Get started with Craftybase
Learn how to get the most out of your trial, then build a successful implementation strategy so you can get tracking with Craftybase faster.
We'll Cover:
- Signing up for a trial account
- What to do during your trial
- How to create an implementation strategy
- Working forward
Signing up for a trial account
We offer a fully-featured, no-strings-attached, free 14-day trial for all new Craftybase customers. To sign up for your free trial, select the plan that feels the best fit for your business (if you'd like to try a different plan during your trial, just get in touch and we can arrange).
What to do during your trial
During your trial, you should aim to concentrate on understanding the basics of how inventory management works in Craftybase so you can then create a solid plan to implement your actual data (this is known as your Implementation Strategy, which we will cover in more detail below)
We recommend you follow this checklist to see how the main stock features work:
- Leave your Inventory Start Date as the current date
- Connect your integrations to import your products
- Add a material to your inventory.
- Increase your material stock by entering a purchase.
- Use that material to create a manufacture. This increases your product stock and reduces material stock. Bonus points: create a recipe first to see how you can reuse lists of materials.
- Create an order and mark it as shipped to see your COGS.
Read more: How stock management works in Craftybase →
Remember to add only simple test/sample data in this stage to get a feel for the features and how stock moves up and down. At the end of the trial, we recommend resetting your account completely to start afresh with the knowledge you have gained. →
Implementation Guide
Once you have completed the trial and have an idea of how stock management works in Craftybase, you can begin to create your Implementation Strategy—this is really a fancy name for your plan for how you'll get your data in place and start working forward with real-time, accurate inventory levels.
Suppose you don't have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of stock management yet. In that case, we strongly recommend you follow the instructions above before proceeding to ensure that your implementation is set up for success.
Steps:
- Resetting your data
- Choosing your inventory start date
- Counting your on-hand materials
- Counting your on-hand products
- Adding recipes
- Comparing your physical stock to Craftybase
Our Implementation Checklist will guide you through the process above, with direct links to the pages you need inside the app.
Reset your data
If you have added test data during your trial, it's a good idea to reset your account to remove so that you can start with a clean slate.
Choosing your inventory start date
Let's return back to our Inventory Start Date - you would have been asked to set this when first creating your trial account. This is the date you will begin inventory tracking in Craftybase.
It's important to remember that we are a real-time inventory system. This means for whatever date you choose to start from; you'll need to accurately recreate any stock changes made between this date and the current date. For this reason, we typically recommend setting your start date to either the date you signed up or the start of the current month, as this will minimize your initial data entry and get you started faster.
In the next steps, you'll add your in-stock quantities for all materials and products you had on hand on this date—these are known as your "starting adjustments."
Learn how to change your account start date →
Count your on-hand materials
Create a list of all materials on hand, and add these to Craftybase (you can use our printable template or spreadsheet for this task).
Count how many of each material you have, then enter the quantity and unit cost for each material. This is your starting adjustment and what you'll be tracking from your account start date.
Tip: Switching to COGS from indirect expensing? Your unit costs will most likely be $0 as you will have already fully claimed all usage costs in a prior year.
Count your on-hand products
Create a list of all products on hand, and add these to Craftybase (use our printable template or spreadsheet). Any products you have made and not yet sold should be included in this tally.
Count each product you have on your shelf, and enter the quantity and unit cost for each. Your unit cost is how much it cost you to make a single unit of your product, not including labor.
Tip: Switching to COGS? Your unit costs will most likely be $0 as you will have already fully claimed all usage costs in a prior year.
Add recipes
If you make batches of your products, create recipes for each to speed up your future manufacturing. Recipes are also useful for determining whether you have enough materials to make your products and how much it will cost to produce a batch. Based on these costs, you'll be able to see pricing guidance information to help you decide on the best price for your product.
Compare your stock levels
The final step to establishing your current stock levels is to review them in Craftybase with your original list of stock-on-hand to ensure that they match. If you are not starting your tracking on the current date, you'll want to add all manufactures, orders, and purchases to account for any stock changes between the start date and today (we'll cover how to do this below).
Working forward with Craftybase
With your current inventory now in place in Craftybase, it's time to start moving forward with your tracking—in real time.
We'll do that by entering all stock changes into Craftybase when they occur. Some of these will happen automatically for you (like orders), and others you'll need to do manually. Here's a quick refresher on how to handle purchasing new materials, making new products, and fulfilling orders.
Manufactures
Made a batch of new product? Create a manufacture. This will decrease your material stock and increase your product stock.
Learn how to add a manufacture →
Purchases
Purchased some materials? Create a Purchase. With each recorded purchase, your materials stock increases and you can automatically track how much a single unit of a material costs.
Orders
Sold a product to a customer? Create an Order. When a customer places an order on your website, Craftybase automatically imports the order to your account through your connected integrations. You can also manually add the order to your account if the sale is made via an unsupported channel or offline. Orders decrease your available product stock, and when shipped will calculate your material cost (which is factored into your COGS calculations).