I have been in software my entire sales career. I can so identify with all that you’re saying because often, I have either had to use particular software that was so robust whereby the obvious things would be hidden 4 clicks away... or in the wrong “bucket” that it would take so much of my time. Or... I would have to sell a platform that was so upside down and granular that the customer would feel the learning curve was too steep. I so appreciate this video and can totally relate. I’m planning on going with Inventora. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Please come back and let me know what you think of Inventora! I'm on the fence now with both and I'm thinking it's a me problem at this point - ha! I appreciate your insight!
This is why I just go to my mom's and she makes me an excel spread sheet of materials, sales, files with my receipts etc. I'm keeping it old school ❤️🙏
This is great. The Microsoft Copilot referenced your video. Thankfully has prevented me from going down a CB rabbit hole which I have done so many times. Typically these one-man-band software titles have one developer and that developer is in another country quite possibly working on multiple projects which translates to why you are having these issues.
Hi Ashley I wanted to thank you for your honest review of craftybase! I had been going back & forth on which inventory system to use & this was very helpful! I don't know if you are still trying to work with Craftybase, but I ultimately decided on Inventora & i LOVE it! It is super user friendly & very intuitive! I am not nearly as tech savvy as you, so if i can use it easily, thats saying something! Also, i love that everything automatically syncs up as soon as you enter it! Just wanted to pass that along since you are always so helpful to the rest of us! :)
I just started using Craftybase and it’s a nightmare for me. I’m tht tech savvy either. I feel like I hv to go back to school just to learn craftybase. I don’t like tht I cannot speak to someone. I don’t hv tht time to wait for an email especially if they are recommending for me to look at other videos. I’m looking at inVentura. Thanks for transparency Ashley.
You are not crazy! We are paying money and it should not be so hard to use this report. I am trying to figure out how to cancel a merge that I accidentally merged with the wrong product
Thank you for this review. I am a potter who is focusing more on my wholesale business. I have been on the fence about this software and this review really helps!!
Hi Ashley, I feel you! I’ve had a subscription to CB for over 2 years. Initially I had my daughter input all my materials thinking we were doing it the right way and it was not. There is no clear direction on where to “start” in Craftybase and how the flow of everything you do all works together. consequently all my materials were entered as products, that was just the beginning. I had material categories the same as product categories, not to mention the process of SKU#’s . I have over a thousand materials in inventory rn and it’s daunting when you have to enter in expenses (all your materials). Then the materials have to be entered exact, if it’s an office expense/consumable goods/non-consumables/inventory able vs non-inventoriable… etc! If the purchase to tracking unit is off you have to find the expense where that particular material was purchased and edit the expense, then CB automatically creates a duplicate material in inventory one with the correct quantities and the other one zeroed out. You have to find the materials and delete the duplicate entry that is zero qty. It’s a very frustrating software to use. My husband is Director of Data Engineering at a big firm and my daughter works for the same company as a project manager. Both of them are my assistant’s in my business doing the management of CB, Shopify, Etsy etc and they are equally frustrated with all the glitches in the software. It seems like everything has to be correct the first time and if you miss any little detail and have to go fix it, it takes forever to figure out how to change something, then it usually creates another problem in the backend that also has to be fixed. You just hope that any errors are caught before your product goes live on the website because it literally takes like an hour to make the correct adjustments to a single product because of deleting the bad data, making the correction, deleting duplicates, and reloading the correct product. I started my small business during 2020 and at that time I was doing all this myself along with creating and designing products. Then finally my family started to help with Admin and technical things, now I mostly design and create my products. But for both of my family members to work in the software development and data engineering fields and they think this software sucks…it does. I cringe everytime I have to use it because it’s not user friendly. They are based in Australia and so there is the big time difference in customer service response times. You can only contact direct help by email and like you said, they respond with pre-written tutorials that don’t actually apply to your specific problem. Also because they are in Australia, my bank charges an international transaction fee every time they debit my monthly subscription from my bank account. I switched my debit to a credit card and same thing, international fees! I really wish there was an inventory software program made in the USA for makers of handmade goods, small business owners who sell their hobbies! My business is handmade home decor and crafts, floral arrangements, signs, wedding floral home decor etc. so I have a lot of different materials that I use. Hope this information helps and know that you’re not alone in this struggle. Laurie@lovinthecraft.com 2:57
Laurie! I felt this comment deep in my soul, girl! There's a lot of back and forth with this system and now that I have moved to another system I've realized that what I am asking might just be to tall of an order to ask of a software inventory management system for small scale makers like ourselves. BUT, I am making due and finding that the new system - Inventora - that I am using is at least a lot less cumbersome with regards to working through the set up process. It might be worth looking at. I wish you nothing but luck and in the meantime know that you are not alone in these grievances.
