Tools to Run Your Knitting & Crochet Business
Running a knitting or crochet business requires tools that handle custom orders, inventory tracking, payment collection, and customer communication. Whether you work from home or operate a studio, the right software lets you focus on your craft while managing the business side efficiently.
Most successful fiber artists start with a handful of essential tools and add specialized software as their orders grow. The good news: many platforms offer free tiers or low-cost plans that work perfectly for beginners.
Invoicing and Payments
Square Invoices lets you create and send professional invoices directly to customers, with built-in payment links so they can pay you immediately. For custom knitting projects with deposits or payment plans, this eliminates back-and-forth emails and gets money in faster. You can customize invoices with your branding and set automatic payment reminders.
Stripe integrates with most e-commerce and order management platforms to process card payments securely. If you sell online or accept payments through a website, Stripe handles the technical side while you keep most of the transaction fee. It’s essential for businesses selling multiple items or taking international payments.
PayPal remains one of the simplest ways to accept payments, especially from customers who already have PayPal accounts. You can send payment requests via email, create invoices, and receive money in your bank account within 1-2 business days. Many craft business owners use PayPal as their first payment processor before moving to Stripe.
Order Management and Inventory
Shopify is a complete e-commerce platform where you can list your knitting and crochet items, manage orders, and track inventory in one place. It handles the storefront, payment processing, and even shipping label generation. Monthly costs start around $29, but the time you save on order tracking and customer management often justifies the expense.
Etsy is ideal if you’re selling handmade items and already have buyers searching there. It handles product listings, payments, and basic inventory tracking, with fees per item sold. For fiber artists, Etsy’s built-in audience of craft buyers means less marketing work than building traffic to your own website.
Airtable works as a flexible inventory tracker and project management tool. You can log yarn colors and quantities, track which projects use which materials, and see custom order status at a glance. It’s free for small operations and becomes powerful as your order volume grows.
Scheduling and Consultations
Calendly lets customers book consultation slots for custom orders without email back-and-forth. For knitting and crochet businesses offering made-to-order items, a 15-30 minute consultation call to discuss colors, sizing, and timeline is valuable. Calendly syncs with your calendar and sends automatic reminders, reducing no-shows.
Acuity Scheduling offers more advanced features than Calendly, including the ability to collect custom information during booking (yarn preferences, measurements, deadlines). It integrates with payment processing, so you can require a deposit when customers schedule their consultation.
Customer Relationship Management
HubSpot CRM keeps track of all your customer interactions, order history, and project notes in one free platform. For a business built on custom relationships and repeat orders, knowing a customer’s preferred colors or past projects speeds up future orders. HubSpot’s free tier never expires and works well for solo business owners or small teams.
Notion functions as a customizable database for customer information, order timelines, and project notes. You can build templates for different order types (blankets vs. amigurumi vs. garments) and track where each project stands. It’s free and collaborative if you ever bring on help.
Email Marketing
Mailchimp helps you build a mailing list and send newsletters about new items, seasonal collections, or special offers. For knitting and crochet businesses, email marketing has higher ROI than paid ads—your best customers are past buyers. Mailchimp’s free plan supports up to 500 contacts and monthly campaigns.
ConvertKit is designed for creators and small businesses. It makes it easy to segment customers by purchase history or interests and send targeted messages. If you want to grow an audience around your craft, ConvertKit’s newsletter features and automation are more flexible than Mailchimp.
Time and Project Tracking
Toggl Track records how long each project takes, giving you real data on whether your pricing covers your time. For custom orders, tracking time per item reveals which styles are profitable and which ones cost you money. The data helps you set better prices and timelines.
Monday.com provides visual project boards where you drag orders from “received” to “in progress” to “shipped.” It works for small teams managing multiple customer projects simultaneously and keeps everyone aligned on deadlines.
Cloud Storage and Backup
Google Drive stores invoices, customer contracts, yarn supplier lists, and pattern notes securely in the cloud. Everything syncs across devices, and you can share folders with anyone helping you (accountant, designer, assistant). It’s free up to 15 GB and integrates with most other business tools.
Free vs Paid Tools
Start free. Most successful fiber artists begin with free tiers of Shopify (if using the free sales channel), Etsy, PayPal, Google Drive, HubSpot CRM, and Mailchimp. You can run a profitable business on free tools until you hit consistent monthly revenue of $2,000-$3,000.
Upgrade when a paid tool saves you more money than it costs. If Square Invoices’ automation saves you 5 hours per month at $25/hour and costs $10/month, it’s worth it. Most owners upgrade to paid Shopify ($29/month) or specialized tools once managing orders by hand becomes a bottleneck.
The Minimum Tech Stack to Launch
- Etsy or Shopify — your storefront and order hub. Choose Etsy if you want an instant audience; choose Shopify if you want full control and ownership.
- PayPal or Stripe — payment processing. Start with PayPal for simplicity; move to Stripe as you scale.
- Google Drive — store invoices, contracts, and business notes. Free and reliable.
- HubSpot CRM or Notion — track customer details and order history. Prevents you from forgetting important details as orders pile up.
- Mailchimp — send newsletters to repeat customers. Your best source of future sales.
This stack costs between $0-$30/month in your first year and handles everything from taking orders to shipping to following up with customers.