Nerd Alert

Ever since I learned Excel, several years ago, I have become a data junkie {in addition to reality tv junkie:} For my day job, I am constantly having to analyze my sales territory which has helped me to be extremely proficient in Excel and the entire spreadsheet phenomena.

Since opening Inkspot Workshop on Etsy, just a few months ago, I have been keeping my own spreadsheets but nothing like the depth of information I found by Simple Solutions. First I must mention that I too found this product by pouncing away on Etsy. I know when you think of Etsy, you think "handmade" gifts, not spreadsheets, right? Well the way Etsy has been growing, adding several thousand new sellers and buyers each day, it's a wonder these "Etsy Seller Tools" folks did not show up on the scene sooner!

This seller, who is a number cruncher for a fortune 500 company by day, is very helpful if you just tell him what your business is {any business, not just an Etsy store} he will suggest spreadsheets just for you. In my case, since I sell paper goods he suggested the "Pick 3" plan. I received the Product Pricer, Product Analyst and Sales Tracker, all for just $13.00. I have been tinkering around with these sheets all weekend and I am so impressed with these little tools, thought I'd do an entire blog post on the subject.

The Product Pricer does just that, helps you break down your materials cost and reminds you to include labor. I really think the Time Tracker piece to this sheet is ingenious! There is actually a cute little timer built in, which allows you to time yourself as you make a product. That's definitely new to me.

The Product Analyst is like having your own personal coach telling you the status of your business. It will help you analyze your products to find out how long your products are listed before they sell on average, and approximately how many of each of your products will sell each month. This sheet will also tell you how long your product is on the market based on the day you list it. You can utilize this information to find out what items you should be making the most of! The spreadsheet was designed to work with your billing CSV spreadsheet. Once you download one, or all, of your billing statements, you can quickly upload the data all at once to quickly analyze your data.

Sales Tracker helps you figure out if there are better days of the week and/or times when you get the most sales. Pretty helpful if you're trying to plan a productive week.

Most importantly, Simple Solutions also offers products for your personal use, such as a Personal Budget and Retirement Calculator. If you are a data geek like me, or even just a wannabe, check them out!