Etsy seller bookkeeping: how to track fees, profit and margin in a spreadsheet

If you run an Etsy shop, the number that matters is what you keep after fees, postage and the cost of making the item. This page lists what simple bookkeeping should record, shows the formulas, and walks through one order with invented numbers and editable example rates.

What to record for every order

One order line per row makes the log easy to filter and check against your statement.

• Date and item. So you can find the order again.
• Sale amount and shipping charged. What the buyer paid.
• Fees by type. Listing fee, transaction fee, payment processing and advertising fees, each in its own column.
• Your own costs. Materials, printing, packaging and the postage you paid.
• Fee override. A cell for the exact statement amount when it differs from the calculated one.

What to record as business expenses

Costs that do not belong to one order go into a second log with a date, a category and an amount. Keep the category list short and editable, for example supplies, packaging, software, equipment and education. Eight categories cover most small shops.

The formulas

• Fees = listing fee + transaction fee + processing fee + any advertising fee.
• Net after fees = sale amount + shipping charged - fees.
• Profit = net after fees - your own costs.
• Margin = profit / (sale amount + shipping charged).

Worked example (invented numbers)

These figures are made up. The rates are editable examples and do not reflect any current fee table. Compare them with your own Shop Manager and enter the rates that apply to you.

An item sold for 30.00 and the buyer paid 5.00 for shipping. Example rates: listing fee 0.20, transaction fee 6.5 percent and payment processing 4 percent plus a fixed 0.30, all on the item plus shipping. Materials cost 8.00 and the postage label cost 4.50.

1. Transaction fee: 6.5 percent of 35.00 is 2.28 (rounded).
2. Processing fee: 4 percent of 35.00 is 1.40, plus 0.30 gives 1.70.
3. Total fees: 0.20 + 2.28 + 1.70 = 4.18.
4. Net after fees: 35.00 - 4.18 = 30.82.
5. Profit: 30.82 - 8.00 - 4.50 = 18.32.
6. Margin: 18.32 / 35.00 = 52.3 percent.

Change one rate to see how much it moves the result.

Why reconcile with the monthly statement

Your own log shows what you expected to earn. The monthly payment statement shows what was actually charged. Paste the statement into a separate tab, group it by type, leave payouts out and compare the totals with your log. A difference points to a missing order, a wrong rate or a fee type you had not set up. Check your first import against the statement totals before trusting it.

Common mistakes

• Leaving out advertising fees. They are easy to forget when they are charged outside the usual order fees.
• Treating shipping charged as profit. Count it as income and count the postage you paid as a cost.
• Using fee rates from an old guide. Rules differ by country and change over time. Check your own Shop Manager.
• Mixing business and private costs. Log business costs only, and keep the category list short.
• Waiting until year end. A monthly check takes minutes. A year of orders takes a weekend.

Build it yourself or use a ready template

The formulas above fit into a plain spreadsheet, and building your own is a fair way to start. A ready template saves the setup time.

The Etsy Seller Bookkeeping & Profit Dashboard is an Excel workbook with seven tabs: Instructions, Settings, Sales_Log, Expenses, Statement_Import, Monthly and Dashboard. The fee engine is editable and starts with example values as of October 2026 for a seller in Germany: listing fee, transaction percentage, processing percentage with a fixed fee, advertising percentage and regulatory fee percentage. The sales log holds 500 order lines and the expenses log 400 rows with 8 editable categories. The statement tab reads eight pasted columns, excludes payouts and flags types it does not recognise. Monthly and Dashboard show the sales-log view, the fee breakdown, the statement view, a reconciliation line, year totals and a chart. Example data is included and marked. It has no macros and opens in Excel and LibreOffice.

What it does not model

The statement import follows the documented column names and was not tested against a real statement file, and the format may change, so check your first import against your totals. Version one does not model tax or VAT filing, currency conversion, balance or stock accounting. It is a record-keeping aid, not financial, tax, accounting or legal advice. Etsy and Microsoft Excel are trademarks of their owners, and Size Run Studio has no affiliation with either.

Get the tracker

The Etsy Seller Bookkeeping & Profit Dashboard is a paid digital download. You get the Excel workbook with clearly marked example data and a one-page Quick Start PDF. Nothing is shipped.

See the Etsy Seller Bookkeeping & Profit Dashboard

Frequently asked questions

What should Etsy seller bookkeeping record?

For every order: date, sale amount, shipping, the fees by type, your own costs and the resulting net after fees, profit and margin. Add a second log for business expenses such as supplies, software and packaging.

Which fee types should a fee tracker separate?

Keep listing fee, transaction fee, payment processing and advertising fees in separate columns, so you can see which one moves your result. Add a regulatory fee column if one applies to you.

Why compare my log with the monthly statement?

Your own log shows what you expected. The monthly payment statement shows what was charged. A reconciliation line that compares the two catches missing orders and wrong rates early.

Is this tax or legal advice?

No. A tracker is a record-keeping aid. Ask a qualified adviser how to handle VAT, sales tax and income tax in your country.