PAR sheet template

Every QSR has a PAR sheet somewhere. Clipboard, spreadsheet, laminated page taped to the walk-in. They vary in layout; they all solve the same problem: stand in the walk-in, count what's there, write down what to order.

Here's a template that does only that — nothing else.

The template

Column definitions:

• Item — the thing you count. Name it how your staff names it.
• Unit — the counting unit. "Dozen" for bagels, "tub" for cream cheese, "unit" for half-gallon oat milk. Not a vendor unit — a counting unit.
• PAR — your target. Set it using Formula 2.
• On-hand — what you counted. Filled in during the count.
• Shortfall — PAR - on_hand. Filled in after the count.
• Order (cases) — ceil(shortfall / units_per_case). This is what you actually submit to the vendor.

Downloadable CSV

Copy and paste into Google Sheets:

item,unit,par,on_hand,shortfall,order_cases
Plain bagel,dozen,42,,,
Everything bagel,dozen,28,,,
Sesame bagel,dozen,18,,,
Oat milk (half-gal),unit,45,,,
Whole milk (gallon),unit,12,,,
Cream cheese plain,8-oz tub,36,,,
Cream cheese scallion,8-oz tub,18,,,
Lox (8 oz),unit,14,,,
Cold brew concentrate,32-oz bottle,12,,,
Espresso beans,5-lb bag,8,,,

The numbers above are illustrative — don't use them for your own shop. Replace with your actual items and your actual PAR.

What to skip

Things you'll see on other templates. Skip them.

• "Unit cost" / "Total value" columns. PAR work is not inventory valuation. Separate sheet, separate job. Adding cost columns to a count sheet invites arithmetic errors during a count.
• Category grouping as columns. Use rows and sort by category. One column per category is unreadable on a phone in a walk-in.
• "Date of count" per row. One date for the whole sheet, at the top.
• "Waste" column. Worth tracking — separately. Mixing it into a PAR sheet makes the order math wrong. Keep a separate waste log and reconcile weekly.

How to actually use it

1. Print it or pull it up on a phone/tablet. Paper is fine for the count; just transcribe to sheets after.
2. Count in the same order every week. Same starting corner of the walk-in, same direction around the shelves. This cuts counting time by ~40% once staff memorizes the path.
3. Count by counting unit, not vendor unit. "6 tubs of plain cream cheese" on the shelf, not "0.5 case of plain cream cheese." You'll make math errors at the case level.
4. Fill in on-hand. Let the sheet compute shortfall and order cases.
5. Review the order column for sanity. If it says order 12 cases of plain bagels, step back and ask why. Usually it means you forgot to count a box on the top shelf.

When a static PAR sheet stops working

The version that updates itself

The value of a static sheet is clarity at the moment of count. The cost of a static sheet is the PARs lie after 30–60 days. A dynamic approach keeps the count experience simple while updating PARs from real data.

That's what Par Inventory does. Same sheet shape — items, PAR, on-hand, shortfall, order-cases — but PAR gets recomputed every time you run the agent against your last 60 days of Toast sales. You never stare at a number from three months ago and wonder if it's still right.