Inside a Work Order¶
Every job in Substrate has its own work order page — this is where you manage everything about that job from the first quote through to the invoice.
Open a work order by clicking its card on any Kanban board or its row in a list view.
Moving a Job Through Stages¶
At the top of every work order page there's a fixed header that stays visible as you scroll.
The stage label (Quote, Design, Production, Invoice) sits in the centre of the top bar with left and right arrows on either side. Click the arrows to move the job between the main stages of your workflow.
Below that is a row of step indicators that show exactly where the job sits within its current stage — for example, a quote in production will show Print / Cut → Laminate → Production → Install. Click any step to jump the job directly to that point.
Tip
You don't need to step through each one in order. If a job jumps straight from Print / Cut to Install, just click Install directly.
At the end of the step row:
- Archive button — appears on Quote and Invoice stage jobs to move them out of active views
- Complete button — appears on production (Work Order stage) jobs to advance them to Invoice
The icons on the right side of the header let you print, download, and manage invoices for the job. What's available depends on the stage — see Printing & PDFs below.
Order Information¶
On the left side of the page, the Order Information card shows the job's description, PO number, key dates, and any flags like Rush or Priority.
Click the pencil icon to edit it. Fields you can update:
- Description — what the job is
- PO# — the customer's purchase order reference
- Install — tick this if the job needs installation
- Quoted Date, Order Date, Due Date, Install Date
- Rush and Priority flags
Click Save when done, or Cancel to discard.
Customer¶
Below Order Information is the Customer card, showing who the job belongs to. It displays the customer name (click it to open their full record), along with their email and phone pulled from the customer record.
There's also a Contact field on the work order itself — useful when the job has a specific point of contact that's different from the default customer contact.
Click the pencil icon to change or update the customer. You can search for an existing customer, create a new one on the spot with New Customer, edit the current customer's record with Edit Customer, or update the job-specific Contact name.
Line Items¶
Line items make up the bulk of the left side of the page. Each item shows a summary of what's been ordered — substrate, size, quantity, laminate, finishing, and price.
Editing an Item¶
Click the pencil icon on any item to open it for editing. You'll see all the fields:
- Description
- Substrate, quantity, width, height
- Production service, Pre Press, Colour, Laminate, Finishings
- Item notes
- Discount and Unit Price
When you're done, click Save. The item folds back to its compact view. Click Cancel to discard changes.
Item Options Menu¶
Each item has a small menu icon (three horizontal dots) that gives you extra options:
- Duplicate — copy this item (handy for repeat sizes or similar pieces)
- Move up / Move down — shift the item one position up or down in the list. The new order saves automatically — no need to hit Save. Items appear in the same order on the Quote and Work Order PDFs.
- Delete — remove the item permanently (you'll be asked to confirm)
Tip
Use Move up / Move down to put your most important or largest items at the top of the list so they're easy to find on the printed quote.
Adding an Item¶
Click Add item at the bottom of the line items list. A new blank item opens in edit mode — fill it in and save.
Pricing Summary¶
On the right side of the page, the Pricing Summary shows the subtotal, tax, and total for the job. On a quote it's open by default. On other stages it's collapsed — click it to expand the full breakdown.
Nesting¶
The Nesting panel shows a visual layout of how your materials are being used across the line items. It helps you spot if you're getting good use out of a sheet or roll before you send the job to print. Open on Quote stage by default; collapsed on others.
Notes¶
The Notes panel is where you keep internal notes about the job — instructions for the designer, production callouts, customer feedback, anything the team needs to know.
Click into the notes area and start typing. Notes support basic formatting: bold, italic, lists, and links. They save automatically when you finish editing, and show who last updated them at the bottom.
Attachments¶
The Attachments panel lets you attach files to the job — spec sheets, customer-supplied art, reference images, or anything else the team might need.
Drag a file onto the upload area or click Browse to pick one from your computer. Uploaded files appear as thumbnail previews. Click a thumbnail to open the file in a new tab. Click the menu icon (⋯) on any thumbnail to download the file or delete it.
Printing & PDFs¶
The icon buttons in the top-right of the header give you quick access to PDFs:
| When the job is at... | You can... |
|---|---|
| Quote | Print or download the Quote PDF |
| Design / Proof / Work Order | Print the Work Order PDF |
| Any stage (QB connected) | Create, view, or download the QuickBooks invoice |
| Any stage (QB not connected) | Print or download the Substrate Invoice PDF |
The Work Order PDF has a QR code in the header — scan it on the shop floor to jump straight back to the job in Substrate.
The Actions Menu¶
Click the ⋯ menu in the top-right of the header for less-used options. What's available changes depending on the stage:
| Stage | Available actions |
|---|---|
| Quote | Print Quote, Download Quote |
| Design / Proof | Print Work Order, Download Work Order |
| Production | Print Work Order, Complete, Archive — plus QB invoice views if connected |
| Invoice | QB invoice actions (create, update, view, download) or Print / Download Invoice — plus Move to submenu |
| Archived / Archived Quote | Move to submenu |
| All stages | Duplicate, Delete |
Pending — on Design and Proof stage jobs, the Pending button lives in the header breadcrumb row (not in this menu). Click it to flag a job as blocked; click it again to clear it.
Move to — available on Invoice, Archived, and Archived Quote jobs. Expands to let you send the job to any stage manually.
Duplicate — makes a full copy of the work order as a new Quote.
Delete — permanently removes the work order. You'll be asked to confirm. Available on all stages.