Indigo & Paper

Enter one batch's materials, hours and overhead to get your cost per item and a direct price. It then shows what a shop's wholesale or consignment terms would leave you, with every step of the arithmetic shown.

Price stickers from the sheet divided by the stickers that survive, then add your time and the per-order packing and fees, which cost the same whether an order holds one sticker or eight. In the worked example one sticker sold alone needs about $2.42, while the same sticker in a sheet of eight works out at about $1.15.

Cost the whole batch, divide by the bars you can actually sell, add your time and overhead, then divide by what is left after fees and margin. In the worked example, $16.30 of materials over nine sellable bars and ten minutes a bar gives a floor of about $8.08 a bar at 8% fees and a 30% margin.

Price handmade jewelry from dated component costs plus a waste allowance, your full time and overhead, then divide by what is left after fees and margin. Re-cost every piece that uses a component when you reorder it at a new price; in the worked example a pair costing $11.35 needs about $18.31 for a 30% margin after 8% fees.

Price crochet from the yarn the piece uses and your timed hours at a rate you would accept, add overhead, then divide by what is left after fees and margin. A worked toy and blanket, a price list you can copy, and three honest choices if the number looks too high.

Price a container candle from the jar up: materials, a share for test burns and seconds, your batch time and overhead, then divide by what is left after fees and margin. In the worked example the jar costs more than the wax, and a candle costing $7.47 needs about $12.05 for a 30% margin after 8% fees.

Cost the whole batch including your time, divide by the items you can actually sell rather than the number you baked, then price for a margin, not a markup. In the worked sourdough batch that makes the cost 9.43 a loaf and the price 13.10, which keeps 25% after a 3% card fee.

Price vinyl decals by the time the design takes, not by the square foot, because vinyl is the cheapest part and weeding time does not scale with size. In the worked example a 4 × 4 inch decal carries $0.43 of materials against $3.60 of labour and needs about $6.90 for a 30% margin after 8% fees.

Price a vinyl shirt from the blank up: materials, a failure rate that costs the whole shirt, your time for every colour layer and overhead, then divide by what is left after fees and margin. In the worked example a shirt costing $11.03 needs about $17.79 to keep a 30% margin after 8% fees.

Add materials, your labour at a rate you would accept and overhead, multiply by two for a first price, then check what that price leaves after fees, postage and discounts. In the worked example the ×2 price leaves about 22% of what the customer paid, not 50%.

A handover a house or pet sitter can use without phoning you: the one page they read first, each pet, the house, what to do when something goes wrong, and the check before you leave.

The interview questions that show how a nanny actually works, how to check references properly, and what to agree in writing before the first day.