I always love your honest reviews! I want to hear from someone who isn't being paid by the company. Sorry you are having those issues. My husband works in software and this sounds like bad code writing that they need to work on to me. Good code writing means that the software is user friendly...clearly this isn't. If my candle doesn't work then that's on me and I should give a refund and fix the issue with my product...
I feel your pain and frustration. I have used Craftybase for 3 years now, in my leather business. I primarily have used it as an expense keeper and for product cost analysis. It is very powerful and can do so much more, but I feel it could be a full time job to keep up! I do not sell online, so it’s integration into sales channels isn’t needed for me. I am particularly frustrated trying to get the consignment or wholesale pricing areas to work for me. I am growing and now need to begin using manufactures and batching which I cringe learning due to the amount of time it seems to take. My one wish and suggestion for Craftybase is MORE tutorials. Starting from scratch and going on to more complex things. As you said, starting all over again and with what is almost unthinkable. Thank you for your review.
Oh I hate to hear this but I feel it! I’m told that things will be on the horizon in the form of Upgrades for CB so if you are sticking with them which at times it feels like you have to, let’s hope it makes things a LOT better. The one thing the owner mentioned is Loom videos in response to questions to walk through issues you’ve emailed about which honestly would help me out as a visual learner tremendously. It just scratches the surface but I’ll take it! good luck!
You are NOT crazy!! I have the same complaints and was thinking it was me because of the rave reviews I read lol. I'm actually considering switching to Inventora. Such a daunting task
I’m with you. I tried the free trial. Then paid a month. Not for me. Maybe good for other people. Nothing against it. But I wasted a lot of my time with it in vain. Some other candle makers here I feel are saying good things about Craftybase because it is a paid video.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I haven’t seen any sponsored videos for this company myself, but I’m sure there’s a little “hey, remember we’re paying you, so be nice” thrown in between the lines 😬 and I’m definitely not saying craftybase says that, but I’m sure other companies do..🤷🏻♀️
There are definitely RU-vidrs on payroll which is totally fine. I clearly am not and that’s okay with me. I really really want to love the software but it’s falling short for me.
Thanks Ashley. Just cancelled my trial as I agree support is important but small businesses like ours do not have the luxury to commit large amounts of time to just hit brick walls. Hope you sorted out either your issues or have moved on.
Im a soap maker and it took a long time to get all the receipts of my supplies entered, and I'm to the point of entering my receipts and I'm ecstatic about this. It was a lot of hard work, but I'm excited to reach an end where it will be easy to keep up with now.
I spent hours inputting ingredients and haven't even gotten 20%of them input and just really discouraged with the amount of time its taking, having to individually calculate shipping etc...
I'm very curious if they ever reached out to you about this video or if they addressed any of this. Thank you very much for your time and review. It def gives me some points to consider before I get started with an inventory system. Truly appreciate it.
THey definitely did to update me of some things on their end taking place and to acknowledge my frustrations. I feel like right now I"m just in a maintenance mode with the platform and while I continue to use it, there are still things that I feel like are a bit more cumbersome than they need to be. I acknowledge that I am just one person and they can't tend to my every need. Some needs are better. Some are still lacking!
