Now that I’m selling on Etsy and making income how do I track this income for my tax records? There must be an easy way to track my Etsy outgoing expenses and daily income but how?
Using Excel To Track Your Etsy Expenses and Income
Note: I am not an affiliate marketer for the Excel Spreadsheet Flippd. The Flippd Spreadsheet (outlined below) is a tool I use daily. This product keeps my Etsy shop finances in order and is simple to use.
Lisa Lividoti – Article Author
I’ve been selling antiques on Etsy for many years and I have always struggled with my finances.
I started my Etsy journey with just a simple hard cover expense ledger. A handwritten ledger to record all my daily income and expenses did the trick. It worked well for the first few months however it took a lot of time to manually record each line item.
Excel: An Easier Way
As I am always on the computer, using Excel to track my income seemed like the next logical step.
I discovered that one of my favorite YouTubers Husslin’ Hooks has created a spreadsheet for resellers just like us. PERFECT!
The name of the spreadsheet is THE FLIPPD SPREADSHEET. I decided to give this new
“Resellers’ Spreadsheet” a try, and I’m so glad that I did.
The cost of this spreadsheet at the time of this article is $50.00 US. This product is created by a husband and wife team that have made reselling their full-time job.
Any reseller of any size will benefit from using this spreadsheet. This spreadsheet will help you track several key components of your business such as your inventory, daily expenses and daily income.
This spreadsheet will help you calculate your mileage with a mileage calculator. If you travel at all for your business, even if it’s to a local shop, keeping track of your mileage for easy tax deductions is at your fingertips. Another great feature of this spreadsheet is the automated reports. Oh the reports! One of my favorite parts of this spreadsheet is the reports feature.
Imagine seeing a report with a clear summary of exactly how much was spent and how much income was received for your business annually? I’m happy to say this spreadsheet does all of this and more.
What Will The Flippd Spreadsheet Track?
Come along with me as we step thought the day of an Etsy Seller. Each step below can be tracked on your new Flippd spreadsheet to keep your records in great order and ready for tax season. This Spreadsheet tracks your inventory, your income, expenses and even car mileage.
To me purchasing this spreadsheet was money well spent.
Step 1: Add Items To Your Inventory
Once an item is listed into your shop you are ready to add it into your physical inventory.
To keep track of your items with the Flippd spreadsheet simply add your item to the Excel Master Inventory Sheet as show below. You simply GO TO THE INVENTORY TAB and enter:
- The product description
- The product category ( clothing, mug, t-shirt etc)
- Cost of goods
- Date listed
- Storage Location
Step 2: Recording Your Item’s Expenses
How much did it cost you for your listed item?
Did you purchase some yarn at Michel’s Crafts to create your item, or maybe you purchased your antiques at auction to resell? All of these out-of-pocket expense listed above need to be documented.
Tracking business expenses help you get ready for taxes. Why scramble as many resellers do at tax time to show deductions. If you track each expense of your business this program will automatically be added to a summary table report, so you can track your expenses fully and view a graph at a glance. What more could a reseller ask for? Take the stress out of record keeping and record these expenses as they arrive and your golden.
To input your expense simply GO TO THE EXPENSES TAB and enter:
- Enter the expense description ( IE: yarn, bubble wrap, any material cost)
- Enter type or reason
- Enter date of purchase
- Enter amount
Step 3: Record The Sale of Your Item
ChaChing! Alrighty! You have sold your item, and now it’s time to take it out of inventory on your spreadsheet and add the item to your profits.
First things first, let’s take your sold item out of your inventory from your spreadsheet. Next, we can add this sale into your monthly income.
All the Etsy fees will automatically be calculated for you to show your true profits, that’s how good this spreadsheet is!
GO TO THE INVENTORY TAB:
- Go to your Master Inventory tab, highlight your sold item and cut it from the list.
- Go to this month’s tab on the bottom and paste it into a blank item distribution on this sheet.
- Tab through this entry and input the date sold, the platform ( Etsy is an option), the sale price and any shipping cost you wish to enter.
Step 4: Record Bills and Other Expenses
You many have bills and or other expenses. Did you buy shipping supplies this month? Maybe you have a monthly bill for a storage unit? You may have payroll for employees. Whatever your CPA tells you to deduct monthly whether it is a cell phone bill or internet bill these may qualify as other expenses.
To input your expense simply GO TO THE EXPENSES TAB and enter:
- Enter Expense Description
- Enter type or reason from pull down menu
- Enter date of purchase and amount
Step 5: Record Your Mileage For Tax Deductions
Did you know you can deduct your mileage driven if the trip is a business-related? Do you make trips to your local post office to drop off your packages? Do you make several trips to the craft store for supplies? Do you attend auctions or Estate Sales to treasure hunt for your goodies?
All of these trips are deductions waiting to happen on your taxes.
The Flippd Mileage Calculator in this spreadsheet will calculate the total tax deduction for each transaction. To input your expense simply GO TO THE EXPENSES TAB and GO TO THE MILEAGE CALCULATOR and enter:
- Transaction date
- Miles driven
- Trip description (optional)
Oh The Monthly Reports : Be Tax Ready Etsy Sellers!
Incorporated into this spreadsheet are reports. This is by far my favorite feature of this power horse spreadsheet program.
You can view your annual report of expenses. These reports are calculated with a clear summary of exactly how much was spent annually. Do you remember adding in how much your items cost before listing? The beauty of this spreadsheet is that it calculates all your Etsy fees, cost of goods and sale price to formulate your bottom-line profit. As a seller, what more could you wish for?
To view your ANNUAL REPORTS simply GO TO THE REPORT TAB inside your Excel flippd spreadsheet.
Flagging Your Older Unsold Etsy Listings
This feature is a dream come true!
Built into this spreadsheet is a macro that allows you to view how old your current items are in your shop. As resellers, we don’t want our items to sit in our shop too long. Stale unsold inventory is a reseller worst nightmare. One of the toughest parts of keeping an inventory is knowing how old or stale your products are at any given time.
This spreadsheet jumps right in and solves this inventory problem.
For each item, you record into the spreadsheet the true date you listed your item into your shop. As your items age in inventory this spreadsheet has a color coding system allowing you to view at-a-glance how old your inventory has been on your shelf.
For newly listed items you will see a dark green color in your spreadsheet. As the date progresses, these unsold items will turn light green and then orange and then a reddish color. Allowing you to take action on unsold items can be so critical to your shop’s success.
For tax purposes some CPA’s like to see how much you currently have invested in your inventory. Seeing reports on unsold inventory can be beneficial for tax reasons.
The Flipped Spreadsheet Cost
The cost of the Flippd spreadsheet is $50.00. I know what you are thinking: I have Excel and I can do this on my own. For me, the report functionality alone keep me on track.
Over the years I have spent hours getting “tax ready” for my accountant. By using this spreadsheet the piece of mind I gain is well worth the small investment. Recently, a Pro version of this spreadsheet has become available as well. In addition, you have access to support on this product as well as access to a Facebook group to address any question you may have 24/7.
My Final Thoughts
This spreadsheet is ideal for resellers like us. From inventory control, tracking of monthly expense, monthly income, mileage deductions, and extensive reports it’s almost a no-brainer. Money well spent.
Spend less time stressing over the finances and more time doing what you love: Creating and selling on Etsy.
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