User Guide

A tool for makers to track inventory on hand, landed costs, low stock, vendor spend, and make practical purchase decisions.

About

What it does

What it does not do

North Star: "This tells me what I have, what I'm low on, what I've spent, and what to buy next and how to price appropriately."

First-time setup checklist (do this once)

1) Configure your business information in Settings
  • Go to Settings and enter your company name.
  • Add optional contact info (address, phone, email, website).
  • This will appear on all printable forms and reports automatically.
1) Decide your default measurement units-(pick one per item and stick to it)
  • FO: g or oz or ml
  • EO: g or oz or ml
  • Powders/botanicals: g or oz
  • Cosmetic ingredients: g or oz
  • Soap making ingredients: g or oz or lbs
  • Packaging: ea
2) Enter your top items first into Inventory or use receiving invoices for the Purchase Log
  • Start with the items you buy repeatedly (FO/EO, jars, boxes, wax, oils, butters, preservatives).
  • Add reorder points for the items you never want to run out of.
  • Add shelf locations for where you keep your ingredients so you can find them easier.
3) Run your first shelf audit
  • Open the Shelf Audit Worksheet and print/save a PDF.
  • Walk shelves and mark what's actually left.
  • Update Inventory quantities after the audit.
Common Mistake: Putting the vendor in the item name (example: "CS Lavender FO"). Keep the item name vendor-neutral so price comparison works across vendors.

Page-by-page guides

Each page should help you in your day to day tasks.

Inventory

Purpose: This is your master library of items + your current on-hand amounts.

Use it when: You receive stock, do shelf audits, or update reorder points/locations.

Step-by-step
  1. Search first to avoid duplicates.
  2. Create a new item or open the item.
  3. Set its category (oils, butters, FO etc.) + unit measure (oz/g/ml/ea).
  4. Enter Qty_on_hand as the usable amount (partial containers included).
  5. Add reorder point (if it's reorder-worthy).
  6. Add shelf location (so On-Hand prints like a map).
  7. Track lot/expiry/BBD if you need it, and keep it updated.
Item Cost Auto-calculation
  1. Enter Item Cost (Total) — the total cost you paid for the item.
  2. Enter Qty On Hand — the quantity you received.
  3. The system automatically calculates Cost / Unit by dividing Item Cost by Qty On Hand.
  4. You can also manually enter Cost / Unit if needed (it works both ways).
Filtering & Views
  1. Use Category filter to narrow by ingredient type (oils, FO, packaging, etc.).
  2. Use Vendor filter to see items from a specific supplier.
  3. Toggle View Mode between "Grouped" (totals by ingredient name) and "Lots Only" (individual rows).
  4. Use Low stock only to quickly see items at or below reorder point.
  5. Use Show archived to view or hide archived items (archived items are hidden by default).
Source Column (M/P/I)
  • M = Manual (added directly in Inventory)
  • P = Purchase Log (posted from an invoice)
  • I = Import (bulk CSV import)

This helps you understand where each item came from and track purchase history.

Archive Items (Soft Delete)
  1. Select an inventory item.
  2. Click Archive Item button.
  3. Archived items are hidden from reports and the main list (unless "Show archived" is set to "Yes").
  4. Use this when an item is discontinued or no longer relevant, but you want to keep the history.
Trace Button
  • Each inventory row has a 🔍 Trace button in the rightmost column.
  • Click it to open the Lot Trace page and see the complete journey of that ingredient through production.
  • Essential for supplier recalls and FDA compliance.
Bulk Import via CSV
  1. Download the CSV Import Inventory Template (see Printable Forms section below).
  2. Fill in your inventory items in the spreadsheet.
  3. Click "Import CSV" on the Inventory page and upload your file.
  4. All valid items will be added to your inventory at once with source = "Import".
Common Mistake: Unit mismatch (oz vs ml), or putting vendor name in the item name (breaks price comparison across vendors).
Studio For Makers Rule: For ingredients that need lot tracing, multiple rows with the same name (different lots/vendors/batches) is CORRECT and necessary. For packaging and hard goods that don't need lot tracking, you can consolidate quantities into a single row.