I'm in the same boat right now. Nothing seems to make sense, despite the instructions and I'm incredibly frustrated. I use it for a handmade knits business. I prefer live help, but same issues with reorienting to figure out problems. You are not alone--I share the same sentiments. I started with Craftybase at the start of my business--it's a year in and I'm walking away. The frustration outweighs the willingness to stay and figure it out for the sake of the time/money invested.
I'm so sorry you are struggling with this! I'm working on another platform and I wish I could say there is a "better" tool out there. I haven't yet found it if so.
Wasted a year of weekends struggling with Craftybase. Oh they aren’t open on weekends when I need help, or evenings! Never could get it to calculate inventory correctly. It would say I was out of X, I would check the materials inventory, it was clearly in stock.
That’s interesting you say that because just today I was updating manufactures and submitting a manual order and was like… why is this not calculating and it said I was out of something I just ordered! Back to the drawing board. I am told they are going to be doing some updates that might help with the email feature to have loom videos walk you through the issue when you have time to work on it… but I feel you on this.
I am very bothered 😕. I am also pretty tech savvy and Ashley you just use it for candles but I also make soaps, bath bombs, scrubs, and candles so it’s super confusing when trying to figure out how to input your materials
I really wish Crafty Base had a free version. I love the paid version for my main business, but would like to use it for my smaller business as well. Inventora is really basic. It doesn't even have a section to calculate costs of shipping on orders, only how much you charge. Also, Inventora doesn't give the simple report of gross profit. You can only see profits on each individual order. Why wouldn't it show you the bottom line in a report??
This is a great question, when I signed up I did not check how they handle customer service and you posing this question is a great way for me to be more mindful as I sign up for software in the future because it’s definitely a game changer for me! I’m living and learning!
I am not a maker but have been looking for a hobby. As a result, I came across your videos along with others. I want to say I enjoy your content. I also wanted to give you constructive criticism that your comments on the video but even more so in the comment section, really come across as questioning other YTers integrity. I don’t know you or BTB personally so maybe he is lying about using craftybase for years before becoming sponsored, but I have no reason to believe that is true. It’s not a good look to imply others give endorsement for products they don’t believe in without any proof.
Oh no! I definitely wasn't trying to insinuate anything about someones integrity! I went back and read the comment and can see now how that might have come across. I was more so trying to say that none of my content is sponsored and that I know that CB did a lot of work with some makers to sponsor their content to show how it works. I can definitely see how that might have been mishandled on my end - AH! Let me be clear, I'm certain anyone who is sponsored would still share their opinions but for videos that are how to's or walk throughs of a product (which is what I was referencing), I doubt those would showcase frustrations with a video and for those reasons they might be a bit biased or unfruitful to those on the fence. I hope that helps! I would never question anyones integrity - especially if I've never had the chance to meet them or know them by any means!
@@UpsideGoodsCo I hadn't gotten that impression from your other videos. If I had, I wouldn't watch. I find you to be honest and open. I am also sure some YTers aren't great fans of sponsors they endorse and others probably only endorse those they believe in.
Oh my goodness, please let us know if you find an alternative to CB! I have spent literally hundreds of hours on this platform over the last 4 months and I keep butting my head against new issues. Some days I think it would be worth it to simply erase everything and start fresh with what I have learned through trial and error. Heavy on the error. Do you use their Pro or Indie service? I'm wondering if the auto manufacture of the Indie would help.
Update: I have been using Inventora and it’s been so much better for me! Streamlined, more intuitive. Not quite as robust as Craftybase, but certainly easier to use and fix errors.
Not yet! I haven't jumped to that platform yet and still on the fence given the amount of time I have invested at this point to Craftybase and the lack of time I have to devote to changing but when and If I do... I will share!
