Keep Your Books Right: Record-Keeping Tools Every Pricilog Seller Needs (and How to Use Them)

Running a business is part creativity, part grit,  and a big part record keeping. Good records tell you what’s selling, what’s costing you money, and where to invest next. If you’re using Pricilog to sell, you already have one powerful source of truth (catalog views, item clicks, orders). The next step is to pair Pricilog’s analytics with simple bookkeeping and inventory tools so you can turn data into decisions.

Below I’ve laid out the best, practical tools for record keeping, exactly how to use them, and clean workflows for integrating Pricilog analytics into your daily business management. No jargon,  just actionable steps you can copy today.

Why record keeping matters

• Know your profits. If you don’t track sales and costs, you don’t know whether you’re making money.

• Plan cash flow. Know when to buy stock and when to pause.

• Save time at tax time. Good records make filing taxes and applying for loans easier.

• Make better decisions. Pricilog shows what people click,  bookkeeping shows whether clicks convert to profit.

• Protect your business. Clear records help you spot theft, mistakes, and fraud early.

The tool categories:

I’ll list tools by purpose, give a short benefit line, then explain how to get started and use them with Pricilog.

1) Simple spreadsheets — Google Sheets / Microsoft Excel

Why: Free (Sheets), flexible, perfect for startups who want full control.

How to get it:

• Google Sheets: open your Gmail, go to Google Drive → New → Google Sheets, or install the Google Sheets app from Play Store / App Store.

• Excel: part of Microsoft Office (desktop or mobile app), or use Excel online via a Microsoft account.

How to use (quick setup):

• Create four tabs: Sales, Expenses, Inventory, CashFlow.

• Sales columns: Date | Order ID | Product | SKU | Qty | Unit Price | Gross Sales | Discount | Fees | Net Sales | Payment Method | Customer | Pricilog Ref (store link/order ref)

• Expenses columns: Date | Description | Category | Amount | Receipt Link | Paid By

• Inventory columns: SKU | Product | Opening Qty | In | Out | Closing Qty | Cost Price | Retail Price | Reorder Level

• CashFlow columns: Month | Opening Balance | Cash In | Cash Out | Closing Balance

How to connect to Pricilog: Export Pricilog sales data (or copy daily summaries) into the Sales tab. Use formulas to sum daily/weekly revenue and compare with Pricilog analytics (views → conversion rate = sales/views).

2) Lightweight accounting — Wave (free-ish) / Zoho Books / QuickBooks

Why: Automates invoices, expense tracking, and basic tax reports. Wave is popular for small sellers because it’s low-cost; Zoho Books and QuickBooks offer richer features if you grow.

How to get it: Visit the provider’s website or download their mobile app from the Play Store/App Store. Sign up with your email.

How to use (quick setup):

• Add your business details and bank account.

• Create product/service items (same SKUs as Pricilog).

• Send invoices and record payments.

• Attach receipts (take a photo with the mobile app).

• Reconcile your bank statements weekly.

Why: Keeps track of stock levels, batches, and reorder alerts so you stop losing sales from “out of stock.”

How to get it: Airtable and Sortly have web apps and mobile apps, sign up on their sites or download the apps.

How to use:

• Create an inventory base with fields for SKU, supplier, cost price, selling price, stock location, and reorder level.

• Each time you get an order from Pricilog, mark the item as sold in your inventory base (manual) or import daily sales to update counts.

Tip: Airtable has templates for inventory that are easy to adapt — use them to keep stock counts and supplier contacts in one place.

3) Receipts & expense capture — CamScanner / Google Drive (scan) / built-in mobile scanner

Why: Keep digital copies of all receipts to support expense claims and tax filing.

How to get it: Download CamScanner or use Google Drive’s “Scan” function (mobile).

How to use: Scan receipt → save with a descriptive filename (e.g., 2025-11-01 - SupplierX - Flour ₦10,000) → upload to your Expenses folder in Google Drive. Link the file to your Expenses row in Sheets or attach it in Wave/Zoho.

4) Point-of-sale & payments tracking — Pricilog analytics + bank app statements

Why: Pricilog gives you product behavior (views, clicks); bank apps show the cash. Together they confirm what actually came in.

