Craft Fair Profit and Stock: How to Track Market Sales (with SumUp)
A busy stall feels like a good day. Here is how to find out whether it really was, and how to restock without guessing.
Quick answer
To track a craft fair, add up your takings, then subtract materials, packaging, the stall fee, travel and card fees, and finally your own time. What is left is your real profit. Count what you took with you and what you brought home so you know what to restock. KavanaStock can match card payments from your own SumUp account to products on the Pro plan, so fair days need less typing.
What should I work out before a craft fair?
- Your cost per item, including packaging and your time. Our pricing formula walks through it.
- The cost of the day: stall fee, travel, display costs and parking.
- How many items you need to sell to break even. Divide the cost of the day by the profit per item.
- What you are taking. Count your stock before you load the car.
How do I take and record sales at a market?
Keep it simple so you can do it while serving customers. Many makers take card payments with a reader such as SumUp and keep a small notebook or phone note for cash sales. Whatever you use, record each sale on the day, because memory fades fast after a long weekend.
Check your card provider’s current fees and include them in your costs.
How do I work out my real profit after a fair?
Add up takings, then take away every cost, including your own time. The table below uses illustrative numbers:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Takings (40 items, average £14) | £560.00 |
| Materials used (from your recipes) | -£168.00 |
| Packaging | -£20.00 |
| Stall fee | -£45.00 |
| Travel | -£12.00 |
| Profit before your time | £315.00 |
| Your time (24 hours at £12) | -£288.00 |
| Left over after paying yourself | £27.00 |
In this example the fair looked like a good day at £560, but after paying yourself £12 an hour it left £27. That is not a disaster, but it tells you that this fair needs higher prices or fewer hours. Without counting your time, you would never know.
How do I know what to restock after a fair?
Compare what you took with what you brought home. The gap is what sold. Then look at the materials those products use, and check them against your minimum levels. Our guide on how to stop running out of materials shows how to set them.
How does KavanaStock help with craft fairs?
- SumUp sync (Pro). Card payments from your own SumUp account can be matched to your products, so stock and sales update without retyping. KavanaStock is independent and is not affiliated with SumUp.
- Recipes with your time included, so every product shows its true profit.
- Low-stock alerts (Pro), so a good fair does not leave you short of materials.
Cash sales are entered by hand.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out profit from a craft fair?
Add up your takings, then subtract materials used, packaging, the stall fee, travel, card fees and the value of your own time. What is left is your real profit.
How much should I charge for the stall fee in my prices?
Divide the stall fee and other costs of the day by the number of items you expect to sell, and include that share in each price.
Can KavanaStock record SumUp sales?
Yes, on the Pro plan. Card payments from your own SumUp account can be matched to your products. KavanaStock is not affiliated with SumUp, and cash sales are entered by hand.
How do I know how much stock to bring to a fair?
Look at what sold at your last fair of a similar size and add a small buffer for your best sellers. Count stock before and after so you learn what to bring next time.
About KavanaStock
KavanaStock (kavanaapp.co.uk) is an inventory and profit-tracking web app for independent makers. You add your materials and what they cost, build a recipe for each product, and it shows your true estimated profit per item (your own time included), warns you when materials run low and flags products that are not selling. There is a free plan with no credit card needed. Read more about KavanaStock. KavanaStock is not related to kavanapp.com or to any wellness app.
Written by the KavanaStock team. Last reviewed 6 October 2026.