Excelsus IQ Complete Operating Manual

This is the complete operating manual for running a print company inside Excelsus IQ.

It combines the maintained guide sources for:

setup
go-live ownership
estimator training
production-floor operation
reporting and intelligence

How To Use This Manual

Use this manual in three ways:

as the implementation reference while setting up the system
as the training document for estimators, managers, and floor staff
as the printable master manual for operating reviews and onboarding

Manual Structure

The major sections below are generated from the maintained source guides in docs/.

When the source guides are updated, regenerate this manual and PDF so the combined reference stays current.

Print Shop Setup Guide

This guide is written specifically for printing companies using Excelsus IQ as their estimating, job, scheduling, purchasing, invoicing, and reporting system.

It is intentionally detailed. The goal is to give you one setup order that makes the program work the way a real print shop works.

What This System Should Be The Source Of Truth For

For a print company, this system should become the source of truth for:

customer defaults
estimating inputs
production rates
machine and finishing costs
production sequencing
rush and prepress charging
order scheduling
operator actual labor cost
purchasing and receiving
invoicing and reporting

If the same information is entered differently in multiple places, the system will feel inconsistent. The cleanest setup is:

Build the shop structure in Settings first.
Create clean customer records with correct defaults.
Quote from the catalog instead of typing ad hoc values whenever possible.
Convert approved quotes into orders.
Let scheduling and time tracking run from those orders.

Recommended Setup Order

Set the system up in this order:

Company settings
Team members and roles
Accounting basics
Catalog categories and vendors
Materials
Machines
Processes
Hardware
Labor rates and margin groups
Prepress charges
Rush charges
Production departments
Shop hours and resource availability
Operator skills
Job flow rules
Process sequences
Estimating defaults and volume discounts
Customers and contacts
Optional inventory
Purchase orders, scheduling, time, invoicing, and reports

Do not start by building quotes first. Quotes work best after customers, materials, machines, processes, prepress, rush rules, and departments are already in place.

Before You Start

Gather this information before setup:

company legal name, display name, slug, timezone
logo URL and primary brand color
order, PO, and invoice prefixes
shop working days and hours
holiday closures
list of departments
list of machines with pricing model and speed
list of finishing processes
list of operators and their actual hourly cost
customer tax defaults, commission rules, discounts, and quote loading rules
material purchasing data
margin targets
tax rates
overhead values
default prepress charges
rush policy

1. Company Settings

Go to Settings > Company.

Company Info

Use Company Info to set:

Company Name
Company Slug
Timezone

Recommendations for print shops:

Use the real operating company name that should appear on documents.
Use the timezone the production floor actually runs on.
Do not leave timezone generic if your team, due dates, and schedule are local.

Branding And Logo

Use Branding & Logo to set:

Logo URL
Primary Brand Color

This matters for customer-facing documents and future white-label output. If quotes and invoices should look like your shop, set this early.

Document Numbers And Defaults

Use Document Numbers to set:

Order Prefix
Purchase Order Prefix
Invoice Prefix
Show Cost On Internal PDF
Show Margin On Internal PDF
Require Proof Approval Before Production
Auto Generate Schedule On Order

Recommended starting values for most print companies:

Order Prefix: ORD or JOB
Purchase Order Prefix: PO
Invoice Prefix: INV
Show Cost On Internal PDF: on
Show Margin On Internal PDF: on
Require Proof Approval Before Production: on if customer proof approval is mandatory
Auto Generate Schedule On Order: on

If your shop never wants production scheduled until someone manually reviews the job, turn off auto-generate schedule. Otherwise leave it on.

2. Team Members And Roles

Go to Settings > Users & Access.

Create every real person who affects quoting, customer ownership, production, or reporting.

Available roles are:

Owner
Admin
Production Scheduler / Manager
Sales Rep
CSR
Sales Rep + CSR
Operator

Actual Labor Rate Per Hour

Set Actual Labor Rate Per Hour for each person if you want time tracking and actual costing to reflect real labor cost.

This is important for print shops because:

operators often have different actual wages
installers may cost more than production helpers
prepress staff may cost more than general operators

If you skip this, the system falls back to broader labor-rate assumptions instead of using person-specific actual cost.

Recommended Initial Role Mapping

Use this as a practical starting point:

Shop Role	System Role
Owner / GM	Owner
Office admin with broad access	Admin
Production lead or scheduler	Production Scheduler / Manager
Outside or inside sales	Sales Rep
CSR / project manager	CSR
Salesperson who also runs jobs	Sales Rep + CSR
Press operator / finisher / installer	Operator

Report Access

Turn on report permissions only for people who need them:

Standard Reports
Report Builder
Accounting Reports
Dashboards
Invoice Reports

3. Accounting Basics

Go to Settings > Accounting.

Do this before heavy quoting so tax and profitability behave correctly.

Tax Rates

Use Tax Rates to load or enter the tax rates you actually charge.

Each rate can include:

county
municipality
state rate
county rate
city rate
combined rate
effective date

Best practice:

build tax rates before customer setup
assign the correct default tax rate on each taxable customer
use tax-exempt only when the customer truly is exempt and the exemption number is on file

Accounting Preferences

Use Preferences to set:

payment methods accepted
late fee percent
grace period
fiscal year start month
export format
default income account
default COGS account
aging report email settings

This is mostly accounting behavior, but printing companies should still set it up early so invoices and reporting are consistent.

Overhead And Profit

Use Overhead & Profit to enter the real monthly burden of running the shop:

rent or mortgage
utilities
insurance
admin and office salaries
sales base salaries
management salaries
software
marketing
other fixed cost
total production floor square footage
total shop power
working days per month
working hours per day
labor burden factor
target monthly revenue
target gross margin
target net profit
unassigned overhead allocation method

For print shops, this section matters because machine cost analysis and profitability are only credible if these values are not fake.

Good starting principles:

use realistic wages, not ideal wages
use conservative throughput
use actual occupancy cost
use a labor burden factor that includes payroll burden and benefits

After overhead is set, review each major machine in its cost calculator and compare the current sell rate against the suggested rate.

4. Catalog Categories

Go to Settings > Catalog > Categories.

Categories are for organizing the catalog. They are not the production department.

Use categories for reporting and catalog structure, such as:

Materials / Vinyl
Materials / Banner
Materials / Rigid
Materials / Paper
Machines / Wide Format
Machines / Digital Press
Processes / Cutting
Processes / Laminating
Hardware / Grommets
Hardware / Frames

Important:

Category is catalog organization.
Production Department is scheduling.

Do not try to use category as your job-flow department.

5. Vendors

Go to Settings > Catalog > Vendors.

Create vendors before materials, outsourced processes, or hardware so those records can point to the right supplier.

Recommended vendor data:

vendor name
account number
terms
primary contact
email
phone
address
notes

Typical print-shop vendors:

media vendors
laminate vendors
substrate vendors
hardware suppliers
outsourced finishers
freight and installation partners

6. Materials

Go to Settings > Catalog > Materials.

Materials represent the physical stock you buy and consume.

The system supports two stock types:

Sheet
Roll

Laminates are usually created as Roll materials, not as a separate stock type.

What To Create As Materials

Common examples:

adhesive vinyl rolls
banner rolls
canvas rolls
poster paper rolls
foam board sheets
coroplast sheets
ACM sheets
styrene sheets
magnetic material
laminate rolls

Key Material Fields

Set these carefully:

Category
Name
SKU
Vendor
Stock Type
Sheet Width, Height, Cost for sheet stock
Roll Width, Length, Cost for roll stock
Unit Of Measure
Waste Factor %
Bleed
Gutter
Trim Margin
Weight Per Sq Ft
Color
Finish
Thickness
Notes

How Print Shops Should Think About Material Setup

For wide-format shops:

create separate materials for each common roll width and finish
do not combine different widths into one record
create separate laminate material records by finish and width
use realistic waste, especially for short-run jobs

For sheetfed shops:

create each sheet size separately
create separate coated, uncoated, synthetic, and specialty stocks
use actual sheet cost, not carton cost unless you convert it

For rigid-media shops:

create each substrate thickness and size separately
do not combine 3 mm and 6 mm board in one material

Inventory Note

If you plan to use the Inventory module, mark materials for inventory tracking and maintain accurate receipts and adjustments. If you do not track stock, you can still use materials for quoting only.

7. Machines

Go to Settings > Catalog > Machines.

Machines are the main production-cost engine for print shops. Build these carefully.

Machine Setup Should Include

Category
Production Department
Name
Machine Code
Active flag
Pricing Model
Rate Per Hour, Per Click, Per Sq Ft, Minimum Charge, or other pricing inputs
Setup Time
Max Print Width
Max Print Length
Speed in the throughput unit that makes sense
Requires Operator
Operator Rate Per Hour
Notes

Category Versus Department

Use them differently:

Category: how the machine is grouped in the catalog
Production Department: where the machine belongs in scheduling

Example:

Category: Wide Format Printers
Department: Printing

Choosing A Pricing Model

Use the pricing model that matches how you actually sell and estimate:

hourly for machines quoted by time
click for click-based devices
sqft for square-foot pricing
per_piece for equipment where per-piece logic makes more sense
flat for flat setup-style charges
lnft when linear-foot pricing is the right basis

Choosing A Speed Unit

Use the speed field that matches how the machine actually runs:

Speed (sq ft/hr) for many printers, routers, laminators, and broad-area finishing equipment
Speed (linear ft/hr) for roll workflows where length is the better driver
Speed (pieces/hr) for cutters, folders, pack-out stations, or any piece-based step

If a printer is charged hourly and output is really based on square feet, do not force pieces/hr. Use sq ft/hr.

Good Machine Examples

Wide-format printer:

Department: Printing
Pricing model: hourly or sqft
Speed: sq ft/hr
Requires operator: yes

Roll laminator:

Department: Laminating
Pricing model: hourly or lnft
Speed: linear ft/hr or sq ft/hr

Flatbed cutter:

Department: Cutting
Pricing model: hourly or per_piece
Speed: pieces/hr or sq ft/hr depending on how you sell it

Pack-out bench:

Department: Packing
Pricing model: hourly
Speed: pieces/hr

Machine Cost Calculator

For each major machine, open the cost calculator and fill in:

purchase price
salvage value
useful life
maintenance
equipment insurance
machine footprint
power draw
utility rate
voltage

This helps determine whether your machine sell rate is actually covering burden.

