Inventory Safety Stock & Reorder Planner
Work out how much buffer stock to keep, when to reorder, and how much cash your inventory ties up. Use it one product at a time — there is no universal safety-stock number.
"How much stock should I keep as a safety buffer for this item?"
Safety stock, reorder point, inventory position and order quantity — what's the difference?
- Safety stock — extra units kept to cover demand or delivery surprises.
- Reorder point — the stock level at which you place the next order: expected demand during the lead time + safety stock.
- Inventory position — on hand + on order − committed/backordered. This, not shelf stock alone, is what you compare with the reorder point.
- Order quantity — how much to order. It depends on order costs, minimum order quantities, pack sizes, storage and cash; this tool does not recommend one.
Buffer-days estimate for one product
Your planning choice, e.g. how many days of late delivery you want to survive.
Ordered but not yet received.
Units already promised to customers or production but not yet shipped.
Formulas & assumptions
- Safety stock = Average daily usage × Buffer days
- Reorder point = Average daily usage × Average lead time + Safety stock
- Quantities rounded up to whole units. Good starting point when you have no demand-variability data.
What to check next
- Review SKU-level sales history and current stock records.
- Check actual supplier lead times from purchase orders and deliveries, not quoted times.
- Confirm purchase costs per unit and minimum order quantities.
- Set different buffers for critical and non-critical items.
Want to understand this using your real business data?
SME Finance Helper can help you turn financial records into clearer reporting, cash-flow visibility, and actionable business insights.
Discuss Your Business NumbersResults are estimates based only on the values entered and are not a substitute for reviewing your business's actual records or professional advice. Example data is illustrative. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.