Open-to-Buy (OTB) Template for Apparel Brands
Monthly OTB planning from beginning inventory to receipt flow — structured for apparel buyers and planners who need a reliable budget framework. Better than an ad-hoc spreadsheet. Honest about its limits.
Free download. Work email required.
// Template Preview
What the template looks like
Simplified preview. The full template includes complete formula logic, data validation, and step-by-step instructions.
| Month | BOH | Plan Sales | Reductions | Committed | EOH Target | OTB $ | WOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb | $124,000 | $38,200 | $2,400 | $12,000 | $118,000 | $22,600 | 13.4 |
| Mar | $118,000 | $42,100 | $1,900 | $8,500 | $112,000 | $29,500 | 11.5 |
| Dec | $96,000 | $68,400 | $9,800 | $84,000 | $78,000 | −$23,800 | 4.9 |
| ··· | ··· | ··· | ··· | ··· | ··· | ··· | ··· |
// What It Is
What is open-to-buy?
Open-to-buy (OTB) is the amount of money a buyer or planner has available to spend on new inventory in a given period. It is calculated as the gap between your planned inventory position and the receipts already committed — the budget that remains open for new purchase decisions.
OTB is the financial guardrail of the buying process. Without it, buyers have no systematic constraint on how much they buy — and the business ends up either over-inventoried (margin erosion, markdowns) or under-inventoried (missed sales, stockouts).
The OTB identity this template uses: OTB = EOH Target + Planned Sales + Planned Reductions − BOH − Committed Receipts, where planned reductions are the month's markdowns, employee and promotional discounts, and shrink and other losses. A negative result means the month is already over-bought — the workbook shows it in red.
Who this template is for
- Merchandise PlannersManaging the season-level OTB budget and tracking receipt flow against plan.
- Apparel BuyersUsing OTB as the financial guardrail when selecting vendors and committing to purchase quantities.
- Finance and Planning DirectorsReviewing planned vs committed receipts and inventory position before and during the season.
- Founders at Growing BrandsBuilding a first OTB framework before the business has a dedicated planning function — to prevent overbuy.
// Template Contents
What the template includes
Four worksheets covering the OTB build — from the monthly dollars-and-units grid to the department allocation and season summary.
How to work the file: which cells are inputs (blue) vs calculated (grey), the OTB identity the workbook uses, and definitions with target guidance for turn, weeks of supply, and stock-to-sales.
A 12-month (Feb–Jan) grid in dollars and units. Enter opening inventory, planned sales, planned reductions (markdowns, employee and promotional discounts, shrink and other losses), committed receipts, and ending-inventory targets; the sheet carries inventory forward month to month and calculates OTB with the reductions included, stock-to-sales, and weeks of supply — with over-bought months shown in red.
Allocate the season OTB across departments. Enter each department's season sales plan with IMU and turn targets; the sheet derives its share of open-to-buy and includes a check cell proving department sales tie back to the monthly plan.
A season dashboard pulled live from the monthly sheet: total sales, planned reductions, committed receipts, season OTB, opening and ending inventory, average inventory, inventory turn, and season-end weeks of supply.
// When to Use It
The right situations for this template
Pre-season OTB build
Set your season opening position: planned beginning inventory, sales targets by month, and receipt schedule. Typically built 3–5 months before the season starts, in parallel with the assortment plan.
Mid-season reforecasting
When actuals diverge from plan — whether sales are running ahead or receipts are delayed — update the open months' inputs on the OTB by Month tab and the remaining OTB recalculates for the rest of the season.
Budget review preparation
Finance reviews benefit from a clean OTB summary showing planned vs committed receipts, projected ending inventory, and variance to the sales plan. This template structures that view.
Vendor negotiation support
Before committing to a vendor program, enter its receipts by month on the OTB by Month sheet to see how different delivery timing and quantities move projected ending inventory and open-to-buy.
// Get the Template
Download the OTB template
Open-to-Buy (OTB) Template
A monthly OTB workbook covering planned sales, planned reductions (markdowns, discounts and shrink), receipt flow, beginning/ending inventory, and open-to-buy dollars — ready to fill in for any season.
- Emailed to you
- No credit card
- Work email required
- Yours to keep
For brand, retailer, wholesaler and manufacturer teams. We email the link to your work address; requests from companies we can’t verify are reviewed first.
// What Spreadsheets Do Well
Honest about what works
Spreadsheets genuinely handle certain OTB tasks well. This template is a practical tool in these situations.
// Where Templates Break Down
What a spreadsheet OTB cannot do
A structured OTB template is better than an ad-hoc spreadsheet. Neither is a substitute for a system that pulls actuals automatically and keeps OTB, assortment, and buy plan in sync.
// Beyond the Template
How RetailNorthstar improves OTB management
RetailNorthstar calculates OTB from live ERP actuals and keeps it automatically reconciled with your assortment and buy plans — no manual data entry.
OTB calculated from live ERP actuals
RetailNorthstar pulls actual sales, receipts, and inventory on hand directly from your ERP. OTB recalculates automatically — no weekly data entry, no drift from reality.
Assortment and OTB in the same system
Every option added to the assortment plan reduces available OTB in real time. Planners and buyers see the financial impact of every assortment decision before it is committed.
Committed receipts pulled from POs
Purchase orders from the ERP feed the receipt flow automatically. Remaining OTB is always the delta between your budget and confirmed commitments — not a manually maintained estimate.
In-season signals surface automatically
When sales run above or below plan, RetailNorthstar recalculates remaining OTB and surfaces the reorder or cancellation opportunity — before the markdown window opens.
