Inventory valuation is the total dollar value of everything you currently have in stock, calculated from what those items cost you. It answers a deceptively important question: how much of your money is sitting on the shelf right now, tied up in raw materials and unsold products?
For a maker business this number is both an asset figure and a warning light. A healthy valuation means you can fill orders; a ballooning one can mean cash is trapped in slow-moving stock or over-buying. It is also a figure your accountant needs at year end, because the change in inventory value between the start and end of the year feeds directly into your cost of goods sold.
In Ardent Seller the valuation is built from purchase costs across all your inventory — raw, finished, packaging, and more — so it updates as you buy, produce, and sell. Reconciling it against a physical stocktake periodically keeps the recorded value trustworthy.
Related terms
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)
The total cost of materials, labor, and overhead directly tied to producing the goods you sell. Tracked automatically through purchases, recipes, and production runs.
Stocktake
The process of physically counting inventory at a location and comparing it to recorded quantities. Variances are reconciled by creating adjustment transactions.
Finished Goods
Products you have manufactured or assembled from raw ingredients and components. These are the completed items ready for sale to customers.
Adjustment
A transaction that corrects inventory quantities without a purchase or sale. Used for damaged goods, waste, samples, or other non-sale removals from stock.