The post show sheet that turns a weekend into a decision

At teardown, before the totes are loaded

• Count every line while it is still on the displayWrite the closing number next to each line before anything gets boxed. Good looks like a full column of numbers, including zeros for the lines that sold out, because a blank later reads as forgotten rather than empty.
• Note which lines emptied and roughly whenSaturday noon and Sunday afternoon are different signals. A line gone by lunch on day one means you underbrought, and that note is worth more than the count alone when you set the next target.
• Record giveaways, trades and damaged pieces separatelyThe mug you traded with the potter across the aisle and the two seconds you discounted did not sell at retail. Keeping them apart is what stops your sell through and your restock list from drifting.
• Photograph the booth as it stands at the endOne wide shot and two close ups. On Monday the photo tells you what a shopper saw after the best pieces were gone, which is most of the weekend for a strong show.
• Write three lines about traffic and weatherGate time, the hours that were busy, the hours that died, wind, rain and shade. Two seasons later this is the note that tells you whether the show is weak or the Saturday storm was.

In the van, while the money is fresh

• Record gross sales split by cash and cardTake both totals before you leave the lot. The split matters because the card side carries a processing cost and the cash side has to reconcile against the float you started with.
• Count the cash box down against the opening floatNote the float you brought, the cash out, and any difference. A gap of a few dollars is change made in a hurry, and a large gap is worth investigating while the day is still fresh.
• Log every dollar the show cost youBooth fee, jury fee, electricity, mileage or fuel, lodging, vendor parking, meals on the road and anything you paid booth help. This is the line makers skip, and it is the line the whole verdict rests on.
• Write down the sales tax you collected and the rateNote the rate and the jurisdiction, not just the amount. Rates change across county and city lines, and the filing after the show is far easier when the sheet already says which one applied.
• Note the hours the weekend actually tookInclude packing, drive time, load in, show hours and teardown. Good looks like one honest number per person, which is what lets you compare a local Saturday against a three day festival two states away.

Monday, with the counts in front of you

• Work out units sold per lineOpening count minus closing count minus trades, gifts and damages. Do it line by line rather than in total, because the total hides the two lines that carried the weekend.
• Calculate sell through for each lineUnits sold divided by units carried, as a percentage. Anything near full means you left money on the table, and anything very low means the line either needs a different show or a different price.
• Put the show cost against the grossSubtract fees, travel, help and the material share of what sold. The result is what the weekend paid you before your own hours, and it is the only figure that compares fairly across shows.
• Divide that result by the hours the show tookA per hour figure exposes the friendly local market that quietly pays less than staying home and shipping online orders. Write it down even when you do not like it.
• Add the show to your season tableOne row per fair with fee, gross, cost, result and hours. By the third show the table starts making application decisions for you instead of your memory doing it.

Before you apply again

• Build the restock list from the counts, not from memoryStart with the lines that sold through hardest, set a target for the next show, and subtract what is still in the totes. That difference is the build list you take to the bench.
• Flag any line that has not moved in two showsTwo quiet shows is a pattern. Decide whether it comes off the display, gets repriced, or gets one more outing at a different kind of fair before you retire it.
• Write one line of verdict on the show itselfApply again, apply with changes, or skip. Add the reason in the same sentence, because next February you will remember the weather and forget the numbers.
• Note the application window and fee for next yearDeadline, jury fee, notification date and whether returning vendors get priority. Good looks like a date already in the calendar before you close the sheet.
• List the display fixes you promised yourselfThe riser that wobbled, the sign nobody read, the checkout corner that jammed the aisle. Write them now while the irritation is fresh, and fix one before the next load in.