What is a reorder level or minimum stock level for an item?

The reorder level is the quantity at which you should place the next order so that fresh stock arrives before you run out. It equals expected sales during the vendor's delivery time plus a safety buffer. If you sell 5 units a day and delivery takes 6 days, sales during lead time are 30, and a level of 40 gives a two-day cushion.

How should I decide the low-stock level for each item?

Estimate average daily sales from recent invoices, multiply by the number of days the vendor takes to deliver, and add a buffer for busy days or a late truck. Set higher levels for fast sellers and items with long or unreliable lead times, lower for slow lines. Review the levels each quarter and before festival seasons.

How does VyaparKit know my current stock?

Each saved item carries a quantity. Creating an invoice or delivery challan reduces it by the quantities billed; recording a purchase bill or goods receipt increases it. The Low-stock Calculator compares that running quantity with the low-stock level saved on the item. If you bill outside VyaparKit or skip purchase bills, the figure drifts and needs a periodic count.

What does the suggested order quantity mean?

It is the quantity that takes the item back above its low-stock level. Treat it as a starting point: round up to the vendor's pack size or minimum order, and consider a larger lot if the vendor gives a scheme or freight is expensive. The Reorder Quantity Calculator gives a more precise economic order quantity if you know ordering and holding costs.

Why is an item that is out of stock not showing on the list?

Almost always because no low-stock level is saved on it, so there is nothing to compare against. Edit the item and set a level. The other cause is a stale quantity: if the last sale was billed outside VyaparKit, the system still thinks the stock is there. Do a quick count and correct the item quantity.

How many items can I track on the Free plan?

The Free plan allows 25 saved items, which covers most small shops' key lines. Pro (from ₹350 a month, paid once as a pass with no auto-debit) removes the cap along with all other limits, so a distributor or brand with hundreds of SKUs can track every one.

Low-stock Calculator

List every product below its reorder level with current stock and a suggested order quantity, read from your saved items. Free to start.

Free account · 3 sheets a month freeMade for India · ₹, GST, UPI, WhatsApp

In short

A low-stock calculator lists every item whose current quantity has fallen below the reorder level you set for it. VyaparKit's Low-stock Calculator reads your saved items, compares the live system quantity with each item's low-stock level and shows what to reorder with a suggested order quantity, so you order before a shelf goes empty instead of after a customer walks away.

Free account required

Create a Low-stock Calculator in under a minute

Sign in once with Google or email. Your business name, GSTIN, logo, bank details and saved customers fill in automatically. Download a PDF or share a link on WhatsApp. 3 sheets a month are free, forever.

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✓Beautiful PDF with your logo and details
✓GST calculated automatically where applicable
✓Saved customers, vendors and items, so no retyping
✓Share link with WhatsApp button and UPI QR
✓Converts to related documents in one click

About the low-stock calculator tool

A low-stock check is the daily or weekly habit of finding what is about to run out. For a kirana store that is a glance at the shelves; for a distributor with 300 SKUs, a mobile shop with dozens of accessories or a D2C brand shipping from a godown, it needs a report. The reorder level (or minimum stock) for each item is the quantity at which you must place the next order so it arrives before the shelf is empty, and a low-stock report is simply every item that is at or below that level today.

Most small businesses keep this in their head or in an Excel sheet that is updated when someone remembers. The result is the classic stock-out: the best seller runs out on a weekend, a customer buys elsewhere, and the owner discovers it only when a second customer asks. The opposite happens too: a nervous reorder of something that has three months of stock, tying up cash. VyaparKit compares the live system quantity with the low-stock level saved on each item and gives you a list you can act on this morning.

The list is only as good as the stock figure behind it, which is why it works from the same records as your documents. Invoices and delivery challans reduce stock as you bill; purchase bills and goods receipts add to it when goods arrive. Use the Reorder Quantity Calculator to decide how much to order, and the Purchase Order tool to send the order to the vendor, which later converts into a goods receipt or purchase bill without retyping.

