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John Normoyle

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Tracking sales
Nov 5^th, 2013 at 5:38pm

Hello all,
I am still very new to wood turning. However I am thinking if / when I get good enough to sell I wouldn't mind the extra income. So my question is for those of you who sell your work how do you track your sales and customers? Do you just use excel or access or ??? I am just trying to look at this from all perspectives. Thanks
P.S. I have looked through a lot of the pictures of the work that is turned out from you all, and I am truly stunned at the craftsmanship that I see.

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JimQuarles

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Re: Tracking sales
Reply #1 - Nov 5^th, 2013 at 11:47pm

John, I use spreadsheets to track inventory and sales. Every piece I make for sale, gets a number. Right now pens and similar small items are 13-A94, 13 = year finished, and pen number, A00 = 1100. Right now bowls and similar are 13N-019. Spreadsheet has pen style, description of blank, cost basis for the pen kit used, and anything I may have paid for the blank. Selling price, date, where sold and/or to whom it was sold,

When I cut a pen blank, it gets a number, but not a year until finished. So I have a couple dozen pens with numbers under 400 that never got done. A few of those old numbers got done and added to available inventory this year. My spreadsheet for started pens have the same layout as the inventory and sales sheets so I can cut and paste the line from there to inventory, and then again from inventory to sales. Inventory has asking price which usually doesn't change when shifted to sales. I also have a column for gift box cost which I don't charge for. That makes it easier to keep track of inventory value. Do not add anything to cost for your labor. That comes from the difference between selling price and materials cost.

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JimQuarles

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Re: Tracking sales
Reply #2 - Nov 5^th, 2013 at 11:54pm

These are the header labels for my spreadsheet. The column for ID # needs to be defined as a label column or it tries to subtract the number from the year. I forgot the column for the bank fee for when I sell using my Square card reader.

ID #, Buyer, Style, Blank, Kit cost, Blank cost, Ask Price, Received, GBox cost, Date, Bank Fee.

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« Last Edit: Nov 5^th, 2013 at 11:54pm by JimQuarles »

Mentor Basics, Pens, small stuff, Acrylics, EasyRougher.
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"Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time.
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Byron Courtney

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Re: Tracking sales
Reply #3 - Jan 5^th, 2014 at 10:03am

JimQuarles wrote on Nov 5^th, 2013 at 11:54pm:

These are the header labels for my spreadsheet. The column for ID # needs to be defined as a label column or it tries to subtract the number from the year. I forgot the column for the bank fee for when I sell using my Square card reader.

ID #, Buyer, Style, Blank, Kit cost, Blank cost, Ask Price, Received, GBox cost, Date, Bank Fee.

I am also planning on creating a sales sheet.
Could you post an example sheet you have?
I'm more visual than technical. Shocked

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Bill Neff

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Re: Tracking sales
Reply #4 - Jan 5^th, 2014 at 10:18am

I use an excel spreadsheet that has the item description, cost, and a field for "sold". The description is something like "Walnut bowl NE 10" . I group all like items into sections Bottlestoppers, Pens, Bowls, Boxes, Peppermills, etc. At a show I take a print out with me and just put a check mark in the sold box when an item sells. This lets me keep track of what I have and sell and can quickly tally up the $$ and compare it to the cashbox at night.

After a show or when I add to the inventory I just update the master file on the computer.

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JimQuarles WR Addict WR Patron Offline WR Rocks, BIG Time! Posts: 13,194 Glendale, AZ Arizona USA Gender:	Re: Tracking sales Reply #5 - Jan 5^th, 2014 at 1:14pm Bryon, I've emailed you a spreadsheet sample.
Back to top	Mentor Basics, Pens, small stuff, Acrylics, EasyRougher. Just Turnin' Around! Glendale, AZ "Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before." - Steven Wright IP Logged

Don Stephan

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Re: Tracking sales
Reply #6 - Jan 5^th, 2014 at 8:14pm

John:

One issue it's not too early to study is where/how you might sell your work. Some use Etsy or Pinterest, and you can look at work and prices. You could also start visiting art/craft shows, both open and juried. It's quite possible you would see a wide range of prices for very similar work, depending on the selling venue. No one venue is better or worse than another, just different. You might also begin approximating the time required for different items, and don't forget to ask people the time and dollar cost of the different venues.

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Byron Courtney WR Noob Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 14 Olathe Kansas USA Gender:	Re: Tracking sales Reply #7 - Jan 6^th, 2014 at 3:59pm JimQuarles wrote on Jan 5^th, 2014 at 1:14pm: Bryon, I've emailed you a spreadsheet sample. Thanks a lot Jim. That helps so much.
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John Normoyle Active Member Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 106 Manchester Tennessee USA Gender:	Re: Tracking sales Reply #8 - Jan 7^th, 2014 at 5:59pm Don, I had not thought about asking about how someone came to their price. I was kinda thinking it would be to personal and trying to get some kind of edge on pricing. I will look into that tho. I am not familiar with Pinterest. Is it similar to etsy? Thanks all for the information and support.
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Don Stephan

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Re: Tracking sales
Reply #9 - Jan 7^th, 2014 at 8:16pm

Sorry, I meant the dollar cost of the selling venue, such as commission for a gallery, application fee for a juried show, entry fee for a show, ancillary costs for display tables, signs, and so on; and the time spent preparing for a show, setting up and taking down, and unpacking.

There was some very helpful information posted here perhaps two years ago? describing an interesting approach to pricing work. Can't remember exactly, but there were I think 3 primary considerations (wood, design, ...) each was scored 1, 2, or 3, they were added and the sum multiplied by a unit price.

I add the diameter to the height to get a total inches. In the spreadsheet, that is multiplied by a standard factor, by an additional factor for more difficult woods, special woods, and a fixed amount added for beads, cove foot, and so on to get a final price.

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