Days Sales of Inventory (DSI) Calculator

Why It Matters

DSI is easier to act on than a turnover ratio alone, since a finance or ops team can plan cash flow and reordering directly around a number of days rather than a rate. A rising DSI is often one of the earliest signs that demand is softening before it shows up anywhere else in the numbers.

Example

A store carries $150,000 in average inventory against $600,000 in annual cost of goods sold. DSI is ($150,000 divided by $600,000) times 365, which equals about 91 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What's a good DSI?

  It depends heavily on the product category, perishable or trend-driven goods often target under 30 days, while durable goods businesses may comfortably run 60 to 90 days or more.

• How is DSI different from Inventory Turnover?

  They're inverses of each other, expressed differently. Turnover shows how many times inventory cycles per period; DSI shows how many days one full cycle takes, which is often the more intuitive number for planning.