How to build sell-through in Google Sheets, Excel guides

1. Manual ways to calculate sell-through

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1.1 Basic Google Sheets calculator

1. Create a new sheet (or tab) for your products.
2. Add columns: A: SKU, B: Product Name, C: Units Received, D: Units Sold, E: Sell-Through %.
3. Enter your data for the chosen period (e.g., last month): total units received in column C, total units sold in column D.
4. In cell E2, add the formula:
   =IF(C2=0, 0, D2/C2)
5. Format column E as percentage.
6. Drag the formula down for all rows.
7. Optionally add conditional formatting (Format → Conditional formatting) to highlight low sell-through SKUs.

For help with formulas in Google Sheets, see Google’s guide: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093480

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1.2 Basic Excel calculator

1. Open a new workbook.
2. Create the same columns: A: SKU, B: Product Name, C: Units Received, D: Units Sold, E: Sell-Through %.
3. Paste or type your inventory and sales data.
4. In E2, enter:
   =IF(C2=0,0,D2/C2)
5. Format E as Percentage with 1–2 decimal places.
6. Fill the formula down.
7. Insert a table (Ctrl+T) so formulas stay consistent as you add rows.

See Microsoft’s overview of formulas in Excel: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/overview-of-formulas-in-excel-ecfdc708-9162-49e8-b993-c311f47ca173

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1.3 Weekly sell-through summaries

1. Create a second sheet called Weekly Summary.
2. In Google Sheets or Excel, list weeks in rows (e.g., 2025-W01, 2025-W02).
3. Use SUMIFS to aggregate units sold and received per week, then compute sell-through.
   • Sheets example in C2 for weekly units sold: =SUMIFS(Detail!$D:$D,Detail!$A:$A,$A2)
   • Repeat for units received, then compute sell-through.
4. Plot a line chart to visualize trends.

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1.4 Channel-level sell-through

1. Add a Channel column (e.g., Web, Amazon, Retail).
2. Use PivotTables (Excel) or Pivot tables (Sheets) to group by SKU + Channel.
3. Show sum of Units Received and Units Sold.
4. Add a calculated field (in Excel’s PivotTable) or extra column in source data with the formula Sold / Received.

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1.5 Manual CSV imports

1. Export sales data from your ecommerce platform or POS as CSV.
2. Import into Google Sheets (File → Import) or Excel (Data → From Text/CSV).
3. Clean column names and ensure numeric types for quantities.
4. Link this raw tab to your calculator tab using SUMIFS or VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP.

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Pros of manual methods

• Full control and transparency.
• Zero extra tools, just Sheets or Excel.

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Cons

• Easy to forget weekly updates.
• Error-prone copy-paste.
• Does not scale when you have many channels or SKUs.

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2. No-code automation with tools

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2.1 Use Google Sheets + scheduled imports

In Google Sheets, you can reduce manual work by connecting data sources.

1. Use built-in connectors (Extensions → Add-ons) or partner add-ons that sync orders or inventory.
2. Schedule refreshes where supported so your raw data tab stays up to date.
3. Keep your sell-through formulas on a separate tab so reports update automatically whenever new data arrives.
4. Learn more about connected Sheets here: https://support.google.com/docs/

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2.2 Power Query in Excel

Power Query turns Excel into a lightweight ETL tool.

1. In Excel, go to Data → Get Data → From File or From Web, and connect to your sales exports or API.
2. Use Power Query to clean, filter, and shape the data (remove duplicates, ensure numeric columns for units).
3. Load the query into a table called Sales_Raw.
4. Build your sell-through formulas on top of Sales_Raw using structured references.
5. Refresh data with one click or on open.

See Microsoft’s Power Query overview: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel

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2.3 No-code automation platforms

Tools like Zapier, Make or n8n can push data into Google Sheets or Excel (via OneDrive).

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Example flow:

1. Trigger: New order in your ecommerce platform.
2. Action: Append a row to your Google Sheet orders tab.
3. Your sell-through calculator references that orders tab with formulas.

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Pros:

• Reduces manual exports.
• Works across many apps.

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Cons:

• Zap counts or scenario limits.
• Logic still lives in formulas you maintain.

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3. Scaled automation with AI agents

This is where an AI computer agent like Sai changes the game. Instead of stitching together many point automations, you let an agent operate your desktop, browser, Google Sheets, and Excel like a power analyst.

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3.1 Agent as your inventory analyst

A typical workflow for a retailer or agency:

1. The Simular AI agent logs into your ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, and WMS via the browser.
2. It downloads the latest order and inventory CSVs.
3. It opens Google Sheets, pastes raw data into a Raw_Imports tab, and checks for schema changes.
4. It refreshes pivot tables and sell-through formulas, then copies key metrics into a Summary tab.
5. It opens Excel, updates your master workbook for finance, and ensures formulas calculate correctly.
6. Finally, it exports a PDF dashboard or writes a short narrative explaining what changed and emails it to sales and merchandising.

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Pros

• End-to-end automation across browser, Sheets, Excel and email.
• Handles thousands to millions of steps with production-grade reliability.
• Every action is visible and editable, so you can inspect and improve the workflow.

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Cons

• Requires initial setup and onboarding of the agent.
• You need to design guardrails (e.g., where files are stored, which tabs to touch).

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3.2 Agent for exception alerts

Instead of just refreshing numbers, the agent can search for risk.

1. Define business rules, such as: "Any SKU with monthly sell-through under 30%" or "Over 90% for three weeks straight".
2. The agent runs your calculator in Google Sheets and Excel, applies those rules, and writes an Alerts tab.
3. It drafts outreach for your team: for slow movers, suggest discounting or bundling; for fast movers, flag reorder urgency.

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Pros

• Turns raw data into prioritized action.
• Saves sales and marketing teams from digging through spreadsheets.

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Cons

• Needs regular tuning of thresholds as your business evolves.

By pairing solid spreadsheet models with a capable AI agent, you keep the flexibility of Google Sheets and Excel while escaping the grind of manual updates and endless CSVs.