Free par sheet template for cafes
A par sheet that does the arithmetic: type daily usage, delivery gaps and what is on the shelf, and it gives you par, how much to order and how many cases. Excel with live formulas, CSV, or print.
Free, no email, no signup. The CSV is the first tab only (Par sheet); the Excel file has every tab. In Google Sheets, use File, then Import, and upload the .xlsx.
Par sheet
Example data. Example items and numbers, replace with yours. Par, Order qty and Cases to order are formulas in the XLSX.
| Item | Unit | Daily usage | Days between deliveries | Lead days | Safety % | Par | On hand | Order qty | Case size | Cases to order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole milk | gallon | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15% | 28 | 9 | 19 | 4 | 5 |
| 12 oz hot cups | each | 140 | 7 | 2 | 20% | 1512 | 400 | 1112 | 1000 | 2 |
| Espresso beans | lb | 14 | 7 | 1 | 10% | 124 | 30 | 94 | 10 | 10 |
What it is for
A par is the level you order up to. On order day you count what you have, compare it to par, and the gap is your order. A par sheet is the list that holds those targets, one row per item.
This one works the par out instead of asking you to guess it. Par covers the days between deliveries plus the wait for the truck, plus a cushion, rounded up. The same formula runs in our par level calculator and is explained in our guide to par levels for cafes. The difference here is that you keep the file.
The three example rows are whole milk, hot cups and espresso beans, with made-up usage. Swap in your own items. Par, Order qty and Cases to order are formulas in the Excel file, so you only type the input columns, which are everything that is not a formula.
How to use it
- Download the Excel file. The CSV has the same table with the results already calculated, but no formulas.
- List the items you order. Start with the ten that cost you the most, not all two hundred.
- Fill in Daily usage from a few weeks of counts: units used divided by days open.
- Enter Days between deliveries and Lead days for each vendor. A weekly truck is 7. If the vendor needs a day to pick and ship, lead is 1.
- Pick a Safety % for each item. Steady items can sit at 10%, items that are hard to replace higher.
- On order day, type today's count in On hand. Order qty and Cases to order update on their own.
- Revisit usage every month or season. Par should follow demand.
The columns, one by one
- Item, Unit. What you order and the unit you count it in.
- Daily usage. Average units used per open day. Use a few weeks of counts, not one busy Saturday.
- Days between deliveries. How many days one order has to last: 7 for a weekly truck, 3 for twice a week.
- Lead days. Days between placing the order and it landing. Zero if you order and pick up the same day.
- Safety %. A cushion for a busy week or a late truck. 10% to 20% is a common starting point for steady items.
- Par. Formula. The level you order up to.
- On hand. Today's count, in the same unit.
- Order qty. Formula. How many units to order, never below zero.
- Case size. Units per case. Leave blank if the vendor sells by the unit.
- Cases to order. Formula. Order qty rounded up to whole cases.
The formulas
These are the exact formulas in the Excel file, written for the first data row.
Par
=ROUNDUP(C2*(D2+E2)*(1+F2),0)
Daily usage x (days between deliveries + lead days) x (1 + safety %), rounded up.
Order qty
=MAX(0,G2-H2)
Par minus on hand, never below zero.
Cases to order
=IF(J2>0,ROUNDUP(I2/J2,0),"")
Order qty divided by case size, rounded up. Blank when there is no case size.
One par for the whole week is a simplification. If Saturday uses twice what a Tuesday does, a single average par leaves you short on weekends and heavy midweek. For those items, keep a second row with the weekend usage. ShelfCount keeps par per day of the week.
A worked example
These are example numbers. A cafe uses 6 gallons of whole milk a day, gets deliveries every 3 days with 1 day of lead time, keeps a 15% cushion, buys 4 gallons to a case and counts 9 gallons today.
Par = 6 x (3 + 1) x 1.15 = 27.6, rounded up to 28. Order quantity = 28 - 9 = 19 gallons. Cases = 19 / 4 = 4.75, rounded up to 5 cases. The sheet shows exactly these numbers in the first row.
The cups row shows a weekly order: 140 cups a day x (7 + 2) x 1.2 = 1,512 cups of par. With 400 on hand, order 1,112, which is 2 cases of 1,000.
When the sheet stops being enough
A spreadsheet works while one person owns it and the item list stays small. It stops working when two people count at once, when invoices change your costs faster than you update the sheet, or when the order still has to be typed into a vendor’s site by hand. Our ShelfCount versus spreadsheets page is honest about where that line sits. Fill it in and upload it with the self-guided importer, which will ask you to confirm the columns before anything saves. The importing your data guide covers how.
Questions we get
What is a par level?
It is the stock level you order up to. You count what you have, compare it to par, and the gap is what you order. Par covers the wait for the delivery and the days until the next one, plus a cushion.
How do I calculate par levels?
Multiply average daily usage by the days between deliveries plus lead days, add a safety cushion, and round up. The formulas are listed on this page and built into the Excel file.
How much safety stock should I use?
There is no universal number. 10% to 20% is a common starting point for steady items. Use more for things that are hard to replace or that spike, and less for items you can buy any day.
Why does the CSV not have formulas?
CSV files store values, not formulas. The CSV shows the results of the example row calculations. Use the Excel file if you want the formulas to keep working.
Will the formulas work in Google Sheets?
Yes. They use ROUNDUP, MAX and IF, which Google Sheets supports. Import the .xlsx with File, then Import.
Related
- Par level calculator does the same math in the browser, with a shareable link.
- Par levels for cafes explains how to set them and when to split by day.
- Vendors and purchase orders covers case sizes and how an order gets built.
- Items, units and costs explains count units and pack sizes.
- Inventory count sheet A walk-order count sheet for a cafe or a restaurant, with blank count boxes. Print it or open it in a spreadsheet.
- Recipe costing template Ingredients, recipes and a modifier swap tab that roll up to cost per drink and the price that hits your target.
- Inventory spreadsheet Items, counts and usage in three tabs: opening plus purchases minus closing, priced out for the period.
- Coffee shops shows how the same counts feed par, orders and drink cost.
Written by the ShelfCount team. We run Stella Coffee in Los Angeles and built these for our own back office first. Last checked October 2026.
ShelfCount stores par by day of the week and builds a draft order from your count. You review it before anything goes to the vendor.