Inventory Planning Starter Kit: The Framework Every Early-Stage Brand Needs
Inventory is your biggest investment and your revenue driver—you can’t afford to get it wrong.
Inventory Planning Is Where Most Early-Stage Brands Struggle
Launching a product-based business is exciting. You’ve poured your energy into creating a great product, building your brand, and landing your first sales. 🚀
But then reality hits: inventory planning.
Suddenly, you’re faced with high-stakes decisions about how much to buy, when to reorder, how to track cash flow, and how to avoid both stockouts and sitting on product that won’t move.
And here’s the thing: most early-stage founders are guessing.
You’re cobbling together spreadsheets, relying on gut instincts, and hoping your best guess is good enough. But without the right data and framework, those guesses can lead to costly mistakes — tying up precious cash in inventory that doesn’t sell, missing reorders that lead to lost revenue, or getting blindsided by cash flow crunches.
At Boon, we’ve supported hundreds of product-based brands, and we see this struggle all the time. There’s a huge gap between what early-stage founders need to plan inventory effectively and what tools actually exist for them. That’s exactly why we built the Inventory Planning Starter Kit.
The Real Problem: Tools Don’t Exist for the “In-Between” Stage
Most inventory planning software and full-service planning agencies — including our own bespoke services — are designed for brands with more complexity:
Multiple sales channels
Large assortments of products
Overseas vendors with long lead times
Teams dedicated to inventory management
If your brand isn’t there yet, you probably don’t need heavy, expensive software or full-service consulting. What you do need is a clean, easy-to-use framework that helps you:
✨ Make smart buying decisions based on data, not gut feelings
✨ Build a strong inventory foundation that scales as you grow
✨ Understand exactly what your numbers mean for profit, revenue, and cash flow
✨ Avoid rookie mistakes that can haunt your business later
And that’s exactly where the Inventory Planning Starter Kit comes in.
The Hidden Complexity of Inventory Planning
Here’s what most founders don’t realize: inventory planning is more than just “placing an order.”
You’re suddenly managing:
Vendor communication
Purchase orders and lead times
Raw materials costing
Margin planning
Vendor minimums
Assortment strategies
Cash flow management
That’s a steep learning curve, and many young brands don’t realize it until they’re already facing stockouts, production delays, or cash crunches.
The Starter Kit flattens that curve. It gives you structure, helps you anticipate what’s coming, and builds in best practices early so you’re creating good habits from the start.
What’s Inside the Inventory Planning Starter Kit
The Inventory Planning Starter Kit is a suite of five expert-built tools designed specifically for early-stage retail brands.
The Starter Kit is a suite of five expert-built tools designed specifically for early-stage retail brands. Built in Excel and Google Sheets, each tool combines the same KPIs and strategies we use with established clients — packaged in an approachable, customizable format.
No fancy software. No steep learning curve. No “spreadsheet meltdown” moments.
Here’s what’s inside:
📊 Inventory Planning Dashboard
Your control center for inventory and cash. Get a clear view of your biggest investments and highest-margin products at a glance, tracking essential KPIs like on-hand cost, retail value, margin %, and inventory value by SKU — the same insights we deliver to our established clients.
🔄 Reorder Calculator
Stop guessing what to buy and when. This tool factors in minimum order quantities, expected lead times, target weeks of supply, weekly sales rates, and projected out-of-stock dates — complete with HIGH, MEDIUM, and LOW urgency flags. Plus, it suggests optimal reorder quantities to maintain stock without overordering.
📑 Purchase Order Tracker
Finally, all your POs in one place. Track order costs, expected delivery dates, received quantities, and outstanding balances due so you always know what’s coming in and what you’ve committed to spend.
🛒 Initial Buy Tool
Plan smarter product launches. Use this tool to size your first inventory buys based on projected sales, budget constraints, and vendor minimums — making sure your cash is working where it matters most.
💸 Cash Flow Tool
Inventory ties up cash — this tool helps you see how and when. Track spending, forecast cash needs, and plan ahead with clarity so you can avoid surprise shortfalls and keep growth moving smoothly.
Who It’s For
The Inventory Planning Starter Kit was designed for early-stage, product-based founders who need clarity and confidence in their numbers — without drowning in overly complex systems or expensive software.
It’s especially useful for solo founders who are managing inventory on their own and want a system that’s simple but powerful. Brands doing up to about $100K in revenue will find it an ideal bridge between having no process at all and investing in full-scale software or consulting. Small teams juggling multiple roles can use it to get everyone aligned, even when no one is a dedicated inventory expert. And for founders launching their first product line, it provides a framework to plan initial buys strategically instead of guessing.
Growing businesses will also find it valuable because the kit is designed to scale with you — setting up strong habits early so you don’t face messy rework down the road. If you’ve ever felt like you’re “winging it” when making purchasing decisions, this kit was built for you. It’s the bridge between guessing and growing with data-backed confidence.
Start Smarter. Scale Faster.
Starting a product-based business doesn’t come with a manual — but when it comes to inventory planning, now you’ve got one.
The Inventory Planning Starter Kit gives you a proven framework to make smarter buying decisions, understand your numbers with clarity, and build a system that grows with your brand. By putting strong processes in place early, you’ll avoid costly mistakes that derail so many young businesses and instead give your brand the foundation it needs to scale sustainably.
👉 Ready to take control of your inventory? Don’t waste hours building spreadsheets from scratch or risk learning painful lessons the hard way. The Inventory Planning Starter Kit gives you expert-built tools to plan smarter, buy confidently, and grow profitably.
📥 Download the Boon Inventory Planning Starter Kit and give your business the foundation it needs to grow confidently, profitably, and sustainably.
Inventory Planning Starter Kit FAQs
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Not always. Most early-stage brands don’t need heavy, expensive software when they’re just getting started. The Inventory Planning Starter Kit gives you the same structure and best practices as advanced systems, but in a simpler, more accessible format using Google Sheets or Excel.
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The key is proactive planning. Instead of reacting after you’ve already sold out, use tools like the Reorder Calculator to track lead times, sales rates, and vendor minimums so you can reorder at the right time.
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Inventory ties up cash, and poor planning can lead to shortages when you need funds most. The Cash Flow Tool shows you when and where your money is going, helping you plan ahead and avoid surprise shortfalls.
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The kit is built specifically for early-stage product-based brands — founders launching their first line, brands under ~$100K in revenue, and small teams without a dedicated inventory manager. It’s the bridge between “winging it” and investing in complex software or consulting.
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That’s the whole point of the kit! You don’t need to be an expert — each tool is pre-built with best practices we’ve honed over years of working with brands of all sizes. It’s designed to be approachable, even if you’ve never created an inventory plan before.
