Art Inventory Management: How to set up a system that works for you + FREE TEMPLATE

Art inventory management is not just for the gallery. It's a vital aspect of any artist business and provides an organized and secure working environment for any atelier. Whether a collector reaches out for information on a prospective purchase or a gallerist is interested in showing your works, have immediate access to your inventory records is crucial to running an efficient and orderly studio practice. Emerging or otherwise, the working artist with an art inventory management system at their disposal will stand out among the pack as thoughtful and professional to their peers and collector base. 

There is not one system that works for everyone, and there are many online art inventory management platforms that can cost you a pretty penny. If you'! e on a tight budget, you can still create a safe and reliable digital cloud-based inventory system with google sheets. Also crucial to consider is that many software or cloud systems could become obsolete after just a few years. Without an easily transferable way to relocate files, an artist's entire practice can become compromised. 

We broke down below all the nitty-gritty details. Looking for inventory support? We work with artists to set up a system that works for them or help update their current system! Connect with us

We have made it easy for you and set up a free inventory template on notion you can use! Trust us, there are no hidden fees!  We are in the business of helping artists be successful!

The essential categories 

Inventory # 

No matter how you shuffle your inventory, assigning a number to your piece will help streamline your system. 

Image 

We suggest uploading a low-res image in this column of your art inventory database, possibly including another more high-res photo for the working artist's internal reference as a safeguard.

Title

Whether you leave your works untitled or elaborate names, add it! 

Year 

This proves helpful in sorting an outline of your work over the years. It will also help you see a general overview of sales and your prices throughout the years. 

Medium 

Keep track of the mediums you are using. This is something that both collectors and curators care about. 

Dimensions 

We suggest sorting this into three separate columns Height, Width, Depth. When you get approached by a collector looking for a piece in a particular size, you can quickly sort through your inventory records and present them with relevant works.

Price (Retail + Sale Price ) 

The value of a work is the second most crucial criterion recorded in an art inventory management system. However, the static value of a single artwork isn't the only factor that needs to be recorded through your art inventory software. Understanding how the value of specific artworks has evolved and how an artist's average pricing has grown over time can put a working artist's career into context. 

Location 

First and foremost, locating an artwork quickly and efficiently is the main objective of an effective art inventory management system. The work's current location (working artist's studio, on loan to museum show) should be immediately visible in an artwork's inventory record. This proves beneficial as inquiries come into the studio for specific artworks and special career milestones, such as the compilation of a catalog raisonné. 

Exhibition History 

Exhibition history is critical in identifying a unique artwork's significance related to an artist's overall practice. In addition to providing context for the work within the artist's studio, this well-documented history will also allow potential collectors to gauge how the work compares to the other pieces held in their collections. This will also prove helpful throughout an artwork's lifespan to accurately document its place in the greater pantheon of art history.

Artwork Status 

Sold or private collection, donated (necessary for tax purposes), on hold, consigned to a gallery. 

Collector Name / Contact Details 

This information should always remain private to you and doesn't need to be published for others to see. This column will help you keep an account of where your works are held, whether a private collection or corporate collection. It will also make sure that you can stay in contact with your collectors as you grow as an artist. 

Extra things to consider adding to your inventory; 

Edition 

If the artwork is an original or an edition, this information should be readily available. This will column come in handy if there are limited numbers of an edition left for purchase. The value of these pieces should also be specified in the database. For a numbered series, artists should be careful when entering information, such as artist's proofs, the prints a working artist keeps for their personal use, to denote that such works are not for sale in the system to not mistakenly promise a client these works.

Weight 

This is a significant column to have when working with sculpture or installation pieces that require precise metrics when it comes to shipping. Having this number already accounted for will save you time when a collector asks for a shipping quote. 

Patina 

Many artists have particular formulas that have been created over the years, while an extra thing to include this will be important when you're ready to start your Artist Legacy and Estate. 

Consignment Agreements

Do several galleries represent you and your work? Most galleries have differences in the percentage they take from a sale. This will help you keep straight which piece is consigned to which gallery and how much you've agreed to. 

There is a noticeable difference between artists whose artwork information is arranged in coordinated, uniform lists and those who hastily jot down pertinent information at the curator's or client's request.  

An art inventory management database should be easy to set up and even easier to export should the occasion arise. The working artist has too much work fulfilling commissions and preparing for shows to spend days implementing and maintaining art inventory management. Get it done right, and then it will all be there neat and organized for years to come!

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