I OWE WHAT! More tips for TPT & Taxes that can save you MONEY!
Category: TPT Tips
5 Fantastic Tricks & Tips – Using Sections Pane in Microsoft Powerpoint
5 Fantastic Tricks & Tips – Using the Selection Panel to Label Objects
Managing your TPT Store with the Ultimate Planner!
Planning your TPT store can be a hassle. Finding the right planner can be even more of a hassle. With so many things to manage and so many different forms to choose from, I decided to make one for myself!
In 2014-2015, I created a planner to help my TPT business. You can read about the previous TPT seller here. It’s been over a year since I made it and many things have changed including my store colors, logos, and new social media. I’ve made a similar planner for TPT sellers in my TPT store. I uploaded it and designed it online at Office Depot/Office Max. It arrived on the second to last day of estimated delivery but there was something wrong: it was all in color. I wasn’t going to complain. I paid for only a few pages to be in color and the rest black and white. Believe me when I say getting 150+ pages in color can be expensive ($70 and up). I was happy with the mistake.
Here’s the cover. It’s in my store colors. It’s a “Glossy Supreme” Cardstock cover.
The next page includes my store information. After that, the next page includes the table of contents and “The Dream”. The “Table of Contents” is wrong, but I knew only a few people would actually see it. Never imagined Office Depot would send me an extra one. “The Dream” is a story about myself and why I became a teacher in the first place. Sort of motivation.
The next page started the actual planner. It includes the months from September 2015 to September 2016. Each month is in color, lists all the major holidays, the start of a new season, and reminders of when a new month of promotions opens up on TPT (the 20th of every month). Since this was mine, I added in a few reminders for myself (like mini game releases every 15th of the month). It also includes a “Notes” section for you to write down any notes for that month. I use it to write down product topics that sell really well that month. At the bottom, there’s a quote to help motivate you.
Behind each month is a set of different sheets. First is the Monthly Blog Planner and the Monthly Giveaway Planner.
The Monthly Blog Planner lays out every single day of the month and allows you plan when you wish to write a new blogpost. This is great for long term planning and if you participate in blog hops, linky parties, and more.
The Monthly Giveaway planner helps to remind you of any giveaways you signed up for or plan to do. This is perfect for tax time because every donation your make or giveaway you do is tax deductible.
Next pages include the Weekly Planner and the Monthly Overview.
In the Weekly Planner, there are 5 pages for the Weekly Planner (one for each week of the month). Each sheet has a space for each day of the week and what product you’d like to work on. I tend to work on one project a day. There is space to write upcoming events (suchs as sales, giveaways, blog hops, etc). I made a “Games to Post” section to write what I needed to post. A helpful reminder. Last, there’s space to let you know what blog posts are going out this week.
The monthly Overview is probably my favorite page! Here you can write down and keep track of your business each month. This includes followers on your social media pages, number of products and best sellers in your store, your income and expenses, and TPT rankings. There’s even an area for notes. You can read about taking end of the month inventory here.
The next section is a List of Ideas. Here you can write down any ideas you have throughout the year. There are 4 pages.
The next pages are lists of things to do “Before Posting a Product” and “After Posting a Product”.
These are reminders of what to do for your TPT products. It can be a little overwhelming so this will help to make sure your product is safe and protected. It also helps to get your product out there. You read more about “After Posting a Product” here.
Next, we have the “Weekend To-Do List” and “Game Requests”.
Next, we have the “Weekend To-Do List” and “Game Requests”.
Although I usually leave the weekends for family time, using the “Weekend To-Do List” is a great time to catch up on some things.
The “Game Request” page I made for myself because I am always asking my followers what they are working on and what they need. Sometimes they’ll request a game and I write it down but lose it. This helps tremendously!
Next, we have pages where you can list your Short Term and Long Term goals. Pretty self exclamatory.
Next is the “Graph Game Questions” and “Milestones”.
The “Graph Game Questions” I made to help remind me of some of the questions I needed to make for all my graphing games. The “Milestones” page is self exclamatory as well.
Next, you have a Newsletter Tracker and Information sheet.
Here you can track your newsletter. I use Mailchimp to send out a weekly newsletter. You can use these pages to keep track of what letter you sent out, how many members it was sent to, and if you lost or gained more subscribers. The “Newsletter Info” sheet lets you write the date for each issue, what the topic was, and (for me) what freebie was included. You can sign up for my weekly newsletter here. It’s free!
