Staying organized at craft shows

[Spicey477]

Ok, first, I know this is going to sound ridiculous.

I have done two craft shows, one being a whirlwind of unpreparedness and the other being a whirlwind of busyness. Both of them I walk away unsure of my numbers sold and money earned. Can you seasoned vets recommend a way to stay organized in your sales during a show? I have one coming up on 2/1 that I would love to feel confident in my organization skillz!

Thanks in advance!

 

[jcatblum]

Just today I was working on putting my soaps in alphabetical order. I hate diggin under a table not being able to find what I need!
I find it easiest to have a count of what I take to the show, then count again after, I always want to know what scents sold best. I use the SquareUp app to record all my sales. You can keep up with everything easily as long as you enter every sale as it happens. Also if you log into your SquareUp account online you will get a more detailed report, knowing what hours you sold the most & what item was your best seller.

 

[pamielynn]

Yes - I also take a pre-show count of everything I'm bringing. Then I use Paypal Here for every.single.sale. What Paypal tells me I sold should balance against what I have left at the end of the show. I am switching to Square exclusively this year, though - but same concept. You really must get in the habit of taking inventory and recording even the cash sales.

 

[Ancel]

I count before the market - and write it down - and then again afterwards. Then I write in my recipe / note book how many of each soap I sold from which batch, and I keep a running tally of my inventory on a big chalkboard. I too want to know what I'm selling, and how fast they're going. I make really small batches, so it's super easy of me to run out of something if I don't keep focused

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Counting before and after is the most simple, but then you have to know if you have any theft of stock or not. Some sort of app would be best for me, or even a paper-based tally system (sold a bar of soap x, put a mark in the area for soap x) is better than nothing.

 

[Spicey477]

Sorry all, I wrote back last night, but the app ate my post. Thank you all for your info and tips! Love y'all!

I actually have kept track of what I took, and what I brought home, and by scent as well. However, it has been a bit of a cluster each time and I have my Mom or my sister helping and little sheets of paper with info that get lost and misplaced etc...

I use the Square reader, and at my first show I had inputted each scent and my 3 for 20 deal in the reader and at each swipe I chose accordingly. Well, at my second show I put the Square on, and all of that info was gone for some reason so I was just flying with the wind and I was CRAZY.

Another mess up by me is I took cash to make change and I didn't remember how much I took, and...I had to borrow a few bucks from my Mom when I ran out of ones. I know I sound like I am completely backwards, and it is embarrassing that I am not keeping track of stuff better, I promise I am not really like this in real life (well, maybe I am...chasing around a 4 year old and 1 year old makes for a VERY CRAZY MOM!

I signed up for the free trial of Craftybase to help me get organized with inventory and cost. So far so good but the data entry is easy but just takes time to do it all. I need to start plugging in recipes and really get my cost straight. My hubby is an Excel wiz but for some reason I need the pretty of Craftybase to make me interested in putting in the info!

 

[shunt2011]

I keep an excel file with all my products and how many of each I have and take to each event. I then take inventory when I get hom and restock what needs replacing. I try to make it easy as I do quite a lot of shows as well as a weekely farmer's market. For how much I make at the shows I always start with 200.00. If I take any money out for food or other purchases I write it down.

 

[cmzaha]

I simply count money in and money out. Makes my life easier. I simply do not have the time nor desire to count each individual bar that goes to market. I know when a batch is running low and need to resupply. I have been doing multiple markets per week for 5 yrs+ and just simply know my stock. I do keep all printouts from my soapcalc so I can go back and see how long it took to sell out of a particular soap or lotion. I store all my soaps in the flat large plastic buckets and put soaps of each fragrance out on the tables. I use elevation and can get up to 50 different soaps on the table stacking 6-10 of each fo. During a very busy market it becomes impossible to hunt in buckets for soaps and it takes you away from your customers since you either have to stoop down to get to the containers or drawers or turn around to get them out. This way you can judge inventory and still help anyone that comes to your booth. I can still help 1 customer and hand a smelly sample to a new customer that has come to the booth

 

[Cutter]

Be like Santa. Make a list and check it twice. You should have a checklist of everything you need. You should then have a plan on paper about how it's setup and the order it's setup in, where it goes, and your tear down. When you plan out all the stages things run much more like clockwork than simply trying to remember and guess.

 

[Miz Jenny]

I'm so busy at shows, I don't have time to note every soap or body product sold. I take my "bank" and anything over is a sale and I have to always remember to count my Square sales. I keep my money and bank in a large waist pack so I don't have to worry about theft. I inventory before and after markets or shows. It's all a part of doing business. I take photos at every venue to I remember set-up. I put out as much product as possible and keep the rest in boxes easy to access. This part of the business should be fun and the more organized, the more fun.

 

[jcatblum]

My girls both keep a change purse on them. We have small purses that are half purse half wallet & the strap slings across your body. I have picked a half dozen nice name brand leather ones up at thrift stores for a couple bucks. During shows large bills go in the small zipper section, so they don't get mixed in with smaller bills. After each show we count out the money, see if we need anymore change & remove all large bills. Both girls do each show with me & always keep a $70 change purse on them. Then we keep a money bag locked in the glove box with more change. Usually $140 in change is enough for each show. Occasionally we get a bunch of $20's on small purchases & I go to the glove box & change them out.