Harness the Power of Shop Management Programs

Learn how the right software can pump up profit potential for your apparel decoration business.
May 1, 2009

When you first incorporate a shop management system, you may find some resistance from employees because a lot of information will have to be input on each client. However, once this is done, it's done forever.

By Greg Kitson, Contributing Writer

If knowledge truly is power, then no other tool gives you absolute power over your business like information management software.

Information management programs give you control over everything from receivables and sales orders to data input — all while reducing the amount of time and effort it takes to input and access that information. It's not control simply for the sake of itself, however; it's control that can translate directly into a far more successful, profitable business.

The Road to Control
Adding information management software is often a reactive decision that happens when a shop owner realizes he has reached a point where he has lost control of the data vital to running his business. He no longer can rely on his memory, notes scrawled on a legal pad or data entered sporadically into a hodgepodge of Microsoft Excel workbooks. He needs a systematized way to manage his shop's information.

Many times, employees are less than thrilled when management tells them the company is now using shop software to document all data. "Why do I have to put all this information into the computer?" they ask. "Why do I have to input these phone numbers? I already have them written down."

What these employees don't realize is that this information hasn't been input in any organized manner. For instance, up until now, staffers have written orders on paper attached to clipboards. Perhaps they forgot to take down phone numbers or e-mail addresses for the client, and later had to hunt for that information, wasting valuable time.

With the new shop management software, they enter all necessary information once, and they're done — not just for that order, but for as long as that relationship exists. When Bob orders shirts for his swim team, you type in Bob's name and pull up all of his relevant information, saving a tremendous amount of time.

Besides just saving time — which, alone is a huge deal — you also ensure consistency and accuracy in the order-taking process. Consistency happens because the software has fields that the order taker must fill out each time, for every order, which guards against mistakes. As far as accuracy, when information is recorded — whether on paper or in software — more than once, the likelihood of a mistake grows exponentially. Each point of input is another chance for a mistake. Software ensures that input happens only once.

Further Down the Road
Software also helps you stay in control of an order's artwork, as the art department can access any information provided by the customer. For instance, the software can track that the customer has authorized three-color artwork, which the art department can check against the order's hard copy, as well the artwork itself. If the artist finds a problem, he has access to the customer's contact information, the saleperson who wrote up the job, etc.

When the job hits the production floor, employees can check its particulars against purchasing information, ensuring that there is necessary inventory to complete the job. Also, details about an order — such as mesh and inks used — can be stored in the software, ensuring consistency when the job is reproduced later.

When it's time to ship the order, information for the packing slip and invoice can be pulled from the software rather than being re-input. There's no exhausted employee filling out a packing slip at 5:45 p.m. while an impatient delivery person stands nearby — the perfect recipe for data input mistakes.

What's important is that throughout every phase of production — from order input to artwork creation to printing and shipping — your shop has maintained complete control, keeping tight reins over the gathering and dissemination of information. What's more, you can review this data regularly — perhaps even daily — to discover volumes of revelations about your shop: time spent on jobs, most profitable types of work, areas in need of improvement, quantities of ink used and much more.

Purchasing Software
If you've never priced management software, you may be in for a bit of a surprise, as the programs aren't cheap. Expect to spend at least $1,000 to $3,000 for an entry-level program such as T-Quoter and Price It, and much more for a top-of-the-line program with all the bells and whistles.

In fact, you also may need to make some investments in new computer hardware to handle the software. Count on doubling the minimum hardware requirements provided by the software supplier, along with as much RAM as you can get. When you add the costs of hardware and software, you could easily be looking at $15,000 to $25,000 or more in expenses.

Why is the software itself relatively pricey? In many ways, you're taking the system and information that lives in your head and putting it into a computer program. That software must have the power to think and act like you, so it won't be cheap. For those who insist on looking for the cheapest possible route, you probably won't get the most powerful program available by downloading cheaper software from the Internet from a screen printer who put together some software in his spare time.

Another option that comes with a word of caution is enlisting a programmer to custom-develop business management software specifically for your shop. Database management isn't simple, and programmers charge $200 an hour or more, meaning you could easily rack up a bill of $30,000 or more for custom software. That said, unless you have a dedicated in-house IT staff, this is really not a smart choice.

The cost of your system also will be affected by the number of seats, or users, the software comes with, and how much you'll pay for additional users. For example, if you want order entry, purchasing, a manager, and shipping to have access to the software, you're looking at purchasing a license for four users. Some of the higher-end programs are server-based, making this kind of communication simple, although they do require database programs such as FileMaker. (Technically, some management programs are plug-ins that run inside of the database application, much like separation software is often a plug-in that works with Adobe Photoshop.)

One final note before making your purchase: Take with a grain of salt any claims about future functionality to be added to programs in upcoming versions. You should base your purchasing decisions on what the software does right now, not on what it may do someday in the future. For instance, if the software is only Windows XP compatible and you're running the Vista operating system, don't wait around for the promised 64-bit functionality.

Additionally, keep in mind that your software provider is just that, a software provider. If you choose to upgrade computer systems and incorporate a server-based system, understand that this is an entirely different learning process that your information management vendor is not responsible for. While they can answer simple questions regarding your network, it is not their responsibility.

Making the Transition
Once you've made your purchase, consider working with your accountant or financial advisor to time the transition into a new business management program. Most likely, you'll want to make the transition at the end of a fiscal period, at which point you take the profit-and-loss statement and create opening entries in the new systems.

Inexpensive programs often come with DVDs or online, Web-based training, while higher-end software may entail on-site training. We received two days of on-site installation and training, during which time we made sure the computers were talking to each other, learned how to create management reports, etc. Your vendor also may give you the option of purchasing a maintenance contract, which includes software tech support for an annual fee. (Don't forget to ask your vendor about his policy on fees for software upgrades and make sure you understand the difference between an upgrade and an update.)

Your software vendor can provide a checklist of information needed for the transition, including existing payables, receivables, account files and so on. If the vendor can't provide such a checklist, tear up his business card — he's not someone you want to work with on this critical business function.

As for our shop, we spent around $15,000 on information management software (we purchased ShopWorks, which requires Filemaker), and another $10,000 on computer hardware upgrades. While that investment may seem steep, we couldn't have spent that money any more wisely. Simply put, our business would not be as productive or successful as it is today without this software and the power it provides.

We can plan for the future. We know when our peak season is and what our expenses are. Our purchasing is under such detailed control that we're well aware when a T-shirt comes in from a vendor at a price even just a few pennies above what we expected. We have firm control over our costs, which means our pricing is accurate. Further, we even have price lists for different groups of customers — more favorable pricing for better customers, and less favorable pricing for the difficult, high-maintenance customers who cost us more money to handle. Bottom line: Our software puts us in control. And that's exactly where we want to be.

Greg Kitson is founder and president of Mind's Eye Graphics in Decatur, Ind. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Greg at greg@mindseyeg.com or visit mindseyeg.com.

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