Stop running your business across six spreadsheets
You’ve got one for inventory, one for pricing, a sales log somewhere, and a tax folder you don’t open until April. None of them talk to each other, so you type the same numbers three times and still aren’t sure if you made money.
The Maker’s Business Operating System is all of them, in one connected file.
Log a sale once on the Sales Log, and the workbook does the rest:
- it decrements the finished-goods stock you just sold,
- books the platform fee for that channel (Etsy, Shopify, Square, your own site…),
- rolls the COGS and profit into your Monthly P&L,
- updates that customer’s order history,
- and tags the revenue to the right Schedule C line for taxes.
What’s inside — 14 connected tabs
- Dashboard — your whole business on one screen: revenue, profit, margin, units, and what needs reordering.
- Settings — set your labor rate, target margin, and channel fees once; the whole file reprices itself.
- Materials & Products — inventory with low-stock alerts, plus a pricing calculator that suggests a price hitting your target margin after fees.
- Production Log — log a batch, watch stock go up.
- Customers — a simple CRM that fills in order counts and totals on its own.
- Sales Log — the hub that connects everything.
- Wholesale — a buyer-ready line sheet + an outreach and reorder tracker.
- Expenses & Mileage — every cost mapped to its Schedule C line; miles at the IRS rate.
- Monthly P&L — revenue, fees, COGS, and expenses by month, built for you.
- Schedule C — your year mapped to the IRS form, line by line, ready for your accountant.
- Year-End Summary — the annual scoreboard, what you own in inventory, and what you paid yourself.
Built for real makers
Soap and candle makers, bakers, jewelers, potters, printables sellers — anyone who makes a thing and sells it. The sample file is a working soap & candle business you can poke at, then replace with your own.
Includes a friendly Quick-Start Guide (PDF) that walks you from a fresh download to running your books in about 20 minutes a month — including the taxes, in plain English.
Works in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc. Instant download. Nothing is shipped.
When the file finally gets too big to keep by hand — when you need an audit trail, multi-location stock, or your Etsy orders synced for you — that’s Ardent Seller, the software this workbook is a rehearsal for. The data you build here maps straight across, and there’s a free plan to start.
The fine print
Educational tool only — not financial, tax, or accounting advice. Schedule C mappings, channel-fee presets, and the self-employment-tax estimate are starting points to review with a qualified professional; platform fees change, so confirm current rates. Personal license: for use in your own business. Please don’t resell, share, or redistribute. © Ardent Workshop LLC.
