Act on the result
Review on-order commitments, cancellations and the ending-stock target before placing another order.
Educational only: Business decision support, not accounting, tax or legal advice.
Privacy: No account is required. Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
Update policy: Reviewed when formulas or official dependencies change.
Scope: Market-neutral small-business planning using your own assumptions.
What this planner helps you decide
Best for
Retailers setting an inventory buying budget before placing or changing supplier orders.
Outputs
Gross merchandise need, net open-to-buy and an overcommitted or buying-capacity signal.
Start here
Enter planned sales, markdowns and stock targets, then reconcile on-order commitments and cancellations.
Use a different tool when: Do not use this to choose an order quantity after pack sizes, demand, storage and cash limits; use Supplier Pack & Order Quantity Planner for that decision. Use this tool to set a buying budget from planned sales, markdowns and stock targets.
Commerce & operations
Open-to-buy: gross merchandise need
Gross merchandise need, net open-to-buy and an overcommitted or buying-capacity signal.
Amounts use the same currency as your inputs. No currency conversion is performed.
Open-to-buy
Use your own inventory and commercial records on one consistent cohort, period, valuation and tax basis.
Your numbers stay in this browser
Choose one basis and keep every plan value on it.
Owner-entered sales plan for the period. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis.
Markdown allowance on the same selected basis. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis.
Desired ending inventory on the selected basis. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis.
Recorded inventory at the beginning of the plan period. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis.
Confirmed inventory commitments not yet received. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis.
Confirmed reductions to on-order commitments. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis.
Decision result
Review the inventory result and its component rows on one consistent period and quantity basis.
- Gross inventory need
- 110,000.00
- Net open-to-buy
- 100,000.00
- Overcommitted amount
- 0.00
- Commitment status
- Open capacity remains
Scenario comparison
Each row names the assumption axis changed from the baseline.
ScenarioResultDifference
Entered scenario100,000.00Baseline
Lower Planned ending inventory97,000.00-3,000.00
Higher Planned ending inventory103,000.003,000.00
Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.
The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.
Calculation details
View calculation detailsView the formulas and inputs used for these results.
Gross inventory need
Gross inventory need
planned sales + markdowns + ending inventory − beginning inventory110,000 , ex taxResult110,000.00
Uses the exact shared engine result and user-entered inventory records or scenarios. Raw engine precision is retained until display; whole-pack rounding occurs only in the engine.
Open-to-buy Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Gross inventory needBasis
- 0
- Gross inventory needPlanned Sales
- 100,000
- Gross inventory needPlanned Markdowns
- 5,000
- Gross inventory needPlanned Ending Inventory
- 30,000
- Gross inventory needBeginning Inventory
- 25,000
- Gross inventory needOn Order Commitments
- 10,000
- Gross inventory needCancellations
- 0
Net open-to-buy
Net open-to-buy
gross need − on-order commitments + cancellations100,000 , ex taxResult100,000.00
Uses the exact shared engine result and user-entered inventory records or scenarios. Raw engine precision is retained until display; whole-pack rounding occurs only in the engine.
Open-to-buy Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Net open-to-buyBasis
- 0
- Net open-to-buyPlanned Sales
- 100,000
- Net open-to-buyPlanned Markdowns
- 5,000
- Net open-to-buyPlanned Ending Inventory
- 30,000
- Net open-to-buyBeginning Inventory
- 25,000
- Net open-to-buyOn Order Commitments
- 10,000
- Net open-to-buyCancellations
- 0
Overcommitted amount
Overcommitted amount
maximum of zero and negative net open-to-buy0 , ex taxResult0.00
Uses the exact shared engine result and user-entered inventory records or scenarios. Raw engine precision is retained until display; whole-pack rounding occurs only in the engine.
Open-to-buy Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Overcommitted amountBasis
- 0
- Overcommitted amountPlanned Sales
- 100,000
- Overcommitted amountPlanned Markdowns
- 5,000
- Overcommitted amountPlanned Ending Inventory
- 30,000
- Overcommitted amountBeginning Inventory
- 25,000
- Overcommitted amountOn Order Commitments
- 10,000
- Overcommitted amountCancellations
- 0
Commitment status
Commitment status
net open-to-buy is below zerofalse commitment statusResultOpen capacity remains
Uses the exact shared engine result and user-entered inventory records or scenarios.
