Sales — June 2026
Orders and custom-order deposits recorded as income for the month.
Service-business checklist · Handmade selling
A monthly finance checklist for handmade sellers
Running a handmade shop means your money lives in a hundred small pieces — a stack of orders, a bin of supply receipts, the monthly platform-fee statements, and the custom commissions that get paid in halves. Without a monthly routine, the materials receipts pile up and the fiscal-year folder is empty until panic season. This checklist gives makers a repeatable monthly pass: record what sold, file every supply and shipping receipt, save the platform-fee invoices, and reconcile which custom orders are still unpaid. Everything is entered by hand in Cash Workspace; there is no marketplace sync.
The problem
Why handmade-shop finances get out of hand
Volume is high and each order is small, so records and receipts accumulate faster than they get filed.
- Materials receipts — yarn, clay, beads, packaging — pile up unsorted for months.
- Platform-fee and ad statements download somewhere and are never saved with the year.
- A custom order took a deposit and you can't recall if the balance ever came in.
- Shipping-supply costs blur together with product materials.
- The fiscal-year folder stays empty until you need it all at once.
The monthly routine
Close out the maker month
Set aside an evening near month-end and run the same pass over the month's selling.
- 1
Record orders and deposits
Log the month's orders and any custom-order deposits as income records so the month's sales are written down, not just in the app.
- 2
Log materials receipts
File receipts for raw materials — fabric, clay, hardware, findings — and categorize them so supply spend is grouped.
- 3
Log shipping-supply receipts
File boxes, mailers, tape, and label costs separately so shipping supplies don't blur into product materials.
- 4
File platform-fee invoices
Save the monthly marketplace fee, listing, and ad statements as documents in the month's folder.
- 5
Reconcile unpaid custom orders
Go through open commissions and mark which deposits are still awaiting a balance.
- 6
Update the fiscal-year folder
Move the month's records and receipts into the year folder so tax season starts assembled.
Record structure
What to record each month
A small, consistent set of records keeps maker income and supply spend grouped and findable.
- Order / sale
- The month's orders recorded as income, with date and a customer or order reference.
- Custom-order deposit
- Deposits taken on commissions, noting which order they belong to.
- Balance status
- Whether a custom order is deposit-only, balance due, or paid in full.
- Materials receipt
- Raw-material purchases attached and categorized as supplies.
- Shipping-supply receipt
- Mailers, boxes, and label costs, kept separate from product materials.
- Platform-fee invoice
- Marketplace fee, listing, and ad statements saved as documents.
- Category tag
- A consistent category so the same spend type groups across months.
Example setup
An example maker month
One way to organize a month of handmade selling in your workspace.
Materials receipts
Raw-material purchases — fabric, clay, findings — attached and categorized.
Shipping supplies
Box, mailer, tape, and label receipts kept apart from materials.
Platform statements
Monthly marketplace fee and ad invoices saved as documents.
2026 fiscal year
The rolling year folder where each closed month is filed.
Common mistakes
Mistakes to avoid
- Letting materials receipts accumulate for months instead of filing them monthly.
- Mixing shipping supplies with product materials so spend types blur.
- Forgetting to save the platform-fee statements with the rest of the month.
- Taking a custom-order deposit and losing track of the balance.
- Leaving the fiscal-year folder empty until tax season.
How it helps
How Cash Workspace helps
Records by category
Tag materials, shipping supplies, and fees with consistent categories so the same spend type groups across the year.
Receipts and statements attached
Attach supply receipts and platform-fee invoices to their records so documents stay with the numbers.
Deposit and balance status
Mark which custom orders are deposit-only versus paid so unpaid commissions stay visible.
A rolling year folder
File each closed month into the fiscal-year folder so the year is ready when you need it.
Related
Related maker and checklist workflows
Handmade order tracker
Track orders and custom commissions by status.
Etsy finance organizer
Organize the whole shop, not just one month.
Materials & supplies receipts
Keep raw-material and supply receipts grouped.
Ecommerce expense tracker
Organize fees, shipping, and platform costs.
All finance workflows
Browse the full Cash Workspace workflow library.
FAQ
Handmade seller finance checklist FAQ
- Does Cash Workspace pull my orders from Etsy?
- No. There is no marketplace sync. You record orders, deposits, and fee statements by hand, which is exactly why the monthly checklist exists — to keep the manual records current.
- How do I keep materials and shipping supplies separate?
- Use a different category tag for each. Categorizing as you file keeps raw materials, packaging, and shipping supplies grouped distinctly across the year.
- Can I see which custom orders are still unpaid?
- Yes. Mark each custom order's balance status so deposit-only commissions stay visible. Cash Workspace does not send reminders or collect payment.
Organizing help — not tax, accounting, or legal guidance
Cash Workspace is a free workspace for organizing invoices, expenses, receipts, clients, and documents. This page is organizing guidance only — not tax, accounting, legal, or bookkeeping guidance. Cash Workspace does not connect to your bank, does not scan or read your receipts for you, and does not move or collect payments. Whether an expense is deductible depends on your situation, so confirm it with a qualified accountant or tax professional.
Close out the maker month in one pass
Start a free workspace and keep orders, supply receipts, and platform statements grouped by month so your year-end folder fills itself as you go.