8. Processes

Go to Settings > Catalog > Processes.

Processes are non-material production charges and production steps.

Common print-shop processes:

lamination
mounting
contour cutting
trimming
sewing
hemming
grommeting
drilling
weeding
transfer tape
kitting
packing
shipping prep
installation
design
file repair
press proof

Key Process Setup Fields

Category
Production Department
Name
Process Code
Pricing Model
Rate
Setup Charge
Minimum Charge
Time Per Unit
Is Outsourced
Vendor
Outsource Cost
Notes

Department Assignment Matters

If you want auto-scheduling to run by department order instead of by machine-specific logic, assign every machine and every schedule-relevant process to a production department.

Examples:

contour cut process -> Cutting
laminate process -> Laminating
hand apply tape -> Handwork
kitting process -> Kitpacking
boxing process -> Packing
delivery staging -> Shipping

Outsourced Processes

Use Is Outsourced for work such as:

trade bindery
outsourced installs
specialty finishing
embroidery
outsourced die cutting

If it is outsourced, set the vendor and outsource cost.

9. Hardware

Go to Settings > Catalog > Hardware.

Use hardware for non-stock accessories or attachable billable components such as:

grommets
standoffs
easel backs
frames
hooks
pole pockets if priced as an add-on piece
cable kits
mounting brackets
zip ties if you bill them

Set:

category
name
vendor
unit of measure
cost per unit
optional sell price per unit
minimum quantity

10. Labor Rates

Go to Settings > Catalog > Labor Rates.

Use this for role-level labor assumptions and defaults.

Examples:

Prepress Artist
Press Operator
Finishing Operator
Installer
CSR

Then, for higher accuracy on actual time cost, also set Actual Labor Rate Per Hour on each user record.

The clean model is:

labor rate table = shop-level standard assumptions
user labor rate = person-specific actual cost

11. Margin Groups

Go to Settings > Catalog > Margin Groups.

Create margin groups that reflect how your shop prices different work.

Example structure:

Margin Group	Use For
Standard	Normal retail work
Premium	Rush, specialty, complex work
Wholesale	Trade customers and resellers
Custom	Special-account pricing

Each margin group should have:

margin percent
minimum dollar margin
description

These can then be assigned to customers and used as the base estimating posture.

12. Prepress Charges

Go to Settings > Catalog > Prepress Charges.

This is where you build reusable quote-time prepress options.

Recommended Core Prepress Types

At minimum, most print shops should create:

Standard Prepress
File Prep

Recommended setup:

Standard Prepress
pricing model: flat
auto apply to each item: on
show separately on quote: based on your preference
File Prep
pricing model: per_version
auto apply to each item: on
show separately on quote: based on your preference

How it works in the quote builder:

standard prepress applies once per quote item
file prep multiplies by the number of versions or files on that item

You can also create optional prepress types for:

color correction
variable data setup
straight reprint
reprint with change
CNC file setup
proof creation
design time

Best Practice

Make the default automatic charges represent what truly happens on almost every job.

Do not auto-apply rare charges. Only auto-apply the baseline shop behavior.

13. Rush Charges

Go to Settings > Catalog > Rush Charges.

Rush rules are order-level or quote-level urgency charges.

Each rush rule has:

name
description
percent charge
minimum charge
sort order
active flag

The rule uses whichever dollar value is higher:

the percentage-based rush amount
the minimum rush charge

Example rush policy:

Rule	Percent	Minimum
Same Week Rush	10%	$150
48 Hour Rush	20%	$300
Next Day Rush	35%	$500

If your rush policy depends on promise date, create the few standard rules you actually sell instead of making every quote unique.

14. Production Departments

Go to Settings > Production > Departments.

Departments are now the right place to define production flow at a print-shop level.

This is where you set the departments the scheduler should sequence through.

Recommended department list for many print shops:

Printing
Cutting
Laminating
Mounting
Sewing
Finishing
Handwork
Kitpacking
Packing
Shipping
Installation

Set Sort Order in the order you want work to generally progress.

Example:

Sort Order	Department
10	Printing
20	Laminating
30	Cutting
40	Mounting
50	Finishing
60	Handwork
70	Kitpacking
80	Packing
90	Shipping

Important:

categories organize records
departments drive production flow

15. Shop Hours

Go to Settings > Production > Shop Hours.

Set:

shop open time
shop close time
working days

Then add closures for:

holidays
planned downtime
maintenance windows
plant shutdowns
resource-specific blackout dates

If your shop runs a real second shift but the system is only set to daytime hours, scheduling will look wrong. Set hours to match reality.

16. Production Resource Schedule

Go to Settings > Production > Production Resource Schedule.

Use this to override default availability for:

machines
schedule-relevant processes

This is where you reflect that a specific cutter, laminator, or process is only available on certain days or times.

Examples:

install crew only available Monday through Friday
second cutter only runs during first shift
outsourced process unavailable on weekends

17. Schedule Settings

Go to Settings > Production > Schedule Settings.

Set:

auto-schedule new orders when converted from quote
auto-assign primary operator when scheduling
respect operator skill level
default view
start hour
end hour
time slot size
show completed tasks
task overrun alert minutes
warn if unscheduled days before due

Recommended starting settings:

auto-schedule on: on
auto-assign primary operator: on if your operator assignments are maintained
respect operator skill level: on
slot size: 15 or 30 minutes depending on shop complexity

18. Operator Skills

Go to Settings > Production > Operator Skills.

Assign operators to the machines they can run and set:

skill level
whether they are a primary operator

This matters if you want scheduling to assign the right person to the right equipment instead of treating every operator as interchangeable.

For example:

Operator A: primary on flatbed printer
Operator B: primary on roll printer
Operator C: skilled on Zund, backup on laminator

19. Job Flow Rules

Go to Settings > Production > Job Flow Rules.

This is where you define the default production sequence.

Rules can sequence by:

department
machine type
process category

For most print companies, department-based rules are the cleanest setup.

Example rule for a wide-format shop:

Printing
Laminating
Cutting
Handwork
Packing
Shipping

Example rule for rigid board work:

Printing
Mounting
Cutting
Finishing
Packing
Shipping

Best practice:

use department steps for most of the flow
only use machine-type or process-category steps when you truly need more specific logic

20. Process Sequences

Go to Settings > Production > Process Sequences.

Use process sequences when a specific kind of item needs a special flow that differs from the default rule.

Sequence templates can step by:

department
machine type
exact process

Use this for recurring special workflows, such as:

print -> laminate -> contour cut -> weed -> transfer tape -> pack
print -> mount -> trim -> crate
prepress -> proof -> print -> install

Do not overbuild this area at the start. Create the common default first, then add templates only for recurring exceptions.

21. Job Statuses

Go to Settings > Production > Job Statuses.

Set the shop language you want your team to use for orders and production states.

Keep statuses simple and operationally clear. Too many statuses usually create confusion instead of control.

22. Estimating Defaults

Go to Settings > Estimating > Default Values.

This page controls the quoting posture the system assumes when estimators start a new quote.

Set:

Bleed
Gutter
Trim Margin
Waste Factor
Quote Valid For
Default Margin Group
Quote Loading %
Auto-calculate imposition
Show material cost breakdown in quote builder
Show machine time in quote builder
Warn when margin falls below minimum
Require a machine selection on every quote line

Recommended starting point for many print shops:

set bleed, gutter, and trim to your common production assumptions
set waste to a realistic shop average, not a best-case guess
set quote validity to what sales actually promises
leave warning below margin on
require machine selection if you want disciplined estimating

23. Volume Discounts

Go to Settings > Estimating > Volume Discounts.

Use volume discounts when your shop systematically discounts by:

quantity
square footage
a specific customer
a specific material or process context

Only build structured discounts you actually intend sales to follow. If everything is custom, this area becomes noise.

24. Customer Setup

Go to Customers > New Customer.

Customer setup is critical because quotes and orders inherit customer defaults.

What Quotes And Orders Pull From The Customer

The system uses the customer as the source of truth for:

sales rep
CSR
default customer contact
tax rate
tax exempt status
margin group
commission percent
automatic discount percent
quote loading percent
volume discount rule

If those values are wrong on the customer, your quotes and orders will start wrong.

Customer Record Best Practice

Set the following:

Company Name
Account Status
Account Code
Category
Website
Billing address
Shipping address
Sales Rep
CSR
Credit Terms
Credit Limit
Default Currency
Default Sales Tax Rate
Tax Exempt and exemption number if applicable
Requires PO Number if the customer needs it
Invoice and statement delivery rules
Filing number if you use it
Margin Group
Margin %
Minimum Margin $
Commission %
Automatic Discount %
Quote Loading %
Volume Discount Rule if applicable
Notes

Contacts

After creating the customer, add customer contacts and make sure one is the default contact.

That default contact is what quote and order headers will use.

If you skip contacts, the quote can still exist, but the communication side of the record will be incomplete.

Practical Customer Types

Retail customer:

standard or premium margin
normal tax rule
no automatic discount unless intentional

Trade reseller:

wholesale margin group
maybe no sales rep commission
maybe automatic discount

Large corporate account:

default CSR assigned
requires PO number
statement delivery configured
agreed quote loading or account-specific discount if applicable

25. Creating Quotes The Right Way

Go to Quotes > New Quote.

Header Setup

At the top of the quote:

choose the customer first
confirm the correct default contact appears
confirm the inherited sales rep and CSR
fill in Job Name

Job Name is the overall quote name. It should describe the entire job, even if the quote has multiple items.

Examples:

Spring Window Campaign
Trade Show Booth Package
Fleet Graphics Rollout
Restaurant Menu Reprint

Line Item Setup

Each quote line is an item within the overall job.

Use:

Item Description for what that specific item is
printing selection
size
quantity and versions breakdown rows

The system totals quantity from the quantity/version rows. Build those carefully.

Examples:

500 qty x 2 versions = 1,000 total units
5 signs x 4 files = 20 total units

Prepress In Quotes

If prepress types are set to auto-apply:

standard prepress is applied once per item
file prep is multiplied by versions or files

This is the correct behavior for many print shops and should be part of the default quote build if that reflects your real operation.