// Common Mistakes
What goes wrong with OTB planning
These are the most common OTB mistakes across mid-market apparel teams — using templates and connected systems alike.
Reforecast EOP targets at mid-season minimum when 6–8 weeks of actuals are available. EOP is a planning decision, not a static input.
Enter every PO in the committed-receipts column of the OTB by Month tab the day it is placed. OTB remaining is only reliable when commitments are current.
Choose one unit of measure and apply it consistently across all tabs. This template plans sales and inventory in retail dollars throughout — enter committed receipts at retail value too, or convert them before entry.
Use the By Department tab to allocate the season OTB by department. Roll up to a total, but manage at the department level — the tab's check cell proves department sales tie back to the monthly plan.
Enter each month's planned markdowns, employee and promotional discounts, and shrink and other losses in the reduction columns of the OTB by Month tab. The template adds them to open-to-buy (OTB = EOH Target + Planned Sales + Planned Reductions − BOH − Committed Receipts), so do not also net them out of the EOH target, or they are counted twice.
// Best Practices
How disciplined planning teams run OTB
These practices determine whether OTB is a useful constraint or a document that gets ignored once the season starts.
Enter commitments the day POs are placed
Real-time commitment tracking is what makes OTB useful in buy meetings. Weekly or monthly batch updates create blind spots that lead to overbuy.
Reforecast mid-season, not just at month-end
Sales can shift 10–15% in three weeks. A static plan is misleading. Reforecast OTB whenever a meaningful variance in actuals is visible — not on a calendar schedule.
Set EOP inventory from weeks-of-supply targets, not as a residual
EOP is a decision — what inventory level do you want going into the next period? Derive it from your turn targets and forward sales plan, not by backing into it from the formula.
Reconcile OTB against the assortment plan before every buy review
OTB remaining at department level should equal the uncommitted receipt value in the assortment plan. If they diverge, identify which is correct before the meeting.
Flag negative OTB remaining immediately
A negative OTB means you are already overbought. Do not let it pass without a review. Identify which commitments are cancelable and what the inventory carry cost will be.
Maintain separate channel OTB for DTC and wholesale
Blended OTB masks significant channel-level over/underbuy. A DTC overbuy against wholesale underbuy may look neutral in total and be a real problem in both channels.
Open-to-Buy (OTB) Template
A monthly OTB workbook covering planned sales, planned reductions (markdowns, discounts and shrink), receipt flow, beginning/ending inventory, and open-to-buy dollars — ready to fill in for any season.
- Emailed to you
- No credit card
- Work email required
- Yours to keep
For brand, retailer, wholesaler and manufacturer teams. We email the link to your work address; requests from companies we can’t verify are reviewed first.
// What's Next
After you use the template
Most teams download a template and get a quarter of use from it. These three steps turn it into actual improvement.
Where does your planning operation actually stand?
Start hereBefore building on a template, benchmark your planning against 5 dimensions — infrastructure, responsiveness, alignment, data quality, and workflow. Takes 5–8 minutes. Results are instant.
When does the template stop being enough?
At some point templates hit a ceiling — OTB disconnected from assortment, actuals requiring manual entry, version chaos across buyers and planners. See exactly where the gap is.
What would a connected system look like for our team?
A 30-minute live walkthrough built around your actual planning workflow — OTB, assortment, and buy planning in one connected system.
// FAQs
Open-to-buy template — common questions
What is open-to-buy (OTB)?
Open-to-buy (OTB) is the dollar amount an apparel brand or retailer has available to spend on new inventory purchases in a given period. It is calculated as: planned sales + planned reductions (markdowns, discounts and shrink) + planned ending inventory − beginning inventory − already committed receipts. OTB is the financial guardrail that prevents over-buying.
How often should OTB be updated?
Most mid-market apparel brands update OTB weekly or bi-weekly during the active selling season. The key trigger is any meaningful variance in actuals vs plan — whether sales are outperforming or receipts are delayed. A static OTB that is only updated at month-end creates blind spots.
What is the difference between OTB and a merchandise financial plan?
The merchandise financial plan (MFP) is the top-down seasonal financial framework — net sales targets, margin rate goals, and inventory turn objectives by department. OTB is the operational output of the MFP: the dollar amount available to spend on receipts in a specific period. The MFP sets the guardrails; OTB tracks execution against them.
Can this template be used in-season as actuals come in?
Yes, by keeping the open months current. As each month closes, overwrite that month's planned sales, reductions and committed receipts with what actually happened — inventory carries forward automatically, so the OTB for the remaining months recalculates against your real position. The template does not maintain a separate plan-vs-actual view; a connected system tracks both without overwriting the plan.
Does the template support multiple departments or categories?
Yes. The By Department tab allocates the season OTB across departments — each department gets a season sales plan, an IMU and turn target, and its share of open-to-buy, with a check cell proving department sales tie back to the monthly plan. For month-by-department OTB grids or deeper category structures, a connected planning system is more practical.
How does OTB connect to the assortment plan?
The assortment plan should be built within the OTB budget — the total receipt cost of all planned options should not exceed your available OTB. In this template, you connect them manually: take the season OTB from the OTB Summary tab and use it as the constraint when building option count in your assortment plan. RetailNorthstar connects them automatically.
Related Resources
Ready for OTB that updates itself?
RetailNorthstar calculates OTB from live ERP data and keeps it reconciled with your assortment and buy plans automatically. No weekly data entry.
No credit card. No commitments.
Connected merchandise planning — live in weeks, not quarters.