheets, both free. Keep only one version of the file and protect the formula cells.
What are the limits of Excel for stock control?
Not size — an Excel worksheet holds 1,048,576 rows, and a Google Sheets spreadsheet up to 20 million cells. The limits are practical: every sale is typed in by hand, there is no built-in barcode scanning, no minimum-stock warning, formulas break easily, and once two people work on copies the numbers no longer match. There is also no reliable record of who changed what.
Is there an app to replace my Excel stock sheet?
Yes. Ofisx Inventory Management imports and exports products in bulk with Excel, so you bring your sheet across instead of retyping it, then sell, receive and count stock by scanning barcodes with the phone camera. If you have no internet in the stockroom, Ofisx Offline Inventory also imports products from Excel and runs on one phone without an account.
How do I move from a spreadsheet to a stock control app?
In 4 steps: 1) save or export your sheet as CSV or Excel; 2) clean it — one row per product with a unique SKU, the barcode, name, price, VAT rate and quantity, and remove duplicates; 3) import it into the app or enter the products; 4) do an opening stock count by scanning to correct the quantities, then record sales and deliveries only in the app and keep the old file as an archive.
Can I use a barcode scanner with Excel?
A USB handheld scanner acts like a keyboard and types the code into the selected cell. Excel does not find the product or reduce the stock by itself — you would need your own formulas or macros. A stock control app reads the barcode with the phone camera and updates the stock straight away.
What is a simple stock control system for a small business in the UK?
Ofisx Inventory Management is free to download and use with free sign-up (some features are Premium). Ofisx Offline Inventory is free up to 100 items and 300 transactions; Pro is a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase, so a subscription is not required. Sortly has a free plan (100 items, 1 user), Zoho Inventory a free plan (50 orders, 1 user) and Square for Retail a £0 plan with card fees. Neither Ofisx app is an EPOS till or MTD software.
There is no internet in my stockroom — spreadsheet or app?
Excel and LibreOffice Calc run offline on a computer, but are not handy at the shelf. Ofisx Offline Inventory works 100% without internet on the phone, scans barcodes and backs up to Google Drive or iCloud. It runs on one device, without multi-user access or a web version.