How do you guys keep track of orders/jobs currently in your shop?

[ADVANCED DISPLAY]

We've been using SignTracker. So far so Good.

Once it slows down in the shop I am going to look at this seriously because we're drowning and most of it is because of our un-organized approach. So Signtracker's the front runner for me at the moment, mostly because if I can implement a workflow that allows us to begin a job (customer walks in we take some notes and it's started) on the software, I can integrate with my quickbooks to make the invoicing part super-quick and easy.

Would you mind explaining your workflow process? Just looking for ideas.

 

[unmateria]

We made a custom erp 20+ years ago in access and sqlserver and we still develop it... Its a time expensive thing... But never failed and its the fastest RAD tools I know since years. We track everything and we work with production and products costs from the store software (integrated)... The good thing is that when we want something we add it to the software extremely fast so after 20 years its very optimized with ideas of everybody using it. But well... If u find something that fits to you, use it no matter the price, because this kind of software is expensive altough you never regret... Is like buying a CNC, a láser, a big and good printer, good drills etc etc... You never regret of buying good tools while you dont morgage your house lol and well... Nothing makes more money than your time

 

[StacyT]

I'm really interested to learn more from those of you who use Filemaker, especially those of you who have hired developers, since I am very much NOT one.

I currently use an Excel spreadsheet to quote (which I LOVE but, it doesn't speak with anything else), Trello to manage projects, Xero to invoice and run my other accounting functions, email & text to communicate and have no CRM. I'm growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of integration between the different systems and feel like there's a lot of redundancy. I am spending too much time on non-billables. I have a remote employee so I need a digital system.

I've also spent A LOT of time looking at a variety of all-in-one systems, none of which do exactly what I want but I don't have the knowledge (or time) to build something myself. Filemaker keeps coming up and I'm intrigued.

(Also very interested to take a look at what others might have already built and am willing to compensate you for sharing if it seems like a good fit or starting point for me!)

 

[StacyT]

We developed our own system using filemaker. Everyone can see a live status board from any computer in the building or on the large screen TV we have on the wall and they can open any job to see details or make changes. We track, ship, invoice, run CC's and email customers without ever leaving the system. We tie it in to QB for accounting, FedEx and UPS for shipping and us Twilio to send text messages (or emails) automatically when jobs are complete. This is by far one of the best investment we made to our business.

I'm really interested to learn more from those of you who use Filemaker, especially those of you who have hired developers, since I am very much NOT one.

I currently use an Excel spreadsheet to quote (which I LOVE), Trello to manage projects, Xero to invoice and run my other accounting functions, email & text to communicate and have no CRM. I'm growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of integration between the different systems and feel like there's a lot of redundancy. I am spending too much time on non-billables. I have a remote employee so I need a digital system.

I've also spent A LOT of time looking at these systems, none of which do exactly what I want but I don't have the knowledge (or time) to build something myself.

(Also very interested to take a look at what others might have already built and am willing to compensate you for sharing if it seems like a good fit or starting point for me!)

 

[tulsagraphics]

Late to this thread but figured I'd contribute since I just built something specifically for this problem.
After watching too many sign shops either drown in paper work orders or fight with software that was way too complex for a 5-person operation, I built SignFlow — a job board designed specifically for sign shops.
The core of it is a Kanban board with 7 columns: Quoted → In Design → Printing → Finishing → Ready for Pickup → Delivered → Paid. Every job card shows customer name, job name, due date, and total value. Overdue jobs turn red. One screen gives you a complete picture of everything in the shop.
Quotes feed directly into it — when a customer approves a quote (via a shareable link, no login required), it converts to a job on the board with one click.
It's in early beta right now — $79/month, but the first 10 shops get it free for a month to try it out. If you're still hunting for a solution, happy to chat: trysignflow@gmail.com
— Adam

Yes, quite late to the party, but now that every other person is a "developer".... lol

$79/mo. is steep for something Rosebud could generate in 10 minutes and hosted on a local server for free. (I'm a developer at my other company -- well, more of a project manager these days since I'm busy AF and I have some excellent programmers working for me.) AI is getting so good at building apps though -- I tasked Rosebud with several projects -- having it replicate apps I spent many thousands to build through traditional development -- just to see what it could do. $50 in credits later, I had fully functional apps that were even better than what my (very capable) programmers made 5 years ago. You might get folks to bite on $79/mo. for your AI generated app (I won't be one of them). It's just a matter of time before everyone here has a Rosebud.ai account. That sh*t is crazy powerful. (wait, was I not supposed to let the cat out of the bag? Oops.)

 

[southtexasprinter]

We use Printavo. It was a game-changer for us. We manage our whole operation through it, including ordering apparel items. It is amazing. You can customize it to fit your needs, including automated emails to customers.