If you make anything in small batches - candles, cosmetics, food, jewellery, furniture - you've probably run your material tracking out of a spreadsheet at some point. It works, until it doesn't. Here's why it breaks down, and a straightforward process to replace it.
Why Excel stops working
A spreadsheet has no idea what happened in your workshop today. Someone has to open it, find the right row, and type in a new number - by hand, every time. Miss one update and the file says you have stock that's already gone. Two people editing their own copy means nobody actually knows which version is current. None of this is a spreadsheet bug; it's just what happens when a static file is asked to represent something that changes constantly.
How to track intake
Every time a material arrives, record it against a specific batch: quantity, unit cost, supplier, and purchase date. This matters more than it sounds - if you buy the same raw material from two suppliers at different prices, or the same supplier's price changes over time, batch-level tracking is what lets you calculate an accurate cost later instead of guessing at an average.
How to write off materials
When you use a material in production, deduct it immediately - not at the end of the week from memory. The cleanest way to do this reliably is to tie it to your recipe or bill of materials (BOM): when you start a production run, the system already knows what materials and quantities that product needs, and can write them off automatically the moment the run starts or completes.
How to control stock levels
Set a reorder threshold per material - the quantity at which you want a warning before you run out. This is only useful if it reflects your real lead time: if a supplier takes two weeks to deliver, your threshold needs to cover two weeks of expected usage, not just "getting low."
How to plan purchases
Once reorder thresholds are in place, purchase planning becomes reactive in a good way - you order when the system tells you to, based on real consumption, rather than on a gut feeling or a monthly calendar reminder that's disconnected from how fast materials are actually being used.
How this works in Masto Control
Masto Control handles all of the above without a spreadsheet: materials are tracked by batch with automatic FIFO costing, production orders write off exactly what a recipe calls for, reorder alerts are set per material, and everything updates in real time as it happens - not when someone remembers to update a cell.