Main functions: orders, artwork and production

The functions in this chapter cover the path of an order from the moment it is placed on the website until handover: how it enters the panel, which statuses it goes through, how the artwork is checked, how the workshop works and how the customer finds out where the order has reached. The description pattern is the one from chapter 03.

F6. Receiving orders from the website

Conditions. The catalogue is published with configured calculators (F1, F2); the delivery (F16) and payment (F15) methods are active; the order statuses are defined (F7).

Preparatory actions. None are required from the team: the flow is carried out by the customer.

Resources. The customer places an order in a few minutes; the order reaches the panel instantly, without any intervention from the team.

Sequence of actions.

1. The customer opens the product, configures it in the calculator and presses Add to cart; this can be repeated for several products.
2. In the cart the customer changes the quantity if needed (the price is recalculated), uploads the artwork for the products that require it (one file for each side), chooses the artwork check service (F9) and sees the estimated weight and the date on which the order can be ready.
3. At checkout the customer fills in the contact details or signs in to the account (the order can also be placed without an account, as a guest), chooses the delivery method (pickup from a branch or courier, with city and address) and the payment method, optionally enters a promo code or a gift certificate, accepts the terms and places the order.
4. For online card payment the customer is redirected to the payment processor; after the payment is confirmed, the order is automatically marked as paid.
5. The customer receives a confirmation e-mail with the order number and, subsequently, e-mails at every customer-visible status of the order.

Result. The order appears immediately in Orders, with the source Online order, in the configured initial status, automatically assigned to a manager if automatic assignment is switched on (F24); the team receives the notification in the panel in real time (F13). A customer with an account sees the order in the order history, can re-upload artwork and manages their addresses, recipients, favourite products and bonus.

Closing actions. Processing of the order by the manager (F8). The Buy in one click button on the product page creates a website request, not an order (F11). Details: How the customer orders on the website.

F7. Configuring the flow of order statuses

Conditions. Permissions on Settings.

Preparatory actions. The workflow of the print shop: the stages an order goes through, who performs them, what the customer has to be told at each stage.

Resources. Approximately 30–60 minutes for the initial configuration.

Sequence of actions.

1. In Settings → Status → Orders the statuses are defined — name (translatable), indicative duration, visibility for the customer, the notifications sent on entering the status (e-mail, SMS through a messaging integration, the artwork rejection message, the closing documents), the tabs of the order list and of the production queue into which they are grouped, the production stage marker — as well as their order.
2. The tabs are defined (the groups of statuses at the top of the order list) together with the thresholds: the payment deadline in hours and the number of days after which an abandoned order is deleted.
3. In Automatic order status, the working stages of the platform (artwork under review, needs correction, ready for production, in production, ready for handover, handed over, cancelled, completed, paid in full with no work started) are linked to the shop's own statuses; the automatic advancement toggle activates the map, while the protection of manually chosen statuses prevents a rule from taking the order backwards.
4. In Settings → Status → Rules, rules are added for exceptions, of the form "for orders of type X, with payment Y and artwork Z, in the triggering statuses, move to the target status", optionally restricted to certain products.
5. In Settings → Status → Website Requests the statuses of the website requests are defined, together with the status in which the order created from each of them starts.

Result. Orders are grouped into tabs, the customer is notified at every customer-visible status, the obvious transitions (payment confirmed, artwork accepted, production finished) are made automatically, with a record in the history, and the products of the orders that are in production stages appear in the production queue (F10).

Closing actions. Checking the flow on a test order before automating it. Details: Statuses and rules.

F8. Processing an order

Conditions. An existing order; permissions on Orders (viewing, changing the status, payments — according to role).

Preparatory actions. None are required.

Resources. Approximately 2–10 minutes per order, depending on the artwork check and on the communication with the customer.

Sequence of actions.

1. The manager opens the order from Orders, from the Dashboard or from a notification; the header shows the source of the order, the type of customer, the manager in charge (assigned automatically or through Assign someone else) and the quick contact with the customer (phone, WhatsApp, e-mail).
2. For each order line the manager checks the artwork: accepts it or rejects it with a reason, which goes into the e-mail sent to the customer; the file can be replaced (the old versions remain in the archive) or downloaded. Change parameters opens the calculator with the current values, for correcting the order after the discussion with the customer, while Technical details shows the sheet layout, the materials with quantities and the cost breakdown.
3. The manager registers the payment (full or partial) and corrects the payment method if needed; when the order is marked as paid, the bonus (cashback) is granted, if the programme is active.
4. The manager sets up the delivery: generates the AWB with the integrated courier (with tracking, label and cancellation) or changes the method and the negotiated cost, with a recalculation of the total.
5. The manager generates the documents: the job ticket for the workshop, the invoice, the delivery note and the completion certificate (preview or PDF), on the data of the issuing company; downloads all the artwork in one archive.
6. The manager changes the status of the order from the selector (or lets the automatic rules do it), consults the status history, writes the internal note that is invisible to the customer, the comments on an order line and the internal files; follows the production route (the operations, with the status of each one and who completed it).

Result. The order advances, with all the actions recorded in the history, up to handover; the cards in the header show at any moment the status, the payment, the planned readiness (with the days remaining or the delay) and the receipt method.

Closing actions. None are required. Details: The order page, The order list.

F9. Checking the artwork

Conditions. The product requires artwork (F5); for the paid service — permissions on Settings.

