Profit, cost basis, and bookkeeping

PalmFlow isn't just inventory — it's the books. Record what you paid, let fees flow in from eBay, and your real profit is always one click away instead of a year-end spreadsheet panic.

Cost basis: the number everything depends on

Cost basis is what you paid to acquire an item — the purchase price, and optionally the costs to get it sale-ready. Every profit figure in PalmFlow is built on it, so:

• Enter a cost when you add an item, or import it from a CSV.
• For items already in stock without a cost, fill it in — your margins are only as accurate as your cost basis.

How net profit is calculated

For each sale, PalmFlow works out net profit from:

• Sale price — what the buyer paid.
• Marketplace fees — pulled in automatically for eBay sales; entered with the sale for manually logged channels.
• Shipping and other costs you record.
• Cost basis — what the item cost you.

The result is real net profit per item — not revenue dressed up as profit.

Reports

• See profit, cost of goods, and fees per item and over time.
• Break profit down by platform so a multi-channel business sees the whole picture in one place.
• Spot trends — your best months, your slowest-moving inventory, your true margin.

Tax time

Because PalmFlow already holds your cost basis, sale prices, and fees, it can produce Schedule C-ready profit reporting. No reconstructing a year of sales from memory and a shoebox of receipts.

PalmFlow gives you the numbers; it isn't tax advice. For how your specific situation should be filed, talk to a tax professional.