Etsy COGS Tracker Spreadsheet for Makers
The short answer
One candle costs C$8.08 to make, counted to the wick. At C$28 it earns C$16.60 after COGS and Etsy fees. This tracker runs that math per listing.
An etsy cogs tracker spreadsheet for makers counts what one product really costs to make, down to the wick: one 8 oz candle costs C$8.08 in materials and packaging, and at a C$28 price it earns C$16.60 after costs and Etsy fees, a 59% margin.
Educational information, not financial advice. Your supplier prices decide your real costs; the example below states every cost it uses.
What does one candle really cost to make?
COGS means cost of goods sold: every material that leaves your shelf inside one sold item, plus its packaging. For one 8 oz candle, with costs stated in full:
| Cost part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Wax | C$3.10 |
| Vessel | C$2.40 |
| Fragrance | C$1.15 |
| Wick | C$0.18 |
| Label | C$0.35 |
| Packaging | C$0.90 |
| Total COGS | C$8.08 |
Most makers can name the first two lines from memory. The leak lives in the small lines: a wick, a label and packaging add C$1.43 to every candle, and at 200 candles that is C$286 of cost that never shows up in a price set by feel. Your time is not in COGS, and this page does not hide that: COGS counts materials. What it gives you is the honest floor a price has to clear before your time earns anything at all.
What does the candle earn at three prices?
Add Etsy fees to the same candle. At Canada rates the fee stack works out to 10% of the price plus C$0.52 on these prices, as the fee line shows:
| Price | Etsy fees | COGS | Profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C$24 | C$2.92 | C$8.08 | C$13.00 | 54% |
| C$28 | C$3.32 | C$8.08 | C$16.60 | 59% |
| C$32 | C$3.72 | C$8.08 | C$20.20 | 63% |
Raising the price from C$24 to C$28 adds C$3.60 of profit per candle, because the costs stay flat while the price moves. That is the decision a COGS tracker exists for: not whether you are busy, but which price, on which listing, actually pays. The fee stack behind the middle column is broken down fee by fee in our etsy fee calculator spreadsheet guide.
How does the tracker run this per listing?
The Etsy Profit Tracker Spreadsheet keeps that math live for your whole shop:
- Costs every recipe to the gram, so a product's COGS updates when a supplier price changes.
- True profit per listing on one dashboard, after COGS and every Etsy fee.
- Materials and stock tracking, with a filled example shop included to learn from.
- A tax summary for US Schedule C and Canada T2125 built from the same records.
Enter each product's recipe once. After that, every sale carries its real cost with it, and the dashboard can say which listings make money and which only make work. Sellers who arrived here comparing subscription tools can see that choice priced on our sellerboard alternative page.
Who is this for, and who should skip it?
This fits a maker who sells physical products with real material costs and prices by feel or by copying competitors. Skip it if you sell digital products: with no materials, your COGS is near zero and a fee check is all you need. Skip it, too, if you have not yet counted one product by hand the way this page does. That first count teaches you what the tracker is automating.
FAQ
What counts as COGS for a handmade product? Every material that goes into the sold item, plus its packaging: wax, vessel, fragrance, wick and label for the candle. Rent, tools and your time are real costs, but they are not COGS, and honest pricing keeps the two apart.
How often should I update my costs? When a supplier price changes, and at least once a season. Wax and vessels move in price, and a tracker only tells the truth if the recipe costs inside it are current. Updating one ingredient updates every product that uses it.
Does the tracker include Etsy fees in the profit figure? Yes. Profit per listing is shown after COGS and after the full Etsy fee stack: transaction, processing, listing and regulatory fees. The worked example above keeps the two apart so you can check each half yourself.
Can it handle products with many ingredients? Yes. A recipe can carry as many cost lines as the product needs, each weighed or counted in the unit you buy it in. The candle's six lines are a simple case, not the limit.
What if the file does not work for us? Digital downloads are not refunded, and we state that before you buy. Our fix-it promise covers the file itself: if it will not open or a formula is broken, we fix it or replace it until it works. Send us the problem and we repair it.
How the numbers were run
COGS is the plain sum of the six stated costs, C$8.08. The fee line uses the Canada fee summary of 10% of the price plus C$0.52, which matches the fee by fee stack at these prices. Profit is price minus COGS minus fees, and margin is profit divided by price, rounded to the nearest whole percent.
About Kollaz
Kollaz: Smart financial tools for modern money. We build spreadsheets that answer real money decisions with real math. Browse the shop: etsy.com/shop/kollaz. Get the spreadsheet: Etsy Profit Tracker Spreadsheet.