Materials, Machines, Processes, And Hardware

Use the catalog records you created earlier:

material for stock
machine for production charge
processes for finishing, outsourced work, or production steps
hardware for billable accessories

Try not to estimate with one-off numbers when a reusable catalog record should exist.

Rush In Quotes

If a rush rule applies, select the correct rush option so the quote reflects the urgency premium.

26. Converting Quotes To Orders

When a quote is approved:

convert it to an order
confirm the order due date
confirm the shipping plan
confirm the production sequence

If Auto Generate Schedule On Order is on, the schedule should build automatically from the order.

27. How Scheduling Should Work For A Print Shop

The clean intended flow is:

quote line uses machine and process choices
those records are assigned to production departments
job flow rules sequence the departments
the schedule creates tasks in department order
operator skills and availability influence assignment
operators clock time against those tasks

To make this work well:

every important machine should have a department
every schedule-relevant process should have a department
shop hours must be real
machine and process availability must be maintained
primary operators should be assigned

If you leave department blank everywhere, scheduling falls back to older machine-type and process-category behavior. That can work, but department-based setup is the better shop-wide model.

28. Time Tracking And Actuals

Go to Time.

Operators can clock into scheduled tasks and clock out when they complete or pause work.

This is how the system captures:

actual time
actual labor cost
actual task progress

For good actuals:

make sure operators are assigned correctly
make sure each operator has the right user role
set actual labor rate on each operator if you want true labor cost

This is especially useful for:

finding underquoted steps
proving a department bottleneck
checking whether setup assumptions are wrong

29. Inventory

Use the Inventory module only if you want stock-on-hand tracking.

Inventory becomes useful when you:

buy common media in volume
receive stock against POs
want low-stock alerts
want on-hand visibility by material

Inventory includes:

dashboard
tracked materials
material detail
manual adjustments
low-stock and out-of-stock alerts

If your shop does not want perpetual inventory, you can ignore this module and still use materials for estimating.

30. Purchase Orders

Go to Purchase Orders.

Use POs when you need to buy:

materials
hardware
outsourced production

POs can be linked to jobs and order lines, and received quantities can feed inventory and job costing.

Good use cases:

special substrate for one customer job
outsourced install
trade bindery work
custom hardware package

31. Invoices And Accounting Flow

After production and shipment:

create invoice from the order
confirm taxes and totals
send using the customer's delivery rules
record payment

Make sure:

customer tax status is correct before quoting
invoice prefix is set
payment methods are configured

32. Reports

Use Reports after the operational setup is clean.

The report builder supports datasets for:

jobs and orders
invoices
payments
customers
quotes
purchase orders
vendors

Practical reports for print companies:

quotes won vs lost
orders due this week
revenue by customer
balance due by customer
purchases by vendor
tax-exempt customers
sales rep activity

For dashboard interpretation, quote intelligence, report-builder usage, and how to act on reporting data, use the separate Reporting And Intelligence Guide as the operating reference.

33. Recommended Department Model For Common Print Shops

Wide-Format Sign Shop

Recommended departments:

Prepress
Printing
Laminating
Cutting
Mounting
Finishing
Packing
Shipping
Installation

Digital Print And Copy Shop

Recommended departments:

Prepress
Digital Printing
Cutting
Folding
Binding
Packing
Shipping

Trade Show / Display Shop

Recommended departments:

Prepress
Printing
Laminating
Cutting
Sewing
Assembly
Kitpacking
Packing
Shipping
Installation

34. Recommended First Pass Setup For A Typical Wide-Format Shop

If you want a practical first-pass setup instead of perfect data, do this:

Set company info, branding, prefixes, and auto-schedule on order.
Add all employees and put actual labor cost on managers, prepress, operators, and installers.
Add tax rates.
Add vendors.
Add your top 20 materials only.
Add your main printer, laminator, cutter, and pack-out area.
Add the core processes you sell every week.
Add Standard Prepress and File Prep.
Add 3 rush rules.
Add departments.
Build one clean default job flow rule.
Set shop hours and closures.
Add operator skills.
Add your margin groups.
Set estimating defaults and overhead.
Add your top customers and contacts.
Build test quotes and one full test order.

That is enough to go live without overengineering phase one.

35. Common Setup Mistakes

Avoid these:

using category instead of department for scheduling
not assigning default customer contacts
leaving customer tax and commission defaults blank
creating materials without real dimensions and cost
using unrealistic machine speeds
forgetting machine departments
forgetting process departments
not creating a default job flow rule
putting rare prepress charges on auto-apply
skipping operator skills but expecting smart scheduling
skipping overhead but expecting reliable profitability
treating every exception as a permanent catalog record

36. Go-Live Checklist

Before your team starts using the system for real jobs, confirm all of this:

company info is correct
branding is correct
numbering prefixes are correct
tax rates are loaded
overhead is entered
payment preferences are entered
all active staff are created
operator labor rates are set
main vendors are loaded
key materials are loaded
main machines are loaded
key processes are loaded
standard hardware is loaded
margin groups exist
prepress charges exist
rush rules exist
departments exist
shop hours are correct
closures are entered
operator skills are entered
at least one default job flow rule exists
customers are loaded
contacts are loaded and default contacts are set
one full test quote has been created
one quote has been converted to an order
schedule generation has been tested
one time entry has been clocked
one PO has been created and received if using purchasing
one invoice has been created
one report has been reviewed

37. Best-Practice Operating Rules

Once you are live, keep these rules:

Customer defaults are maintained by sales or CSR ownership.
New materials, machines, processes, and hardware are added to the catalog before estimators improvise them repeatedly.
Department assignments are mandatory on new machines and schedule-relevant processes.
New recurring rush or prepress behavior is configured once in Settings instead of manually recreated on every quote.
Operators clock into real tasks instead of using generic time buckets whenever possible.
The shop reviews actuals against estimates every month and adjusts speeds, setup times, or rates when needed.

38. If You Want The Simplest Mental Model

For a print company, think of the system like this:

Customers define who you are selling to and what defaults apply.
Catalog defines what you can sell and how it costs.
Estimating defines the default quoting logic.
Production defines how work flows through the shop.
Quotes define what the customer is being offered.
Orders define what the shop is actually making.
Time, purchasing, inventory, and invoicing define what actually happened.
Reports tell you whether the business is working.

If you keep each area clean and do not mix responsibilities between them, the system will stay understandable as the shop grows.

39. Recent Platform Additions

The system has expanded materially since the earlier manual sections were written. The most important additions are below.

Production Library And Product Catalog

Catalog is now presented as Production Library.

This area now covers:

materials
laminate
hardware
machines
processes
import center
product catalog templates

The Product Catalog is for prebuilt sellable products. A product template can now:

prefill material, machine, process, hardware, and sizing assumptions
support customer-optional or customer-locked usage
support calculated pricing, fixed total pricing, or fixed unit pricing
launch directly into quote or order entry

Use this when the shop sells repeatable items such as standard banners, posters, yard signs, kits, or recurring programs.

Inventory Control

Inventory now supports:

on-hand quantity by material
manual adjustments
PO receiving into stock
job allocations / reservations
actual material usage capture
spoilage / overrun capture
cycle counts
valuation reporting

The main daily planning report for materials is:

Inventory > Daily Requirements
direct route: /inventory/requirements

That report shows, per job and component:

job number
customer
due date
component type
material / laminate / hardware
quantity needed
job allocated quantity
inventory reserved quantity
current on-hand quantity
current available quantity

Use this report every day for purchasing, staging, and production planning.

AI Platform

There is now a reusable AI layer with:

provider and model settings
prompt templates
request / response logging
structured JSON validation
retries and fallback behavior
human review queue
feature-by-feature enable / disable controls

Current AI consumers include:

natural-language quote intake
win probability explanations
promise date reasoning

AI setup lives in:

Settings > AI > Infrastructure
Settings > AI > Prompt Templates
Settings > AI > Review Queue

Predictive Promise Date

Promise dates are no longer only manual commitments.

The system now supports:

optimistic date
recommended date
high-risk date
capacity-based reasoning
risk level
manager override notes when committing earlier than recommended

Related settings live in:

Settings > Production > Schedule Settings

Dashboard And Production Meeting

The main dashboard is now a live operations command center.

It includes:

KPI health strip
production war board
bottleneck / risk panel
financial pulse
fast links to due-today, due-tomorrow, all-orders, and production meeting

The daily review screen is:

Production Meeting
direct route: /production-meeting

Use that screen at the 9:00 AM meeting to review all work due today and tomorrow.

Customer Portal

The customer portal now supports:

live order stage tracking
milestone timeline
customer file upload
reorder requests

Portal admin settings live in:

Settings > Customer Portal

Accounting Sync

Accounting integrations now have a dedicated framework for:

QuickBooks Online
Xero
customer sync
invoice sync
payment sync
invoice status sync
reconciliation and conflict review

Settings live in:

Settings > Accounting > Integrations

Treat accounting sync as a controlled rollout until sandbox testing is complete.

40. Current System Setup Requirements

The sections above still describe the core shop setup sequence. The items below are the current platform requirements that must also be configured if you want the whole system to behave the way the code now supports.

For production or owner use on the real deployed system, staff access should be configured through:

Settings > Team Members

Important rules:

the owner should have an active username and password
the owner should confirm the organization workspace slug before first staff login
all real staff logins should be assigned to named users instead of sharing one login
dashboard, reports, accounting, and admin access should be granted intentionally by role

On development systems, login can be relaxed temporarily. On real deployments, use staff login.

Enabled modules and add-ons now appear as their own sections in the far-left workspace navigation.

That means staff should be trained to open module workflows from the left nav instead of hunting for scattered launch buttons inside settings pages.

Examples:

CRM
Planning Impos
Wegmans Small Format

Owners and admins should confirm that only the modules intended for the account are enabled, and that the team knows where each module now lives in the workspace shell.

Owner-Only Business Data Import

The system now includes an owner-only import center for initial data loading.

Use:

Settings > Business Data > Import Center

Supported bulk uploads:

customers
contacts
quotes
quote lines
orders
order lines
invoices
invoice lines

Recommended import order:

customers and contacts
quotes
orders
invoices

Do not start production work until the owner has confirmed that imported customers, contacts, open work, and invoices match the source system closely enough to operate from.

Microsoft 365 Outbound Email

Outbound email is now configured through Microsoft 365 Graph for the whole MIS.

