The Framers Forum

I am getting to the point now, where keeping track of all the jobs is becoming a pain

I get orders through 3 different email systems, post, phone, and drop in stuff

so i am trying to figure out a way of keeping track of everything. now the slight diff to most framers is that i also do photo printing etc

which means its not as simple as buying one of the pricing programs

as i havent found one that does everything i want yet

so i am just curious as to how people keep track of all the jobs, and does it end up taking you a lot of time to keep track of stuff

what kind of numbers of jobs would people have on their jobs list at any one time?

I am just experimenting with using a programme called Omnifocus on my iPad for this, but all I am trying to do is to replicate the tried and tested system that I have used for years.

The paper based system goes like this;

1) every job has its own docket (prints out of Estlite) or hand-written onto A4 paper.
2) I have 8 clipboards, that hang on nails in a row.
3) The clipboards are labelled as follows
New Jobs
Awaiting Stock
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
4) When a new job comes in, it goes on the new jobs clip, until I have either ordered the stock, or confirmed that I have the stock
5) If I have to order, then it goes on the Awaiting Stock clip
6) If I have stock, I put it on the clip for the day I am going to do the work
7) Each time I have a stock delivery, I allocate the jobs from Awaiting stock to a day
Each morning I use the clipboard for that day, and work through it.

thats interesting jim

simple idea too

do you end up spending much time organising things?

As you can see order processing is paperless, it is the 21st century after all.

wow that looks soooooo similar to mine too

I have a similar system to Jim's but three clipboards.

1. New jobs - these are jobs I have not checked stock availablity for. They are then sorted at the end of the day and any stock that requires ordering goes in a book for the relevant supplier with the customer name next to the item so I know which job it is for when that item arrives. Notes are made on the job sheet regarding items ordered.

2. Mounts - jobs that require a mount cutting. If the mountboard has to be ordered it goes on the clipboard face down until it arrives. If the mountboard is in stock the mount is cut and it progresses to the next stage or put in a drawer awaiting arrival of moulding.

3. Frames - this includes are jobs that require no mount e.g canvasses and jobs for which mounts have been cut.

Finished jobs are bubble wrapped and the customer contacted with a note on the job sheet e.g text sent, answerphone message.

First job of the day is going through the clipboards and prioritising jobs.

Jobs that don't have a job sheet created in the shop e.g. email orders, orders on customers own order form are treated in the same way and put on the relevant clipboard.

Dnager Area! - customers who come regularly and drop things on the counter and say "just frame this and call me once it is done". I now create a job sheet even it is blank and says £0.00 so it goes in the system. The job sheet can always be edited later.

I use the Wessex pricing sysyem, by the way. Steve Hible will be on the Wessex stand at Springfair doing demos.

Hello Jim. Looks a good system that. If its tried and tested then I'd say leave it alone! Can't bear IT for the sake of it - too often seen it end with

Yeah, if I'm honest the paper system does the business, and the iPad system helps to justify investment in toys!

Gesso&Bole wrote:Yeah, if I'm honest the paper system does the business, and the iPad system helps to justify investment in toys!

So how do you use the iPad?

I've invested in one but have had to close the business for a while (chemotherapy, etc) before getting around to using it. Had some thoughts about a job costing and tracking system using FileMaker.

Bits of paper are effective but end up all over the workshop. Where's that job sheet? On the Morso? On the CMC? Oh, no, is under the coffee cup! I sort of have this idea that I can replicate the bits of paper on the iPad and the iPad can act as a huge paperclip so everything is kept in one place.

was it one of these iPads

I have a framing and giclee printing business .We take orders from our two galleries ,over the phone and via the internet and we have found away to use ESt Lite in conjunction with our own pricing spreadsheets to keep track of jobs. Its not perfect and it does have to be kept right up to date, but I insist every job is put on Est Lite and then we can produce a sheet showing all uncompleted jobs due in date order- and it also picks up those jobs which haven't been completed by the due job due to materials being out of stock. This makes progress chasing of jobs so much easier than it used to be.

We also use Est Lite for all our moulding stock control and ordering.

We also use it for pricing bespoke and trade framing and issuing reciepts for sales of pictures, books and jewellery sold and then reference this back to our own stock books. So we have our records of sales/orders have a clear and precise audit trail.

It also has many other features we use including the customer database. This allows you to print out labels to mail all your customers.

I'm sure pricing programs are a bit like any bit of kit, we all have our favourite make or model , but I would wholly reccommend Est Lite. I've used it for just over two years and its transformed the way we operate.
Of course it won't do everything you want but its really not expensive! does seem very adaptable and John is always there (or here)to help.

Meant to add to the above post ,we have on average 80 different orders a week .Some orders are for just 1 mount and and some might be for 50 frames. Our system allows the progress to be chased!

thats really interesting as it is my preferred option

How do you using it with print pricing, do you have a separate pricing for the prints and just enter it, or do you have a series of sizes entered into estlite

For printing we have a look up table created in excel and enter the price in "other" in Est Lite. Obviously we can't stock control paper this way but it means the job appears on our uncompleted jobs list and shows its due date.

ah cool

thanks for that

stcstc wrote:I am getting to the point now, where keeping track of all the jobs is becoming a pain....

I use a pricing program. Each job is entered into it and a job sheet is printed.

stcstc wrote:as i havent found one that does everything i want yet

If that's the case, you will probably never buy one, because there will never be one that has everything you want. The more time passes, the more your wants will multiply.

Maybe you could buy one that suits most of your desires, then when the perfect software comes along you could go with that? Estlite would be a great starting point.

ormond

exactly what i have done, bought estlite, and adding an excel spreadsheet to do things it doesnt

What things does it not do, that you include in the spreadsheet?

custom print pricing

pricing for something like, acrylic mounted print or blockmounted print

because i not only do the framing but do the printing too, there are a bunch of things it wont price simply

I see.
Perhaps John might be able to let us know if there is a way to deal with those items?