Right around the end of the year, you may start hearing a lot about counting your inventory. Today I’m hosting an Inventory Crash Course Workshop, which is my fancy way of saying I filmed a video answering the big questions I see about year-end inventory. This is my attempt to explain inventory, cost of goods sold, and the dreaded year end count in about 20 minutes (which is hard y’all!). Think of it as a “quick and dirty” summary of dealing with your inventory.
In this video, you’ll learn:
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- What is inventory
- Whether you have inventory
- What is cost of goods sold
- How & where cost of goods sold is calculated on your tax return
- What inventory amounts you should be prepared to report on your tax return
- How to calculate your total inventory purchases for the year
- How to perform an end of year inventory count
I’ve got some more blog posts in the library to help you learn about inventory, COGS, and taxes:
- Inventory 101 for Makers – what is inventory?
- Inventory 101 for Makers – what is cost of goods sold?
- Catching up on your 2019 bookkeeping for taxes if you’re behind
And don’t forget – if you need more detailed help with your inventory count, check out our Inventory for Handmade Sellers spreadsheet.
If you need a little extra help & hand-holding getting caught up for 2018 and getting prepared to do your business taxes, check out the 2020 Bite-Sized Bookkeeping Bootcamp right here.
Ok, so let’s say I make purses, and I have all my supplies for making purses, and that is a part of the inventory. But I decide to create a new type of bag, and I need to make samples. I buy supplies to create these samples (fabric, zippers, etc) and I use some of the same supplies in my inventory (rivets, more fabric). I’m using these supplies with no intention of ever reselling them, because these samples are simply a tool to get to the final product. Are these supplies still considered inventory? Or can I call them business expenses and deduct them?
Great question Madeline. I say either way, it does not matter. If you inventory all those supplies and use them in a purse you use as a display or sample prototype, I’d still say you should deduct the cost of those items. Whether you deduct it as part of COGS or as something like an advertising expense, it all ends up as a deduction.
Hi! I haven’t been the best at keeping track of the cost of my inventory. I make string friendship bracelets so I’m buying lots of small skein floss. I try to buy it on sale so I’m not spending as much, but I know that can make my costs a bit harder to track if I have to buy some at full price. When counting it out, should I track the price of floss at full price, or what I actually paid for it? I base my product costs on the sale price of floss. I’ve heard doing it both ways. Thanks!
Very good overview, !anet! Information succinct, easy to understand with clear photographic support. Thank you!
Where on the batch maker spreadsheet can I log items that were given away for marketing purposes?
I can’t put them in items sold, nor in items taken for personal use…
I have an eco-friendly handmade shop and say I gifted a Zero-Waste Kitchen Bundle to someone, how do I go about categorizing and accounting for something like that? It isn’t “sold” but gifts only can go up to like $20 a year per customer I think, (these bundles are more than that, but supplies are used and I’m brain-fried already with taxes and the sudden increase for my things as I’m still in startup. Haha! Haaaaalp!
Is it truly a gift to a customer? Or a gift to a friend? This may be something that you should consider “personal use” and remove from your business inventory.