Use:

Settings > Notifications > Email Delivery

Required values:

from address
quote request recipients
Microsoft tenant ID
Microsoft client ID
Microsoft client secret
Microsoft sender mailbox

This configuration is used across:

quotes
invoices
CRM quote requests
portal notifications
digest-style system mail

Do not invite staff until a test email succeeds from this screen.

Job Status Setup

There are now two different status layers in the system:

order lifecycle status
production status

Order lifecycle status covers the whole job:

new
in_production
on_hold
ready
shipped
delivered
invoiced
cancelled

Production status is process-specific and comes from live tracked tasks:

Printing In Progress
Printing Paused
Finishing Done
Proof / Approval

Production status setup lives in:

Settings > Production > Process Statuses

Use that page to map shop-facing production statuses to actual production processes. The order status remains the lifecycle rollup for the whole order.

NCR / Quality Setup

The MIS now includes NCR tracking.

Use:

Production > NCRs

NCRs can also be launched from:

order detail
item detail
live task work ticket

Before using NCRs in production, confirm:

the NCR schema is applied
the NCR template PDF exists on the app server
the upload root for NCR PDFs is writable
the team understands when to use an NCR instead of just writing a note

Production Command Screens

The system now expects the shop to use the command-center views operationally, not just as office summaries.

Core screens:

/dashboard
/orders/due-today
/orders/due-tomorrow
/orders/all
/production-meeting

These screens now show both:

order lifecycle status
live production status

That allows the team to read a row as:

Order In Production
Production Printing In Progress

instead of only seeing the broad order-level status.

Report Builder

The report builder now behaves more like a database-set ad hoc reporting tool.

Users with report-builder permission can:

choose a report base
choose exposed fields from that base and related records
order the selected columns
save the report definition
save runtime search prompts such as date, date range, customer, and PO number

Before relying on it operationally, confirm that the owner or reporting lead understands:

which bases are available
which staff should have report-builder permission
which saved reports should be standardized for management use

Planning Impos

Planning Impos should now be launched from MIS jobs instead of relying on external job imports.

Use:

the Planning Impos button on order lines
the Planning Impos button on item screens
the Planning Impos button on live work tickets

The planner can also load a job by typed job number and item letter.

Wegmans Small Format

If the Wegmans Small Format module is enabled, the MIS now expects staff to use the module from the left workspace nav instead of treating it like a separate app.

The module includes its own workspace screens for:

order entry
tracking
order status
press files
materials and processes
store directory
settings

Do not migrate historical tracker data until the MIS module is fully validated with live-safe test data.

CRM

The CRM module is now part of the platform when enabled.

Use:

CRM > CRM Dashboard

Before using CRM in production, confirm:

reps are assigned correctly
follow-up ownership is clear
Outlook / Microsoft calendar connection expectations are documented internally
quote request review responsibility is assigned to estimating or management

Owner Go-Live Checklist

This checklist is for the owner, president, GM, or senior operator responsible for taking a print company live in Excelsus IQ.

The point of this guide is not just to turn features on. The point is to make sure the shop can actually quote, convert, schedule, produce, invoice, and report inside one system without confusion.

What Go-Live Means

For this system, go-live means all new production work should be able to move through the following flow:

customer selected
quote built from catalog data
quote approved
order created
schedule generated
production clocked
purchasing and receiving handled if needed
invoice created
payment and reporting handled from the same record set

If any one of those steps is still being done outside the system for normal jobs, the shop is not fully live yet.

Owner Responsibilities

The owner should approve:

pricing policy
department structure
job flow logic
margin strategy
tax and accounting defaults
user access
go-live date
first-week escalation rules

The owner should not personally enter every record, but should sign off that the people responsible have completed the setup.

Role Ownership Before Go-Live

Area	Primary Owner	Secondary Owner
Company settings	Owner / Admin	GM
Tax and accounting defaults	Owner / Finance	Admin
Vendors and purchasing rules	Purchasing / Admin	Owner
Materials	Estimating / Production	Purchasing
Machines and speeds	Production Manager	Owner
Processes and departments	Production Manager	Estimating Lead
Prepress and rush rules	Estimating Lead	Owner
Customers and contacts	Sales / CSR	Admin
Operator skills and schedule settings	Production Manager	Owner
Reports and dashboards	Owner / Finance	Admin

Phase 1: System Readiness

Confirm each of these is complete.

Company

company name is correct
slug is correct
timezone is correct
logo and brand color are correct
order, PO, and invoice prefixes are correct
proof approval rule is intentionally set
auto-generate schedule on order is intentionally set

Users And Access

every active employee has a user record
each user has the correct role
managers have the right scheduling access
report permissions are limited to people who need them
operators who clock time exist as users
actual labor rate per hour is filled in where actual labor costing matters

Accounting

tax rates are loaded
payment methods are configured
late fee and grace period are configured
fiscal year setting is correct
default income and COGS accounts are set if used
overhead settings are filled in with real monthly numbers

Phase 2: Catalog Readiness

This is the biggest source of go-live failure in print shops. If the catalog is weak, the quotes become weak immediately.

Vendors

all primary media vendors are loaded
all outsource vendors are loaded
all hardware vendors are loaded
vendor terms and contacts are entered

Materials

top selling roll materials are loaded
top selling sheet materials are loaded
laminate materials are loaded
rigid substrates are loaded if the shop prints rigid work
each material has correct dimensions
each material has correct current cost
waste, bleed, gutter, and trim assumptions are reasonable

Machines

primary printers are loaded
primary cutters are loaded
laminators are loaded
mounting or finishing equipment is loaded where applicable
pricing model matches how the shop actually prices
speed unit matches the real work driver
setup time is realistic
machine cost calculator is filled in for major machines

Processes

all recurring finishing steps are loaded
outsourced steps are loaded with vendor and outsource cost
schedule-relevant processes are marked correctly
default machine type and department are assigned where applicable

Hardware

recurring billable hardware is loaded
cost per unit is current
minimum quantity is reasonable

Phase 3: Production Readiness

Departments

departments are set up for the real shop flow
sort order matches actual production flow

Recommended examples:

Printing
Laminating
Cutting
Finishing
Handwork
Kitpacking
Packing
Shipping
Installation

Shop Hours And Resource Availability

shop hours match the real plant hours
working days match the real week
holiday closures are entered
machine-specific overrides are entered where needed
process-specific overrides are entered where needed

Operator Skills

key operators are assigned to the machines they actually run
primary operators are marked where the shop depends on them
skill levels are not left generic if scheduling should respect skill

Job Flow Rules

at least one default rule exists
the rule uses department-first sequencing if that is the intended shop model
one specialty rule exists if the shop has a common alternate flow

Process Sequences

only recurring special flows are templated
edge-case flows are not overbuilt before go-live

Phase 4: Estimating Readiness

Estimating Defaults

default waste is realistic
default quote validity is intentional
default margin group is correct
quote loading percent is intentional
below-margin warning is on
machine selection requirement is intentionally on or off

Prepress

standard prepress exists
file prep per version exists
auto-apply is only enabled for charges that should happen on most items

Rush

rush rules exist for the turnaround levels the shop actually sells
percent and minimum values are both reviewed

Margin Groups

standard margin exists
premium margin exists if rush or specialty work needs it
wholesale or trade margin exists if the shop sells to resellers

Phase 5: Customer Data Readiness

Customer Master Data

top customers are loaded
each active customer has billing data
shipping data is complete where needed
default sales rep is assigned
default CSR is assigned
default tax rate is assigned
tax exempt status is correct
quote loading, discount, commission, and margin defaults are reviewed

Contacts

each top customer has at least one active contact
one contact is marked as default
email and phone are present where the team relies on them

This matters because quotes and orders inherit their header defaults from the customer.

Phase 6: End-To-End Testing

Do not go live before real test jobs have been run end to end.

Minimum Test Scenarios

Run at least these:

simple reprint job
multi-item quote
multi-version quote
rush quote
job with laminate
job with cutting and handwork
outsourced step or purchased component
taxable job
tax-exempt job
invoice and payment

For Each Test Job, Confirm

customer loads correctly
default contact appears
sales rep and CSR inherit correctly
item quantities and versions total correctly
prepress applies correctly
rush applies correctly
machine and process costs calculate
quote converts to order
order schedules correctly
operator can clock in
actuals update
PO can be linked if needed
invoice totals are correct

Go-Live Approval Table

Area	Approval Question
Pricing	Are we comfortable selling from these rates today?
Customers	Do quotes and orders inherit the right defaults?
Production	Will the default flow match how the floor really works?
Scheduling	Can the production manager trust the schedule output?
Actuals	Can operators clock in and produce usable labor data?
Accounting	Are tax, invoice, and payment defaults acceptable?

If the answer is no to any of those, delay go-live until the gap is closed.

Cutover Plan

Choose one cutover rule and stick to it.

Recommended Cutover

existing open jobs stay in the old process if they are close to completion
all new quotes from the cutover date forward are created in Excelsus IQ
all approved new quotes become orders in Excelsus IQ

This is usually cleaner than trying to backfill every old job midstream.

Day-Before Go-Live Checklist

team has been told the go-live date
estimator guide has been reviewed
production floor SOP has been reviewed
one person is assigned as first-line support for sales and CSR
one person is assigned as first-line support for production
fallback contact is assigned for accounting and invoicing questions
browser logins and sessions are working for all users

Day-1 Go-Live Checklist

Morning

confirm all users can log in
confirm manual pages are visible in Settings
confirm one known customer opens correctly
confirm one new quote can be built
confirm one quote can be converted to an order
confirm one order hits the schedule
confirm one operator can clock into a task

Midday

review first quotes created that day
review first orders created that day
verify no one is bypassing customer defaults manually
verify schedule steps look correct

End Of Day

review errors and confusion points
correct catalog or settings issues immediately
write down any training gaps

First Week Control Plan

During the first week, the owner or GM should review:

all quotes over the shop's normal approval threshold
all rush jobs
all jobs with unusual finishing
schedule exceptions
unassigned or unscheduled tasks
operator clocking compliance
invoice totals on the first few jobs

The point is not to micromanage forever. The point is to catch setup defects while the job count is still manageable.

