Inventory accounting at craft shows [long]
John Trant (aka Boxes-n-Bowls)
>I would like to know how other turners track their inventory during craft shows. On my inventory sheet, I simply add a tick mark every time I sell identically priced items (specifically, tree ornaments or magic wands). However, most of my wares are "one-of" vessels each with a different price. I put a sticker on the bottom of each vessel with the price and an inventory number. The same information is on my computer-generated inventory sheet (along with sales tax, total cost, and space for notations about who purchased it, check/CC number, discount, etc). I rarely write out a receipt but I have them available.
The problems with my system are:
1) I am constantly forgetting to write on my inventory sheet when I get busy.
2) A price change requires edits to the sticker, the inventory sheet, and the computer file.
3) Clerical errors produce nagging problems that screw up my accounting.
4) I have no proof of sales (after I make the bank deposit) for items paid by check or cash.
Am I making this harder than it needs to be or should I implement more accurate accounting practices? Keep in mind that my "day job" is that of a research professor at a large university so I have no idea how businesses in the real world truly function.
I would like to change to a sheet with 4 columns labeled: vessels, lidded boxes, ornaments, and wands. At the time of sale, I would write down the price in the "boxes" or "vessels" column, or make a tick mark for "wands" or "ornaments". Unfortunately with this system, I lose information about the value of my inventory, types of vessels sold (bowls, hollow forms, carved/textured), discounts given, and checks of my clerical errors.
I would love to streamline the process as much as possible but I also need to maintain accounting accuracy for my fledgling craft business (Boxes & Bowls Woodworks). Any and all comments are welcomed.
John
