Restaurant inventory template: free download for Google Sheets, Excel and PDF
By mise · Updated September 29, 2026
Quick answer: a restaurant inventory template is a sheet with one row per item and columns for location, category, unit, count, unit cost, total value and par level. Download the free template below, open it in Google Sheets or Excel (or print it as a PDF count sheet), and fill in the count once a week; the total value feeds your food cost. When the sheet gets slow, an app that scans barcodes does the same job in a third of the time.
Every restaurant inventory template is the same idea: a list of what you stock, in the order you walk the kitchen, with a column to write the count. The differences are in what makes it usable on a Sunday night — locations, units and prices already in.
Download the template
Download the restaurant inventory template (CSV — opens in Google Sheets and Excel)
Google Sheets: File → Import → Upload, then "Replace spreadsheet". Excel: double-click the file. PDF count sheet: open it in either, hide the cost columns, and print — or print this page with the browser's "Save as PDF".
What's in the template
| Column | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Location | Walk-in, freezer, dry storage, line, bar. Rows sorted in the order you walk, so the count is one pass. |
| Category | Proteins, dairy, produce, dry goods, beer, liquor, wine, disposables — the buckets your food cost report uses. |
| Item | One row per product and size. "Canola oil 35 lb" and "canola oil 1 gal" are two rows. |
| Unit | The unit you count in: lb, case, each, gallon. Write it once so nobody counts cans one week and cases the next. |
| Par level | What you want on hand before the next delivery. The gap between par and count is your order. |
| Count | Filled in by hand. Partial cases as decimals (0.5). |
| Unit cost / total value | Latest invoice price; total = count × cost. The sum of the column is your ending inventory. |
Setting it up once
- Walk the kitchen with the sheet and put every item in the order you meet it. Add the sizes you actually buy.
- Fill the unit cost column from the last invoices. Update it when a price changes, not every count.
- Set a par for the twenty items you'd hate to run out of. Leave the rest blank until you have a feel for usage.
- Make a copy per count (a tab per week in Google Sheets) so you can compare.
Counting with it
Same day, same time each week, before deliveries. Two people if the kitchen is big: one counts, one writes. Count what's on the line as well as what's in the walk-in. Don't round: 0.5 case is 0.5 case. When you're done, sum the total value column — that's your ending inventory, and with purchases and beginning inventory it gives you food cost percentage.
Where the template stops working
Around 300 rows, or the third week someone counts cans as cases, or the first time you want to know what one cook wasted. A sheet can't scan, can't know a size, can't compare counts by itself. At that point an inventory count app does the same count in a third of the time: scan the barcode, type the number, and the pricing, comparison and food cost happen on their own.
Point the camera at the barcode and the product comes up complete — name, brand, size, photo — then type the quantity. Priced from your invoices, compared with last week, food cost at the end. 7 days free, no card, then US$33 a month.
Start free
Related sheets: restaurant inventory sheet, liquor inventory sheet, par level template, waste log.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free restaurant inventory template for Google Sheets?
Yes — the CSV above imports straight into Google Sheets (File → Import). It has location, category, item, unit, par, count, unit cost and total value columns, with example rows you replace with your own.
How do I turn the template into a PDF count sheet?
Open it in Google Sheets or Excel, hide the cost and value columns, set the print area to the list and print to PDF. You get a blank count sheet to take into the walk-in; type the numbers into the sheet afterwards.
How often should a restaurant take inventory?
Weekly for food and bar, on the same day before deliveries. Monthly is the minimum for a food cost figure; weekly is what catches waste and theft while you can still do something about it.
What is the difference between an inventory template and an inventory sheet?
None worth arguing about. "Template" is the file you start from; "sheet" is what people call it once it is in use. Both refer to the same one-row-per-item layout.
How do I calculate inventory value from the template?
Count × unit cost for each row, then sum the column. Use the latest invoice price. That sum is your ending inventory for the food cost formula: beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory = cost of goods used.