Is a spreadsheet ever good enough for stock?

For a few dozen non-serialised lines, yes. Once units are individually identifiable — serial numbers, consignment owners, loans out — a spreadsheet stops describing reality.

Can I import my existing spreadsheet?

Yes. Bring your columns over as your starting stock list, then keep adding units the normal way.

What does the switch actually cost?

$49/month flat, no per-user or per-item pricing, and no free tier — so the roadmap is paid for by shops rather than by ads.

Comparison

Inventory Software vs Spreadsheets for a Music Shop

Almost every independent shop starts in Excel or Google Sheets, and for a while it works. The comparison below is about the point where it stops working — serial numbers, consignment owners, instruments out on loan, and margin that includes workshop time.

Spreadsheets: free, flexible, and instantly out of date
Software: one record per unit, with a history you can trust
Serial-level tracking is where sheets break first
Consignment and loans need owners and due dates, not columns
Margin after refurb cost is a calculation, not a formula you maintain

Start your shop — $49/month See the dashboard

Where a spreadsheet still wins

It is free, everyone can use it, and you can restructure it in seconds. If you carry a small number of interchangeable lines and nothing leaves the building, keep the sheet.

Small, non-serialised stock lists
One person doing all the updates
No rentals, loans, repairs or consignment

Where it starts costing money

Two people edit the same file, a filter is left on, a row is deleted, and the sheet quietly disagrees with the shelf. Nobody notices until stocktake or an insurance claim.

No record of who changed what, or when
The same guitar counted as in stock and out on approval
Rental due dates only exist in somebody's memory
Refurb costs never make it into the margin figure

What software adds that formulas cannot

A unit record that follows the instrument from purchase to sale — through the workshop, a loan, a consignment agreement and a trade-in — with every change timestamped and attributed.

An honest limitation

Music Shop Suite is a back-office system, not a full POS terminal. If you need a till drawer and card reader, keep your POS and use this for stock, rentals, repairs, lessons and reporting.

See the workbench before you sign up

Inventory, pricing, lesson bookings, and instrument lending all live in the same back-office dashboard — no separate apps, no re-keying between them.

Music shop inventory dashboard listing instruments with SKU, serial number, condition, cost, price and status — InventoryEvery instrument tracked by SKU and serial with condition, cost, retail price, and live status — for sale, on hold, in repair, or sold.

Pricing and margin report showing revenue, cost of goods, gross profit and per-product markup — Pricing & marginRevenue, cost of goods, gross profit, and markup per product so you price from real numbers instead of gut feel.

Frequently asked

Is a spreadsheet ever good enough for stock?: For a few dozen non-serialised lines, yes. Once units are individually identifiable — serial numbers, consignment owners, loans out — a spreadsheet stops describing reality.
Can I import my existing spreadsheet?: Yes. Bring your columns over as your starting stock list, then keep adding units the normal way.
What does the switch actually cost?: $49/month flat, no per-user or per-item pricing, and no free tier — so the roadmap is paid for by shops rather than by ads.

Keep exploring the workbench

Every part of the shop lives in one system. Follow the workflow closest to what you are trying to fix first.

Run your shop on one workbench — starting today.

$49/month, no contracts, no trial. Import your spreadsheet, invite your team, and have inventory, repairs, rentals, and lessons in one place tonight.