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Daphne Back Road Bears
Laconia, NH USA
Posts: 6,568

I just purchased the custom spreadsheets sold by MissSideburns on Etsy. www.etsy.com/shop/MissSideburns
The Business Manager pack is only $24 and includes 8 different forms that are comprehensive and cover every aspect of a craft business. I also purchased Craft Show Ease for $8 which is a 3 page form for tracking inventory, sales, expenses, profit/loss when exhibiting at a show.

I've spent only 20 minutes looking over them so far but here's my initial assesment:

Pros
Complete instructions are included on how to use/format/enter data into the forms
It's done using Excel which is a program many of us are familiar with so learning how to navigate/use the forms is easy!
Lots of guides/info on the forms themselves by hovering over headings... it'll tell you what to put in each field!
It can be customized to a point for your specific needs and very easily.
Simple and easy to use!

Cons
It doesn't come with a little elf to sort through all my papers and enter the data for me! bear_laugh

Laura Lynn Teddy Bear Academy
Nicholasville, KY
Posts: 3,653
Website

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LOL Daphne!!!!!!  Yeah, same problem with ACBO - no little elf  :crackup:

Bubble-Up Bears Bubble Up Bears!
Murrieta, California
Posts: 1,804

Good deal!
I hope this doesn't sound completely stupid but does anyone know of a program I could use for keeping track of all the bears I have. I have hundreds and for now I have everything in a box/file. I want to track all info like when they were bought, from whom, who was the artist, how much I paid and the bear it self such as size, made from what material and so on.
Thanks bear_original

Daphne Back Road Bears
Laconia, NH USA
Posts: 6,568

Great question!
I don't know of any first hand but sifted through some Google results and found the following sites that offer software that might work.
Like you, I have all my bear's hang tags and/or receipts in a box. bear_noexpression

http://www.filesland.com/software/collectibles.html
http://www.collectiblesolutions.com/
http://collectible.qarchive.org/

I hope someone comes along who can recommend a specific program!

Bubble-Up Bears Bubble Up Bears!
Murrieta, California
Posts: 1,804

Thanks Daphne.  bear_original
I see one that I think will work. I too tried to Google it but nothing like what you found came up!!
Not surprise though!!  bear_grin

elle Ellifolks
Eastern Ma.
Posts: 494
Website

Bobbie, it looks like you will be able to use the Art & Craft Business Organizer on your Mac.  bear_original

I'm glad you like the Business Manager so far, Daphne!  Did you figure out if you can add to or edit the little drop-down menus?  I haven't been able to figure that out.  I'm a new Excel user, but found some free tutorials and classes on the web. 

I went through a short beginners one from Microsoft, and it was helpful.  This one is audio with pictures, and has practices that you can download and try.  The downloads don't work on Firefox though.  You have to use Internet Explorer for the downloads.   I thought it was good, but didn't get into the drop-down menus.

http://office.microsoft.com/training/Tr … 2005461033

The Collectible solutions looks good to me, too.  Not very expensive and lets you put in photos.  It looks like you can download a free trial to see if you like it before buying.

rowarrior The Littlest Thistle
Glasgow
Posts: 6,212
Bubble-Up Bears wrote:

I hope this doesn't sound completely stupid but does anyone know of a program I could use for keeping track of all the bears I have. I have hundreds and for now I have everything in a box/file. I want to track all info like when they were bought, from whom, who was the artist, how much I paid and the bear it self such as size, made from what material and so on.
Thanks :)

Hey Cyndee, I'm sure I could knock something up for you in Excel if you like, with drop down menus for everything and filters.  Pm me if you'd like me to.

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