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How much is my slow stock draining the business?

Enter your numbers below. Get the answer first, then Koala's next move.

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Numbers to enter
Estimate the economic loss if slow/dead stock is liquidated after the holding period entered. No carrying-rate or recovery assumption is pre-filled.

Use the inventory cost basis appropriate to your records, not the normal selling price.

Your own annual rate for the holding costs you want to model. Leave 0 to exclude carrying cost.

Your liquidation/salvage assumption, not a MarginKoala benchmark.

Koala's Calculated Result
Cost basis + entered carrying cost − entered recovery value.

Enter the numbers you know

The detailed explanation will appear here once the calculator has a result.

Add units and recorded cost per unit, then enter the holding and recovery assumptions you want to test.

Koala's Professional Opinion

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The decision and next steps will appear here.

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Definition and method

What this calculator answers

See the inventory cost basis plus carrying cost less the recovery value you expect to receive from the stock.

Tied cash + drag

Tied cash = units × per-unit cost. Carry drag = tied cash × carrying % × months/12. The total carrying + opportunity cost the slow stock adds each month it sits.

Worked example: your figures

The interactive result above is the worked example. Change any input and the same deterministic engine recomputes the answer; this page does not insert a generic example business or silently treat example values as a benchmark.

  • No market benchmark or outcome is silently inserted by this page.

What should I check next?

Frequently asked questions

What is dead-stock cost?

Dead-stock cost is the carrying + opportunity cost of stock that has not sold in 6+ months — the cash you have tied up and the carrying drag the stock adds monthly. It's the cost of letting product sit on the shelf unsold.

Dead Stock Cost

What does "6+ months" mean here?

There is no universal numeric benchmark for this decision. The right comparison depends on the industry, geography, business model, time period and exact metric definition. Use the business’s own history, economics and explicit target unless a verified benchmark matching that scope is available.

Dead Stock Cost

How does a recoverable % enter the cost?

If you plan to liquidate the SKU, the per-unit liquidation value offsets real loss — but only if you ship. Liquidating at 30–50¢ on the dollar still beats a year of carrying drag at any meaningful rate.

Dead Stock Cost

Should I count sale-or-write-off as the only option?

No — bundles, gift-with-purchase, online/offline channel diversification and discount-the-oldest-SKUs are all useful. The dead-stock-cost model just prices the alternative each side delivers — the calculation is the same.

Dead Stock Cost

Educational use, not financial advice. Numbers are estimates for planning; consult a qualified professional before acting on them.