Generate unique Stock Keeping Unit codes for your products and variants — then export as CSV for bulk upload to Shopify, Etsy, or your inventory system.
A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is your own internal shorthand for every product and variant you sell. It's typically 8–12 alphanumeric characters that encode details like product type, size, colour, or scent. Unlike UPC barcodes, SKUs are created by you and unique to your business. Consistent SKUs unlock accurate inventory counts, faster picking, and better sales reporting.
Track these SKUs in real time. Craftybase syncs your SKUs across Etsy, Shopify and more — so stock levels update automatically as you sell.
Try free for 14 days| Product | Attribute 1 | Attribute 2 | Attribute 3 | Generated SKU |
|---|
A Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) is your own shorthand for every product and variant you sell. Because no two SKUs are alike, they act as the single source of truth across purchasing, production, sales channels and accounting. With a clean SKU system you can:
There's no single "right" SKU format, but the best ones follow a predictable pattern: Category – Product – Variant – Size. Here are examples for common maker niches to get you started:
Encode the wax type, scent, and container size so you can tell variants apart at a glance.
| Product | SKU | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Soy candle, Lavender, 8 oz | CND-SOY-LAV-8OZ | Category-Wax-Scent-Size |
| Beeswax taper, Unscented | CND-BEE-UNS-TAP | Category-Wax-Scent-Style |
| Wax melt, Cinnamon, 6-pack | MLT-SOY-CIN-6PK | Category-Wax-Scent-Pack |
Include the soap base, scent, and weight. If you sell both bars and liquid soap, lead with the form.
| Product | SKU | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Cold-process bar, Oatmeal, 4 oz | BAR-CP-OAT-4OZ | Form-Process-Scent-Weight |
| Liquid soap, Tea Tree, 250 mL | LIQ-HM-TEA-250 | Form-Process-Scent-Volume |
| Shampoo bar, Rosemary | BAR-SH-ROS | Form-Type-Scent |
Encode the material, style, and finish so variants like "gold vs silver" are instantly distinguishable.
| Product | SKU | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Sterling silver hoop earrings, Small | EAR-SS-HOP-SM | Type-Material-Style-Size |
| Gold-fill pendant, Leaf | PEN-GF-LEA | Type-Material-Design |
| Polymer clay stud, Floral, Blue | STD-PC-FLO-BLU | Type-Material-Design-Colour |
Lead with the product category, then flavour and size. Keep SKUs short enough to fit on small labels.
| Product | SKU | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Sourdough loaf, Plain, Large | BRD-SD-PLN-LG | Category-Style-Flavour-Size |
| Chocolate cupcake, Dozen | CUP-CHO-12 | Category-Flavour-Qty |
| Granola, Honey Almond, 12 oz | GRA-HON-ALM-12 | Category-Flavour-Variant-Size |
Encode the product type, key ingredient, and size. This helps distinguish products that look similar on the shelf.
| Product | SKU | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Lip balm, Vanilla, 0.15 oz | LIP-VAN-015 | Type-Scent-Size |
| Face serum, Vitamin C, 1 oz | SER-VITC-1OZ | Type-Ingredient-Size |
| Body butter, Lavender, 8 oz | BUT-LAV-8OZ | Type-Scent-Size |
Managing dozens of SKUs across multiple sales channels?Craftybase keeps every SKU, stock count, and cost synced across Etsy, Shopify, and your own records — so you never oversell or lose track of inventory.
Try free for 14 days →Aim for 8–12 characters. Shorter SKUs print clearly on small tags and are faster to type. But don't go so short that you can't tell products apart. A good test: can you identify the product from the SKU alone, without looking it up?
Skip the letters O and I — they look too much like 0 and 1 on labels and in spreadsheets. Avoid spaces and special characters like #, &, or accented letters, which can cause import errors on marketplaces.
Excel and Google Sheets strip leading zeros unless cells are formatted as text. Start SKUs with a letter to avoid this common headache.
