What print and sign shop job tracking software does

Job tracking software for a print or sign shop keeps one record for each job and follows it from the first enquiry to the handover. That record holds the quote, the artwork, the materials, the status and the delivery details. Everything hangs off the job.

A general invoicing tool starts at the other end. It knows about customers, line items and payments. A project tool knows about tasks and due dates. Neither knows what a vinyl roll is, or that a banner needs hems and eyelets.

The job is the unit

Shops that make things to order work in jobs. A work order is, in the words of one general reference, "a task or a job for a customer". In a factory setting, that same reference says a job order usually states the quantity to make and the amount of raw material to use, with its price.¹

Print and sign work fits that pattern. A job for a box of flyers and a job for one vehicle wrap are both a customer's request, with their own materials, size, finishing and deadline. Good job tracking software lets you open either one and see everything about it.

What it usually covers

Read the maker's feature list against this set of tasks. Not every product covers all of them.

• Quotes and estimates built from size, material, quantity and finishing
• Job tickets that production staff can read at the machine
• Artwork files, proofs and the customer's approval
• Production stages, so anyone can see where a job sits
• Materials and stock, including what each job used
• Online ordering that feeds the job list
• Invoices, deposits and delivery or pickup records

Each of these has its own page on this site, starting with job tickets and job bags and quotes and estimates.

How it differs from a general tool

Here's a plain way to test any product. Ask where it keeps the things a print shop argues about.

The last row matters. Job costing is accounting that tracks costs and revenue by job, and it enables standardised reporting of profitability by job.² It starts with someone recording the labour and materials a job used. So ask whether the software records them, or leaves that to you.

Print versus sign work

The two trades share a lot, but their jobs look different. Wide-format printers are usually designed for printing onto a roll of print media rather than onto single sheets.³ A sign shop's jobs may therefore be priced by area, while a small-format print job is often priced by quantity.

Ask whether the software can quote and track both. A shop that does both should check this first.

Questions to ask before you spend

• Can I add my own fields for the details my customers always ask about?
• Where is the approved proof stored, and can I see who approved it and when?
• Does it show me what a job cost, or only what I charged?
• Can I export every job record if I leave?
• Is the price per user, per job or per month, and what date was that price published?

Proofing means making an accurate copy of the artwork before production runs begin.⁴ If a product can't show you where that step lives, the job record is incomplete.

Get the maker's current price from its own pricing page and note the date you checked. Prices change.