Best Inventory Management for Tattoo Supplies (So You Never Run Out of 3RL Needles Mid-Session Again)
Nothing derails a tattoo session like reaching for a 7M1 magnum and realizing you used the last box yesterday. Or being halfway through a color piece and discovering you’re out of that specific shade of teal your client picked from your flash design.
I’ve had both happen. The 7M1 situation ended with me running to a supply shop 20 minutes away mid-session while my client sat there with a half-finished outline. The teal situation ended with me improvising a mix that looked close enough on skin but haunted me for weeks.
A basic inventory system — even just a checklist on a clipboard — prevents this. Here’s what actually works for tattoo shops, from free to fancy.
What You’re Actually Tracking
Before picking a tool, know what you need to manage. A typical solo artist carries:
Needles/Cartridges (your biggest variety item):
- Round liners: 1RL, 3RL, 5RL, 7RL, 9RL, 14RL
- Round shaders: 5RS, 7RS, 9RS, 14RS
- Magnums: 7M1, 9M1, 11M1, 15M1, 23M1
- Curved magnums: 7CM, 9CM, 11CM, 15CM
- Specialty (if applicable)
That’s 15-20+ configurations, each needing stock.
Ink (if you use multiple brands):
- Black liner ink (1-2 bottles)
- Black shader/wash ink (2-3 dilutions)
- White ink
- Color sets (if you do color work — potentially 20-50+ individual colors)
- Grey wash set
Consumables (the stuff you burn through daily):
- Gloves (S/M/L/XL in nitrile)
- Barrier film / plastic wrap
- Stencil paper
- Stencil transfer solution
- Paper towels
- Green soap
- Distilled water (for mixing)
- Ink caps
- Clip cord covers or machine bags
- Razors for shaving
- Dental bibs / drape sheets
Cleaning & Sterilization:
- Madacide or CaviCide surface disinfectant
- Autoclave pouches (if you use reusable tubes)
- Enzymatic cleaner
- Hand soap
- Hand sanitizer
For a multi-artist shop, multiply everything by your number of artists plus shared supplies. Now you see why tracking matters.
The Options: Free to Full-Featured
1. The Clipboard Checklist (Free)
Best for: Solo artists, 1-2 artist shops
I’m not being sarcastic. A laminated checklist on a clipboard near your supply shelf is a perfectly legitimate inventory system for a small operation.
How to set it up:
- List every supply item you use
- Next to each, write your “reorder point” — the quantity that triggers a new order
- Every Monday morning (takes 5 minutes), walk through your supplies and check against the list
- Anything at or below the reorder point goes on this week’s order
Example:
| Item | Reorder Point | Current Stock | Order? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3RL Cartridges (box of 20) | 2 boxes | 3 boxes | No |
| 7M1 Cartridges (box of 20) | 2 boxes | 1 box | ✅ YES |
| Black liner ink (Eternal, 1oz) | 1 bottle | 2 bottles | No |
| Nitrile gloves M (box of 100) | 3 boxes | 2 boxes | ✅ YES |
Why it works: It’s visual, physical, and impossible to ignore when it’s hanging right next to your supplies. No app to open, no login required.
Why it doesn’t scale: Once you have 3+ artists all pulling from shared supplies, a clipboard gets outdated between checks. Someone takes the last box of 5RL at 4pm Tuesday and nobody knows until Monday’s check.
2. Google Sheets / Excel (Free)
Best for: 2-4 artist shops that want digital tracking without paying for software
A shared Google Sheet that all artists can access and update in real-time is the sweet spot between a clipboard and dedicated software.
Template columns: Item | Category | Brand | Size/Config | Unit Cost | Reorder Point | Current Stock | On Order | Last Order Date | Supplier | Notes
Set up conditional formatting: Red background when current stock ≤ reorder point. Now anyone who opens the sheet instantly sees what needs ordering.
The workflow:
- Each artist updates stock counts when they open a new box or bottle
- The shop manager/owner checks the sheet weekly and places orders for red items
- Log every order with date and cost for expense tracking
Pro tip: Create a separate tab for “Order History” to track spending over time. After a few months, you’ll see patterns — seasonal fluctuations, cost changes, and which suppliers give the best prices.
Why it works: Free, accessible from any device, multiple people can update simultaneously, and conditional formatting gives visual alerts.
Why it might not work: Requires discipline from everyone. If your artists won’t update the sheet, it’s useless. And it doesn’t auto-track usage — someone has to manually update counts.
3. Sortly ($0-49/mo)
Best for: Shops that want a dedicated inventory app without enterprise complexity
Sortly is a visual inventory app that lets you take photos of items, set reorder alerts, and track quantity and value.
Price: Free (up to 100 items) | Advanced $49/mo (unlimited items, multiple users) What makes it good for tattoo shops:
- Photo-based inventory (snap a picture of each supply)
- QR code scanning for quick updates
- Low-stock alerts by email
- Mobile app for updating on the go
- Custom fields (add supplier, cost, reorder URL)
- Multiple users on paid plans
Limitation: The free tier caps at 100 items. A well-stocked tattoo shop easily has 100+ unique SKUs. You’ll likely need the $49/mo plan for a multi-artist shop.