Metrics To Watch During First Month

Track at least:

quotes created
quote win rate
orders scheduled on time
unscheduled tasks near due date
average rush use
time-entry completion rate
invoice turnaround time
gross margin on completed jobs

Stop-Ship Conditions

Pause go-live or pause full rollout if any of these happen repeatedly:

customer defaults are wrong on most quotes
machine or material rates are obviously unreliable
schedule is sequencing work incorrectly
operators cannot reliably clock time
invoices are calculating incorrectly
staff are building jobs outside the intended workflow

Final Sign-Off

The owner should be able to answer yes to all of these:

Do we trust the quote enough to send it to a customer?
Do we trust the order enough to hand it to production?
Do we trust the schedule enough to run the floor from it?
Do we trust the actuals enough to learn from them?
Do we trust the invoice enough to bill from it?

If yes, the shop is live.

New Modules To Validate Before Full Rollout

The platform now includes several major areas that should be explicitly validated before the shop treats them as production-ready.

Dashboard And Production Meeting

Confirm the team can use:

/dashboard
/orders/due-today
/orders/due-tomorrow
/orders/all
/production-meeting

Management should confirm the data is believable enough to run the daily meeting from these screens.

Also confirm those screens show both:

order lifecycle status
live production status

The team should be able to read a row quickly without asking:

is the order generally in production?
what process is it actually in right now?

Product Catalog

Confirm:

the Production Library naming is understood
repeatable products are templated correctly
fixed unit price products calculate correctly
customer-locked templates behave correctly
quote and order launch from product templates works cleanly

Inventory And Requirements Planning

Confirm:

on-hand balances are loaded
reserved quantities change correctly
PO receiving increases inventory
material usage reduces inventory
spoilage is being captured
cycle counts work
the team knows where the daily requirements report lives

Required report:

Inventory > Daily Requirements
route: /inventory/requirements

AI Features

Confirm:

AI infrastructure is configured
only intended AI features are enabled
prompt templates are reviewed
review queue ownership is assigned
staff understand that AI output is advisory, not autonomous

Customer Portal

Confirm:

visible statuses are configured
file upload rules are configured
reorder behavior is configured
portal upload and reorder data is visible internally
customer-facing milestone emails behave correctly

Confirm:

owner login works
owner knows the organization workspace slug
each real staff member has a named login
dashboard, report, accounting, and admin permissions are assigned intentionally
no shared office-wide credential is being used as the operating model

Confirm:

enabled modules appear correctly in the far-left workspace navigation
staff know to launch modules from the left nav instead of settings shortcuts
only modules intended for this account are turned on

Microsoft 365 Email Delivery

Confirm:

Microsoft tenant ID is entered
Microsoft client ID is entered
Microsoft client secret is entered
sender mailbox is entered
from address is correct
quote request recipients are correct
a test email succeeds from Settings > Notifications > Email Delivery

Do not treat outbound mail as ready just because the values are filled in. Send the test email.

Business Data Import Center

If using bulk upload for initial data load, confirm:

import templates were used, not ad hoc spreadsheets
customers and contacts are loaded first
quotes, orders, and invoices are loaded in order
imported counts match the source system closely enough
a human spot-checked several imported customers, orders, and invoices

Report Builder

Confirm:

report-builder permission is limited to the right users
the owner or reporting lead understands how to choose a report base and fields
saved operational reports use the intended runtime prompts such as date range, customer, and PO number
at least one real saved report has been tested end to end

Quote Intelligence And Dashboards

Confirm:

the leadership team understands quote intelligence is advisory only
quote outcomes are being captured as won, lost, expired, or no decision
loss reasons are being recorded on lost work
the team understands the difference between quote intelligence and similar completed-job costing
at least one manager knows how to read win rate by estimator, customer, product type, margin band, and amount band
at least one scheduling lead understands the promise-date accuracy dashboard and how override behavior affects customer commitments
vendor scorecards are assigned to a real owner if purchasing is active

NCR And Quality Controls

Confirm:

NCR schema is applied
NCR screens load
NCR create path works from an order or item
generated and uploaded NCR PDFs are stored correctly
quality ownership is assigned

Process-Linked Production Statuses

Confirm:

Settings > Production > Process Statuses is configured
production status labels make sense for real processes
the production meeting and due-order screens show both order and production statuses
production staff understand that process status drives the floor view while order status remains the job rollup

Wegmans Small Format

If the Wegmans Small Format module is enabled, confirm:

the Wegmans schema is applied
order entry, tracking, order status, and press file screens load
staff know the module is now accessed from the MIS left nav
the team is not depending on historical job migration before the MIS workflow is validated

Accounting Sync

Confirm:

QuickBooks or Xero is only enabled after sandbox testing
source-of-truth settings are agreed
sync logs are reviewed
reconciliation and conflict workflows are assigned to a real owner

Local Test Database

Supabase being current is not enough.

The local TEST_DATABASE_URL database used by integration tests also needs to be current. Until that is true, automated regression coverage will continue to skip important end-to-end tests.

Estimator Training Guide

This guide is for estimators, CSRs, sales reps who build quotes, and managers training quoting staff in a print company.

The goal is not just to teach where buttons are. The goal is to teach how to build quotes in a way that protects pricing, production, and handoff quality.

What The Estimator Is Responsible For

An estimator is responsible for turning customer requirements into a quote that production can actually run.

That means the estimator must:

select the right customer
confirm the inherited customer defaults
name the job clearly
build each item with the correct specs
choose the right stock, machine, processes, and hardware
let standard prepress and rush logic apply correctly
review the final pricing before the quote is sent

What The Estimator Is Not Supposed To Do

Estimators should not:

override customer defaults casually
type made-up material costs because a catalog record is missing
guess machine speeds
ignore versions or file counts
use one line item for multiple unrelated products
send a quote that production cannot interpret

If a recurring stock, process, or hardware item is missing, ask for the catalog to be updated instead of rebuilding it manually over and over.

Before Starting Any Quote

Confirm these first:

the customer record exists
the customer has the correct default contact
the customer has the correct sales rep and CSR
the customer's tax status is correct
the customer's margin and discount defaults are correct

Remember: quote and order defaults are pulled from the customer record.

Quote Header Basics

When starting a new quote:

choose the customer first
confirm the default contact appears
confirm the inherited sales rep and CSR
enter the Job Name

Job Name

Job Name is the name of the whole quote, not just one item.

Good job names:

Trade Show Booth Refresh
Summer Window Campaign
Fleet Graphics Package
Restaurant Menu Reprint

Bad job names:

Sign
Reprint
Order

The job name should help anyone opening the quote later understand the overall job immediately.

Quote Line Basics

Each line is one product or item within the overall quote.

Use Item Description for the specific thing being sold on that line.

Good item descriptions:

3' x 8' outdoor banners
counter cards
wall vinyl graphics
ACM wayfinding signs
retractable banner stand graphics

Do not combine unrelated work in one line if it will confuse production or pricing.

Size, Quantity, And Versions

Every line should reflect the real size and quantity structure.

Size

Enter width and height for the actual finished item or the dimension the shop uses for production costing.

Quantity And Versions

The system supports quantity and file or version breakdown rows.

Use them when:

the same item has multiple versions
file count affects prepress
total produced units are quantity multiplied by versions

Example:

500 quantity
3 versions
total units = 1,500

If you forget to enter versions correctly, per-version file prep and total quantity logic will both be wrong.

Printing Selection

Choose the correct print orientation or sidedness when relevant.

That impacts:

production assumptions
possible prepress logic
how the job is interpreted later

Do not leave printing assumptions generic if the job is truly 2-sided or multi-pass in a way the shop prices differently.

Customer Defaults The Estimator Must Verify

Once the customer is selected, review these inherited values:

customer contact
sales rep
CSR
tax
commission
automatic discount
quote loading

If one of those is wrong, the fix usually belongs on the customer record, not just on this one quote.

Material Selection Rules

Use a material record when the shop already buys that stock regularly.

Choose Material Based On Real Production

Ask:

is it sheet or roll?
what exact width or sheet size should be used?
what finish is correct?
what thickness is correct?
what vendor cost is represented?

Examples:

gloss calendared vinyl 54 in roll
matte banner 38 in roll
3 mm ACM 48 x 96 sheet
6 mm coroplast 48 x 96 sheet
3 mil gloss laminate 54 in roll

Do not estimate from vague materials like:

vinyl
banner
board

If that is all the shop has today, the material catalog needs work.

Machine Selection Rules

Choose the machine that will most likely run the work.

The machine should reflect:

realistic cost basis
realistic speed
real production capacity

Examples:

wide-format roll printer for vinyl or banner
flatbed printer for rigid board
cutter or router where cutting is machine-driven
laminator where lamination is machine-based

If the shop wants disciplined estimating, do not leave machine selection blank on jobs that clearly require one.

Process Selection Rules

Processes are for the work beyond the base material and machine charge.

Common process examples:

laminate
contour cut
hem
sew
grommet
mount
pack
install
proof
design

Choose processes when the line truly needs them. Do not add them just because they exist in the catalog.

Hardware Selection Rules

Use hardware for billable accessories or components such as:

grommets
standoffs
frame parts
hooks
brackets
cable kits

Only use hardware when it is a true priced component of the order.

Prepress Rules

The system supports auto-applied prepress.

Standard Prepress

This is usually a fixed charge per item.

Use it when the shop has a baseline file handling or setup charge on most jobs.

File Prep Per Version

This multiplies by the number of versions or files on the item.

Use it when:

multiple files truly create more prep work
the shop prices file handling consistently

Examples:

1 version -> 1 file prep charge
5 versions -> 5 file prep charges

Optional Prepress

Add optional prepress only when the work actually requires it:

color correction
variable data setup
proof creation
special file cleanup

Rush Rules

Rush is not just a note. If the shop has rush pricing, apply the proper rush rule.

Rush rules use whichever is higher:

the percentage calculation
the minimum rush charge

The estimator should:

confirm the requested turnaround
choose the matching rush rule
not hide rush in random line pricing if the shop wants consistent policy

Margin Discipline

Estimators should understand the difference between:

base cost
margin target
quote loading
automatic discount
rush
commission

If the builder warns that pricing is below the intended margin floor, stop and review before sending.

Do not assume a low-margin quote is acceptable just because the total looks large.

Quote Review Checklist Before Sending

Review each quote in this order:

correct customer?
correct contact?
clear job name?
each item clearly described?
sizes correct?
quantity and versions correct?
correct material?
correct machine?
correct processes?
correct hardware?
prepress correct?
rush correct?
taxes and discounts correct?
pricing believable?