Open-to-buy Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Commitment statusBasis
- 0
- Commitment statusPlanned Sales
- 100,000
- Commitment statusPlanned Markdowns
- 5,000
- Commitment statusPlanned Ending Inventory
- 30,000
- Commitment statusBeginning Inventory
- 25,000
- Commitment statusOn Order Commitments
- 10,000
- Commitment statusCancellations
- 0
Inputs used
- Valuation basis
- 0
- Planned sales
- 100,000.00
- Planned markdowns
- 5,000.00
- Planned ending inventory
- 30,000.00
- Beginning inventory
- 25,000.00
- On-order commitments
- 10,000.00
- Confirmed cancellations
- 0.00
Open this calculator with preset values
This calculator supports documented, shareable scenario URLs. Compatible assistants and applications can construct links using the parameters below.
Scenario links contain only allowlisted numeric and closed-choice inputs shown in the URL; Margin101 excludes free text and identifying fields. Anyone you share the URL with can read those numbers, so do not include private or identifying data.
| Parameter | Meaning | Unit | Allowed values | Presence | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| basis | Choose one basis and keep every plan value on it. | — | 0 (Retail basis), 1 (Cost basis) | Required | Retail basis |
| beginningInventory | Recorded inventory at the beginning of the plan period. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis. | currency units at planning-period start on selected valuation basis | 0 to 10000000 | Required | 25000 |
| cancellations | Confirmed reductions to on-order commitments. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis. | currency units cancelled from planning-period commitments on selected valuation basis | 0 to 10000000 | Required | 0 |
| onOrderCommitments | Confirmed inventory commitments not yet received. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis. | currency units committed for the planning period on selected valuation basis | 0 to 10000000 | Required | 10000 |
| plannedEndingInventory | Desired ending inventory on the selected basis. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis. | currency units at planning-period end on selected valuation basis | 0 to 10000000 | Required | 30000 |
| plannedMarkdowns | Markdown allowance on the same selected basis. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis. | currency units/planning period on selected valuation basis | 0 to 10000000 | Required | 5000 |
| plannedSales | Owner-entered sales plan for the period. Use one consistent ex-tax currency basis. | currency units/planning period on selected valuation basis | 0 to 10000000 | Required | 100000 |
Open-to-buy: gross merchandise need
A negative net open-to-buy means entered commitments exceed the merchandise need; it is not extra buying capacity.
Formula summary
- Primary formula
- gross need − on-order commitments + cancellations.
Data used here
- The estimate uses your inputs and the general business formula documented in the methodology.
Decision checks
Stress-test the decision
Retest lower planned sales and higher markdowns before approving the buying budget.
When this estimate can be misleading
- Use one consistent inventory cohort, planning period, valuation basis and ex-tax currency basis where money applies.
- Targets, prevention rates and planned values are user-entered scenarios, not benchmarks or demand forecasts.
- Operational feasibility flags identify the entered constraints; they do not guarantee supplier availability or sales.
- This is educational business decision support, not accounting, tax, legal or financial advice.
- A negative net open-to-buy means entered commitments exceed the merchandise need; it is not extra buying capacity.
Educational estimate, not advice. See all assumptions & limitations →
Related reading
Guides to interpret the decision and its assumptions.
- How to Plan Stock Purchases Before a Seasonal Campaign
Reconcile stock, demand assumptions, supplier dates, buying budget and downside cash before committing to a seasonal purchase.
Read guide - Why Inventory Growth Can Create a Cash Crisis
Map supplier payment, stock commitment, sell-through and customer receipt dates to expose the inventory funding gap.
Read guide
Frequently asked questions
How do I set a buying budget from planned sales, markdowns and stock targets?
Review on-order commitments, cancellations and the ending-stock target before placing another order.
Which planning assumptions should I stress-test?
Compare a plausible alternative scenario and verify the decision-critical assumption that changes the plan most.