Purchase Log

Purpose: Invoice history + landed cost + post purchases to inventory.

Use it when: You place an order and have an invoice (shipping/tax/fees matter).

Step-by-step
  1. Create invoice header (vendor/date/notes).
  2. Enter shipping/tax/fees (so unit costs are real).
  3. Add lines: containers + size + unit → qty calculates.
  4. Enter lot + expiry date when you need tracking.
  5. Enter vendor SKU when it's on the invoice (helps reorder/support).
  6. Save invoice + post to inventory.
Invoice Filtering
  1. Use Vendor filter to see invoices from a specific supplier.
  2. Use Status filter to see only Posted or Draft invoices.
  3. Posted invoices have already updated inventory; Draft invoices are still being worked on.
  4. These filters help you quickly find specific invoices or review pending work.
Studio For Makers Rule: For ingredients, track the amount you use in formulas (oz/g/ml). For packaging, track ea.

Reports & Dashboard

Purpose: To make quick decisions: see low stock, spend, recent purchases, price compare, data gaps.

Use it when: Planning orders, doing monthly close, or checking costs.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  • Inventory value, item count, low/out of stock items
  • Total invoices (posted vs drafts)
  • Quick snapshot of your business health
Alerts Panel — "Needs Immediate Attention"
  • Out of Stock (red) — Items with 0 quantity that need immediate reorder
  • Low Inventory (orange) — Items below reorder point
  • Expired Items (urgent) — Items past their expiry/BBD date
  • Click the linked item name to jump directly to the Inventory page
  • When all is good, you'll see "✓ All clear! No urgent issues."
Batch Production History (Last 30 Days)
  • Shows all blend and recipe batches made in the last 30 days
  • Displays: Date, Type (Blend/Recipe), Name, Qty Made, Cost/Unit, Total Cost
  • Click the 🔍 Trace button to see full lot traceability for that batch
  • Useful for tracking production activity and costs over time
Lot Traceability Widget
  • Quick search box for lot numbers or ingredient names
  • Enter a lot number or ingredient name and click "Trace Lot"
  • Opens the Lot Trace page with full upstream/downstream traceability
  • Essential for supplier recalls and FDA compliance
Reports & Analysis
  1. Check low stock and build reorder list.
  2. Review spend by vendor (what's driving costs).
  3. Use ingredient price compare when you buy the same thing from multiple vendors.
  4. Fix data gaps that affect decisions (missing unit/cost/category/expiry etc).

On-Hand Report

Purpose: This is a printable shelf list grouped by category (with shelf location).

Use it when: You complete shelf audits, reorder runs, and monthly close.

Step-by-step
  1. Filter by category if needed.
  2. Print/save PDF.
  3. Walk shelves and mark actual amounts.
  4. Update Inventory page after the walk-through.

Lot Trace

Purpose: Track the complete journey of any ingredient or lot number through your entire production chain.

Use it when: Handling supplier recalls, FDA compliance audits, quality issues, or customer inquiries about specific batches.

How to Use Lot Trace
  1. Enter a lot number or ingredient name in the search box.
  2. Click "Search" or press Enter.
  3. View Upstream traceability — where the ingredient came from (supplier, invoice, lot, dates).
  4. View Downstream traceability — what finished products contain this ingredient or lot.
  5. See all batch movements, dates, and quantities.
Access Points
  • Click the 🔍 Trace button in the Inventory page (rightmost column)
  • Click the 🔍 Trace button in Batch Production History on the Dashboard
  • Use the Lot Traceability search widget on the Dashboard
  • Navigate directly to the Lot Trace page
Studio For Makers Rule: If a supplier issues a recall for a specific lot, use Lot Trace to instantly find all affected finished products.
What You'll See
  • Raw Materials — Original inventory items with lot numbers, vendors, and dates received
  • Blend Batches — Intermediate products made from raw materials
  • Recipe Batches — Finished products made from raw materials and/or blends
  • Inventory Movements — Complete audit trail of all transactions

Blend Builder

Purpose: To create and cost any master batches you reuse-FO/EO blends, base oils, active pre-blends or functional concentrates. You can even use it for packaging groups.

Use it when: You combine multiple ingredients at once then use that mixture in recipes.

