Stock management for makers: workshop, markets, online sales

To manage the stock of your items across the workshop, markets and online sales, keep a single reference: every sale, whatever the channel, updates the quantity available. Keep one-off pieces, small batches and variants apart too, because they aren't managed the same way.

When you only sell from the workshop, stock stays simple. As soon as sales come from several places, markets, an online shop, social media, consignment, mistakes become more frequent: a piece sold twice, an item found to be out of stock too late, a forgotten variant.

Stock isn't just a quantity. It's your promise to the customer. When it's clear, you sell with peace of mind. When it's fuzzy, every order turns into a small investigation.

How do you keep one-off pieces, small batches and variants apart?

Not all items are managed the same way:

• a one-off piece disappears as soon as it's sold, on every channel;
• a small batch needs an exact stock count and a restock threshold;
• a variant needs its own tracking if the size, colour or format changes;
• an item sold by weight or by the gram needs its own approach.

The trap is putting everything in a single "stock" column without telling them apart.

When should you update your stock?

The best time is at the moment of the sale. If that isn't possible, at the very least do a check after each market and after each batch of orders.

A made-up example, for a bowl you have six of:

1. Starting stock: 6 bowls.
2. Sales at Saturday's market: 2 bowls. Stock: 6 − 2 = 4.
3. Online sale on Sunday: 1 bowl. Stock: 4 − 1 = 3.
4. Restock threshold set at 2: stock is still above it, nothing to prepare for now.
5. If one more sale comes in, 2 bowls are left: time to prepare the restock.

What routine after each market?

1. Record the market's sales, one by one, as they happen.
2. Check which items are low on stock.
3. Take sold-out items off display, at the stall and online.
4. Prepare restocks, with the quantities to make.
5. Note the items to make again, and those not worth repeating.

To read this stock every week and decide what to restock, the weekly logbook brings this information together.

A short item sheet

Item:
Type: one-off piece / small batch / variant / by weight
Starting stock:
Sales at markets:
Online sales:
Sales at the workshop or on consignment:
Stock left:
Restock threshold:
To make again before the next market: yes / no

Thinking multi-channel without automating everything

If you sell online and in person, your stock has to become the common ground between your channels. Otherwise, each channel tells its own story. Even without perfect automation, central tracking makes a big difference: you look in one place to see what's left.

For variants, avoid lumping "blue", "red" and "gold" together if customers choose them separately. A single overall stock figure hides real stock-outs.

The most common mistakes

• Selling the same piece online the day after a market, because the stock wasn't updated.
• Forgetting a variant: the most popular colour has sold out, but the overall stock still shows pieces.
• Counting pieces on consignment as available when they're no longer in the workshop.
• Restocking at random, without knowing what really sold last month.

Each of these mistakes is solved by the same habit: an update at the moment of the sale, then a regular check.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need software to manage my stock?

Not necessarily. A simple table can be enough for small-scale making, as long as it's updated at the moment of the sale. As soon as you sell on several channels, central tracking avoids selling the same piece twice.

How do I handle made-to-order pieces?

They often have no stock. Track the orders in progress instead, their delivery date and any deposit paid, and keep your stocked items separate.

What about pieces left with a stockist?

Record them as out on consignment, then check in regularly with the stockist. A sale can happen without you seeing it straight away. To work out the stockist's share, the consignment commission calculator does the sum.

In Comptartisan, every sale at the stall updates the quantities of your items, so you can see at a glance what's left and what needs restocking.