Any recommendations for free or cheap bookkeeping solutions for a small craft biz?

If you’re running a small craft or market business, bookkeeping doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective. What matters most is consistency, not the tool itself. Many vendors start with simple systems and only upgrade once sales volume or complexity increases.

Below are practical, low-cost approaches that work well for early-stage vendors.

Option 1: Paper logs or a simple spreadsheet (free)

For very small operations, a notebook or spreadsheet can be enough.

At a minimum, track:

• Date of each event
• Total sales (cash and card)
• Booth fees and event costs
• Supplies or materials purchased
• Mileage or travel costs

This approach costs nothing, but it requires discipline. Missed entries or inconsistent updates are the biggest downside.

Option 2: Structured digital tracking (low cost)

As sales increase, many vendors move to a simple digital system to reduce manual work.

A basic digital setup usually includes:

• Recording each sale (even cash sales)
• Categorizing expenses
• Generating simple summaries like monthly totals or per-event results

You don’t need advanced accounting features to stay organized—just a way to reliably capture numbers as they happen.

Option 3: A dedicated vendor sales tracker (recommended)

For vendors selling in person, the hardest part of bookkeeping is often capturing accurate data during the event, not reconciling it later.

A tool designed for market vendors allows you to:

• Record sales as they happen (offline if needed)
• Separate events automatically
• See per-event totals and reports without manual math

Vorbiz is built specifically for this workflow, so you can focus on selling at the booth and review clean reports afterward.

Bottom line

The “best” bookkeeping solution is the one you’ll actually use. Starting simple is fine—but if spreadsheets start feeling fragile or time-consuming, moving to a dedicated vendor tool can save hours and reduce mistakes.