How to read your stock

Stock is money standing still: every extra day goods stay on the shelves costs capital, space and the risk of obsolescence. The tool starts from two figures in the accounts, closing stock and cost of sales, and tells you how many days goods stay on average before being sold. If you add the items, it derives the ABC classification, finds the slow-moving ones and estimates the write-down with its tax effect.

Days of stock and turnover

Turnover is cost of sales divided by average stock, that is the average of opening and closing stock. Days of stock are 365 divided by turnover. A turnover of 5 times a year means 73 days. What matters is the comparison with your sector and with previous years: a figure that rises without sales growing points to goods that are not moving.

The ABC classification

It ranks the items by the value of annual usage and splits them into three classes. Class A holds the few items that make up about 80% of the value and are worth checking often. Class B reaches 95% cumulative. Class C gathers many low-value items that can be managed with less frequent checks. The thresholds are an inventory-management convention and you can change them. Paste the rows from Excel: code, description, quantity, unit cost and, if you have them, annual usage, days since the last movement, fungibility and realisable value.

Obsolescence and write-down

Items idle beyond the bands you set are written down at the percentages you choose: these are declared reference values, not sourced figures, because they depend on the nature of the goods. If you know the realisable value of an item, the write-down is the difference from cost. The tool also flags goods covering more than two years of usage.

The tax effect

For income tax purposes stock is valued under article 92 of the Italian Income Tax Code (TUIR). For fungible goods you may use weighted average cost, FIFO or stepped LIFO, and a write-down is relevant only if the normal value in the last month of the year is below the average unit value (paragraph 5). For goods valued at specific cost the accounting write-down is not deductible, as the Revenue Agency clarified in ruling 78/E of 12 November 2013. The comparison of the three methods shows how the taxable base changes: higher closing stock means more income in the year, and the difference reverses when stock falls. From 1 January 2027 these rules are reorganised in the new Income Tax Code (Legislative Decree 117/2026). The rules described are Italian.

Where the data comes from

The corporate income tax (IRES) rate is the current one, from the firm’s data archive. The other parameters are the ones you enter or declared reference values shown under each field. The calculation does not consider IRAP.

Frequently asked questions

How many days of stock are too many?

It depends on the sector: very fresh food turns in a few days, a machinery maker in many months. Compare yourself with previous years and with similar companies.

Is a stock write-down always deductible?

No. For fungible goods the normal value of the last month matters; for goods valued at specific cost it is not deductible. The tool separates the two parts.

Can I paste data straight from Excel?

Yes. Copy the cells and paste them into the items field: tab-separated columns are read with no further steps.

Does the tool replace the stocktake?

No. It is an estimate from the figures you enter and does not replace the physical stocktake or the assessment of the specific case with your accountant.