Common Estimator Errors

Avoid these:

starting the quote before selecting the customer
using the wrong customer with the right contact name
forgetting versions on a multi-version job
using one line for several different products
choosing a generic material because the correct one is missing
forgetting laminate or cutting on work that clearly needs it
manually compensating for bad setup instead of fixing the catalog
not checking rush
not checking tax status

Escalation Rules

Escalate to a manager or owner when:

the requested turnaround cannot realistically be scheduled
the correct material does not exist in the catalog
the correct machine is unclear
the pricing falls below policy
the customer wants an unusual exception
the customer default data is clearly wrong

Revision Discipline

When revising a quote:

keep the original quote context clear
update the changed specs only
do not quietly change unrelated assumptions

If the customer changed quantity, versions, size, stock, or turnaround, review the whole line again. One changed spec often affects more than one cost driver.

Shop-Specific Examples

Wide-Format Banner Quote

Estimator should confirm:

banner material width is correct
hem and grommet processes are included
quantity is correct
rush is applied if needed

Multi-Location Poster Program

Estimator should confirm:

each version count is correct
file prep per version applies correctly
total units reflect quantity multiplied by versions

Rigid Sign Package

Estimator should confirm:

rigid board material is correct
flatbed printer is correct
cutting or routing process is included
mounting or finishing is included if needed

Training Exercises

Every new estimator should complete these exercises before quoting alone:

build a simple one-item reprint quote
build a multi-item quote
build a quote with three versions on one item
build a quote with laminate and cutting
build a rush quote
correct an intentionally bad customer default

Sign-Off Standard

An estimator is ready to quote alone when they can do all of the following without coaching:

select the correct customer and confirm inherited defaults
build a clean item structure
handle quantity and version rows correctly
choose the correct material, machine, process, and hardware
apply prepress and rush correctly
review the quote for pricing and handoff quality

If they cannot do those six things consistently, they are not ready to own customer-facing quotes.

New Estimating Tools

Several new estimating tools are now in the system. Estimators should understand when to use them and when not to rely on them blindly.

Product Catalog

Use Product Catalog when the job is a repeatable, prebuilt product.

Examples:

standard banners
yard signs
posters
recurring store kits
other repeatable shop programs

The Product Catalog can now:

preload material, process, machine, hardware, and sizing assumptions
use customer-locked or customer-optional templates
use fixed unit pricing, fixed total pricing, or calculated pricing

If a product template already exists, use it instead of rebuilding the job from scratch.

AI Quote Intake

Natural-language quote intake can now parse a customer request into a draft intake record.

Use it when:

the request comes in as raw customer language
the CSR or estimator wants a faster first-pass extraction

Do not treat it as final truth. Review:

material
quantity
versions
size
finishing
due date assumptions

If the AI run is flagged, check the AI review queue before trusting the draft.

Win Probability

Quote detail now includes win probability output and explanation support.

Use it as a decision-support signal, not as permission to underprice work.

Good uses:

deciding which quotes deserve follow-up attention
identifying deals that may need pricing review
seeing whether timing or margin pressure is affecting close odds

Bad uses:

lowering price automatically just because the score is lower than expected

The quote-intelligence panel is most useful when the estimator reviews:

win probability
confidence
recommended action
top drivers
similar historical quotes

Use it like this:

high score plus high confidence: treat the quote like a real closing opportunity and move fast
lower score with pricing pressure: review margin, scope, alternates, and customer expectations before chasing harder
lower score with revision pressure: tighten scope and get the real decision-maker aligned
strong customer and product history: prioritize follow-up because the pattern is favorable

Do not confuse similar historical quotes with similar completed jobs.

quote intelligence compares this quote to resolved quote history
the similar-jobs view compares a line to completed jobs with actual cost history

Use quote intelligence to decide how to pursue the sale. Use similar jobs to decide whether the pricing and production assumptions make sense.

Predictive Promise Date

Quote and order flow now include promise-date guidance.

Estimators should review:

optimistic date
recommended date
high-risk date
explanation of capacity or backlog pressure

If the customer wants a date earlier than recommended, escalate. Do not quietly overpromise.

Production Library Import Center

There is now a bulk import path for:

materials
laminate
hardware
processes
machines

If a recurring stock or hardware item is missing, use the import center or have the admin update it there. Do not keep inventing manual one-off records in active quotes.

CRM Quote Request Workflow

If CRM is enabled, not every quote request starts inside the quoting screens.

Sales can now submit quote requests through CRM and route them to estimating or management review.

Estimators should understand:

rep quote requests may arrive from CRM
the quote request must be reviewed before it is sent back to the rep
the MIS quote record may be linked back to the CRM request

Do not bypass this review path by emailing numbers back informally if the request was submitted through CRM.

Order Status Versus Production Status

Estimators should understand the difference because customers often ask for “status” and the system now shows two kinds.

Order lifecycle status is the whole-job rollup:

new
in production
ready
shipped
invoiced

Production status is the live shop step:

printing in progress
printing paused
finishing done
proof / approval

When promising dates, use the production context, not just the broad order status.

NCR Awareness For Estimating

Estimators do not usually create NCRs, but should understand them because NCR cost and root-cause data feed future pricing quality.

When NCRs accumulate on a product or material combination, estimating should review:

setup assumptions
spoilage assumptions
speed assumptions
labor assumptions
outsourced finishing assumptions

If estimating never reacts to NCR and actuals data, estimates drift away from reality.

Production Floor SOP Guide

This guide is for production managers, leads, operators, finishers, pack-out staff, and anyone on the floor using Excelsus IQ to run print work.

It is written as a standard operating procedure for print companies that want the schedule, task status, time tracking, and production handoff to stay clean.

Purpose

The purpose of this SOP is to make sure production staff:

work from the scheduled job data
follow the intended department sequence
clock time correctly
catch spec issues before production starts
hand work off cleanly between departments
close jobs with accurate actuals

Core Rule

The floor should run from the order and schedule, not from memory, hallway conversations, or scraps of paper.

If the screen and the floor disagree, stop and resolve that conflict before work proceeds.

Roles On The Floor

Role	Main Responsibility
Production Manager	owns schedule, priorities, escalations, and re-sequencing
Department Lead	verifies readiness and handoff quality inside the department
Operator	runs assigned task, clocks time, updates progress, reports problems
Finisher / Handwork Staff	completes process tasks in sequence and reports exceptions
Packing / Shipping Staff	verifies quantity, packaging, labels, and shipment readiness

Start-Of-Day SOP

At the start of each shift:

review the schedule board
check overdue or blocked tasks
confirm today's priority jobs
confirm machine availability
confirm staffing and call-outs
confirm material readiness for priority work

The production manager should identify any jobs that are:

due today
rushed
blocked
missing stock
waiting for proof or customer clarification

Before Starting Any Task

Before an operator starts a task, confirm:

this is the correct job
this is the correct item
this task is ready in sequence
required material is available
dimensions and quantity make sense
the machine or process matches the task

Do not start work just because the job is physically nearby. Start it because the task is ready and correct.

Readiness Check

If any of these are unclear, stop and escalate:

missing stock
wrong stock
missing art or proof status
wrong quantity
wrong version count
wrong finishing path
wrong due date priority

Clock-In SOP

Operators should clock into the actual scheduled task they are starting.

Clock in when:

setup work begins
production work begins
finishing work begins

Do not wait until the middle of the run. Setup time is part of the real task cost and schedule impact.

During Task Execution

While running a task:

stay on the assigned job unless re-prioritized by the lead or manager
record issues immediately
monitor quality continuously, not only at the end
stop if the job is clearly wrong or unsafe to proceed

Quantity Completion SOP

When pausing or finishing a task:

enter quantity completed accurately
do not guess if actual count is available
if spoilage matters, communicate it to the lead or manager immediately

Bad quantity actuals create bad schedule and costing data for the rest of the job.

Department Handoff SOP

When one department finishes and another will take over:

confirm quantity completed
confirm job materials stay with the job
confirm any special instructions are visible
confirm the next department is not blocked by a missing piece

Examples:

Printing to Laminating
Laminating to Cutting
Cutting to Handwork
Handwork to Packing
Packing to Shipping

The handoff is not complete until the next department can act without guessing.

Printing Department SOP

Before printing:

verify substrate
verify size
verify print orientation or sidedness
verify version count if applicable
verify artwork release or proof status
verify machine assignment

During printing:

monitor first output carefully
watch for color, banding, registration, or media-feed issues
stop if output is clearly not saleable

After printing:

stage prints cleanly for the next step
label or separate versions if needed
do not mix versions

Laminating Department SOP

Before laminating:

verify the correct laminate type
verify finish
verify cure or wait time if the shop requires it
verify the correct item count

During laminating:

watch silvering, skew, bubbles, and edge issues
stop if the film or output is not acceptable

After laminating:

keep work identified by item and version
protect edges and surfaces before handoff

Cutting Department SOP

Before cutting:

verify the correct file or cut path
verify the correct material stack
verify quantity and version separation
verify whether cut tolerance matters for the product

During cutting:

inspect first-piece accuracy
do not continue a bad cut path because the machine is already running

After cutting:

count usable output
separate remakes or defects
send only acceptable pieces forward

Handwork And Finishing SOP

For handwork tasks such as:

grommeting
hemming
taping
assembly
kitting
packaging preparation

Confirm:

count is correct
orientation is correct
finishing instructions are present
all required accessories are available

Packing SOP

Before packing:

confirm finished quantity
confirm all versions or item groups are included
confirm accessories are included
confirm packing standard for the customer

Packing errors are customer-facing errors. Treat this as a quality gate, not as an afterthought.

Shipping SOP

Before shipping:

confirm the job is truly complete
confirm packaging is correct
confirm labels or shipment references are correct
confirm any will-call or delivery instructions are correct

Do not mark work as ready to ship if it is still waiting on:

missing quantity
missing hardware
missing paperwork
pending rework

Pause And Problem SOP

Pause work and escalate when:

material is wrong
quantity is wrong
art is wrong
cut path is wrong
machine output is unacceptable
next step is unclear
due date priority changed

The correct behavior is to stop a bad job early, not to finish a bad job quickly.

