Three Must Have Features In Any Bead Jewelry Program
If you have a handcrafted home jewelry business of any sort then you’ve probably learned that running a business is not always as easy as it could be. You probably have lots beads, lots of customers, plenty of invoices to print and some messy methods for keeping track of all your materials including your wires, clasps and even beads. You probably enjoy making bead jewelry, but you’ve probably had a heck of a time figuring out how much to offer your jewelry for and what price level gives you a good profit margin.
You can dedicate more energy to selling bead jewelry and less energy to pushing papers and calculating numbers with a good bead jewelry application. This is where a good beaded jewelry database can be helpful. There are actually many of different options you can buy when it comes to picking software to operate your jewelry business, from homemade spreadsheets and pre-made databases to sophisticated jewelry store and software programs. Here are three basic features you’ll definitely want to have in any software package you buy for your handmade jewelry business:
Inventory Control: Being able to track what jewelry pieces and even what supplies you have in stock is an essential part of any jewelry business software package. Keeping track of your beading supplies will also allow you to monitor supply costs and labor and help you set the proper price for each bead jewelry piece you make. One of the most difficult parts of operating a bead jewelry business is dealing with the inventory.
Receipt Printing and Customer Tracking: Tracking your previous clients is a good way to inform them about sales and new jewelry pieces you’ve made. Tracking customers is just as important as being able to give your customers a professional-looking receipt for their jewelry. You do not want to hand a customer a little scrap of carbon paper with some scribbles on it after they spend fifty dollars for an elegant bead necklace and earring set. Being able to produce business-like and easy-to-read invoices helps make your handmade jewelry business look more established.
Affordability: You don’t want to spend too much and get useless features that you will never use, but you also do not want to buy the cheapest program available and find yourself wanting more quickly. If you’re just beginning your bead jewelry business, then you should most likely budget between $100 to $150 for your initial jewelry program.
Any bead software package you get should definitely include the features above as well as plenty of others. Do not forget that the program you buy should help you operate your jewelry business, increase your profit margin and actually give you more time to do what you love the most: creating and selling wonderful bead jewelry!
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