Pick one SKU format and use it across every sales channel — Etsy, Shopify, craft fairs, wholesale orders. Mismatched SKUs across channels are the fastest way to end up with wrong stock counts and overselling.
When you discontinue a product, retire the SKU — don't recycle it. Reusing a code corrupts your historical sales data and can trigger duplicate-SKU errors on marketplaces.
It's easy to confuse SKUs with other identifiers. Here's how they compare:
| Identifier | Designed for | Key traits |
|---|---|---|
| SKU | Internal operations — inventory, manufacturing, analytics | Alphanumeric, any length/structure you choose; unique within your business; may be encoded into a barcode or left as text |
| UPC / EAN | External retail & supply chain — point-of-sale, distributors | 12- (UPC) or 13-digit (EAN) numeric codes issued by GS1; globally unique; must be printed as a barcode |
| Barcode (e.g., Code-128, QR) | Machine reading of any underlying code (SKU, UPC, lot number) | Visual pattern (lines or squares) scannable by devices; carries data but is not the data itself |
Pro tip: Pair your SKUs with lot numbers to create full traceability from raw materials through to sale — essential for quality control and regulatory compliance.
This tool is built for any maker who sells physical products and needs a consistent way to identify them. Specifically:
If you want to go beyond generating codes and actually track stock levels, costs, and sales against each SKU, Craftybase handles it automatically across your entire product line.
A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique identifier used by businesses to track inventory. It typically contains alphanumeric characters that represent details such as product type, size, color, or other distinguishing features. Having clear, consistent SKUs helps ensure accurate inventory management and streamlined order fulfillment.
SKUs allow you to quickly identify specific products in your inventory, making it easier to manage stock levels, track sales performance, and avoid mix-ups. They're especially helpful if you sell variations of the same product (e.g., different sizes or colors) across multiple sales channels like Etsy, Shopify, or your own website. Craftybase can track your SKUs across all sales channels automatically.
There's no strict rule, but most sellers prefer 8-12 characters for readability and consistency. Longer SKUs can capture more product information but may be harder to manage. The Craftybase SKU Generator can help you strike the right balance between detail and simplicity.
Yes. You're free to edit your SKUs at any time, although it's best to finalize a consistent SKU format early to avoid confusion. If you sell on multiple platforms, remember to update the SKUs everywhere to maintain consistency and accurate product tracking.
No. While both SKUs and barcodes/UPCs uniquely identify items, SKUs are internal and typically created by the business. Barcodes or UPCs are standardized codes recognised by scanners and are often issued by external organisations. Craftybase's SKU Generator focuses on helping you create internal SKUs for inventory management.
Use letters A-Z and numbers 0-9. Dashes (-) or underscores (_) are safe separators. Avoid spaces and special characters such as #, &, /, or accented letters, and consider skipping easily confused letters like O and I.
Shopify caps SKU strings at 16 characters and recommends 4-8 for readability. Etsy and Amazon do not set strict limits but best practice is to stay under 40 characters; most sellers keep SKUs in the 8-12 character range. Learn more about using SKUs on Etsy.
Yes. Each product variant needs a unique SKU across every marketplace to prevent duplicate-SKU errors and keep inventory counts and analytics accurate.
Absolutely. Any alphanumeric SKU can be encoded into a barcode such as Code-128 or a QR code using online generators or label-printing software; the underlying SKU text remains unchanged.
No. Retire the code instead. Reusing an SKU can corrupt historical sales data and trigger duplicate-SKU conflicts on marketplaces.
Both are technically safe, but dashes tend to print and scan more clearly on labels. Avoid other separators like spaces, slashes, or periods, which can cause import or URL encoding issues.
Yes. Excel and Google Sheets strip leading zeros unless the cells are formatted as text or with a custom number format. Format columns before import or avoid placing zeros at the start of the SKU or prefix the code with a non-zero character to keep the zeros intact.
Craftybase syncs your SKUs across Etsy, Shopify and more — so inventory levels update automatically as you sell. No more spreadsheets, no more overselling, no more guesswork.
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