Step-by-step
  1. Create a blend name + unit (oz/g/ea).
  2. Add components + percentages.
  3. Save and verify unit cost looks reasonable.
Studio For Makers Rule: If you make any blends and use them many times, it belongs here.

Recipe Builder

Purpose: To build finished goods with ingredient + blend costs.

Use it when: You want COGS by batch or by unit.

Step-by-step
  1. Create recipe name + batch size.
  2. Add ingredients/blends + percentages.
  3. Save and review cost per unit (and adjust if needed).
  4. Now you can also create a SKU. This creates a new Finished Product record.
  5. Links it to this new recipe. Does NOT touch inventory yet.
  6. This is a one-time setup per product
Make Batch
  1. This consumes ingredients from inventory (deducts raw materials).
  2. Produces finished goods (adds to finished product inventory).
  3. Posts inventory movements for traceability.
  4. You can make multiple batches at once (e.g., "3 batches" = 3x the yield qty).
Studio For Makers Rule: Create your recipe. Click Create SKU once (sets up the finished product). Click Make Batch whenever you produce products (deducts ingredients, adds finished units to inventory).

Finished Products

Purpose: Manage your sellable products — pricing, stock levels, COGS, margins, and Shopify export. Finished products are tracked separately from raw materials.

Use it when: You want to see what you have ready to sell, check margins, or prepare products for Shopify.

Understanding the Badges
  1. IN STOCK / OOS — Whether you have units on hand.
  2. NO INVENTORY LINK — Product isn't connected to inventory yet. Click the badge to fix it.
  3. SHOPIFY READY — All Shopify fields are filled in (SKU, Name, Retail Price, Shopify Handle).
  4. NOT SHOPIFY READY — Some Shopify fields are still missing.
  5. MISSING: ... — Lists exactly what info is still needed.
Studio For Makers Rule: Finished products are separate from raw material inventory. They show up only on the Finished Products page, not on the Inventory page.

Pricing Workflow

  1. COGS is calculated automatically when you make a batch in Recipe Builder
  2. Enter Retail price (changes save automatically when you click away)
  3. (Optional) Enter Wholesale price
  4. Check that your Retail margin is healthy

Connecting Products to Inventory

Each product needs an inventory connection to track stock and COGS. This usually happens automatically when you add a SKU. If a product shows "NO INVENTORY LINK":

  1. Click the "NO INVENTORY LINK" badge on the product row
  2. If a matching inventory row exists, select it and click "Connect Selected"
  3. If no row exists, click "Create + Connect" to make a new one (starts at 0 on hand)

Fix Inventory Links (Wizard)

Use the wizard when you have multiple products that need connecting:

  1. After importing products
  2. After creating SKUs from Recipe Builder
  3. When several items show "NO INVENTORY LINK"

The wizard shows all unconnected products and lets you connect them one by one or create missing inventory rows in bulk.

Adjusting Finished Product Stock

Purpose: Manually update how many finished units you have on hand — for shipments, damages, recounts, or returns.

Use it when: You ship orders, find damaged stock, do a physical count, or receive customer returns.

Step-by-step
  1. Open a finished product detail page (click any row on the Finished Products list).
  2. Scroll to the Adjust Stock section.
  3. Enter a quantity: use a negative number to subtract (e.g. -5 for shipped units) or a positive number to add (e.g. 3 for returns).
  4. Select a reason from the dropdown:
    • Manual adjustment — general correction
    • Shipped / Fulfilled — orders sent out
    • Damaged / Waste — broken or unusable units
    • Physical recount — updating after a shelf count
    • Customer return — units coming back
    • Other — anything else
  5. Optionally add notes (e.g. "Shopify order #1042" or "Dropped box of 6").
  6. Click Apply Adjustment.
  7. The On Hand count updates immediately and a movement record is logged.
Recent Stock Movements

Below the adjustment form, you'll see a log of the last 20 stock movements for that product — including production batches and manual adjustments. This is your audit trail showing exactly when and why stock changed.

