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Sellcount or a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is a good tool and it may be all you need. Here is when it is enough, when it stops being enough, and what changes.
A spreadsheet is enough when
- You sell a handful of items a month.
- You buy each product once, at one price.
- Nobody else needs to see or check the figures.
You have outgrown it when
- The same product arrives at different prices, and one cost for all of it is no longer true.
- Refunds and fee changes arrive after you have added the month up.
- The payout in your bank does not match your sheet and you cannot say why.
- Someone else packs or lists for you, and should not see your profit.
- Month end takes an evening, and you still do not trust the answer.
Spreadsheet versus Sellcount
Spreadsheets got you started. They are not built to prove anything.
Keep the habit of checking your numbers. Lose the Sunday nights.
| A spreadsheet | Sellcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Fees matched to the right order | Pasted in by hand, often a month late | Matched by order id on every sync |
| Cost of goods | One average cost, or a guess | From the actual batch, oldest first |
| Refunds and returns | A negative number somewhere | Money and stock handled separately, each one visible |
| Proof it adds up | You hope the totals are right | Reconciled to eBay payouts, with the exceptions listed |
| A month later | Formulas overwritten, nobody knows by whom | Locked months and an audit log of every change |
| More than one person | Everyone sees everything, or no one can edit | Roles for each person, nothing breaks |
You do not lose your spreadsheet
Every report in Sellcount comes out as Excel or PDF, and all of your data can be downloaded at any time. If you like to check the figures in a sheet of your own, keep doing it: the audit report shows the checks that prove the totals add up.
Try the sum on one listing first with the free eBay profit calculator, or read how to work out real profit on eBay.
Stop guessing. Start counting.
Connect your store, add your stock, and see your first real month. 14 days free, no card.