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Getting Started with Substrate

Substrate is a job management tool for sign shops — it tracks every job from the first customer conversation through design, production, and invoicing.

How a Job Moves Through Your Shop

Every job follows the same path:

Quote → Design → Proof → Work Order → Invoice
Stage What's happening
Quote You're pricing the job and sending it to the customer for approval
Design Your designer is working on the artwork
Proof The design is sent to the customer for approval
Work Order The job is approved and moving through production
Invoice The job is complete and ready to bill

You move a job forward by clicking the arrow buttons at the top of the work order page, or by dragging its card on the board.

Getting Started Checklist

When you first set up your shop, a Getting Started button appears in the bottom-right corner of every page. Click it to open a checklist of the five things you need to do before you can price a job:

  1. Set up your shop details (phone and address)
  2. Configure AutoCalc (your labour rate and margin)
  3. Add a tax rate
  4. Add a substrate
  5. Add a finishing

Each item shows a short description and a link to take you straight there. The checklist tracks your progress automatically — as you complete each step, it's ticked off. Once all five are done, a confirmation screen appears with suggestions for optional next steps (like uploading your logo, inviting your team, and connecting QuickBooks).

The button disappears once your shop is fully set up, so it won't clutter your screen after you're up and running.

The Dashboard

When you log in, the dashboard shows you what's happening across your shop right now — no digging around required.

At the top, three cards show how many jobs are currently in Quoting, Design, and Production. If you're an admin, you'll also see the total dollar value in each stage. Click a card to go straight to that board.

Attention Needed sits on the left and highlights jobs that need someone to act on them. It's broken into four groups — expand any one to see the jobs inside:

  • Rush — jobs you've flagged as rush
  • Due Soon — jobs with a due date in the next 7 days
  • Pending Approval — design and proof jobs where the customer hasn't signed off yet
  • Has Comments — design and proof jobs with open comments

Recent Orders shows the 8 most recently touched jobs so you can quickly pick up where you left off.

On the right side, four panels give you a snapshot of where work sits:

  • Quote Pipeline (owners and admins) — shows how your quotes are spread across the pipeline, from new inquiries through to sent quotes waiting on a decision
  • Design Progress — shows how many jobs are in Design, Proof, and fully approved, so you can see if artwork is backing up
  • Production Status — breaks down your active Work Orders by production step: Print/Cut, Laminate, Production, and Install
  • Needs Installation — lists every job flagged for installation, showing either the booked date or a reminder to book one; click View all to open the full install schedule
  • Unpaid Invoices (owners and admins) — shows how many invoices are outstanding and the total amount owing, with a link to the full list

Finding Your Way Around

Substrate has two navigation areas:

Top bar — your main day-to-day workflow:

  • Home — dashboard overview
  • Quoting — create quotes, send to customers, mark won or lost
  • Design — track artwork and proof approvals
  • Production — manage jobs through print, laminate, and finishing
  • Search — find any job or customer (magnifying glass icon, top right)
  • Notifications — in-app alerts for events like proof approvals and comments (bell icon, top right); an animated dot appears on the bell when you have unread notifications

Left sidebar — everything else:

  • Customers — your client records
  • Suppliers — your material vendors
  • Invoices — all invoiced jobs in one place
  • Archive — completed work orders that have been invoiced and closed out
  • Archived Quotes — quotes that were lost or declined
  • Options — set up your substrates, laminates, finishings, and pricing options
  • Settings — account details, your team, tax rates, pricing setup, and QuickBooks

Kanban Board vs. List View

Most pages show your jobs as a Kanban board by default — columns that represent each step, with cards you can drag across as work progresses. If you prefer a table, click List near the top right to switch views.

Job Numbers

Every job has a number that stays the same from start to finish. The prefix changes as it moves through stages so you can tell at a glance what stage a job is in:

Prefix Stage
QU Quote
DE Design
PR Proof
WO Work Order
INV Invoice

Next Steps