How to find low-stock items in VyaparKit

1
Set a low-stock level on each item
Open Items, edit an item and fill in Low stock level. Start with roughly one lead time of sales: if a vendor takes a week to deliver and you sell 10 a day, set 70 plus a small buffer.
2
Open the Low-stock Calculator
Go to Stock, then Low-stock Calculator. It lists every saved item whose current quantity is at or below its low-stock level, with the shortfall and a suggested order quantity.
3
Review the suggestions
The suggested quantity brings the item back above its level. Round it to how you actually buy (a carton of 24, a bag of 50 kg) and drop anything you are discontinuing.
4
Raise a purchase order
Open Purchase Order, add the vendor and the items from the list, and share it on WhatsApp or email. When the goods arrive, convert the PO to a goods receipt or purchase bill so stock goes back up automatically.
5
Make it a routine
Check the list every Monday, or daily in a busy season. Items that appear every week have a level set too low or a vendor that is too slow; adjust one or the other.

What you need for a low-stock report to be useful

A low-stock level on every item you care about; an item without one is never flagged.
Accurate current quantity, which means billing through invoices or challans and recording purchase bills or goods receipts for incoming goods.
Consistent units: if you buy in cartons and sell in pieces, save the item in pieces and set the level in pieces.
A realistic lead time per vendor (order to delivery), because the level should cover sales during that gap plus a buffer.
A suggested order quantity you then round to pack size or minimum order quantity.
A weekly review date; a low-stock report nobody opens does not prevent stock-outs.
Separate handling for seasonal items (raise the level before Diwali or the wedding season, lower it after).

Who uses the low-stock calculator

Mobile and electronics shops

A mobile shop in Indore tracks chargers, tempered glass and cases by model. The low-stock list each Monday goes straight to the distributor on WhatsApp, and the shop stops losing accessory sales to the store next door.

Pharmacies and distributors

A medical store sets levels on its top 200 molecules and checks the list daily. The distributor's evening delivery covers what was flagged in the morning, so regular customers never hear that their BP tablet is out.

D2C brands shipping from a godown

A skincare brand with 40 SKUs keeps a two-week level on each. When a product appears on the list, the founder raises a purchase order to the contract manufacturer the same day, matched to a 3-week production lead time.

Restaurants and cloud kitchens

Dry stores like rice, oil and packaging are saved as items with levels. The kitchen manager checks the list before the weekly vendor visit, so the order covers exactly what is short.

Low-stock Calculator: frequently asked questions

What is a reorder level or minimum stock level for an item?: The reorder level is the quantity at which you should place the next order so that fresh stock arrives before you run out. It equals expected sales during the vendor's delivery time plus a safety buffer. If you sell 5 units a day and delivery takes 6 days, sales during lead time are 30, and a level of 40 gives a two-day cushion.
How should I decide the low-stock level for each item?: Estimate average daily sales from recent invoices, multiply by the number of days the vendor takes to deliver, and add a buffer for busy days or a late truck. Set higher levels for fast sellers and items with long or unreliable lead times, lower for slow lines. Review the levels each quarter and before festival seasons.
How does VyaparKit know my current stock?: Each saved item carries a quantity. Creating an invoice or delivery challan reduces it by the quantities billed; recording a purchase bill or goods receipt increases it. The Low-stock Calculator compares that running quantity with the low-stock level saved on the item. If you bill outside VyaparKit or skip purchase bills, the figure drifts and needs a periodic count.
What does the suggested order quantity mean?: It is the quantity that takes the item back above its low-stock level. Treat it as a starting point: round up to the vendor's pack size or minimum order, and consider a larger lot if the vendor gives a scheme or freight is expensive. The Reorder Quantity Calculator gives a more precise economic order quantity if you know ordering and holding costs.
Why is an item that is out of stock not showing on the list?: Almost always because no low-stock level is saved on it, so there is nothing to compare against. Edit the item and set a level. The other cause is a stale quantity: if the last sale was billed outside VyaparKit, the system still thinks the stock is there. Do a quick count and correct the item quantity.
How many items can I track on the Free plan?: The Free plan allows 25 saved items, which covers most small shops' key lines. Pro (from ₹350 a month, paid once as a pass with no auto-debit) removes the cap along with all other limits, so a distributor or brand with hundreds of SKUs can track every one.