I was thinking about giving Craftybase another go, and this was a reminder of the things that were frustrating the first 3 times I tried it. I paid for a year of Inventora, but it comes with another set of frustrations and limitations.
@@UpsideGoodsCo I was so frustrated by it 3 months ago that I haven't touched it since. Not the best idea to start a new system right before the busy season. I was trying to input production that occurred in the past but wanted it accounted for, and I realized I had made a mistake. I deleted the production and was surprised that doing so did not return materials to their original counts. So I had to go back and adjust each component, which created an even bigger mess. So I and gave up and went back to my old system. I'm now doing an audit and adjusting all materials to see if I can get it to work for me. I wish it had a start clean feature. I'm a soap and cosmetics maker and have started to test candles (thanks to you! lots of testing!!)
You have really scared me because I am starting my business, I have not even sold anything yet because I am putting all my records, a lot of hours, in Crafty base. Thanks for sharing you thoughts on this.
I agree with you. After seeing all the glowing reviews of Craftybase from other makers, I was excited to try it. The first couple of days, I'm not impressed. Several times, after fetching data from Shopify, different things would change, appear and then reappear. I'll ride out the rest of my two week trial, but I'm not going to be paying money for this system when I don't have faith that its not going to work well.
OMG SAME I got the email sent a lengthy reply got an equally lengthy excuse BS response I just resort to crying jags and day drinking if I have to deal with this software. I have put everything into it and I'm like is this worth the emotional damage it gives me. If its basic cookie cutter then minimal issues using this but if you have variations or like me recipes that don't use the available measurements I have to google the conversion to use the recipe to calculate cost I have hours of hell using this. Just to be dismissed when you have issues or concerns. You are not crazy you are absolutely corrected yet they know once you input all your stuff no ones leaving so why fix it when people can just jump through hoops mind you firey hell hoops but we do because 1 our time is valuable and 2 they know we will.
@@UpsideGoodsCo when your the only game in town you get to be like that I wanted to try inventory but I use square and it supposedly doesn’t support it so it’s crafty base or suck it up and design my own and I just don’t have that kinda time lol
Sorry Recipes not receipts. I entered my receipts. Now I'm entering my recipes. Once these are entered this will be so helpful to me with keeping up with my supply list, and my price to charge for each product, and ties Etsy to my orders.
I am surprised to hear this. I have heard other candle makers including Wade from Black Tie Barn raving about crafty base and I almost bought it for my soap business.....eeekkk!!!
I'm sure everyone has way different experiences. This has just been mine and unfortunately I haven't experienced any changes with the program to this day. I hope after the holidays I have a chance to find a program that makes a bit more sense for me!
Also, I'm not paid by them. I'm not saying that they can't have a bad experience with them but I am not sponsored or get any kick backs. I think that most of the videos that I've seen are sponsored by or in partnership with which might be why mine is so different! who knows!
I tried the trial. I didn’t like it. It could be a mix of not giving it enough time/chance and/or user error. I use spreadsheets is it a longer process probably but it works for me - I understand that
Also I don’t think the cost of goods is accurate. Candle making supplies are heavy! Period. While shipping to customers is considered expense for tax purposes. Delivery charges should be incorporate into the cost of goods. Can I hear Amen? How many times a week we see posts on groups about shipping prices. So Craftybase again. A big no because the cost of goods is completely off
Love this honest review! I’ve been using craftybase since I launched in January and for the materials cost part I was having the same issue and realized the problem (likely it’s with the code which hopefully they’ll fix it) but it won’t calculate the material cost of the order until the order is listed as shipped. Once it’s shipped, it automatically updates/populates - my integration is Wix so not sure if that makes a difference but just wanted to share!
I used and paid for it for months and couldn’t get it to work. It was very cumbersome. And I came from a financial background so I’m used to using different software
That is what I am planing to do. Struggled and wasted thousands of hours with crafty base. Are you happy with soap maker 3? Is it a big problem not connecting to Shopify?
