Free tool
Sell-through rate calculator
Compare units sold with the units available to sell in a chosen period, opening stock plus receipts, to see how quickly stock moves.
Your sold and available units
Use the same SKU or product group and the same time window for sold and received units.
Sell-through rate over 30 days
60%
- Units available to sell
- 1,000 units
- Units not sold
- 400 units
The formula
Sell-through rate = units sold ÷ (opening stock + units received) × 100
Leave opening stock blank for the receipts-only version: units sold ÷ units received × 100
- Units sold
- Units sold in the chosen period.
- Units received
- Units received for the same SKU or group in that period.
- Opening stock
- Units on hand at the start of the period; optional.
- Period
- The common time window for both counts.
Worked example
- A seller starts a 30-day period with 200 units on hand, receives 800 more and sells 600.
- Units available to sell are 200 + 800 = 1,000.
- Sell-through is 600 ÷ 1,000 × 100 = 60%, leaving 400 units unsold.
- The receipts-only version, 600 ÷ 800 × 100 = 75%, reads higher because it ignores the 200 units already on hand.
When it applies
- A like-for-like comparison of received and sold units for one SKU or group over a period.
When it breaks down
- Without opening stock, sales of older units can push the receipts-only ratio above 100%.
- The ratio cannot trace which received units sold, and returns counted as sales overstate it.
Common mistakes
Mixing periods
Use sales and receipts from the same dates.
Ignoring opening stock
Sales can come from stock already present before the period began. Enter it to measure against everything you had to sell.
Treating a high ratio as profit
Sell-through measures movement, not the margin earned on each unit.
Questions
What is the sell-through rate formula?
Units sold divided by the units available to sell, which is opening stock plus units received in the same period, multiplied by 100. Many sellers use receipts alone for a new shipment.
Can sell-through exceed 100%?
Only in the receipts-only version, when some sales came from opening stock. With opening stock included it cannot, unless a count is wrong.
How is it calculated when no units were received?
Enter opening stock. With no opening stock and no receipts the ratio is undefined, because nothing was available to sell.
Is sell-through the same as inventory turnover?
No. Turnover compares cost of goods sold with average inventory at cost; sell-through compares unit counts.
Does a high sell-through mean high profit?
No. Check margin and cash as well as unit movement.
Related
Published by Skuvelo. Results are estimates computed from the figures you enter, not a reading of your own sales or stock.
A calculator answers once. Skuvelo keeps answering.
This tool computes one number from what you type. Skuvelo computes it continuously, for every SKU, from your own sales and stock.