Hides by the square foot, goods built to last
Keepsel is inventory and production software for leatherworkers. Cost hides by the square foot with cutting waste counted, track thread, hardware and edge finish, and price heirloom-grade goods with numbers as durable as the stitching.
Try free for 30 days, with 25 Suli messages once you confirm your email (all of Suli from Maker). No card.
A leather piece in Keepsel
Product
Leather Card Wallet
SKU LEATHER-WALLET
Material
Veg-Tan Leather
tracked in sqft · Leather
Supplier
Hide & Thread Supply
Variations, from Maker
Color, Size
Track everything that goes into a leather piece
From raw materials to the finished piece, Keepsel keeps leatherworkers on top of:
- leather by the square foot
- thread
- hardware and rivets
- dye and finish
- edge paint
Built around how leatherworkers actually work
A hide never yields its label
Branding scars, edges and awkward shapes mean a 20-square-foot hide cuts fewer wallets than the math suggests. A yield factor per pattern makes the leather cost real, not theoretical.
Veg-tan prices move with the market
When your tannery raises prices, every product built on that leather changes cost. One price update recalculates the whole line, so you reprice on purpose, not on discovery.
Hardware and thread ride every piece
Waxed thread by the meter, snaps, rivets, buckles and edge paint: the small-parts drawer is a cost center. In the recipe, each piece carries its share.
Buy-it-for-life needs sell-it-for-profit
Goods that last decades justify premium prices, if you know your floor. True per-piece cost is what lets 'expensive' be a positioning, not an accusation.
Leather Card Wallet, 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.
The margin funds the hours of saddle stitching. Leather margins look rich until labor is honest.
Leather Card Wallet
- Veg-tan leather (0.35 sq ft incl. yield)
- $3.15
- Waxed thread
- $0.30
- Edge paint + finish
- $0.25
- Snap
- $0.35
- Gift box
- $0.65
- True cost
- $4.70
- Suggested price
- $38.00
- Margin
- 88%
A day in Keepsel, for leatherworkers
Bring hides in by the square foot
Each leather type and color tracked in square feet at the tannery's actual price.
Pattern the recipes
A card wallet's 0.35 square feet (yield included), thread, snap and edge paint: the true bench cost.
Cut, stitch and log
From the Maker plan, a work order for eight wallets draws down the hide and hardware, and adds eight finished goods to stock (work orders up to 10 a month on Maker as a trial and 100 on Team, unlimited on Business and Enterprise).
Watch the hide, not just the shelf
From the Maker plan, a low-stock alert on square footage tells you when the tan veg-tan is under the limit you set, before you cut.
Questions leatherworkers ask
How do I price handmade leather goods?
Cost the square footage the pattern really consumes (yield included), thread, hardware, edge finish and packaging, then add bench time at a serious rate: saddle stitching is slow, skilled work. Premium pricing holds when the floor beneath it is known. From the Maker plan, Keepsel counts that time in each product's cost.
How do I calculate leather cost per item?
Divide the hide's price by its usable square footage (not its labeled size), then multiply by the pattern's area with a yield factor for scars and edges. Most makers find their real leather cost runs 15–30% above the naive math.
How do I track leather inventory?
By square footage per leather type and color. From the Maker plan, a work order draws the pattern's share down, so remaining footage stays current, and you'll know whether the last of the brown covers a six-wallet order before promising it.
What happens when leather prices rise?
Update the hide price once and every product on that leather recalculates, showing exactly where margins thinned. Repricing becomes a considered decision across the line instead of a shock at reorder time.
Can Keepsel handle both stocked and custom leather work?
Yes. Bench-stock items and customs both quote from recipes built on the same tracked hides, so one inventory serves both sides of the shop.
Keepsel for other crafts
Guides for leatherworkers
All guidesHow to Price Leather Goods (Yield Is the Hidden Cost)
A hide never yields its label. Price leather goods from real square footage (scars, edges and all) and premium stops meaning guilty.
How to Raise Your Prices Without Losing Customers
Raising prices feels terrifying, like everyone will leave. They mostly won't. Here's how to do it with confidence, backed by your real numbers.
How to Reduce Material Waste in Your Production
Every gram of wax, inch of vinyl, or scrap of fabric you waste is money you already paid for. Here's how to make your materials go further.
Wholesale vs. Retail Pricing: A Maker's Guide
Selling to shops is exciting, until you realize you're barely breaking even. Here's how to price wholesale and retail so both actually make you money.
Run your leather goods 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.