Tools to Run Your Handmade Toys Business
Running a handmade toys business requires managing inventory, orders, customer relationships, and finances across multiple channels. Whether you’re selling through your own website, Etsy, craft fairs, or direct to retailers, the right tools keep your operations organized and scalable without overwhelming your small operation.
Your tech stack should handle order management, customer communication, financial tracking, and production scheduling. As your business grows from side project to full-time work, these tools adapt with you—most start free or cheap and scale as your revenue increases.
E-Commerce Platforms
Shopify is a complete e-commerce solution that hosts your store, processes payments, manages inventory, and syncs across sales channels. For handmade toy makers, Shopify’s strength is handling multiple product variations (different colors, sizes, themes) and automatically updating inventory when orders come in from your website, social media, or marketplace integrations. Pricing starts at $29/month for the basic plan.
Etsy is the primary marketplace for handmade goods and requires no upfront platform fee—you pay per listing ($0.20), transaction fee (6.5%), and payment processing fee (3% + $0.20). Most toy makers use Etsy as their primary sales channel because your target audience actively searches there for handmade and unique products.
WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that turns your website into a store. If you already have a domain and hosting, WooCommerce costs nothing upfront, though you’ll need payment processing (Stripe, Square). It’s best for makers who want full control but have some technical comfort.
Payment Processing
Stripe processes credit card payments on your website or through invoices, with a standard 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction fee. Stripe integrates directly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and most e-commerce platforms. It also offers invoicing features and connects to your bank account for fast payouts.
Square handles in-person payments (essential at craft fairs and markets) and online payments through the same account. You pay 2.6% + $0.10 per card transaction. Many toy makers use Square for both in-person and online sales, though fees can add up faster than Stripe at high volume.
Invoicing and Accounting
Wave is completely free invoicing and accounting software that syncs with your bank account, tracks expenses, and generates profit/loss statements. Wave is ideal when you’re starting out because it handles everything an accountant needs to see without monthly fees. As you grow past $50,000 annual revenue, you may need its paid accounting features or move to something more robust.
Freshbooks is paid invoicing software ($15-55/month depending on features) that offers automated recurring invoices, expense tracking, and basic financial reporting. If you sell to retailers or wholesale accounts that need invoices on a schedule, Freshbooks saves time and looks more professional than manual tracking.
Inventory and Order Management
Inventory Lab (now called Sellics for some users) is specifically designed for multi-channel sellers and integrates Etsy, Shopify, and other platforms into one dashboard. You see all orders in one place, track inventory across channels, and avoid overselling. It’s $25-50/month depending on your sales volume and starts paying for itself when you’re managing 20+ orders per week across channels.
Stocky is a free Shopify app that tracks inventory in real time across your online store and physical locations (like a craft fair booth or pop-up shop). For toy makers with limited SKUs (product varieties), Stocky’s free version handles basic stock alerts and low-inventory notifications.
Customer Relationship Management
HubSpot CRM is free for unlimited contacts and includes email tracking, deal pipelines, and basic automation. For toy makers scaling into wholesale or corporate bulk orders, HubSpot organizes customer information, follows up on past orders, and tracks which buyers have returned.
A CRM becomes important once you’re managing wholesale relationships, repeat customers, or corporate orders. At the start, a simple spreadsheet or even your email contacts work fine—don’t overspend on CRM until you have 50+ customers to track.
Email Marketing
Mailchimp is free up to 500 contacts and includes email list management, automated welcome sequences, and basic segmentation. Most toy makers use Mailchimp to send a monthly newsletter with new designs, restocks, or seasonal promotions—it drives 15-20% repeat customer rates at virtually no cost.
Klaviyo ($20-300/month) is more advanced and integrates directly with Shopify and Etsy to send automated emails after purchase (thank you, feedback request, upsell). If email marketing becomes a revenue driver for your business, Klaviyo’s automation and segmentation justify the cost.
Project and Production Planning
Asana or Monday.com organize your production workflow—batch sewing stuffed toys, painting details, quality checks, packaging, and shipping. Both offer free plans for small teams and help you see which products are behind schedule before missing a deadline. For a solo maker, a simple Google Sheet often works; upgrade to Asana when you hire help or manage 50+ monthly orders.
Time Tracking
Toggl Track is free time tracking that helps you understand how long each toy takes to produce. Knowing your actual labor cost per item reveals which designs are profitable and which eat into margins. Most toy makers discover 30-40% faster production after tracking for one month and spotting workflow inefficiencies.
Cloud Storage and File Organization
Google Drive or Dropbox store product photos, design files, shipping labels, and accounting records. Both offer 15-2,000 GB free depending on the plan. This is non-negotiable for backup—losing product photos and order history is catastrophic for a small business.
Free vs Paid Tools
Start with free and open-source tools: a free Etsy shop, Wave accounting, Mailchimp email, and Google Drive. This gets you selling and organized for $0/month. Most toy makers operate profitably here for 6-12 months until you hit consistent monthly revenue of $2,000+.
Upgrade to paid tools when free versions hit limits—your Etsy shop becomes your primary sales channel and you need inventory sync across channels (upgrade to Inventory Lab), or your email list grows past 500 subscribers (upgrade to Klaviyo). Each paid tool should save you 5+ hours per month in manual work to justify its cost.
The Minimum Tech Stack to Launch
- Etsy shop — List your products, process payments, receive orders. Costs $0.20 per listing and 6.5% transaction fee.
- Wave — Track income and expenses, see your real profit margin. Completely free.
- Google Drive or Dropbox — Store product photos, design files, and shipping labels. Free for 15-2,000 GB.
- Mailchimp — Collect customer emails and send monthly updates. Free up to 500 contacts.
- Toggl Track — Measure time-per-toy so you know your true hourly rate. Free version covers basic needs.