I do it like your grandpappy would have done it......with an old fashioned index card file.....several of them, actually!
View attachment 38408
Every bowl gets an index card with an inventory number. Noted is the initial purchase date of the wood block, the size, purchased from whom, how much it cost me. Initial MC reading. For roughed bowls that go through a seasoning process, I mark the monthly weights until equilibrium. Special notations, such as significant aspects of the wood, where it came from, whether repairs/or fills were done. I do a little quick profile sketch of the bowl during it's progress, noting what surfaces have been finished to what level, and sanded to what level. (This little drawing is necessary for me to come back to it at a later time, and know exactly what was done, and where it was done. (Otherwise it could get confusing for me, because I usually have at least a dozen bowls in active progress at any one time.) Every bowl goes through a photo session, and linked to the inventory number. After it's sold, I note the name of the person who bought it, where they reside, how much they paid.
I have other index card file boxes, holding the index cards for bowls that were given away, and those that were failures. For the failures, I jot down what went wrong......sometimes it's the wood, and not my fault......sometimes it's me who blew it! There are at least a couple hundred failures in that file, and probably 500 bowls that were given away over the years........(The ladies at my church have gotten quite a few of my bowls, and are delighted that I attend their congregation!.......besides my wife(s), parents, MIL, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, friends!)
-----odie-----