How to use the Art Inventory Tracker
- Look around with the samples, then clear them. On your first visit the tracker shows six sample artworks. Press Remove samples when you’re ready, or edit a sample and it becomes your own record.
- Press + Add artwork and fill in what you know. The inventory number is suggested automatically, for example
2026-003for your third piece of 2026. Only the title is required, and you can add a photo, which is shrunk to a 200-pixel thumbnail. - Keep statuses current. Moving a piece to Sold, Reserved, On consignment, Not for sale or Gift updates the totals at the top. Record the buyer and sale date while you still remember them.
- Find things fast. Search matches titles, media, buyers, locations and notes. Filter by status, sort by number, title, year, price, status or last edit, and switch between Table and Cards.
- Back up and share. Export JSON saves everything, including thumbnails, so you can restore it later with Import JSON or CSV. Export CSV opens in any spreadsheet, and Print list produces a clean sheet for an insurer or a gallery.
Why a written inventory pays for itself
Most artists can say roughly how much work they have. Few can answer the questions that come with selling it. Which gallery has the three small linocuts? Did the commission from last spring sell for $600 or $650? What is the insured value of everything in the studio right now? Without a record, every one of those turns into an afternoon of searching emails and photos.
The people you deal with all want the same core facts, organized slightly differently:
| Field | Who relies on it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory number | You, galleries, certificate holders | Ties the work, its photo, its paperwork and its sale together permanently |
| Title, year, medium | Galleries, buyers, exhibition labels | Needed for labels, price lists, CVs and certificates of authenticity |
| Dimensions and unit | Shippers, framers, insurers, buyers | Determines shipping boxes, frame orders and how the work is described |
| Price and status | You, your accountant | Shows what is available and what you have actually earned |
| Location | You, insurers | Shows what is in the studio, at a gallery or in storage if something goes wrong |
| Buyer and sale date | You, your accountant, future exhibitions | Needed for income records, loan requests and catalogs |
| Edition | Buyers, galleries | Shows which impression was sold so you never number a print twice |
| Photo | Insurers, you | Visual proof of the work and its condition |
Keeping this from the first piece is far easier than reconstructing it ten years later. Retrospective catalogs, estate planning and insurance claims all depend on records that were made at the time.
A numbering system that scales
The default format, year plus a three-digit sequence, is simple and sorts correctly: 2025-014 always comes after 2025-013 and before anything from 2026. Three digits give you 999 works a year, which covers almost any studio practice.
If you work across very different media, add a short code: 2025-P-014 for paintings, 2025-W-007 for works on paper, 2025-C-021 for ceramics. Keep the codes few and obvious. A numbering system you have to look up will not get used.
Write the number on the work itself — in pencil on the back of a canvas or the verso (reverse side) of paper, or under the foot of a pot. Repeat it on the invoice and on the certificate you can make with the Certificate of Authenticity Generator. A number that appears on the work, the receipt and the paperwork is what makes a record trustworthy years later.
Tracking consignment without surprises
Consigned work is still yours until it sells, which is why the tracker counts it in Unsold value along with available and reserved pieces. Each time you drop work off, record the gallery in Location and the commission rate and drop-off date in Notes.
Consignment adds up quickly. Twelve prints at $120 on consignment represent $1,440 at retail. At a 50% gallery commission, that is $720 owed to you if they all sell. The Gallery Commission Split Calculator shows the exact take-home after framing and shipping. Check the consigned list against the gallery’s own records every quarter, and ask for unsold work back after an agreed period.
Tips from practice
Photograph before it leaves the studio. Every sale, consignment and exhibition is a chance for the work to disappear from view. A quick, even-light photo takes a minute now and is often impossible to get later.
Record the price you sold at, not the price you asked. Sold revenue should match your bank account. If you gave a 10% discount, enter the final figure and put the original asking price in the notes.
Export a backup on a schedule. Records in a browser are erased with its site data. Export the JSON file monthly, or after any big sale, and keep it in cloud storage or email it to yourself. The banner at the top counts the days since your last export.
Use the same file in two places. The JSON backup restores everything, thumbnails included, on another computer or browser. That makes it the easiest way to move your inventory to a new laptop.
Note condition and framing changes. “Reframed in oak, 2026” or “small scuff lower left, touched up” seems trivial today. It matters to an insurer, a conservator or a buyer five years from now.