Preparatory actions. The check levels offered (for example a free basic check and an advanced, paid one), their prices and the cost of correction by the print shop's designer.

Resources. Approximately 10 minutes for the configuration; the automatic check is instantaneous on upload.

Sequence of actions.

1. The automatic check runs on every upload, according to the preset of the product: the file format, the dimensions relative to the chosen format (with the configured tolerance) and the other rules; critical problems block the upload, while warnings are displayed to the customer. Optionally, a proofing (preflight) integration can perform advanced checks of the PDF file.
2. The human check service is configured in Settings → Design check service: the toggle of the service, the tiers (identifier, translatable name, price — zero for the free tier —, the "recommended" marker, the inclusion of free correction) and the cost of paid correction.
3. The customer chooses the tier in the cart, from a comparison table; the chosen tier appears on the order, next to the uploaded files.
4. The manager or the designer accepts the artwork or rejects it with a reason (F8); the rejection sends the customer an e-mail with the explanation, and the order remains waiting for new artwork or for the customer's consent to the paid correction.

Result. The order can become Ready for production only when all its artwork has been accepted; the files remain linked to the order, with their versions, and are available to the workshop from the production queue.

Closing actions. None are required. Details: Checking the artwork.

F10. The production queue

Conditions. At least one order status is marked as a production stage (F7); the role has permission on the Production queue (as a rule, Operator).

Preparatory actions. None are required.

Resources. A permanent working screen of the workshop; it requires no configuration.

Sequence of actions.

1. The operator opens the Production queue: one card for each product of the orders that are in production, with the order number, the product, the quantity, the deadline, the status, the list of materials (the paper, the sheet format, the weight, the calculated number of sheets) and the operations in the order of the technological flow, with the machine of each one.
2. The operator opens the job ticket (ready to print) and downloads the approved artwork; for anything else, the order is opened.
3. The operator performs the operations in order and marks each operation as Done; next to the status, the name of the person who marked it remains visible.

Result. The stage of the order is updated as the operations are completed; when all of them are finished, the order can move to the next status — manually, from the order page, or automatically, through the map of stages. The screen does not expose the customer's data or the payment.

Closing actions. Refreshing the list on a screen that is left open. Details: The production queue.

F11. Processing website requests

Conditions. The contact form, the Buy in one click button or a quotation request widget are published on the website; permissions on Website Requests.

Preparatory actions. None are required.

Resources. Approximately 2–5 minutes per website request.

Sequence of actions.

1. The website request appears in Website Requests with the status New; the number of unprocessed ones is also displayed on the Dashboard.
2. The manager opens the details: the contact data (with links for calling and e-mailing), the customer account if one exists, the message, the configuration chosen by the customer in the calculator (product, format, quantity, options, displayed price) and the source (the page on the website).
3. The manager presses Accept — the website request moves into work, assigned to that manager — and contacts the customer.
4. If an order results, the manager presses Create Order: the calculator in the panel (F12) opens, with the customer and the product pre-filled from the website request; the created order carries the reference of the website request, and the website request receives the status mapped to "order created". Website requests resolved without an order are marked Done.

Result. No enquiry coming from the website is left without an answer; the history of a customer's website requests appears in their record.

Closing actions. None are required. Details: Website requests.

F12. Creating an order from the panel

Conditions. The product has a configured calculator (F2); permissions on Orders and Clients.

Preparatory actions. The customer's data (for a new customer: name, e-mail, phone) and the desired parameters.

Resources. Approximately 2–5 minutes.

Sequence of actions.

1. In Shop → Calculator the manager searches for an existing customer (by name, e-mail or phone) or enters a new contact — whose record is created together with the order — and chooses the language of the order (the language of the e-mails and of the customer account).
2. The manager chooses the product from a category or through search and configures it in the same calculator as on the website (format, quantity, printing, material, finishing, timeframe); the total price, the price per piece, the VAT and the Ready by date are recalculated on every change; the product is added to the cart, possibly several products.
3. The manager presses Create Order.

Result. The order appears in Orders with the source Created by a manager, assigned to the manager, in the configured initial status; the customer receives the confirmation e-mail in the chosen language. The artwork, the payment and the delivery are then filled in from the order page (F8). The calculator in the panel applies the group discount and the customer's personal discounts, but not the promo codes, which are entered only by the customer on the website.

Closing actions. Completing the order from its page. Details: The calculator in the panel.

F13. Notifying customers and the team

Conditions. The sender e-mail address is configured; for SMS and messaging — the respective integration is active (F26).

Preparatory actions. Choosing, for each status, the notifications sent to the customer (F7).

Resources. No day-to-day operation: the notifications are sent automatically.

Sequence of actions.

1. When the order is placed, the customer receives the confirmation e-mail; on every entry into a customer-visible status with the notification enabled, the customer receives the e-mail of that status (and an SMS, if a messaging integration is active); on artwork rejection, the customer receives the reason; at the configured statuses, the customer receives the closing documents; on an access request, the customer receives the sign-in link. All of them in the language of the order or of the account.
2. The team receives, in the panel, in real time, without reloading the page, notifications about the events in the shop (for example new orders and website requests), displayed at the bell in the top bar.

Result. The customer is informed about every step without the manager's intervention, and the team immediately sees what needs attention.

Closing actions. None are required. Details: Statuses and rules, Overview.