--- title: "Was That Craft Fair or Pop-Up Worth It? How to Tell | MCC" description: "A simple event scorecard for vendors: booth fee, travel, supplies, unsold stock and hours, with a worked example and a rule for deciding whether to book…" url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/bookkeeping/guides/was-that-craft-fair-or-pop-up-worth-it" --- Bookkeeping guide · Updated October 26, 2026 # Was That Craft Fair or Pop-Up Worth It? How to Tell A packed booth feels like a win. The real answer comes after you subtract the fee, the gas, the supplies, the stock you did not sell and the hours you spent. Here is a scorecard that takes about ten minutes. By [Matthew Coleman](/about), MCC Solutions Want this handled for you? Monthly bookkeeping, cleanup and year-end close for small businesses. Start with a free health check of your books. [Free health check](/bookkeeping/health-check)[Get a quote](/bookkeeping/#interest) **Related:** [Trial balance explained](/bookkeeping/guides/trial-balance-explained) · [Owner contribution or loan](/bookkeeping/guides/owner-equity-and-capital-contributions) · [Closing entries and retained earnings](/bookkeeping/guides/closing-entries-and-retained-earnings) **Free tools:** [Mileage deduction calculator](/bookkeeping/mileage-deduction-calculator) · [Current ratio calculator](/bookkeeping/current-ratio-calculator) [![Intuit ProAdvisor Gold tier badge](/img/credentials/intuit-proadvisor-gold.png)](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)Gold tier in Intuit's ProAdvisor program. [See my Intuit listing](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77) Keeping your own books? Tallyfinch does invoices, bank import and reports on your computer. [See Tallyfinch](/bookkeeping/mcc-books-downloadable-bookkeeping-software) ## Write down the costs before the event List what the event costs before you arrive: the booth or table fee, any deposit, insurance or permit the organizer requires, travel and parking, food for the day, and packaging and display items you bought just for it. Putting these on paper before the event keeps you honest about what you needed to sell to break even. Break-even is the cost of the event divided by the margin on what you sell, not by the price. If your goods carry a 50 percent margin and the event costs $300, you must sell $600 before you have earned anything. ## Count what happens on the day Track sales by payment type, because cash, cards and payment apps reach your books in different ways. Count the cash at the start and end of the day so the number you record matches what is in the drawer. Note how many people stopped, how many bought and what the average sale was. Take photos of the sold-out and left-over tables. They are a memory aid for the next event, when you will ask yourself what to bring more of. ## The scorecard Event profit equals sales, minus the cost of the goods sold, minus the event costs. Divide by the hours you worked, including setup, travel and teardown, to get an hourly figure. An event that earns $240 over a ten hour day pays $24 an hour before your own tax, which may beat a shift job or may not, depending on your goal. Compare events with the same formula and the same hours rule. The best event is rarely the biggest one. It is often a small market with low fees and the right crowd. ## Unsold stock is a cost too Goods that come home are not lost, but they are tied up. If an event leaves you with a lot of seasonal items that will not sell for a year, record that. Many sellers discount at the end of the day for this reason, and that discount belongs in the event's numbers. If your inventory is large, ask your CPA how to track it for tax, since the method affects when the cost counts. ## Decide with a rule, then follow it Pick a rule before the season starts, such as booking again only if the event beat a target profit per hour, or if it brought new repeat customers. Rules are easier to follow when you wrote them before your feelings about the event. A tracker that holds each event as a row, with its costs and results, shows the pattern over a season. The Sales-Channel Profit Tracker on this site has a per-event tab for exactly this. ## Common questions **Does the booth fee count as a business expense?** Booth fees are generally a normal business cost, but how and when to deduct anything is for your CPA to confirm. **How do I count a gift or sample I gave away?** Record it as a marketing or sample cost at what it cost you, not at its retail price. **Should I collect sales tax at events?** Rules depend on the state and the goods. Check with the state's tax agency or your CPA before the event. This guide is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules, fees and due dates change; check with the IRS, the NJ Division of Taxation or a licensed professional for your situation. Let us handle it [### Monthly bookkeeping Categorizing, reconciling and monthly reports, with cleanup, payroll and NJ filings available. Bookkeeping →](/bookkeeping/) [### Square, Stripe and payment processors How sales from Square, Stripe, PayPal and other processors should flow into your accounting software, and why deposits never match sales. Square & Stripe →](/bookkeeping/software/square-and-stripe) More guides - [Are My Books Ready for My CPA or a Lender? A Checklist](/bookkeeping/guides/are-my-books-ready-for-my-cpa-or-lender) - [How to Explain Month-Over-Month Variances in Your Books](/bookkeeping/guides/how-to-explain-month-over-month-variances) - [Occupancy vs Net Per Night: What Makes a Rental Profitable](/bookkeeping/guides/occupancy-vs-net-per-night-airbnb-profit) - [Contractor Offer vs Salary: What the Hourly Rate Is Worth](/bookkeeping/guides/contractor-offer-vs-salary-what-it-is-worth) Free tool - [Bookkeeping health check](/bookkeeping/health-check) Related - [Sales-Channel Profit Tracker (Excel)](/toolkits/sales-channel-profit-tracker) - [Daily sales log and cash reconciliation](/bookkeeping/guides/daily-sales-log-and-cash-reconciliation-template) [All guides](/bookkeeping/guides) Reach small business owners, freelancers and bookkeepers who read this guide: [advertise here](/advertise#bookkeeping). Tallyfinch ### Books you keep on your own computer Tallyfinch does invoices, bills, bank import, reconciliation and the main reports, in a file you own. $99 once, then $5 a month for updates; the app keeps working if you stop the plan. It does not do payroll or sales tax filing. The free download records up to 60 entries. [See Tallyfinch](/bookkeeping/mcc-books-downloadable-bookkeeping-software) [Download it free](/tools/pro/trial/mccBooks) [Compare the three apps](/software) ## Rather have us keep the books? Ask for a quote. [Get a Quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)