Days on hand
Also called: days of inventory · doh
Days on hand is current inventory divided by average daily usage. It's the same information as turnover, expressed the way a kitchen actually thinks — "we have four days of chicken" is actionable in a way that "our turnover is 7.5" is not.
Formula
Days on hand = Current inventory ÷ Average daily usage
Worked example · One item at the shelf
- Chicken breast on hand
- 58 lb
- Average daily usage
- 14 lb
- Days on hand
- 4.1 days
With a 3.5-day delivery cycle that's healthy — about half a day of buffer. At 9 days on hand you'd be carrying twice the cash and testing the shelf life.
The useful discipline is a days-on-hand ceiling per category rather than per item. It converts a spreadsheet metric into a rule a manager can apply while standing in the walk-in.
| Category | Ceiling | What breaching it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh produce | 3 days | Par set from order habit rather than usage |
| Dairy | 5 days | Delivery frequency too low for the shelf life |
| Fresh protein | 5 days | Chasing a case price break that spoilage will eat |
| Frozen | 30 days | Freezer used as a warehouse; watch for burn |
| Dry goods | 45 days | Usually fine — cheap to hold, low risk |
Run the numbers
Par level calculator
Related terms
Inventory turnover
How many times you sell through your average inventory in a period — a direct measure of how much cash is sitting on shelves.
Par level
The quantity of an item you want on hand at the start of each order cycle — enough to cover demand plus a safety buffer.
Usage rate
How much of an item you consume per day or per cover — the input behind every par level and order.