Cut List Optimizer for Excel: Import Your Spreadsheet, Get a Layout

The usual spreadsheet method is to multiply width × length × quantity for every part, add it up, and divide by the sheet area. That treats plywood like liquid. Parts are rectangles that have to fit whole, with a saw kerf between them, so area math regularly comes in a sheet short.

Excel's Solver can be set up for one-dimensional cutting (lengths from bars), but it takes a custom model per job and it doesn't draw anything. For two-dimensional sheets there's no practical spreadsheet answer. You need a program that places each part, then counts the sheets.

That doesn't mean you have to give up the spreadsheet. Keep it as the source of the parts list, and send it to an optimizer when you need the count and the cutting diagram.

1. Open the optimizer and choose Import, in sheet or linear mode.
2. Pick your .xlsx, .xlsm or .csv file. If the workbook has more than one sheet, choose the one with your parts. A workbook with a "Parts" sheet and a "Stock" sheet imports both.
3. Check the column matching. Common headers are recognised automatically: Qty or Count for quantity, W or Width, L, Length or Height, Name, Part or Label, plus Material, Grain, and edge banding columns.
4. Confirm the units. Inches and millimeters are detected from the values, and fractions like 24 1/2 or 36-1/8 are read as numbers.
5. Run it. You get the sheet or bar count, a diagram for each one, and the yield.

Starting from scratch? The import dialog has a downloadable template with the columns already set up. Old .xls files aren't supported, so save them as .xlsx or CSV first. Google Sheets users can download the sheet as .xlsx or CSV.

The calculator at the top of this page has a typical spreadsheet-style list for three 600 mm base units, cut from 2440 × 1220 mm sheets with a 3 mm kerf:

• 6 sides @ 720 × 560 mm
• 3 bottoms @ 564 × 560 mm
• 6 rails @ 564 × 100 mm
• 3 shelves @ 564 × 520 mm

The spreadsheet answer is 4.58 m² of parts ÷ 2.98 m² per sheet = 1.54 sheets, so you'd buy two. The layout agrees: 2 sheets at 77.0% yield. What the layout adds is which part goes where, the cutting order, and a second sheet that's about a quarter empty. That's useful offcut if you know it's there.

The same import works in linear mode for lengths: a column for length, one for quantity, and optionally a name and material. That covers framing lumber, trim, pipe, bar and extrusion. Stock lengths can come from a second worksheet (6 m bar, 8 ft and 12 ft boards) so the optimizer can choose between them.

See the linear cut optimizer for how lengths are packed, and the Excel and CSV import guide for a step-by-step walkthrough.

After a sheet run, export the result as an Excel workbook with tabs for a summary, the cut list, a sheet-by-sheet breakdown, leftovers and a shopping list. CSV export is there too. It's handy for ordering, pricing a job, or keeping a record next to your original list. PDF exports the cutting diagrams for the saw, and DXF sends the sheet layout to a CNC router.

All of this is on the free plan: unlimited optimizations, up to 5 part sizes and 3 stock sizes per job.