Anticode Open builder

Build a simple inventory tracker app: stock counts, low-stock flags, CSV export

A small maker, a home cook with a well-stocked pantry, a club with a store cupboard: each needs to know what's on the shelf and what's running low. Anticode can build an inventory tracker app for that, with counts, reorder points and a CSV export, saved in your own browser. It's built for one person on one device. Once several people sell from the same stock, you need a shared system.

Updated · By the Anticode team

Who a one-device tracker suits

  • A candle or soap maker tracking raw materials (wax, wicks, fragrance oils) and finished stock.
  • A household recording what's in the freezer, the pantry, or the garage, with use-by dates.
  • A home inventory for insurance: items, rooms, purchase dates and values, so there's a record if something happens.
  • A club, a school department or a small office managing a store cupboard that one person looks after.

It doesn't suit a shop where stock is sold online and in person at the same time, or a team where several people take items out. Counts in one browser can't know what happened in another.

The fields and logic

Item
Name, SKU or short code, category, unit (each, kg, litre, box of 12), location (shelf, room, freezer drawer).
Stock
Current quantity, and for raw materials the quantity per batch you usually use.
Reorder point
The level at which you need to order. A common rule of thumb: what you use while waiting for a delivery, plus a safety margin.
Supplier
Name, the link to reorder, typical lead time, last price paid.
Movements
Every change with a date, quantity, reason (received, used, sold, wasted, counted) and an optional note.

Record movements, not just the current number. "24 jars" tells you nothing about why there were 30 yesterday; a log of "sold 4, broke 2" does, and lets the app show usage over time.

Low stock and stocktakes

The home screen should open on what needs attention: items at or below their reorder point, items expiring soon, items with no movement for months. Add a stocktake mode that walks through items by location, so you can count a shelf and correct the numbers in one pass, with each correction logged.

Describing it

Name the items, units and screens: "An inventory tracker app for my candle business. Two kinds of item: materials (wax in kg, wicks each, fragrance oils in ml, jars each) and finished candles by scent and size. Reorder points per item with a low-stock list on the home screen. Log every movement with a reason. A 'make a batch' button that subtracts the materials one batch uses. Stocktake by shelf. Export everything to CSV and import a CSV back."

Anticode writes it as one app, saved in your browser. Try it with a week of real use before trusting it: receive a delivery, make a batch, do a stocktake, and compare the numbers with the shelf.

Protecting your data

Because the app runs in a sandbox with no network, your stock list never leaves the device, and it also has nowhere else to live. Clearing the browser's site data, using a private window or losing the laptop loses it. Make the CSV export a weekly habit and keep the file somewhere backed up. The import button is how you move to a new device.

When you need real stock control

The single-device design is a hard limit, not a setting:

  • No shared counts. Two people, two browsers, two different numbers.
  • No sync with your shop. It can't see Shopify, Etsy or till sales, so sales are logged by hand.
  • No barcode scanning. The sandbox has no camera access. A USB or Bluetooth scanner that types like a keyboard can fill a search box; ask for that and test it with your scanner.
  • No automatic reorders. It can show the supplier link; you place the order.
  • No accounting. Stock valuation for your accounts belongs in accounting software.

When the business grows past one person, choose an inventory system that connects to your sales channels, or have a developer build one. The Next.js export of an app gives a developer a TypeScript project with Postgres and staff roles as a starting point; the stock logic, sales integrations and permissions still need building. Your prototype's fields and screens are the specification.

For things you own rather than sell, the collection tracker is a closer fit. For shopping, see the shopping list app.

Questions people ask

Can I use the inventory tracker app on my phone in the stockroom?

Yes, on that phone. The data stays on the phone, so don't also update it from a laptop.

Can it handle expiry dates?

Ask for a use-by date per batch and a list of items expiring in the next two weeks.

Can I start from an existing spreadsheet?

Ask for a CSV import with your column names, and import your sheet once the app is built.