Candle Business: Spreadsheet or App?

Start with a spreadsheet if you are solo, have about a dozen materials and sell in one place. Craftybase, which sells inventory software, says that setup is often enough, and that at the very start, spreadsheets work. They also say sheets "fail gradually, quietly, usually at the worst possible moment." I sell software too, so read the signs below with that in mind and run the break-even math with your own numbers. A free sheet beats a paid app you do not use.

When is a spreadsheet enough?

Craftybase says: "For a solo maker with a dozen materials and one sales channel, that's often enough." That means:

• You pour a few batches a month.
• You buy from a small number of suppliers.
• You sell in one place, such as a craft fair or one shop.
• You are happy to do a cost calculation by hand when a price changes.

If that is you, use a sheet. Craftybase offers a free candle inventory template with seven tabs: material inventory, personal use, purchases, manufactures, product inventory, orders and reports. Some columns are calculated, so do not type over them.

When does a spreadsheet stop working?

Craftybase's page on spreadsheets says "the system that worked fine at 6 SKUs was actively making it harder to run the business at 24," and that a spreadsheet number is "accurate when you typed it, and drifts further from reality every day you don't update it." Craftybase lists eight signs, including these:

• You have added a second or third tab and the structure feels fragile.
• You sell in more than one place and matching up the numbers is a weekly job.
• You have had a stockout or over-order that cost you money.
• You are not sure your cost of goods figure is right, or you have caught a formula error.
• You have hired someone, or want to, and teaching them the sheet sounds exhausting.

Craftybase says if more than three of its signs apply, you are past the point where a spreadsheet is serving you. Count against the full list in the article.

Where do spreadsheets lose money?

Craftybase names cost accuracy. Each sale means a manual stock update. It says most spreadsheets do not handle FIFO, LIFO or weighted average costing well (ways to work out what stock cost when prices change), and that your cost of goods sold figure "isn't known until you sit down and calculate it at year end." It also asks "can you prove the formula didn't change between January and October?" Those are worries that come up when a sheet is the only record. If you do your own books, ask your accountant what they need from you.

Worked example: what is the break-even?

The real comparison is the time you spend against what an app costs. These numbers are examples. Say you value your time at $16 an hour. BatchLab costs $120 a year on the Starter plan and $240 a year on the Maker plan.

• Starter: $120 / $16 = 7.5 hours a year to break even. That is 7.5 / 52 = 0.14 hours a week, about 9 minutes.
• Maker: $240 / $16 = 15 hours a year. That is 15 / 52 = 0.29 hours a week, about 17 minutes.

So if an app saves you 17 minutes a week of sheet upkeep, counting and cost math, it pays for the Maker plan at that hourly value. If it saves 5 minutes, it does not. Count your real time for two weeks first. Include the cost of mistakes too, such as a batch you could not make because you ran out of jars.

What should I do about moving later?

The longer you wait, the more data you have to move. A good habit now: keep one tidy table per list, with one header row, no merged cells and consistent units (ounces for oil, pounds for wax, each for jars). That makes a later CSV import or copy easier. Whatever app you try, check first how you get your data out. BatchLab can bring in your materials from a CSV when you set up, using its template, and the Maker plan also brings in past sales. To get out, you can download everything as a zip file or a CSV of any list.

Common mistakes

• Paying for an app before you have a recipe, costs and a routine to put in it.
• Buying an app and keeping the sheet too, so there are two sets of numbers.
• Merged cells, notes in number columns and mixed units in the sheet.
• Never counting stock, then trusting the sheet.
• Using a sheet for cost math and forgetting to update it when a supplier changes a price.
• Comparing a free sheet to a paid app without counting your time.

Questions

Can I try an app and keep my sheet?

Yes, for a trial period. Pick one real recipe, enter it in both, and compare. Do not run both forever.

Is an Etsy spreadsheet template worth buying?

I did not check templates for this guide. Look for one that matches how you work, and test it before you rely on it.

Do I need an app if I only make candles for fairs?

Not necessarily. If one person makes a few batches and sells at fairs, a sheet may be all you need. Revisit when the signs above start to show.