The last page is a Log-in and Password.
Here you can write down all your logs for your business. This includes the website, username, and hint. I chose hint just in case I lose the book or when I share the book.
The back is a Regency. I’ve used it before and it was very durable.
The back is a Regency. I’ve used it before and it was very durable.
I love my planner. I can’t imagine myself using anything else. I created a similar planner for TPT sellers. It’s a one time purchase and updates from year to year (free of charge).
5 Helpful Tips for taking TPT End of the Month Inventory
How to do you stay organized in your TPT store?
How do you keep track of all your sales?
Do you really keep every receipt?
These are a few questions TPTers are asking, especially new sellers. Since the beginning of January, I’ve been keeping up with my sales and it’s been great for me! I’d like to share some tips that help me keep track of my expenses.
Tip #1:
Buy an Expandable File Folder!
Buy an Expandable File Folder!
On a whim (and because it was on clearance), I bought this expandable file folder. There are 12 pockets (13 if you use the front pocket), one for each month of the year. It comes with the monthly tabs for you to insert or if you have OCD, like me, you can create your own. It also comes with letters of the alphabet and blank tabs to create your own label.
Every time I made a purchase, I would place the receipt in the appropriate month. This brings me to my next tip.
Tip #2:
Save every receipt!
Yes, save every receipt from every single purchase made for your store, no matter how little. I make trips to the Dollar Tree, sometimes just for some post-its. I save that receipt and when I get home, I place it on the folder.
Use highlighters to highlight purchases on receipts with multiple purchases or just make a separate purchase (just let the cashier know).
If you have to make a purchase using PayPal, print the sale transaction from Paypal.com. Just make a note about what the purchase it so you’ll know what it was for. Let’s face it. You’re not going to remember every purchase made a year from now.
If you have a PayPal account, get a PayPal business debit card. It’s a MasterCard so it’s used practically everywhere.
If you make a purchase on TPT, print it out and place it in the folder. It will come in handy in the future. Did I mention every purchase for your store is Tax-deductible?
Tip #3:
Invest in a printer, ink, and paper!
If you don’t have a printer, get one! Printing receipts for online purchases as you make them can be critical. Even though you can pull it up online, if the power goes out or the IRS wants a physical proof of a purchase, you’ll already have it. You won’t have to find it and pray that you didn’t delete a purchase from your purchase history.
If you need to buy ink or paper, don’t hesitate to buy it! Since it’s for your business, it’s tax deductible. I bought a wireless printer on Black Friday for $27.
Tip #4:
Keep track of all the giveaways!
If you host a giveaway and include gift cards, save your gift card receipts. If you give away a Shopping Spree to your TPT store, keep a record of it. I write down the name of the giveaway, the name(s) of the winners of the giveaway, the start/end date of the giveaway, and what products they won or want (shopping spree/winner’s choice). I keep this record in my TPT Planner until the end of the month.
If you donate to a giveaway hosted by another seller, keep a record of it. I collect the same information as before and I also include the name of the giveaway and the host. This is also recorded in my TPT Planner.
If you donate to Donorschoose or a GoFundme Project, print out a receipt. It may be tax deductible, especially if the donation is from your business. Be sure to check with your tax preparer. It doesn’t hurt to ask!
If you donate to Donorschoose or a GoFundme Project, print out a receipt. It may be tax deductible, especially if the donation is from your business. Be sure to check with your tax preparer. It doesn’t hurt to ask!
Tip #5
Use Microsoft Excel!
This is the part I dislike the most. The last few days of the month, I check through all my expenses and type them ALL in a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. Yes, this can be a tiresome ordeal, but this will give you an online copy of all your purchases you’ve made and items you’ve donated throughout the month. You can set the spreadsheet to do all the calculations for you and you can include whatever information you choose. I print it out and place it in my file folder as a cover sheet for each month.
My cover sheet is divided into 3 sections:
In the Monthly Expenses section, I include the name of the item or purchase, the date of purchase, and the price. All my TPT purchases are added and placed at the bottom.
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Monthly Expenses
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Giveaway Information
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Monthly Income
In the Monthly Expenses section, I include the name of the item or purchase, the date of purchase, and the price. All my TPT purchases are added and placed at the bottom.
