Many teams use Airtable for inventory management because it combines database structure with powerful automation and reporting features. While Airtable isn’t a dedicated inventory system, it gives you the building blocks to track products, orders, stock levels, and suppliers in one connected workspace.
With the right table structure and a few roll-ups and formulas, you can calculate inventory automatically, monitor low stock, and even sync data from ecommerce or warehouse systems. This guide shows how to structure Airtable for inventory management, use the built-in template, connect external data sources, and build dashboards to monitor stock in real time.
Can You Use Airtable for Inventory Management?
Yes. When structured correctly, Airtable works very well as a flexible inventory system.
The key is to treat Airtable like a relational database, not a spreadsheet. Instead of storing everything in one table, separate products, purchase orders, and sales orders (with manufacturers or locations added if needed) and connect them using linked records.
Each table has a clear responsibility. Inventory is calculated automatically from order activity rather than edited manually.
Airtable doesn’t include built-in inventory logic — you define stock calculations yourself using roll-ups and formulas. That flexibility is what makes it work well for small to mid-sized operations that want control without rigid software.
How to Set Up Inventory Management in Airtable
Start with three core tables: Products, Purchase Orders, and Sales Orders.
Products
One record per SKU. Example fields:
SKU or Product ID
Name
Manufacturer (linked)
Units Ordered (roll-up)
Units Sold (roll-up)
Inventory (formula)
This table calculates current stock — you don’t edit inventory manually.
Purchase Orders
Each record represents incoming stock. Example fields:
Order ID
Order Date
Product (linked)
Quantity
Status
These quantities feed into the product’s total units ordered.
Sales Orders
Each record represents outgoing stock. Example fields:
Date
Product (linked)
Quantity
Price
These quantities contribute to total units sold.
In the Products table:
Roll up the Quantity field from Purchase Orders → Units Ordered
Roll up the Quantity field from Sales Orders → Units Sold
Add an Inventory formula field:
{Units Ordered} - {Units Sold}This formula gives you live inventory that updates automatically whenever purchases or sales are added.
Airtable Inventory Management Template
If you don’t want to build your inventory base from scratch, Airtable provides an Inventory template for tracking in its template gallery.
To use it:
- Open Airtable and select Start with templates from the home screen.
- Click Explore more templates.
- Search for “inventory.”
- Select Inventory template for tracking.
- Click Try this template to create a new base in your workspace.
The Airtable inventory management template already includes the core structure covered above — Products, purchase / sales order tracking, and calculated stock levels using roll-ups and formulas.
If you prefer a different structure — for example, simplifying to a single Orders table — you can build your own base using linked-record and roll-up logic to track inventory in Airtable.
Airtable Inventory Integrations and Automation
Airtable doesn’t automatically know when a sale happens or when new stock arrives — you have to connect those data sources. That’s where integrations come in.
Using Data Fetcher, you can sync external systems directly into Airtable without writing code. This allows your inventory base to stay aligned with your store, payment processor, warehouse, or supplier feeds.
Common inventory integrations
Ecommerce platforms
Pull products, inventory levels, and orders from Shopify or WooCommerce. You can sync SKUs, stock counts, and new orders directly into your Products and Sales Orders tables.
Payments and sales data
Import transactions from Stripe to automatically create Sales Order records linked to the correct SKU.
Spreadsheets and supplier feeds
Sync supplier catalogs or inventory updates from Google Sheets, CSV files, or JSON feeds. This is useful if your warehouse or distributor sends regular stock files.
Warehouse or ERP APIs
If your warehouse system exposes an API, you can fetch stock levels or shipment data on a schedule using a custom API or GraphQL request.
Automation features that matter for inventory
- Scheduled runs – Update stock hourly or daily, so inventory stays current.
- Webhooks or triggers – Optionally sync when a sale happens for near real-time updates.
- Record matching – Match on SKU or Product ID, so existing records are updated instead of duplicated.
- Run history – Review logs to confirm imports ran successfully and data merged correctly.
With the right integrations in place, Airtable becomes more than a tracker — it becomes a live inventory system that reflects your actual sales and supply data automatically.
Inventory Dashboards and Reporting in Airtable
Once your data is flowing into Airtable, use views and interfaces to monitor inventory health at a glance.
Views
Create filtered and grouped views inside your tables:
A “Low stock” view in Products where Inventory is below the Reorder Threshold
Purchase Orders grouped by Status (Ordered, Arrived, etc.)
Sales Orders grouped by date or platform
Stock grouped by Location (if using multi-location tracking)
These views give your team immediate operational visibility.
Roll-up summaries
Use roll-ups and formulas to surface key metrics:
Total stock per product
Total quantity ordered per supplier
Inventory value using a formula like
{Inventory} * {Cost}
Because everything is linked, these numbers update automatically.
Interfaces and dashboards
With Airtable Interfaces, you can create a simple dashboard showing:
KPI cards for Total Stock Value or Low Stock Items
A chart of inventory by category or location
A list of products below reorder point
Together, views, roll-ups, and interfaces turn your inventory base into a live reporting system — not just a data store.
