Follow this detailed tutorial to build your first hipobuy spreadsheet from scratch. No experience required, just follow along and you will have a working system by the end.
Before you begin, you need a spreadsheet program. Google Sheets is recommended because it is free, works in your browser, and saves automatically. You can also use Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers.
Open a new spreadsheet and create a new sheet. Name it "Order Tracker" or something similar. This will be your main workspace. The rest of this tutorial assumes you are using Google Sheets, but the steps are nearly identical for any spreadsheet program.
In row 1, add the following column headers from left to right: Item Name, Product Link, Size, Color, Unit Price, Quantity, Agent Fee, Shipping Cost, Total Cost, Selling Price, Profit, Status.
Select row 1 and make it bold. You can also give it a background color to make it stand out. This header row is the foundation of your hipobuy spreadsheet. Every entry below will follow this structure.
In row 2, fill in the details for your first item. For example: "Nike Dunk Low Panda", paste the product link, size "42", color "Black/White", unit price $45, quantity 2, agent fee $5, and shipping cost $12.
Leave the Total Cost, Selling Price, Profit, and Status columns empty for now. We will add formulas and fill those in the next steps.
In the Total Cost column (cell I2), enter this formula: =(E2*F2)+G2+H2. This multiplies unit price by quantity, then adds agent fee and shipping cost.
In the Profit column (cell K2), enter: =J2-I2. This subtracts total cost from selling price to show your profit. You can copy these formulas down to future rows by dragging the fill handle.
For the Status column, use simple text entries: "Ordered", "In Warehouse", "Shipped", "Delivered", or "Issue". You can add color coding using conditional formatting to make the status visually obvious.
To set up conditional formatting, select the Status column, go to Format > Conditional formatting, and create rules for each status. Green for delivered, yellow for shipped, red for issue.
Create a separate row for each item. This gives you the most detail. If you prefer, you can group items by order number in a separate column.
Yes, you can add columns at any time. Common additions include: Weight, Tracking Number, QC Photos, Customer Name, and Notes.
If using Google Sheets, your data is automatically saved to the cloud. For Excel, save a copy to a cloud service like Dropbox or Google Drive.
You can share a read-only version if you want. But never share your selling prices or profit margins. Create a separate sheet for agent communication if needed.
Most people complete the setup in 20 to 30 minutes. Adding real data for your first order takes another 10 minutes.
Skip the setup and download a ready-made hipobuy spreadsheet template.