Repairs and specialist services: Operations dashboard for upholsterers
An operations dashboard for upholsterers that shows cutting waste by fabric pattern, estimated against actual metres and unexpected internal work, with the furniture card as its source.
Which figures upholsterers really need.
Upholsterers notice that some jobs cost more than they bring in, but rarely know where the leak is. Is it the floral whose motif had to be centred on every seat, taking far more metres than estimated? Is it internal work that was not in the quote and was not charged after opening? Or the sofas that take more hours than expected? The data sits in quotes, job sheets, fabric orders and invoices, but not in one place. Without agreement on what cutting waste is, one person counts offcuts and another does not. So it stays a hunch that patterned fabrics are expensive.
Operations dashboard for upholsterers
Example- 1
Agree on waste and categories
DoneFirst we define what counts as cutting waste, such as the difference between estimated and actual metres minus usable offcuts, and which fabric patterns you distinguish: plain, small print, large motif, stripe and check, velvet with pile.
- 2
Connect quote, card and invoice
In progressFor each job the dashboard takes estimated metres and internal work from the quote, actual usage and findings from the furniture card and the billed amount from the accounting package.
- 3
Investigate gaps by pattern
NextThe dashboard shows which fabric pattern has actual metres furthest from the estimate, how often unexpected internal work is found per furniture type and whether that work was billed.
From scattered figures to one overview.
Agree on waste and categories
First we define what counts as cutting waste, such as the difference between estimated and actual metres minus usable offcuts, and which fabric patterns you distinguish: plain, small print, large motif, stripe and check, velvet with pile. That breakdown returns on the furniture card and in the quote.
Connect quote, card and invoice
For each job the dashboard takes estimated metres and internal work from the quote, actual usage and findings from the furniture card and the billed amount from the accounting package. Every figure traces back to its job, so for an outlier you can open the furniture card and photos.
Investigate gaps by pattern
The dashboard shows which fabric pattern has actual metres furthest from the estimate, how often unexpected internal work is found per furniture type and whether that work was billed. That reveals whether the quote calculation for a pattern needs adjusting or something in the way of working should change.
Figures from your own work.
The data already exists in the quote spreadsheet, job sheets or furniture cards and the accounting package. The dashboard reads from those sources and changes nothing in them. The accounting package stays the source for amounts, the furniture card for usage and findings, the quote for estimates. The workshop owner decides who sees which view; upholsterers might see cutting waste by pattern without amounts, for example.
Waste in metres or in money
Waste in metres shows how good the cutting and estimating are, whatever the fabric price. In money it shows what it costs the workshop, and then an expensive fabric weighs more. Both are useful: metres for the upholsterer who cuts, money for the owner who writes quotes.
By furniture type or by pattern
Looking by furniture type shows which pieces consistently cause more work; by pattern, which fabrics cause more use. A sofa in a large motif combines both. The dashboard shows both breakdowns side by side, so you can see whether a gap comes from the piece or the fabric.
Count offcuts as waste or not
An offcut later used for a cushion is not true waste. Counting offcuts as waste makes patterned fabrics look more costly than they are. Counting only unusable scraps is fairer but requires offcuts to be recorded. That is why offcut recording is linked to the furniture card.
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Read the storyWhich figures we put on the dashboard.
The dashboard shows the agreed fabric patterns, waste per pattern in metres and money, unexpected internal work per furniture type and whether it was billed, with click through to furniture cards. Which patterns you distinguish is recorded at the start. Together we look at an ordinary month and at a job in customer fabric, where the waste does not fall on the workshop. Hours per furniture type can be added when you need them.
View pricingSupport and updatesGood to know.
Explore pricing and optionsDo we have enough jobs to see anything?
In a small workshop the numbers per pattern can be low, and then an average says little. The dashboard therefore always shows how many jobs sit behind a figure and lets you open the furniture cards. With few jobs, those are often the most instructive.
How do we treat customer supplied fabric?
With customer fabric the customer carries the cost of usage, but the waste still says something about the estimate. The dashboard shows those jobs separately, so they do not distort the figures for workshop fabric while still showing how good the estimate was.
Can this improve our quote calculation?
Yes. If a particular pattern consistently needs more metres than calculated, you can adjust the allowance for that pattern in the quote. The dashboard provides the evidence; the decision on the new allowance stays with you.
What if the furniture card is not filled in fully?
The dashboard shows the job as incomplete rather than leaving it out or counting it as zero. You can tell whether a good result is real or the result of missing data. If a field proves awkward to fill in, we change the furniture card.
What often connects to this.
- Digital job cards for upholsterersDigital job cards for upholsterers: a furniture card with fabric direction and cutting plan, recording what was found when the piece was opened and which internal parts were replaced.
- Website for upholsterersA website for upholsterers that explains the difference between simply recovering and fully reupholstering, and how customers choose from fabric collections or supply their own fabric.
- Enquiry form for upholsterersAn enquiry form for upholsterers that asks for furniture shape, condition and fabric wishes with photos from every side, so the upholsterer can estimate internal work and fabric needed.
See where the work drifts.
Start with a short intake. Then we schedule a call to show the software with your services, team and way of working.
WhatsAppinfo@vorlyo.com Operations dashboard for upholsterers: cutting waste by fabric pattern, estimated and actual metres and unexpected internal work in one view.
- Agree on waste and categories
- Connect quote, card and invoice
- Investigate gaps by pattern