Stock Cover Days Calculator

Work out stock cover days instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Stock Cover Days Calculator

Stock cover converts an inventory balance into time: how many days of trading the current stockholding supports at the recent rate of sale. Buyers plan replenishment in weeks of cover, while finance watches the same figure as days of inventory outstanding.

Formulas

Stock cover

Cover days = Closing stock / (Annual COGS / Days in period)

Stock turns

Turns = Days in period / Cover days

Worked example

With the default values below, Stock Cover Days Calculator returns Stock cover of 48.7. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Closing stock value: 240,000
Annual cost of goods sold: 1,800,000
Days in the period: 365

Results

Stock cover: 48.7
Stock cover (weeks): 7.0
Cost of sales per day: $4,931.51
Implied stock turns per year: 7.50

Step by step

1Values used
2Stock cover
3Stock turns
4Stock cover= 48.7
5Stock cover (weeks)= 7.0
6Cost of sales per day= 4,931.51
7Implied stock turns per year= 7.50

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use cost or retail value?

Use cost on both sides. Mixing retail stock value with cost of sales overstates cover by the whole gross margin.

Is more cover safer?

Only up to a point. Cover buys service level but ties up cash and raises obsolescence risk, so target it per category rather than for the whole business.