Last week, we talked about the benefits of tracking jewelry components in Excel.  The same benefits apply to keeping track of finished pieces as well.  Creating a spreadsheet with each item you have made will help you to see your productivity, know at a glance the total value of your inventory, and provide you with a checklist to refer to when you are selling items at a show.

Track Productivity
Use the spreadsheet to see how many pieces you are producing each day/week/month.  By putting a creation date field in your list, you can know just how many pieces you have made in a timeframe.  Creation dates also allow you to see how long a piece sits on the shelf before it is sold, which can be very helpful in determining trends.Total Value
Keep a column for component cost and a total for retail price and you will always know just what you have.  Additionally, wholesale price, cost of advertising and any other costs can be included here to help streamline your accounting processes.  You can add as little or as much information as you feel comfortable with, but beware information drain, when you have so much information you can’t act.

Sales Checklist
Use your Excel spreadsheet to create a printout of items you plan to sell at shows or markets.  Having them listed makes it easy to provide an inventory sheet when you take your jewelry to a gallery or consignment shop as well.  If you have someone helping you sell, this list will prove invaluable in keeping track of what sells, and can also alert you to potential theft issues.

Excel is such a versatile and useful tool for jewelry designers.  Without adding extra costs, you can use the power of formulas to keep track of every aspect of your jewelry business.