Par level calculator
Enter how much you use, how often you order, and what is on the shelf. Get a par, an order quantity, and a case count for each item. Runs in your browser, no signup, nothing stored.
The three rows below are examples. Overwrite them with your own items.
Par levels
| Item | Unit | On hand | Par | Order-to | Cover (days) | Order qty | Cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole milk | gallon | 9 | 28 | 29 | 1.5 | 19 | 5 |
| Oat milk | carton | 7 | 19 | 19 | 1.8 | 12 | 1 |
| 12 oz hot cups | sleeve | 14 | 30 | 34 | 4.7 | 16 | 1 |
Made with the free par level calculator at getshelfcount.com/tools
The formula
Par = round up( Daily usage × (Days between orders + Lead days) × (1 + Safety %) )
Order quantity = Par − Current count (never below 0)
Cases to order = round up( Order quantity ÷ Units per case )
Order-to level = Current count + Cases × Units per case (or + Order quantity if no case size)
Days of cover = Current count ÷ Daily usage
The result is an order-up-to level, worked out at the moment you place the order. The stock you count today plus this order has to last through the lead time (the wait until the delivery lands) and then through the days between orders. That is why those two numbers are added together before multiplying by daily usage. Add the cushion and round up, because you cannot stock a fraction of a carton. If you leave lead time blank the calculator treats it as zero, and a blank safety stock counts as no cushion.
A worked example
These are example numbers, not a recommendation. A café 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 × (3 + 1) × 1.15 = 27.6, rounded up to 28
Order quantity = 28 − 9 = 19 gallons
Cases = 19 ÷ 4 = 4.75, rounded up to 5 cases (20 gallons)
Order-to level = 9 + 20 = 29 gallons
Days of cover = 9 ÷ 6 = 1.5 days
The cover number is the quick sanity check. 1.5 days on the shelf against 4 days to cover (3 between orders plus 1 of lead time) means this item is well short and needs ordering now.
Where par levels go wrong
- Using last month’s usage in a busy month. Par follows demand, so revisit it when the season, the menu, or the hours change.
- Forgetting lead time. If the supplier needs a day to pick and deliver, the order has to be placed a day before you would otherwise run out.
- Counting in one unit and ordering in another. Gallons on the shelf and cases on the invoice need a units-per-case figure, which is why that field is here. For more on count units and pack sizes, see items, units, and costs.
- One par for every day. Our guide to par levels for cafes covers weekend pars and when to split them.
Par is half of costing a shop. The other half is knowing what each drink costs, which the food cost calculator handles. If you run a coffee shop, the coffee shop page shows how the same counts feed par, orders, and drink cost.
Questions we get
What is a par level?
It is the stock level you order up to. On order day you count what you have, compare it to par, and the gap is what you order. Par is sized to cover 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 you need to cover (days between orders plus the supplier's lead time), then add a safety cushion and round up. The formula and a worked example are on this page.
How much safety stock should I add?
There is no universal number. A cushion of 10% to 20% is a common starting point for items you use steadily. Raise it for things that are hard to get on short notice or that spike on weekends, and lower it for items you can grab from a store in ten minutes.
Should I set one par for the whole week?
Only if your days look alike. If Saturday uses twice what a Tuesday does, a single average par leaves you short on the weekend and heavy midweek. Set a weekend par for the items where it matters. This calculator uses one daily usage figure per item, so run it twice for the two cases.
What is the difference between par and order-to level?
Par is the target. The order-to level is where you actually end up after delivery once the order is rounded up to whole cases. If a case holds 4 and you need 19, you order 5 cases and finish above par, which is the right call: a short order means another delivery.
Other free calculators
- Food cost calculator — Period food cost from your two counts and your invoices, plus plate cost for a single item.
- Prime cost calculator — COGS plus fully loaded labor against sales — the number that decides whether a month works.
- Recipe cost calculator — Ingredient rows with yield adjustment, cost per portion, and the price that hits your target.
- Count sheet builder — A printable inventory count sheet in walk order: your zones, items, units, and pars, with blank boxes to count into.
- ShelfCount pricing — one plan, $50 a month, every feature included.
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 keeps par by day of the week, builds a draft order from your count for you to review before it goes to the vendor.