4. Your Tattoo Shop Management Software
Porter ($79-249/mo): Includes basic inventory tracking as part of the platform. Track supply levels, set reorder alerts, and see supply costs alongside revenue data. Not as robust as dedicated inventory software, but adequate for most shops and already integrated with your other data.
TattooPro.io ($29-89/mo): Basic supply tracking on Studio plan. Covers the essentials.
If you’re already paying for shop management software, check if it has inventory features before adding another tool. Using what you have reduces complexity.
5. Square for Retail (Free with Square)
Best for: Shops that also sell aftercare products, merch, or art prints
If you use Square for payments and sell retail items (aftercare balm, branded shirts, prints), Square’s built-in inventory tracks retail stock automatically. Every time you sell a product through Square POS, it decrements the count.
Limitation: Designed for retail products, not consumable supplies. You wouldn’t ring up a box of needles through the POS. But for tracking your aftercare products and merch, it’s solid and free.
How to Actually Manage Inventory (The System That Works)
Forget the tool for a second. Here’s the system that prevents stockouts, regardless of whether you use a clipboard or an app:
Set Reorder Points Based on Lead Time
Your reorder point should account for how long delivery takes. If your needle supplier ships in 3-5 business days and you go through 2 boxes per week:
Reorder point = Weekly usage × Lead time (in weeks) + Safety stock = 2 boxes × 1 week + 1 box = 3 boxes
When you hit 3 boxes, order. You’ll receive the new stock before you run out, with one box of buffer for delays.
Designate One Person for Orders
“Everyone is responsible for inventory” means nobody is responsible for inventory. Assign one person — the shop owner, a manager, or a specific artist — to check and order weekly.
Standardize Suppliers
Using three different needle brands from four different suppliers is a tracking nightmare. Standardize on one or two suppliers for most items:
- Kingpin Supply — good selection, fast shipping, solid prices
- Painful Pleasures — huge catalog, wholesale pricing for shops
- Barber DTS — UK-based but ships internationally, great cartridge selection
- Amazon — fine for gloves, paper towels, and generic consumables (not for needles/ink)
Track Costs (Even If It Hurts)
Most shops have no idea what they spend on supplies per month. Start tracking and you’ll find opportunities to save:
- Buy in bulk when possible (per-unit cost drops significantly)
- Compare prices across suppliers (price differences of 20-30% are common)
- Watch for discontinued colors or products and stock up or find alternatives early
- Track supply cost as a percentage of revenue (target: 5-8%)
Monthly Inventory Audit
Once a month, do a full count. Compare your actual stock to what your system says you should have. Discrepancies usually mean:
- Supplies are being wasted (overpoured ink, unused opened packages)
- Someone isn’t updating the tracking
- Theft (rare but it happens)
- Miscounts on previous orders
The Ink Problem
Ink inventory is uniquely challenging because:
- You can’t easily count liquid. Is that bottle 30% full or 50% full? Hard to tell.
- Colors don’t get used evenly. Black gets used 10x faster than yellow.
- Open ink has a shelf life. Ink in caps gets tossed after each session. An open bottle should be used within 12-18 months.
- Color matching across sessions matters. If you run out of a specific color mid-project, you need to reorder the exact same brand and shade for the next session.
My approach: I mark the date I open each bottle. I keep a “one backup” rule for my top 10 most-used colors — when I open the backup, I immediately order a replacement. Less-used colors get ordered when the bottle hits about 25% full.
The Real Cost of Bad Inventory Management
Think running out of supplies is just an inconvenience? Here’s the actual cost:
| Situation | Cost |
|---|---|
| Emergency supply run (2 hours round trip including stopping session) | $300-500 in lost chair time + gas |
| Expedited shipping on emergency order | $30-50 per order |
| Running out of a client’s specific color, rescheduling session | $200-500 lost + client frustration |
| Over-ordering and hoarding supplies that expire | $200-500/year in wasted product |
| Not tracking costs, paying too much per unit | $500-2,000/year vs. bulk pricing |
A $0 clipboard system or a free Google Sheet prevents all of this. There’s genuinely no excuse.
What I Recommend
Solo artist: Clipboard checklist or Google Sheet. Free. Takes 5 minutes a week. Done.
2-3 artist shop: Shared Google Sheet with conditional formatting. Free. All artists can update from their phones.
4+ artist shop: Use your shop management software’s inventory feature (Porter, TattooPro) or Sortly ($49/mo). At this scale, automated alerts and multi-user tracking become worth paying for.
Any shop selling retail (aftercare, merch): Square’s built-in retail inventory for products, plus any of the above for supplies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do tattoo shops need inventory management software?
For shops with 3+ artists and monthly supply orders over $500, inventory management software prevents stockouts and reduces waste. Solo artists can manage with a simple spreadsheet or checklist. The key is having a system — any system — to track what you have and when to reorder.
What supplies do tattoo shops need to track?
The critical items to track are: ink (all colors), needles/cartridges (all configurations), gloves (sizes S/M/L), stencil paper, transfer solution, plastic wrap/barrier film, paper towels, cleaning supplies (Madacide, Green Soap), aftercare products for retail sale, and machine-specific consumables.