In the Giveaway Information section, I include the date, the hosts (even if it was me), products, prices, and the winners.
In the Monthly Income section, I include the number of items sold, the best selling product (and number sold), total sales, and total earnings.
I print it out. I collect all the receipts and paper clip them all together on the top and bottom. For those small in-store receipts, I place them in an envelope and label the envelope whichever month it is.
What does this do in the long run?
Keeping track of my inventory gives me a good reference point. I can check to see what items sold best during certain times of the year. I can decide if I need to cutback on expenses or if I can make more purchases (clip art addict and KG Font addict). It will be even more helpful when it comes Tax Season. I won’t have to search my house for every little receipt. It will all be in the same place all neat and ready to go.
Other things to add to the folder:
- Taxes from the Previous year
- Idea list for next year
- Important emails & forms (like plane tickets and hotel reservations)
- End of the Year Statements
- Annual Purchase Statement from TPT
- Goals Check-List
- Anything Busniess or Tax Related
I hope you found this post to be useful. Here’s a few freebies you can use for your file folder.
Giveaway Information Sheets
Inventory Check-List
Enjoy! Class dismissed!
Creating the Ultimate TPT Planner!
Making products can be a lot of work. Balancing home and making products is even more work. I give kudos to the teacher that work at school, create products in their free, and manage the house. Brownie points all around. TPT is my full time job at the moment so between creating games and watching my niece and nephew can be a little frustrating a times. That’s why I created this:
I had created a smaller version of this at the beginning of the school year that I kept up with, but finally decided get one made professionally. I spent about 2 weeks creating all the pages I may need for the entire school year (August to July). Check out each of the pages included and find out how you can score your own!
The cover is a clear plastic covering over a regular cover sheet I made.. Pretty nice. The binding is a black plastic coil. I had this made at Office Depot and they had other bindings as well. I figured if I’m going to opening and closing it all the time, a coil would best be suited. There are other bindings like the combs, stapled, and taped.
On the inside cover, I created an information sheet with my basic information (name, address, phone, websites, etc). Next page has the table of contents. My planner contains 160 pages, mostly do to weekly planning sheets.
A close up of the table of contents.
Each of the title pages are in color and the rest of the pages are in black and white. I included clips from EduClips and Ashley Hughes.
I keep track if every game I make and place it in my Powerpoint Games Section. This is a way for me to check back on games I may have already created or to give me another topic to cover.
Every Saturday I plan for the following week. I decide what games I should/will work on, depending on the dates and any upcoming holidays. My planner includes a two page spread of each month, a monthly Blog Topic planner, and 5 weekly product planner sheet for each week in that month.
My WeekIy Product Planner has a space for each day of the week (excluding weekends) and a Project space for my to list what projects I will work on. I also have a space for if the product is completed. I also have two areas at the bottoms for my Blog Topics for that week to write/post and what theme to post on my Facebook page (such as giveaways, blog hops, themed/holiday products, etc).
The next section is my Bundles section. Here I list all the bundles I have created or will create. There are several pages of these because this is a yearly planner. It is broken up in to Math, Seasonal, and Holiday Bundles.
Lastly, there’s the Miscellaneous section which includes a Weekly To-Do List, my “What To Do After Posting” list, “Monthly Giveaway Log”, and Notes section (To be used hopefully for the TPT Conference).
Did you know that any donation of your products can be a write off in your taxes? Who knew, right?
These are taking notes whenever I need them. I plan to use them when I go to the TPT Conference in July.
The last pages include my terms of use and a regency black cover (the same you see with most store back covers). I used free fonts I found online and clip art from Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, EduClips, Whimsy Clips, and Ashley Hughes.
I made this online at Office Max/Office Depot. You can upload your file and create your own personal planner. You can choose everything, from the covers to the binding to which pages are in color or black and white. Overall, this cost my $32. Luckily, when I purchased this when there was 50% off sale so it cost me $16 for 160 pages (+ $10 shipping). It took a week to be created and shipped (I made it Thursday and received it Wednesday). My Office didn’t have Site-to-Store, but if it, My planner would be all in color.
Let me know if you have any questions about my planner. I’d be happy to answer them! Here’s a link to Office Max/Office Depot:http://www.officedepot.com/a/design-print-and-ship/
Class Dismissed!