@@jenniferbarks138 as far as I know it does NOT connect with Shopify. Which is its only downside to me. It isn’t the “prettiest “ to look at. Very stripped down no fluff but it does everything I need it to do. And the help pages actually give you help understanding how to use it.
@@jenniferbarks138 I haven’t really had an issue with it not connecting to Shopify but I could see some people might have an issue having to do double entry work.
This is my 4th draft. I keep deleting and then rewriting because what I have to say is harsh and I don’t want to be cruel but I’m struggling with your content. So here is my honest assessment of your situation. I have only watched 3 of your videos but 2 of those 3 have basically been smear jobs on other companies that you seem to be pawning off as honest reviews. And they both seem to be based around mistakes you made on your own that you are now blaming others for. Being a crafter for profit or entrepreneur is hard work and isn’t for everyone. Your candle supplier didn’t and doesn’t control your pricing…that is your responsibility. They had to make some pricing changes for the betterment of their business. It’s your responsibility to make the necessary changes for yours and not blame them for your shortsightedness on pricing. You made changes to your website that don’t mesh with the their software. They didn’t force or suggest that you make those changes. Does it suck that you didn’t base your pricing in a way to allow wholesaling…yes! Does it suck that you made (what seems like a pointless) website change that has messed up all your hard-work…yes! But are your mistakes their responsibility…absolutely NOT! Maybe smearing other companies is your thing, I don’t know. Are you trying to get something out of them? Doesn’t seem fair to me. At at the very least don’t bash companies for your mistakes! That is really messed up.
Hey! Thanks for being constructive in what you have to share and your opinion. Thats appreciated. I definitely don't create these videos with an intent to smear or slander anyones name and I try to state that early on with a declaration of humanity and knowing the work that goes into running a business. If that was not emphasized enough, I can definitely make sure it's a focal point on any video of this nature going forward. In an effort to keep this positive and rooted in knowing that my intentions on these videos are only to shed light on my experience I will say this. I agree, no ones to blame for hardships that are a result of my decision making. I am simply sharing my experiences firsthand so that 1. someone can avoid any pitfalls I have made 2. transparency is relayed. Everything that I've shared as an honest review has been already discussed and shared with the business or people involved with the software, supplier etc. at length. Nothing is smoke in mirrors and while it might come across as a smear campaign to one it's simply an experience that I chose to share constructively on a channel that I've built to document every twist and turn, good or bad. I'll definitely be mindful if it seems like the blame I'm sharing is misplaced because at the end of the day this is my business and my decisions being made and no one is at fault but myself so if that is mis-represented, thats not my objective. There is trust and faith that I am putting into organizations, software systems and suppliers who get my business as a consumer based on their truths that are sometimes undelivered or misleading that I will continue to convey honestly and constructively. I hope this helps and I appreciate the feedback!
I am glad to hear that’s not your intention! I don’t know, maybe do the “don’t make my mistake” videos instead of a calling them reviews. Best way to gain sympathy is to admit to your own missteps not to blame others. I fell like a review has a different feel/message then what you’re presenting. The content of those 2 videos screams that you made decisions without adequate research and foresight and are blaming them instead of taking a good look at your decision making process. Best of luck to you! Hope everything works out!
@@forsythbmf6127 Who cares what she calls it. She helps people. Everything she said is true to me. I am a Certified Public Accountant with 30 years of accounting and audit experience as a Finance Director. I wish I had seen her video before today. I have not only experienced all the same frustrations since May of 2022 and have tried to hang in there, thinking I finally had it all figured out, until I ran the Revenue and Expense Report and the expense are overstated about 10x, one week before taxes are due to the IRS.
@@promomail1768this is all I needed, This comment right here, made my decision, I will NOT be using CraftyBase because I struggle with numbers and if a PROFESSIONAL encountered that big of an issue I know I’d be screwed!
