Inventory, manufacturing process, business success topics for small DTC manufacturers.
inventory management
Shopify tracks finished products. It doesn't track raw materials, recipes, or what it cost to make each item. Here's how to build the inventory layer Shopify is missing — specifically for Shopify sellers who manufacture what they sell.
bookkeeping tax
Learn how to calculate Cost of Goods Sold for your handmade business. Covers the COGS formula, materials, labour, overhead, weighted average costing, pricing, and Schedule C reporting.
Shopify tracks what you sell — not what goes into making it. Here's how to set up a real batch manufacturing workflow so your production runs are planned, costed, and synced.
Schedule C Part III is the section that trips up most handmade sellers at tax time. Here's what COGS actually means for makers, what to include, and how to fill it out correctly.
pricing
Real COGS benchmark data from 1.3 million order lines across 11 maker niches. Find out if your materials cost percentage is typical — or a warning sign.
Selling on Etsy and Shopify? Your COGS is different on each platform — and most makers never account for this. Here's how to track it accurately across both channels.
You launched your Shopify store. Now your accountant is asking questions you can't answer. This guide covers Shopify bookkeeping: payout reconciliation, COGS tracking, sales tax, and the tools that actually work for product businesses.
Learn the COGS formula step by step with real-world examples for small manufacturers. We cover what to include, what to exclude, inventory valuation methods, and how to report COGS on your taxes.
WooCommerce doesn't track COGS natively. Compare plugin options against dedicated manufacturing software, and see why product businesses producing their own goods need more than a static cost field.
QuickBooks is excellent accounting software — but it wasn't built for makers who manufacture products. Here's an honest look at what it does well, where it breaks down for small manufacturers, and how to build a system that actually works.
QuickBooks tracks your money. Craftybase calculates your costs. Here's exactly what each tool does for COGS, why they differ, and how makers use both together.
handmade success
Looking for inventory management software that actually works with QuickBooks? Here's our 2026 roundup—plus why most integrations fail makers and what to look for instead.
Learn how to track inventory in QuickBooks Online and Desktop, and what to do when it doesn't fit your workflow. We explain what QuickBooks handles well, where it falls short, and how Craftybase helps makers stay on top of materials, COGS, and production.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is discontinued. Its replacement, QuickBooks Solopreneur, still can't track inventory or calculate COGS. Here's what Etsy makers actually need.
If your handmade business sells physical products, Form 1125-A is how you report your cost of goods sold to the IRS. Here's exactly what each line means, and a worked example for makers.
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Because they don't know what their products actually cost to make.
Every week, one practical tip on pricing, materials, and COGS — the numbers that turn a busy craft business into a profitable one.
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