Studio For Makers Rule: Make Batch in Recipe Builder adds stock automatically. Use Adjust Stock for everything else: shipments, damages, recounts, and returns.
Studio For Makers Rule: Every sellable SKU must exist in Finished Products and be connected to an inventory row.
Common Mistake: Editing a SKU in one place but not the other (causes mismatch). Avoid renaming SKUs after they're set up.

Settings

Purpose: Configure your company information and user profile.

Use it when: First-time setup, updating company details, or changing your profile information.

Company Information
  1. Enter your Company Name (required) — appears on all printable forms and reports.
  2. Add optional contact details: Address, Phone, Email, Website.
  3. This information automatically populates headers on all printed documents.
  4. Click "Save Settings" to update.
User Profile
  • Update your email address
  • Change your password
  • Manage account preferences
Studio For Makers Rule: Set up company information during first-time setup so all your reports look professional from day one.

Team Management

Purpose: Invite team members and manage access to your Studio For Makers account.

Use it when: You want to give employees, partners, or contractors access to your inventory and production data.

Inviting Team Members
  1. Click "Invite Team Member" button.
  2. Enter the person's email address.
  3. Select their role/permissions (if applicable).
  4. They'll receive an invitation email with a link to join your company.
  5. Once they accept, they'll appear in your team list.
Managing Team Members
  • View all active team members and their roles
  • Remove team members who no longer need access
  • Resend invitations if they expire
Studio For Makers Rule: All team members share the same inventory and production data. Use team management when you need multiple people working in the system.

Soap Calculator

Purpose: Calculate lye, water, and oil quantities for cold process soap recipes.

Use it when: Formulating new soap recipes or scaling existing ones.

How to Use
  1. Select your oils and enter their percentages (must total 100%).
  2. Enter your desired batch size (weight).
  3. Set your superfat percentage (typically 5-8%).
  4. Choose lye type (NaOH for bar soap, KOH for liquid soap).
  5. The calculator shows exact amounts of each oil, lye, and water needed.
  6. Includes SAP values and automatic calculations.
Studio For Makers Rule: Always double-check lye calculations. Use a second calculator or manual verification for safety.

Candle Calculator

Purpose: Calculate wax, fragrance oil, and other additives for candle making.

Use it when: Formulating candle recipes or determining container fill amounts.

How to Use
  1. Enter your container volume or desired wax weight.
  2. Select your wax type (affects density and shrinkage).
  3. Set fragrance oil percentage (typically 6-10%).
  4. Add any additives (dye, vybar, etc.) with their percentages.
  5. Calculator shows total amounts needed for your batch.
Studio For Makers Rule: Test burn your candles before scaling up production. Every wax and fragrance combination behaves differently.

Printable Forms Pack

These are separate printable pages meant for real tasks: production runs, batch labeling, shelf audits, receiving shipments, and monthly close. Open the page and use the Print button on that sheet when you want a hard copy.

Print tip: Use portrait and "fit to page width." For long lists, print multiple copies. Use landscape for the planner.

📖 Printable User Guide

Detailed, print-optimized version of the page-by-page instructions. Perfect for keeping a hard copy at your workstation.

Open Printable Guide

CSV Inventory Import Template

Download this template to bulk import inventory items. Fill it out with your items and upload via the Inventory page.

Production Run Sheet

Track ingredient usage and batch quality during production. Checklist format with space for actual quantities used.

Open Production Run Sheet

Batch Labels

Generate printable labels (4×6 inches) for finished product batches with ingredients, dates, and batch numbers.

Open Batch Labels

Batch Log

Quality control checklist and lot traceability for finished product batches. Combines QC checks with ingredient lot tracking.

Open Batch Log

Shelf Audit Worksheet

Walk shelves → record remaining amounts + shelf location → input to Inventory.

Open Worksheet

Receiving Checklist

A one-page checklist you can use for every shipment so nothing gets missed.

Open Checklist

Monthly Close Checklist

A simple checklist for your monthly routine (dashboard checks + audit + reorder).

Open Checklist

Reorder List (Vendor Grouped)

Use after Low Stock + shelf audit. Keep it practical: what you'll actually buy next.

Open Reorder List

Production Planner

Plan for your week ahead and check off as you go.

Open Production Planner

Frequently asked questions

How do I track partial bottles?

