Buy plan template
A ready-to-use Excel buy plan template for apparel teams — plan quantities, costs, retail value, margin, vendors, channels, and timing on one line-level sheet.
- One row per style/color with planned buy units, cost, and retail
- Auto margin column — =(Retail − Cost) ÷ Retail — on every line
- Vendor, delivery window, and receipt month for timing
- Channel and PO status to track each buy from plan to order
- Sample rows you can replace with your own buy
Buyers, merchandisers, and planners turning a seasonal assortment and open-to-buy budget into committed quantities. It fits apparel teams that need a clear, vendor-aware buy sheet before raising purchase orders.
- Add a row per style/color you intend to buy, with planned buy units, cost, and retail — margin calculates automatically.
- Assign a vendor, delivery window, and receipt month so the buy lines up with your flow.
- Set the channel for each line and track PO status from planned through to ordered.
- Compare the total against your open-to-buy budget before committing.
This template is useful when the workflow is owned by one person or one small team. It starts to break when multiple teams need the same version of the plan, when inputs change frequently, or when decisions need to flow into assortment, buying, purchase orders, production, and allocation.
Use the spreadsheet to get started. When the process becomes too manual, RetailNorthstar connects the plan, assortment, buy, PO, and production workflow.
RetailNorthstar connects buy plans to OTB, assortment decisions, demand forecasts, size curves, purchase orders, and production tracking. From line plan to production, RetailNorthstar connects merchandising, design, buying, sourcing, and operations in one workflow.
Related: open-to-buy calculator, how to build a buy plan, and the assortment planning template.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a buy plan?
- A buy plan is the line-level commitment of how many units of each style and color a brand will purchase, at what cost and retail, from which vendor, and for which delivery window. It turns the assortment and open-to-buy budget into specific quantities ready to become purchase orders.
- What fields are in this buy plan template?
- Each row covers style/color, planned buy units, cost, retail, an auto-calculated margin, vendor, delivery window, channel, receipt month, PO status, and notes. Sample rows are included to show the structure.
- How does the template calculate margin?
- Margin is a formula, =(Retail − Cost) ÷ Retail, shown as a percentage. Edit cost or retail on a line and the margin recalculates automatically so you can keep the buy profitable as quantities change.
- How is a buy plan different from an assortment plan?
- An assortment plan decides which styles, colors, and price points to offer. A buy plan decides how many units of each to purchase and from whom. The buy plan usually follows the assortment plan and the open-to-buy budget.
A spreadsheet buy plan works until quantities, vendors, and timing change weekly across the team. RetailNorthstar keeps the buy connected to OTB, assortment, and production so the plan stays current.
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