Commissions quoted with confidence, not courage
Keepsel is inventory and production software for custom and made-to-order makers. Quote every commission from a real recipe (your hours too, from the Maker plan), check materials before you say yes, and price one-of-a-kind work so the one-of-a-kind hours get paid.
Try free for 30 days, with 25 Suli messages once you confirm your email (all of Suli from Maker). No card.
A custom piece in Keepsel
Product
Custom Made-to-Order Item
SKU CUSTOM-001
Material
Base Material
tracked in each · Supplies
Supplier
Maker Supply Co.
Variations, from Maker
Size, Color
Track everything that goes into a custom piece
From raw materials to the finished piece, Keepsel keeps custom makers on top of:
- components and supplies
- kit items
- finishing materials
- packaging
Built around how custom makers actually work
Every quote is a small gamble
Custom work means pricing before making. A recipe with materials, allowances and (from the Maker plan) hours turns the DM's 'how much?' into arithmetic instead of adrenaline.
Scope creep eats the invoice
'Can you make it a bit bigger?' changes the materials and doubles the hours. A recipe-backed quote makes change requests re-quotable in minutes, politely, with numbers.
Materials promised are materials committed
Saying yes to three commissions against one shelf of stock is how deadlines die. Check your on-hand counts against each recipe before you commit the calendar.
Deposits, timelines and cash flow
Custom work ties up materials and weeks before payment completes. Deposits priced from real cost, not vibes, keep the queue funded while it's being built.
Custom Made-to-Order Item, costed line by line
This is the math Keepsel does for every product you make: every line from its recipe, updated whenever a material's price changes. Your time counts from the Maker plan.
Custom carries a premium precisely because it can't be batched, and the quote should never apologize for that.
Custom Made-to-Order Item
- Base materials
- $6.50
- Customization supplies
- $1.20
- Packaging
- $0.80
- Your time (1.5 hrs @ $15/hr)
- $22.50
- True cost
- $31.00
- Suggested price
- $68.00
- Margin
- 54%
A day in Keepsel, for custom makers
Template your common builds
Base recipes for the shapes requests usually take: materials and allowances, and from the Maker plan your hours, ready to scale.
Quote from the recipe
Adjust size, materials and finish on the template; the price falls out with margin intact.
Build
From the Maker plan, a work order for the accepted commission draws its materials when work starts, so the shelf reflects what's been used (work orders up to 10 a month on Maker as a trial and 100 on Team, unlimited on Business and Enterprise).
Learn from every job
After each job, set the template recipe's hours (from the Maker plan) to what the work really took: the estimate gap closes job by job.
Questions custom makers ask
How do I price custom and commission work?
Estimate materials from a template recipe, add hours at your real rate with a complexity buffer, then a custom premium, typically 20–50% over an equivalent stock item. The premium isn't greed; it's the price of unbatchable work. From the Maker plan, Keepsel counts that time in each product's cost.
Should I take a deposit for custom orders?
Yes: commonly 30–50%, and at minimum your materials cost. A deposit priced from the recipe protects you from cancellations while signaling that custom work is scheduled, professional production.
How do I handle scope changes mid-commission?
Re-quote from the recipe: a new size or new materials update the math in minutes, and the customer sees a number instead of a mood. 'Let me update the quote' is easier to say when the quote is a document, not a feeling.
How do I manage materials for made-to-order work?
Check stock when quoting, set materials aside when accepting, draw down when building. Keepsel keeps your on-hand counts beside each recipe, and from the Maker plan a work order draws the materials down when you build. Knowing what's promised against what's on hand is what lets you accept three commissions without letting one of them down.
How do I get better at estimating custom work?
Compare quoted hours with actual hours per job. Most makers underestimate by a consistent, personal percentage; once you know yours, the buffer stops being a guess and the quotes stop hurting.
Keepsel for other crafts
Guides for custom makers
All guidesHow to Price Custom and Commission Work
Custom work feels flattering, and it's quietly underpaid. One-offs take more time and more back-and-forth, so here's how to price them so they're actually worth it.
How to Manage Made-to-Order and Custom Inventory
Made-to-order frees you from holding finished stock, but custom work has its own inventory trap. Here's how to keep materials ready and orders on track.
Are You Paying Yourself? How to Cost Your Time as a Maker
The most expensive ingredient in anything handmade is your time, and it's the one most makers forget to count. Here's how to put a real number on it.
Cash Flow for Makers: Why Profit Isn't Money in the Bank
Profit is a number on paper; cash is what's actually in your account. They're not the same, and the gap is where makers get caught. Here's how to manage it.
Run your custom order business like a business
Know your true cost and margin and keep every material counted. Or try the free pricing calculator first.
Try free for 30 days, with 25 Suli messages once you confirm your email (all of Suli from Maker). No card.