Craft Fair Cost and Break-Even Calculator

Who this is for

Find out whether a fair will pay for itself. Enter the event costs and your own average sale price and making cost to see how many sales cover the day, then add what you actually took afterwards to see the result.

Makers deciding whether to book a craft fair, market or show, and wanting to compare the figures afterwards before booking the same event again.

What this helps you track

• Every cost of attending, estimated and then actual
• The profit left from each sale at your own prices
• How many sales cover the costs of the day
• The takings needed to break even
• Whether the event made or lost money once it is over

How to use it

1. Write the event and venue and the date at the top, then your own average sale price and average making cost per item.
2. Fill in the estimated cost of each line, from stall fee to insurance, using your own quotes and receipts; add anything else under other.
3. Read off the profit per sale, break-even sales and break-even takings, worked out in the browser and the workbook.
4. After the event, enter the actual cost of each line, your total takings and the number of items sold.
5. Check the result figure and keep the sheet with the event details to decide whether to book it again.
6. Print it for the planning notebook or fill it in online, where it saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What should count as the average item cost?

What one typical item you sell costs you to make, from your own costing: materials and packaging, plus labour and overheads if you include them. Use the same basis every time so events can be compared.

Why is break-even sales a whole number?

You cannot sell part of an item, so the figure is rounded up to the next whole sale. Selling that many at your average price and cost covers the day's costs.

Should I include my time at the fair?

If you want the result to show whether the day was worth your time, add a line under other for your own hourly figure times the hours. Leave it out if you only want to cover cash costs.

My sale prices vary a lot. Is an average good enough?

It gives a reasonable estimate. For a closer figure, work out the average from a past event's takings divided by items sold, and use that.