How to Track Inventory for a Craft Business
Tracking inventory means knowing what you have, where it is, and when you'll run out. For a maker, that covers finished products and the supplies that go into them. You can do it with a notebook or a spreadsheet, as long as you do it the same way every time.
Count two kinds of stock
Most makers only track one kind, and that's where the surprises come from.
- Finished goods: the bars, jars, loaves, mugs or earrings you can sell today.
- Materials and packaging: oils, wax, wicks, flour, clay, beads, labels, boxes, bags, ribbon.
Finished goods tell you what to bring to a market. Materials tell you what you can make next week. If you run out of jar lids on the morning you planned to pour, the problem was an inventory problem.
Keep everything in one place
Pick one home for your numbers and stick with it. A spreadsheet works. So does a notebook that lives in your studio. The worst setup is a count on a sticky note, another in your phone, and a third in your head.
Whatever you choose, it needs to answer three questions fast:
- How many of each product do I have right now?
- How much of each material do I have left?
- What did I make, sell or use since my last count?
Give every product a name and a code
Consistent names save you from counting the same thing twice under different labels. "Lavender soap," "lav bar" and "Lavender 4oz" are one product in your head and three rows in your spreadsheet.
Make a short code for each item, called a SKU. Keep it readable: a scent or type, then a size. Something like LAV-BAR or CIN-JAR-L works. If you sell in more than one size, each size gets its own line, because each one sells and runs out on its own.
Measure materials in the unit you actually use
You buy oil by the bottle and use it by the ounce. You buy flour by the bag and use it by the cup or gram. Track in the unit you use in your recipe, and note how much comes in each package.
This makes two things easier. You can see how many batches a supply will cover. And you can work out what each batch costs, which feeds directly into your prices. If you haven't done that yet, our free handmade pricing calculator is a good place to start.
Log each batch when you make it
A batch is the moment materials turn into products. Record it every time, with these details:
- The date you made it
- What you made and how many units came out
- The materials you used
- Anything that didn't work out, like seconds, breakage or a failed set
That last one matters. If a batch gives you fewer sellable items than the recipe suggested, your real cost per unit is higher than you think. Counting what you actually got keeps your numbers honest.
If you make soap, candles or anything else that needs to cure or set, add a ready-to-sell date. Those items are in your stock, but you can't sell them yet. Mark them separately so you don't promise a customer something that isn't ready.
Count out and count in at every market
Markets are where inventory gets messy. Product leaves your shelf, sells in small pieces all day, and comes home in a box nobody counts. A simple routine fixes that.
- Before you go: write down how many of each item you're packing.
- While you're there: record sales as they happen, not from memory at the end of the day.
- When you're home: count what's left and compare it to what you packed.
If packed minus left doesn't match what you sold, something is off. Maybe a sale went unrecorded, a sample got given away, or something was damaged. You want to find that out now, not at tax time.
The count-out sheet also becomes your pack list for the next event. After a few markets you'll see which items sell out and which come home every time. Our "Was this market worth it?" calculator helps you judge the event itself once you know what you sold.
Set a reorder point for each material
A reorder point is the amount at which you buy more. Don't wait until the bottle is empty. Think about how long your supplier takes to ship, and how long you can go without that ingredient before production stops.
Set the point for each material on its own. Wax, wicks and fragrance may all need different lead times. Slow-shipping and hard-to-find items should get a higher reorder point. Items you can grab at a local store any day can run lower.
Write it next to the material's name. When a count dips under it, add it to your order list right then.
Do a physical count on a schedule
Records drift. You'll forget to log a gift, a spill, a swap at a friend's booth. A regular physical count catches the drift before it grows.
Pick a rhythm you'll keep, such as the end of each month or the week before a big event. Count the shelves, then compare to your records. When they differ, fix the record and make a note of why. You'll quickly spot patterns, like one item that keeps going missing or a supply that's used faster than your recipe says.
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
A spreadsheet can carry you a long way. It starts to strain when you sell in several places at once: markets, an online shop, a few wholesale accounts. Then the same product is being sold from the same shelf in three directions, and every sale has to be subtracted from one number.
That's the point where it helps to have inventory, batches and sales in the same place. Mind the Booth has an inventory feature built for handmade products for this reason. Whatever tool you use, the habits above are the part that matters.
Questions people ask
How often should I update my inventory?
Log batches and sales when they happen, not later. Do a full physical count on a regular schedule, such as monthly. Also count before and after each market.
Do I need to track small supplies like labels and bags?
Yes, if running out would stop you from selling. Packaging and labels are easy to forget and often have the longest wait when you reorder. Give them a reorder point like any other material.
What's the simplest way to start?
Make one list of your products and one list of your materials, with a current count for each. Update the counts after every batch and every market. Add detail like SKUs and reorder points as you go.
Mind the Booth is built for makers who sell at markets, in shops and online. It's free to start, and you can sign up here.