The (free) Time-Saving Etsy Tool you Need this Tax Season

We’re going the anti-Valentine’s Day route apparently (nothing against V-Day at all – but it’s getting coverage everywhere else today). So on the day dedicated to love, let’s instead take same time to think about how we can love our business. What do you say?

If you file your taxes quarterly for your biz, you’ve already made a payment this year, but if you’re  struggling to get those numbers right for the next quarter or are waiting until April 17th to send it all in, here is a time-saving (and headache saving) tip from Marlo of Creative Arts Consulting.

The following guest post is by Marlo Miyashiro…

When tax time rolls around, do you find yourself stressing out trying to go through your (hopefully) long list of Etsy sales trying to figure out which ones are in your state?

Did you know that Etsy has a CSV download function that will allow you to open up a spreadsheet and SORT by STATE?

Well, if you didn’t know it already, here’s how to download your info and get on your way to faster filing!

1. Open up your Etsy account

2. Go to “Your Account”

3. Click on “Sold Orders”

4. Scroll ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM of the page

5. Keep going!

6. There, you’ll see a tiny little hyperlink that reads “Download CSV file”

7. Click on the link

8. In the “orders” section, use the drop-down box for “Year” and click on 2011

9. Leave the “month” box alone (for the full year report)

10. Click on the button “Download CSV” and save or open it in your spreadsheet program

11. Sort the whole list by State

Smile as you realize how much time you just saved yourself. WhooHoo! Hope that helps you as much as it helped me.

How will you show your business some love today?

About the author: Marlo Miyashiro (a.k.a. IMakeCuteStuff) has been in the retail and wholesale handmade craft industries for over 20 years as a jeweler, crafter, teacher, mentor, small object photographer, arts business consultant and organizer for the Seattle Etsy Team:  EtsyRAIN.com. Also find her via her consulting and photography sites.