Etsy Inventory Spreadsheet: Stock, Listings and Fees

Etsy keeps a quantity on each listing and lowers it when something sells, which is all the inventory management it does. It doesn't know what you sold at last Saturday's market, what you have left to make more with, or what each sale leaves after its fees. So a maker who sells on Etsy and anywhere else needs a sheet that sets what's really on the shelf against what Etsy says, and flags the gap before it becomes an order you can't fill. In the example below, an earring maker has 18 pairs of a best seller but 25 listed on Etsy, an oversold order waiting to happen, and finds that a stud set at $12 leaves only $2.46 a sale after Etsy's fees, postage and its own cost. Below is what Etsy tracks and doesn't, each part of the sheet, Etsy's fees, keeping the counts in step, and a free template.

The short version

• Etsy tracks a quantity per listing; it doesn't track materials, other channels or what a sale leaves.
• Keep stock on hand in your own sheet, and compare it with Etsy's listed quantity.
• Listed more than you have: an oversold order. Listed fewer: sales missed.
• Update Etsy after every market or wholesale order, not at month end.
• Work out Etsy's fees on each listing: they're about 10% of a sale, plus 45 cents.
• Keep materials against par, so a best seller doesn't stop for want of ear wires.
• TaroStack keeps materials, batches and stock; it doesn't connect to Etsy. More below.

What Etsy tracks, and what it doesn't

Each Etsy listing has a quantity, and Etsy lowers it with each sale and hides the listing at zero. That's enough for a shop that sells only on Etsy and makes nothing ahead. It isn't enough when the same earrings sell at a market, to a boutique and on Etsy, because Etsy can't see the other two, and it says nothing about the clay, findings and cards they're made from, or what each listing earns after fees. How to keep track of stock in general is in how to keep track of inventory.

The listings sheet

Casco Clay Studio, a made-up polymer clay jeweler in Portland, Maine, I use in these examples, sells on Etsy and at a Saturday market:

The dangles sold seven pairs at the market and Etsy still shows 25; one more busy week online and the shop ships an order it can't fill. The stud sets are the opposite: ten more in the drawer than Etsy offers. The statement earrings are below their make-at level of 8, so the sheet says to make 10. "Left a sale" is the price, less the cost each, the postage and mailer, and Etsy's fees, with free shipping built into the price.

Etsy's fees on a sale

For a US shop, Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee, charged again after each sale on a listing with more than one item, and a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price plus any shipping and gift wrap you charge (Etsy), and Etsy Payments takes 3% plus $0.25 of the whole sale, tax and shipping included (Etsy Payments). On the $15 dangles with free shipping, that's $0.20 + $0.98 + $0.45 + $0.25 = $1.88, about 12.5% of the price. On the $12 stud set it's $1.59, and after its $6.50 cost and $1.45 of postage it leaves $2.46, which says the set is underpriced. Offsite ads fees aren't included; check Etsy's fees page, because rates change. How to set a price that pays after fees is in how to price handmade items.

Keeping the counts in step

The gap between the shelf and Etsy opens every time something sells somewhere else. So the sheet is updated after each market, each wholesale delivery and each batch, and Etsy's quantities are changed the same day. A count once a month catches the rest: miscounts, a pair that broke, a gift. For pieces that are made to order, set the Etsy quantity to what you can make in your processing time, not what's on the shelf.

Materials

The order column fills each material back to par in whole packs. Running out of ear wires stops every dangle at once, so the findings get a generous par. How to set one is in how much inventory to keep on hand.

Get the template

Download the Etsy inventory spreadsheet. Two sheets: listings, with stock on hand, the quantity listed on Etsy, a check for oversold and underlisted listings, what to make, Etsy's fees on a sale from rates you can change, and what each sale leaves; and materials against par, with what to order. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.

Where this stops working

Fifty listings with variations, a market every Saturday, three boutiques, an Etsy shop and a Shopify site, and materials that run out in the busy season. Two counts, the sheet and Etsy, have to be kept in step by hand, and a sheet can't take the clay and findings off stock when a batch is made.

How TaroStack does it

TaroStack keeps materials, batches and stock. Plainly: it doesn't connect to Etsy; Shopify and Square are its sales channels, so Etsy quantities are still changed by hand.

Materials and batches. Each design is a recipe of its clay, findings and card, so recording a batch takes them off stock at what you paid and gives the cost of a pair. The reorder list works in days of cover against each supplier's lead time.

One count for every channel. Stock is counted on a phone, at the market too, with no signal. TaroStack connects to Shopify, which we set up with you, and to Square; Etsy and market sales are recorded against the same count, so the number you copy into Etsy is the real one.

And what each design earns. Margins are reported by product and by customer, so the listing that's underpriced after fees shows up.

Recipes, batches, counting and margins by product and customer are on every plan, from $49 a month, with Shopify or Square; both are on Standard at $99. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.

Questions people also ask

Does Etsy have inventory management?

Etsy keeps a quantity on each listing and lowers it when something sells. It doesn't track materials, sales on other channels or production, so makers who sell elsewhere keep their own count.

How do I keep track of inventory on Etsy?

Keep stock on hand in your own sheet, compare it with each listing's Etsy quantity, and update Etsy the same day as every market, wholesale order or batch. Count everything once a month.

How much are Etsy fees on a sale?

For a US shop: a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee on the price plus shipping, and payment processing of 3% plus $0.25 on the whole sale. On a $15 item with free shipping, that's $1.88.

What should an Etsy inventory spreadsheet include?

Each listing with stock on hand, the quantity on Etsy, a level to make more at, the price, your cost and postage, Etsy's fees and what a sale leaves; and a materials list against par.