Track the usable amount you have left, not the original container size.

You can weigh/measure, or eyeball it and use a reasonable estimate:

  • ~25% full → enter ¼ of the original size
  • ~50% full → enter ½ of the original size
  • ~75% full → enter ¾ of the original size

Example: 16 oz Lavender FO looks half full → enter 8 oz. Another tip! We weigh the whole container when it arrives into inventory. Knowing what the contents are supposted to weigh, subtract that from the total weight and track from that point. Mark it on the container for helpful guidance and you can rewigh the whole container at any time!

Studio For Makers Rule: Inventory is a living estimate. Being consistently close is more useful than being perfectly exact once.
Should I enter every single tiny purchase?

Not necessarily. You don't need to enter every minor one-off item if it doesn't affect production, reordering, or quality.

Always enter: ingredients used in formulas and packaging you consume and replace- especially items that can run out, expire, or vary in price.

Lower priority (optional): one-time tools, office supplies, and equipment that isn't consumed.

The goal is to track what you use, replace, and depend on- not every object you own.

Do I need to track lot numbers and best-by/expiry dates?

Yes - if those matter for your products.

Lot + expiry tracking is especially important for FO, EO, preservatives, actives, and botanicals/powders.

  • Lots support consistency and traceability.
  • Expiry and BBD help you rotate stock, avoid waste, and prevent degraded materials.
Can this replace accounting software?

No. This is an ops tracker. It helps you know what you have and what it cost, but it doesn't do bookkeeping, taxes, payroll, or financial statements.

Why does my inventory value look off?
  • Missing cost per unit
  • Wrong unit (oz vs g vs ea)
  • Duplicate items with slightly different names
  • Large partial containers not updated recently
How do I handle blends in recipes?

Blends are pre-mixed ingredient combinations (like fragrance blends or oil blends). In the Blend Builder, create your blend and add the component ingredients with their percentages (must total 100%).

Once saved, you can add that blend to any recipe in the Recipe Builder. The system automatically calculates the true cost by expanding the blend into its individual components.

You can also create bubles for packaiging and labels that you use all the time. Just for an added quick convenience if you choose.

Why does the Production Capacity show "BLOCKED"?

A product is blocked when you don't have enough of one or more ingredients. Check the "Missing Ingredients" column to see what you need.

Remember: if a recipe uses a blend, all components of that blend must be in stock.

How do I link recipes to finished products?

In the Finished Products page, click on a product row to edit it. Look for the "Recipe" dropdown field and select the recipe you want to link.

Once linked, the Dashboard can show you production capacity (what you can make with current inventory) and calculate true COGS including materials, waste, overhead, and labor.

What's the difference between overhead and labor costs?
  • Labor cost = time spent making the product (your hourly rate × time)
  • Overhead = indirect costs like utilities, rent, packaging, labels allocated per unit

Both are added to material costs to get your true cost per unit for margin calculations.

Why do I see the same item listed twice on the On-Hand Report?

Items with different categories appear in separate sections. For example, "Castor Oil" with category "Oil" and "Castor Oil" with no category (Uncategorized) will be listed separately.

Update them to have the same category to group them together. The subtotal will calculate correctly across all lots/vendors as long as they have the same category.

How do I know if my margins are healthy?

Check the Recipe Costs dashboard section:

  • Green (✓) = 30%+ margin (healthy)
  • Orange (⚡) = under 30% (low margin, barely profitable)
  • Red (⚠️) = negative margin (losing money)

Factor in ALL costs: materials, waste, overhead, and labor.

Can I track inventory for both raw materials AND finished goods?

Yes! Raw materials (ingredients) are tracked on the Inventory page. Finished goods are tracked separately on the Finished Products page.

When you make a batch in Recipe Builder, raw materials are deducted and finished product stock is added automatically. The two pages give you a complete picture: (1) how much raw material you have to make things, and (2) how many finished units you have ready to sell.

What's the "waste percentage" in recipes?

Waste accounts for material loss during production (spillage, evaporation, stuck in containers).

If you set 5% waste, the system automatically increases material costs by 5% when calculating recipe costs. This gives you more accurate margins.