Rework SOP

If a task needs rework:

notify the lead or manager
identify the cause
separate rework from good output
do not silently pass defects to the next department

The team should know whether the problem came from:

data or quoting
material
machine output
operator error
finishing damage

End-Of-Task SOP

At the end of each task:

clock out or pause correctly
enter quantity completed
add notes if something important happened
confirm the next department is not blocked unnecessarily

End-Of-Shift SOP

At the end of each shift:

close active time entries unless instructed otherwise
stage in-progress jobs safely
identify jobs that are blocked
identify jobs that need priority tomorrow
leave machine and work area in proper condition

The production manager or lead should review:

open in-progress tasks
overdue tasks
blocked tasks
jobs that are short of due-date expectations

Data Discipline Rules

The floor should follow these rules every day:

always clock into the real task
always update quantity honestly
never mark complete if the job still needs work
never skip reporting a problem because it seems small
never pass unknown work to the next department

What Production Should Escalate Back To CSR Or Estimating

Escalate when:

customer-facing specs do not match physical reality
the quote missed a major finishing step
quantity or versions do not match the production need
material selected is not appropriate
due date expectation is unrealistic

Production should not quietly absorb those mistakes forever. The system only improves if those issues are fed back to the people who set the job up.

Daily Management Review

At least once per day, production leadership should review:

rushed jobs
unscheduled tasks
blocked tasks
overdue work
jobs with heavy rework
jobs with missing time entries

First-Principles Standard

The floor should be able to answer yes to these questions at any time:

Do we know what to run next?
Do we know whether the current task is actually ready?
Do we know who is working on it?
Do we know how much is done?
Do we know what the next department needs?

If the answer is no, stop and clean up the workflow before the confusion spreads.

Production Command Center SOP

The main dashboard is now a shared production command screen, not just an office summary page.

Supervisors, leads, CSR, and management should use:

Dashboard
Orders Due Today
Orders Due Tomorrow
All Orders
Production Meeting

The Production Meeting screen is the meeting-safe view for the 9:00 AM review.

Use it to review:

all orders due today
all orders due tomorrow
blocked jobs
jobs waiting on proof, files, or customer action
jobs with pinned or important internal notes

These operational screens now show two statuses together:

order lifecycle status
live production status

Read them differently:

order lifecycle status tells you where the full order stands commercially and operationally
production status tells you what process the floor is actually in right now

Example:

Order In Production
Production Printing In Progress

That is intentional. Production should not rely on only the broad order status when deciding what to do next.

Process-Linked Status SOP

Production status is now tied to tracked production processes.

This means:

printing tasks should surface printing statuses
finishing tasks should surface finishing statuses
shipping-related tasks should surface shipping statuses

Managers and owners configure the shop-facing production statuses in:

Settings > Production > Process Statuses

Floor staff should not manually reinterpret those labels. If a label is wrong, fix the process-status mapping instead of creating local workarounds.

NCR SOP

The system now includes NCR tracking for real quality events.

Use NCRs when:

work must be redone
quality failure needs formal documentation
cost impact must be captured
root-cause analysis is needed

Do not use NCRs for:

routine operator notes
normal setup observations
informal reminders that belong in production notes

Create an NCR from:

the order
the item screen
the live work ticket

Production leads should review NCR trends during the week, not only when a customer complains.

Daily Material Requirements SOP

The main daily material planning report is:

Inventory > Daily Requirements
direct route: /inventory/requirements

This report should be reviewed every day by production leadership and purchasing.

Use it to answer:

What jobs need material today?
What jobs need laminate today?
What hardware is required for upcoming work?
What is allocated already?
What is still short on hand?

Each row shows:

job number
customer
due date
job / line description
component type
quantity needed
unit of measure
job allocated quantity
inventory reserved quantity
inventory on-hand quantity
inventory available quantity

Material Usage Capture SOP

Material usage entry is now part of inventory accuracy.

Operators are required to record material usage on tasks where the machine or process is marked:

Requires Material Usage Capture

This is configured in the Production Library on:

machines
processes

In practice, this is typically used for:

print processes
precut / cutting processes
laminate-consuming finishing steps when the shop wants actual laminate usage recorded

When recording usage, the operator should enter:

actual quantity used
spoilage quantity
notes if there was overrun or waste

If actual usage exceeds the reserved quantity, the system still deducts the overrun so stock stays honest.

Inventory Discipline Rules

Production should follow these rules:

Do not pull material without checking the allocation or requirement.
Do not leave material usage blank on capture-required tasks.
Record spoilage when it happens, not later from memory.
Use inventory adjustments for stock corrections instead of hiding the problem in task notes.
Escalate material shortages during the production meeting, not after the due date slips.

Cycle Count SOP

Inventory now supports cycle counts and count sheets.

Use cycle counts to verify:

high-value material
laminate
frequently used stock
material with repeated shortages

Cycle count workflow:

create the count
count the listed stock by location / bin / lot
review the variance
finalize the count and correct the inventory record

Reporting And Intelligence Guide

This guide explains what reporting data Excelsus IQ is meant to give a print company, how the reporting tools actually work, and what actions managers, estimators, customer service, production, purchasing, and finance should take from that data.

The goal is not to create more dashboards for their own sake. The goal is to help the shop use one clean operating record set for decisions.

What Reporting Is Supposed To Do

In this system, reporting should help the shop answer questions like:

what is due and at risk right now
what is profitable and what only looks busy
where we are leaking time, waste, or margin
which customers and product types convert well
which quotes need action today
which vendors are helping or hurting execution
how much cash is still open

If reports are not tied to real actions, the team will stop trusting them.

Source-Of-Truth Rule

The reports only stay useful if the operating data is clean.

That means:

quotes should be built from real customer, catalog, and pricing defaults
approved quotes should become orders instead of being retyped elsewhere
production should clock time against the real scheduled tasks
purchase orders and receiving should be recorded in the system
invoices and payments should be recorded against the correct customer and job
quote outcomes should be captured after the sale is won, lost, expired, or abandoned

Bad source data creates misleading reports. Reporting is not the place to fix operating discipline after the fact.

Reports Center Structure

The reports area is split into several access-controlled sections.

Section	Main Purpose	Typical Users
Standard Reports	Fast operational views and prebuilt report links	managers, CSRs, sales, operators with permission
Report Builder	Ad hoc exports across multiple datasets and related records	owner, admin, reporting lead, selected managers
Accounting Reports	receivables, revenue, profitability, commissions, invoice operations	owner, finance, admin, selected managers
Dashboards	KPI and intelligence views for sales, scheduling, efficiency, and purchasing	owner, managers, selected leads
Invoice Reports	invoice review, payment allocation, ready-to-bill jobs	finance, admin, CSR, selected managers

Use the simplest section that answers the question.

Use Standard Reports when the answer already exists.
Use Report Builder when you need your own column mix.
Use Dashboards when you need trends, patterns, or decision support.
Use Accounting Reports and Invoice Reports when money movement is the real question.

Standard Reports

Standard reports are the fastest path for recurring operational questions.

They are meant for things like:

job pipeline review
customer tax-default review
quote register review
purchase order review
vendor directory review
invoice operations shortcuts

Use these when the team needs repeatable answers without redesigning a report every time.

Report Builder

Report Builder is the ad hoc reporting tool. It is built for users who know the question they want answered and need to choose the exact fields and output order.

The builder supports these current report bases:

Report Base	Best Use
Customer	customer defaults, tax, rep, CSR, terms
Customer Contact	contact directory and account ownership
Quote	quote register and quote-level analysis
Quote Items	item-level estimating analysis
Order	operational job pipeline and customer PO tracking
Order Items	item-level production and value analysis
Invoice	invoice review and billing analysis
Invoice Items	line-level billing analysis
Payments	payment audit and cash-application review
PO	purchasing status and received-value tracking
PO Items	component-level purchasing review
Suppliers	vendor directory and supplier master-data review

How To Use Report Builder Correctly

Build reports from the question backward.

Good examples:

which rush jobs due this week are still not shipped
which jobs for one customer still have open balance
which quotes over a certain amount expired this month
which PO items were received late from one vendor

Bad examples:

adding every possible column because it might be useful later
saving reports with no naming standard
using the builder when a standard dashboard already answers the question

Recommended Builder Workflow

choose the right report base first
add only the fields needed to answer the question
set output order so the most important columns come first
save runtime filters if the report will be reused by date, customer, PO number, status, or similar prompts
save the report with a clear business name

Good saved report names:

Open Rush Jobs By CSR
Uninvoiced Shipped Orders
Declined Quotes Over 2500
POs Due This Week

Bad saved report names:

Test
Report 2
Custom Export

Runtime Filters

Saved builder reports can preserve runtime filter prompts such as:

date
date range
customer
status
PO number
text contains search

That matters because the saved report should preserve the structure of the question without freezing the answer to one day forever.

What To Do With Builder Output

Use builder output for:

management reviews
export-to-CSV work
one-off audits
customer-specific or rep-specific operating lists
exception reports

Do not use builder exports as a permanent shadow system. If a saved report becomes mission-critical, standardize the naming, owner, and review cadence.

Dashboards

Dashboards are where the system moves beyond list views and starts showing patterns.

The dashboards section includes:

financial and KPI snapshots
win / loss review
quote intelligence
promise date accuracy
efficiency reporting
constraint dashboard
vendor scorecards
vendor pricing changes

These are not all for the same audience.

Dashboard Use Rule

Every dashboard should answer one of these:

where do we need to act today
what pattern is improving or worsening
which team or process needs coaching
where are we taking risk without realizing it

If the team cannot name the action, the dashboard is just decoration.

Quote Intelligence

Quote Intelligence exists in two forms:

a per-quote intelligence panel on quote detail
a dashboard report showing pattern trends across quote history

Both are advisory only. They are meant to improve follow-up, pricing discipline, and understanding of what the shop wins well.

What The Per-Quote Intelligence Panel Shows

On the quote itself, the panel shows:

win probability
confidence level
recommended action
resolved history count
explanation text
top drivers
similar historical quotes
outcome feedback controls

How The Quote Score Works

The current engine is rules-based. It does not make up an answer from nothing.

