When loss hits – stolen stock, damaged equipment, ruined inventory – the clock starts ticking. Insurers want a structured list of everything you lost, and your team is buried in receipts, photos, and emails. A total loss inventory list template in Google Sheets gives you the structure; thoughtful automation and AI agents give you scale.
Below are three tiers of maturity: manual, no‑code, and fully agentic with Simular.
1. Manual ways to build a total loss inventory list
These approaches suit very small events or teams just starting out.
- Start from a spreadsheet template
- Open Google Sheets.
- Click File > Import and upload any Excel template you already have, or a downloaded TLI template. See Google’s import guide: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6000292
- Standard columns to include: Item name, Category, Location, Date of loss, Cause, Quantity, Original cost, Current value, Notes, Claim status.
- Capture items room by room
- Walk the affected space (warehouse zone, store, rental unit) with a laptop or tablet.
- For each room or area, log all damaged or missing items as new rows.
- Use a consistent naming convention such as "Room – Item" (e.g., "Aisle 3 – Pallet Rack"), so it is easy to filter later.
- Add values and condition manually
- Review invoices, accounting records, or POS history to fill Original cost.
- Add Age (years / months) and Condition (new, average, worn) so your insurer can calculate depreciation.
- Use simple formulas like
=C2*D2 for Total value (Quantity * Original cost).
- Keep the sheet review‑ready
- Use filters to let adjusters quickly slice by category or location: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3540681
- Freeze header rows (View > Freeze > 1 row) so column titles stay visible.
- Protect formula ranges so nobody overwrites key calculations (Data > Protect sheets and ranges).
- Share with your insurer
Pros (manual): maximum control, zero extra tools, good for tiny events. Cons: slow, error prone, and expensive in hidden staff hours when losses are large.
2. No‑code automations on top of Google Sheets
Once you have a working template, you can bolt on lightweight automation without writing code.
- Use Google Forms as a front door
- Create a Google Form connected to your inventory Sheet: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6281888
- Add fields that map directly to your columns: Item, Location, Date of loss, Quantity, Estimated value, Photo URL.
- Give the form to field staff, property managers, or franchisees. Every submission becomes a new row in the TLI sheet.
- Standardize entries with data validation
- In Sheets, use Data > Data validation to create dropdowns for Category, Condition, and Claim status.
- This prevents typos like "electronics" vs "electroncis" that break your reporting.
- Google’s guide: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/186103
- Connect email or help desk via no‑code tools
- Use automation platforms like Zapier or Make to:
- Watch an inbox label such as "Claim – Loss Evidence".
- When a new email arrives, parse subject/body and push values into the Sheet (Item, Date, Source).
- Save attachments (photos, PDFs) to Google Drive and write the file link into the Notes column.
- The result: every loss‑related email automatically leaves a trace in your central inventory.
- Trigger follow‑ups inside Sheets
- Use conditional formatting (Format > Conditional formatting) so high‑value items or missing values turn red.
- Combine with email notifications using tools like Google Apps Script or no‑code connectors to alert a teammate when:
- Total value exceeds a threshold.
- A row is missing cost or documentation.
Pros (no‑code): big time savings, better data quality, still understandable by non‑technical staff. Cons: workflows can get brittle across many tools; still no true "hands‑off" execution.
3. Scaling with an AI computer agent (Simular)
For agencies, brokers, and multi‑site businesses dealing with repeated claims, the real unlock is delegating end‑to‑end computer work to an AI agent that uses your desktop, browser, and cloud apps like a human.
Method A: Agent‑driven evidence collection and logging
Workflow:
- You define the process once: where evidence lives (email folders, Drive, insurer portals), which Google Sheets template to use, and how rows should be structured.
- A Simular AI computer agent then:
- Opens your claims email inbox, downloads relevant attachments, and stores them in organized Drive folders.
- Logs into insurer or property‑management portals in the browser to copy item details, policy numbers, and claim IDs.
- Opens your Google Sheets TLI template and appends rows with item description, loss date, quantity, cost, and document links.
Pros:
- Removes hours of low‑value copying and pasting.
- Works consistently even across thousands of rows and multiple claims.
- Every action is transparent and inspectable in Simular Pro, so compliance teams can review exactly what the agent did.
Cons:
- Requires an initial investment of time to design and test the workflow.
You can see how Simular Pro is designed for these multi‑step desktop and browser workflows here: https://www.simular.ai/simular-pro
Method B: Agent as continuous reconciler and QA layer
Workflow:
- The agent is scheduled (or triggered via webhook) whenever a new loss event is opened.
- It:
- Scans your Google Sheet for incomplete rows (missing cost, condition, or documentation).
- Searches shared folders or CRMs for matching invoices or receipts.
- Fills in missing fields or leaves flagged comments where human judgment is needed.
- Generates a summary tab: total value by category, by location, and by policy.
Pros:
- Maintains an always‑current, claim‑ready TLI without constant human checking.
- Produces executive‑level summaries for owners and finance with no extra effort.
Cons:
- Needs clear access rules and guardrails, which Simular supports via transparent execution and modifiable plans.
Method C: White‑labelled service for agencies
If you are an agency or claims‑handling firm, you can:
- Standardize a master TLI Google Sheets template for all clients.
- Deploy a Simular agent per client or per carrier.
- Let the agent run the same cross‑app workflow (email, portals, Drive, Sheets) but on client‑specific credentials.
- Plug Simular’s webhook integration into your case‑management system so new claims automatically spin up an agent run.
Pros:
- Turns manual claim documentation into a scalable, productized service.
- Frees your team for negotiation, analytics, and growth instead of data entry.
Across all of these methods, the pattern is the same: Google Sheets provides the living, shared source of truth; automation and finally an AI computer agent handle the repetitive, high‑volume computer work that surrounds it. That is how you move from stressful, ad‑hoc loss reporting to a calm, predictable, and scalable process.
.svg)
