I help handmade, creative, and craft business owners stop stressing over their numbers and start understanding them. Not perfectly. Just correctly.

For over 30 years, I lived in the world of debits, credits, spreadsheets, and bookkeeping software — working as a career bookkeeper for small businesses.

Then I started my own handmade business (Fanciful Things, LLC) thinking, “I’ve got this — I’m a bookkeeper.”

And then I ran straight into the part nobody explains:

Portrait of Nancy Smyth, The YarnyBookkeeper, smiling in a cozy home office with yarn and a laptop.

Handmade business bookkeeping is different.

Inventory. Pricing. Cost of Goods Sold. Selling on platforms that make reporting weird. Taxes that don’t care that you’re “just making cute things.”

So if you’ve felt behind, confused, or like you’re doing it wrong… here’s what’s actually going on:

You weren’t given a clear roadmap.

Here’s what matters (and what doesn’t)

What matters:

  • a simple system you can actually maintain
  • knowing what money is coming in and what it’s going out for
  • understanding inventory + COGS so you’re not pricing blind
  • being able to read your reports without wanting to cry
  • knowing what you need for taxes before tax time

What doesn’t:

  • perfection
  • fancy software before you’re ready
  • “do this every day” rules that don’t fit real life
  • feeling like you need an MBA to run a crochet business
  • shame as motivation

Start here

If your bookkeeping plan is currently “I’ll deal with it later”… you’re in the right place.

Go to the Start Here page and grab the freebie that fits what you’re dealing with right now — pricing + COGS, paying yourself, sorting expenses, getting IRS-ready, etc.
It’ll give you a clear first step (and you’ll see how I teach: practical, maker-friendly, no fluff).

What I do (in plain English)

I teach bookkeeping for handmade businesses the way it should’ve been taught in the first place: clear, practical, maker-specific, and built for real life.

We cover the stuff that actually trips makers up:

  • categorizing expenses without spiraling
  • tracking inventory and finished items
  • Cost of Goods Sold / Cost of Sales (COGS/COS)
  • sales tax (and other fun surprises)
  • entering transactions so your reports aren’t garbage
  • reading financial reports so you can make confident decisions

No ego. No shame. And, NO corporate polish.

What you can expect here

I will:

  • explain what matters (and what doesn’t) in plain English
  • give you clear steps — including what to do first, so you don’t waste time
  • teach bookkeeping the way it actually works for handmade businesses
  • help you set up a system you can maintain in real life (not just on your best day)
  • help you tackle the real-world stuff: inventory, COGS, taxes, and reports

I won’t:

  • shame you for not doing this perfectly
  • tell you to “track everything” without telling you how
  • act like your confusion is a mindset problem
  • sell you motivation in a pretty font
  • pretend handmade inventory + COGS is “easy” if you just believe harder

What you won’t get here

  • fluffy mindset lectures
  • “just hustle harder” nonsense
  • guilt as motivation
  • advice that ignores how handmade businesses actually work

You don’t need to fix everything at once.
But you do need to start — and start with the right things.

A few random things about me (because we’re human)

  • If I’m not doing bookkeeping stuff, I’m probably out walking with my boxer Mortimer (he’s my main guy).
  • And yes, I ride Spyder too (because apparently I have a need for speed and like living on the edge).
  • I’m a career bookkeeper and a maker, which is why I don’t teach advice that falls apart in the real world.
  • I like simple systems that work — not perfection projects that collect dust.

Ready for your first step?

Go to the Start Here page and grab the freebie that fits what you’re dealing with right now — pricing + COGS, paying yourself, sorting expenses, getting IRS-ready, etc.
It’ll give you a clear first step (and you’ll see how I teach: practical, maker-friendly, no fluff).

P.S. Please be sure to subscribe to my newsletter (below) to stay updated and get your FREE copy of the “Bookkeeping: The Secret Sauce” eBook.

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