It starts from historical resolved quote outcomes and adjusts the score using factors such as:

customer history
product history
sales rep history
margin band
quote amount band
quantity band
revision count
first response versus revised quote
competitive pricing pressure
seasonality
turnaround pressure
similar historical quotes

The system then assigns:

a win probability percent
a confidence label
a recommended action

Recommended Actions

The current action categories are:

Recommendation	What It Means Operationally
Aggressive Follow-Up	good conversion signal, deserves active pursuit
Standard Follow-Up	normal follow-up cadence is appropriate
Pricing Review	the deal may be at risk because of price or margin pressure
Low Priority	weak conversion signal, do not over-invest time without another reason

Confidence

Confidence tells you how much clean history the score had to work with.

High confidence means there is enough history and enough matching factors to lean on the result more heavily.
Medium confidence means useful signal exists, but judgment still matters.
Low confidence means the system is showing a directional clue, not a strong prediction.

Do not confuse a high score with high confidence. A quote can score well with thin data and still deserve human caution.

Top Drivers

Top drivers explain why the score moved.

Examples:

customer history is strong
comparable product types close well
multiple revisions are hurting odds
rush pressure is making the deal riskier
pricing-sensitive notes or loss history suggest competitive pressure

This is the part managers and estimators should actually read.

The right use is:

if price pressure is negative, review pricing strategy
if revision pressure is negative, tighten scope and get decision-makers aligned
if customer and product history are strong, prioritize follow-up and speed

Similar Historical Quotes

The quote panel shows similar historical quotes, not similar completed jobs.

Those matches are driven by items such as:

same customer
shared product type
same sales rep
similar quote amount band
similar quantity band
similar turnaround pressure

Use similar historical quotes to answer:

have we won this kind of quote before
is this customer usually a closer or a shopper
are we seeing the same kind of quote come back repeatedly

Do not use similar historical quotes as a substitute for actual cost history.

Similar Historical Quotes Versus Similar Jobs

This distinction matters.

Quote Intelligence uses historical quote outcomes.
The quote builder's similar-jobs view uses completed jobs with actual cost data.

Use quote intelligence when the question is:

are we likely to win this
what is making the deal stronger or weaker

Use similar jobs when the question is:

how did close-to-this work actually cost out in production
what margin did we really earn on similar specs

Outcome Feedback

Outcome feedback is the training and analytics label for quote history.

Capture:

won
lost
no decision
expired

When a quote is lost, also capture:

reason lost
competitor
pricing notes
freeform notes

This does not automatically change the entire operational quote status model by itself. It labels the quote for future analysis and intelligence.

If the team never records outcomes, quote intelligence becomes thin and unreliable.

Quote Intelligence Dashboard

The Quote Intelligence dashboard is the cross-quote pattern view.

It tells you things like:

resolved quote count
won quote count
overall close rate
recommendation mix
win rate by estimator
win rate by customer
win rate by product type
margin bands versus close rate
turnaround pressure versus close rate
quote amount bands versus close rate

How To Use Quote Intelligence Data

Use win rate by estimator to:

spot coaching needs
see who is qualifying well
identify quoting teams that need pricing or scope discipline

Use win rate by customer to:

identify strategic accounts
identify chronic shoppers
decide where relationship effort pays back

Use win rate by product type to:

see what the shop wins best
identify offerings that may be overquoted or poorly positioned
decide where to focus sales energy

Use margin bands versus close rate to:

test whether the shop is underpricing to win
find where margin is healthy without collapsing close rate
separate real pricing pressure from estimator fear

Use turnaround pressure versus close rate to:

see whether rushed work is actually worth chasing
coach staff on when rush promises reduce close quality or execution quality

Use amount bands versus close rate to:

understand which deal sizes convert best
see whether small quotes are consuming too much effort
identify strategic thresholds where management review should be required

What Quote Intelligence Should Not Be Used For

Do not use it for:

automatic discounting
approving bad-margin work just to increase close rate
blaming one rep from small sample sizes
treating one dashboard period as permanent truth

It is meant to improve judgment, not replace it.

Win / Loss Reporting

Win / Loss reporting is the more direct sales-outcome view.

It is built for:

total quoted dollars
won dollars
win rate
average margin on won jobs
loss reasons
rep rows
quote detail rows

Use it when management wants direct sales-performance review instead of predictive pattern review.

How To Act On Win / Loss Data

If loss reasons cluster around price, review estimating strategy and competitor pressure.
If loss reasons cluster around timeline, review promise-date discipline and shop capacity.
If one rep wins at low margin, coach qualification and pricing.
If won dollars are high but average margin is weak, revenue quality needs attention.

Promise Date Accuracy

Promise Date Accuracy is a scheduling-intelligence tool, not just a report.

It tells the team:

how many jobs were predicted
how many shipped
on-time rate
override rate
forecast accuracy distribution
override outcomes
departments causing promise risk
on-time performance mix

How To Use Promise Date Data

Customer service and production should use it to answer:

are we overpromising
are managers overriding the recommended date too often
which departments are creating backlog risk
whether override behavior is helping or hurting on-time delivery

Good actions from this dashboard:

adjust commitment discipline
escalate staffing or machine bottlenecks
stop promising dates earlier than the shop can hold

Efficiency Reporting

Efficiency reporting answers whether production is running close to plan.

Current areas include:

waste reporting
operator efficiency
makeready reporting

Waste Reporting

Use waste reporting to review:

spoilage cost
waste percent
weekly waste trends

Act on it by:

finding repeat spoilage causes
revising setup assumptions
retraining process steps
tightening quality gates

Operator Efficiency

Use operator efficiency to compare estimated versus actual hours.

Act on it by:

finding consistent overruns
coaching on setup discipline
checking whether estimates are unrealistic
separating a training issue from a planning issue

Makeready Reporting

Use makeready reporting to review setup time, run time, and trend direction by machine.

Act on it by:

seeing where setup is drifting longer
deciding when routing or batching needs to change
validating machine standards against real time

Constraint Dashboard

The Constraint Dashboard shows queue dwell and bottleneck behavior between departments.

Use it when the shop feels busy but cannot clearly identify where work is sticking.

It helps answer:

where jobs are waiting longest
which departments are driving downstream delay
which specific jobs are sitting in the bottleneck

This is for production leadership and operations review, not estimator guesswork.

Vendor Scorecards And Vendor Pricing Changes

Purchasing dashboards help the shop manage supplier quality and cost movement.

Vendor scorecards show measures like:

on-time rate
incidents
spend
receipt price drift or variance

Use them to:

move work away from unreliable vendors
support better vendor review conversations
avoid paying higher prices without noticing

Vendor pricing changes help the shop review submitted supplier cost updates and maintain approval history.

Use that data to:

control cost updates before they silently change estimating quality
document who approved price changes
keep catalog costing current

Accounting Reports

Accounting reports answer financial questions rather than pure operating questions.

They cover areas like:

A/R aging
revenue
job profitability
commissions
overhead recovery
invoice operations

How To Use Accounting Data

Use A/R aging to:

prioritize collections
spot chronic late payers
decide whether new work needs tighter terms

Use revenue reports to:

review monthly billing trends
compare expected sales performance against actual invoiced work

Use job profitability to:

compare estimate versus actual
find jobs that looked profitable but were not
improve future pricing and production standards

Use commissions to:

validate payout logic
catch disputes before payroll closes

Use overhead recovery to:

see whether the shop is covering its fixed operating burden through real work volume

Invoice Reports

Invoice Reports are the operational billing workspace.

Use them for:

invoice review
payment allocation
identifying open balances
seeing ready-to-invoice jobs

This is where finance, admin, or CSR staff should work when they are trying to complete the billing cycle instead of just reviewing a KPI.

Role-Based Use Of Reporting

Owner Or GM

Use reporting to manage:

revenue quality
margin health
close rate trends
overdue receivables
vendor performance
bottlenecks

Main screens:

Dashboards
Accounting Reports
Quote Intelligence
Job Profitability
Promise Date Accuracy

Estimating Lead

Use reporting to manage:

close rate by product type
margin bands versus close rate
similar jobs with actuals
NCR and waste feedback loops

Main screens:

Quote Intelligence
Win / Loss
Job Profitability
similar-jobs view in quote builder

CSR Or Sales Management

Use reporting to manage:

follow-up priorities
customer behavior
rep performance
due-date risk

Main screens:

Quote Intelligence
Win / Loss
Job Pipeline
Promise Date Accuracy

Production Manager

Use reporting to manage:

queue risk
operator overrun
waste
setup drift
due-order risk

Main screens:

Constraint Dashboard
Efficiency reports
Promise Date Accuracy
daily requirements and due-order views

Purchasing

Use reporting to manage:

PO status
received value
supplier performance
price changes

Main screens:

Purchase Order reports
Vendor Scorecards
Vendor Pricing Changes

Finance

Use reporting to manage:

A/R
revenue
payment allocation
profitability
overhead recovery

Main screens:

Accounting Reports
Invoice Reports
Financials dashboard

Data Hygiene Checklist For Reliable Reporting

If the shop wants trustworthy data, confirm these are true:

quote outcomes are captured
loss reasons are not left blank on lost work
quote statuses are not left stale
customer defaults are maintained on the customer record
sales reps and CSRs are assigned correctly
tax settings are correct
approved quotes become orders instead of being recreated manually
tasks are clocked in and out accurately
quantity actuals are recorded honestly
waste and NCR events are captured when they matter
POs are received in the system
invoices are created from the real work
payments are allocated to the correct invoice

Common Reporting Mistakes

Avoid these:

judging a rep, customer, or product type from too little history
reading a low-confidence quote score as a final answer
using revenue without also checking profitability
using close rate without checking margin quality
using overdue counts without checking dollar exposure
saving builder reports with unclear names and no owner
exporting to spreadsheets and then trusting the spreadsheet more than the MIS

Daily, Weekly, And Monthly Cadence

Daily

Review:

dashboard summary cards
due and at-risk work
promise-date risk
invoice and ready-to-bill queue

Weekly

Review:

win / loss
quote intelligence patterns
waste and operator efficiency
vendor issues
open A/R exceptions

Monthly

Review:

revenue
profitability
overhead recovery
customer and product-type close-rate trends
estimator coaching needs
vendor performance drift

Final Rule

The value of reporting is not that the system can calculate a number.

The value is that the team uses that number to:

change priorities
correct setup
coach behavior
improve pricing
protect margin
improve delivery performance

If the data never changes behavior, the reporting stack is unfinished even if every chart loads.