the Ledger — Maker Edition
Know what each piece actually costs you to make.
Most cost trackers stop at “materials.” If you build anything in stages — a clasp assembly, a finished necklace — the labor inside that sub-assembly gets filed as materials, and your numbers quietly lie to you about which lever to pull. This one doesn’t. $67 · one-time · Google Sheets. Below roughly 500 orders a year, a well-built sheet beats software setup time. Here is where that stops being true: if you are importing hundreds of orders a month, want automatic Etsy syncing, or need multi-currency, buy software instead. This is a sheet. It is honest about being a sheet.
Want the fee reference on its own?
One page: Etsy's five per-order fees — listing, transaction, payment processing, offsite ads, currency conversion — with what each one is charged on, and the date each rate took effect. Written for United States sellers, read from Etsy's own published pages on 28 August 2026, and sourced so you can check it. It is a reference sheet, not a newsletter: one email, no series. You do not need the sheet to use it. Unsubscribe any time.
What's inside
True cost per item, split three ways — every recipe breaks into materials, labor and packaging, and the split holds when one recipe consumes another.
One level of sub-assembly, done properly — build a component once, use it across products, and change its cost to reprice everything using it.
Etsy's five per-order fees, itemized — listing, transaction, payment processing, offsite ads, currency conversion, split out per order rather than lumped into one deduction.
Fee rates you own, with effective dates — rates live in one labeled block, never hardcoded, so older orders keep pricing against the schedule that was actually in force.
Margin after fees, not before.
The pricing view reads post-fee. A product that looks healthy at 40% gross can be thin once Etsy takes its cut, and the sheet says so.
Payout reconciliation.
Match what Etsy deposited against what your orders say you earned. Anything more than a penny out gets flagged for you to look at.
What it does not do.
No Etsy connection — orders are entered by hand, so there is nothing to authorize and nothing to break when an API changes.
No tax estimation. It organizes your numbers. It does not tell you what to set aside.
Single currency, at rates as published for United States sellers. The Regulatory Operating Fee is documented, not calculated — it is $0 for US sellers, it applies only in the countries Etsy lists in its own fee documentation, and the Assumptions tab points you there rather than restating the list.
No inventory forecasting or reorder points. And one level of recipe nesting — a component can contain materials, but it cannot contain another component.
Who should not buy this.
You process hundreds of orders a month. You want your shop to sync automatically. You sell in more than one currency. You want software to tell you your tax position.
Buy software. We would rather you not buy this than buy it and find out.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a spreadsheet that organizes numbers you enter. Decisions about pricing, taxes, and what to do with the results are yours, and worth discussing with an accountant.
Do I need to be good at spreadsheets?
No. You type into the colored cells. The calculated cells are protected — you will get a warning if you edit one, so it is hard to break by accident and easy to fix if you do.
What happens when Etsy changes its fees?
Add a dated row to the Assumptions tab. Old orders keep using the old schedule. Your history does not silently reprice. This sheet doesn't go stale when Etsy changes its fees — because the rates are yours, and adding a new one takes thirty seconds.
Is this affiliated with Etsy?
No. Built for people who sell there. Not endorsed by, partnered with, or connected to Etsy in any way.
What happens if you find a mistake in the sheet?
You get the corrected file, and a note saying exactly which cells changed and whether your numbers move. Not a silent reupload.
Do I get new versions?
Yes, free, for as long as this product exists. One honest caveat: your sheet is your own copy with your data in it, so moving to a new version means bringing your data across. Recipes and materials export cleanly. Orders take longer.
In use
Built on a worked example — recipes that consume other recipes, orders carrying Etsy's five per-order fees, and a payout reconciliation that flags anything more than a penny out.
Get the Ledger — Maker Edition — $67
Google Sheets cost and profit template for makers.
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