Creating Your First Product

Creating a product in CrafterBy is a two-stage process: first you create the product record with its basic details, then you add the cost components (materials, labour, machines) that make up its cost.

Stage 1: Create the product record

1. In the main navigation, go to Products.
2. Click Create Product.
3. Enter the Product Name. Use a name that will make sense in reports and order lists (e.g., "Soy Candle 200g — Vanilla" rather than "Candle 1").
4. Enter a Description (optional but useful for distinguishing similar products).
5. Select or create a Category (e.g., Candles, Jewellery, Leather Goods). Used for filtering and reporting.
6. Enter a SKU (optional). If you use stock codes or sell on platforms that require SKUs, enter it here.
7. Click Save.

The product is now created with a zero cost. You will be taken to the product detail page, where you can add cost components.

Stage 2: Add cost components

The product detail page has tabs for each type of cost component:

• Materials — raw materials, packaging, consumables
• Labour — time and hourly rate for each task
• Machines — equipment time and cost per hour

Work through each tab and add the relevant components. The Cost Breakdown panel on the right (or at the bottom on mobile) updates in real time as you add items.

Candle example

For a 200 g soy candle, the component setup might look like:

Materials tab:

• Soy Wax C3 — 180 g
• Vanilla Fragrance Oil — 30 mL
• Cotton Wick — 1 unit
• Glass Jar 200 mL — 1 unit
• Product Label — 1 unit

Labour tab:

• Measuring and pouring — 10 minutes
• Cooling and trimming wick — 5 minutes
• Labelling and packaging — 5 minutes

Machines tab:

• Heat gun (packaging shrink wrap) — 3 minutes

See the individual articles for each tab for detailed instructions.

Setting a selling price

Once you have added all components, go to the Pricing tab. Enter a selling price, or set a target margin and let CrafterBy calculate the price. See Setting Your Selling Price and Margin for details.