How to use: At day’s end, download or screenshot your bank deposits and the Pricilog order list. Reconcile both in your Sales sheet to see unpaid orders, chargebacks, or missing payments.

5) File storage & delivery — Google Drive / Dropbox

Why: Safely back up invoices, receipts, supplier contracts, and product photos.

How to use: Create folders by year → month → type (e.g., 2025 → Nov → Receipts). Keep one folder for photos used on Pricilog so you can update listings quickly.

6) Bookkeeping and workflow helpers, Notion / Trello

Why: Organize SOPs, vendor contacts, and the weekly reconciliation routine.

How to use: Make a “Finance” board: To Do (Bank Reconciliation, Upload Receipts), Doing, Done. Assign a day each week for bookkeeping tasks.

Practical workflows: daily, weekly and monthly routines

Daily (15–30 minutes)

• Export today’s Pricilog orders or check your dashboard.

• Enter orders into the Sales tab (or import).

• Update inventory Out quantities for sold items.

• Save any receipts to your Drive (photo receipts).

Weekly (1–2 hours)

• Reconcile bank deposits to Pricilog sales totals.

• Categorize expenses in Expenses.

• Check low stock and create purchase requests.

• Post a weekly profit overview (Gross sales, Net sales, Expenses).

Monthly (2–4 hours)

• Close the month: run income statement (sales minus COGS minus expenses).

• Check cash flow and forecast next month’s purchases.

• Back up records to a separate folder or external drive.

• Submit any tax or compliance filings if applicable.

How to integrate Pricilog analytics into your management stack:

Pricilog already gives you powerful signals,  which catalog items get the most views, which products people click but don’t buy, and general store activity.

Here’s how to make those signals actionable:

1.     Calculate conversion rate: Conversion = (Number of Orders / Number of Views) × 100. Low conversion means fix product page (photo, price, description) or offer a promo.

2.     Match clicks to revenue: Use your Sales sheet to check whether high-click items are converting to sales. If not, run a small promotion (discount, bundle).

3.     Inventory planning: If an item has high views and low stock, move it to “priority reorder”.

4.     Marketing ROI: Compare how much you spent promoting a product (ads, promos) vs. revenue generated, log ad spends in Expenses and check the results in Pricilog analytics.

 

Common bookkeeping mistakes and how to avoid them:

• Not recording cash sales: Even cash counts. Log it immediately.

• Mixing personal and business finances: Use a separate bank account. It saves massive headaches.

• Ignoring tiny expenses: Small costs add up; capture every receipt.

• Skipping reconciliation: Regular reconciliation prevents nasty surprises.

Why Pricilog signup is an investment, not just a free tool:

Pricilog gives you a professional, structured storefront and analytics that many businesses pay developers, designers and marketing agencies to build. Even if you start for free, think of Pricilog as an investment in three ways:

1. Time saved, Pricilog removes tech friction so you focus on sales and customers.

2. Credibility earned, A single, clean store link builds trust faster than messy DMs.

3. Data gained,  Pricilog analytics let you make smarter buying and marketing decisions, the same insights that would cost money if you hired consultants.

So yes, signing up is free or low-cost to start, but the return (less time wasted, fewer mistakes, more sales) makes it a real business investment. If you later decide to pay for premium features, you’ll be paying to scale what already works, not to test an idea.

Final checklist before you go live with your bookkeeping plan

• Create your Sales, Expenses, and Inventory sheets.

• Link a Google Drive folder for receipts and photos.

• Decide a weekly bookkeeping day and put it on your calendar.

• Export Pricilog analytics every week and import into your Sales sheet.

• Reconcile bank deposits with Pricilog sales each week.

• Back everything up monthly.

Closing notes,  small steps, big results

Good record keeping is neither glamorous nor difficult, it’s consistent. Start with Google Sheets and Pricilog analytics, and add tools (Wave, QuickBooks, Airtable) as your sales grow. The important thing is to start. Track that first month clearly and you’ll already be ahead of many sellers who still guess at their numbers.