Run the shop the way you actually make signs.
Channel letters, monument signs, storefront graphics, wayfinding, wraps. Quote by sq-ft, route through CNC and finishing, install in the field — one record per job, from survey to signoff.
Three tax-on-time every sign shop pays.
Every owner we talk to nods on at least two of these. We built Flowtora to make all three cost zero.
Sq-ft, illumination, mounting hardware, permit fees, install labor — every line in a different tab. One missed add-on and the margin is gone.
Some on the sales rep's phone, some in the shared drive, some in email. When the permit reviewer asks, nobody can find them fast.
Did they get the signature? Were before/after photos taken? What sizes went on the truck? The crew stops to answer, the office stops to ask.
Survey → quote → proof → production → install → paid.
Six steps, one record, every department on the same page. Here's exactly what the flow looks like inside Flowtora.
Capture the site, on the phone, on the way back.
Field reps snap photos, measure the fascia, note electrical, and attach everything to a new project — no second app, no email-it-to-yourself.
- Inbound web forms create the project automatically
- Site-survey photos + measurements in one form
- Landlord contact captured for later approval
Quote illuminated, mounted, permitted — all priced in one pass.
Option groups for illumination, mounting, and finish. Permit fees as pass-through line items. Customer sees a clean proposal and approves in the portal.
- Sq-ft + linear-ft in the same quote
- Illumination + mounting option groups
- Permit fee pass-through lines
Send the proof, get a pinned markup back, lock the round.
Customer pins notes on the artwork, picks color, signs off. Every round is archived — no more "which PDF was latest" during fabrication.
- In-browser markup (pin, comment, strike-through)
- Typed e-signature with audit trail
- Side-by-side round comparison
CNC, flatbed, vinyl, finishing — each lane knows what's next.
Jobs flow through the departments they actually need. QC checklists gate the next station. Owners see the whole floor, end-of-day.
- Per-department Kanban + list view
- Station clock-in + time tracking
- WIP aging alerts before the customer calls
Route the crew, pack the truck, hit the day.
Route-optimized day view, materials pulled against the install, landlord + city notifications queued automatically.
- Optimized crew day with travel estimates
- Materials-pull list per install
- Auto-reminder to landlord + city
Photo it, sign it, bill it — from the lift.
Required before/after photos. GPS-tagged signature. Push-to-bill triggers the balance invoice. The crew moves on; the office gets the final on the same record.
- Required photo checklist per install type
- Customer signature + GPS stamp
- Push-to-bill generates the balance invoice
What one sign shop's week looks like on Flowtora.
Harbor Signs Co.
Harbor is a representative 8-person sign shop. Before Flowtora, their estimator ran a spreadsheet, their proofs lived in email threads, and the install crew texted the office for every job.
After moving quoting + proofing onto Flowtora in week one, then production + installs in week three, the whole shop runs on a single record per job. Balance invoices go out from the lift, not from the office the following Monday.
- Price-book spreadsheet
- Email proof threads
- QuickBooks for invoices
- Text messages from the field
- One customer record from lead to last dollar
- Deposits + balance on the same order
- Production + install in one record
Six things other platforms don't build for you.
Generic SaaS doesn't know what a permit packet is. We do — because we built for sign shops first.
Photos, measurements, electrical notes, clearance, and fascia dimensions — on a phone, attached to the project.
Permit fee line-items on the quote. Landlord approvals + city submissions logged on the project record with due-date reminders.
Acrylic, aluminum, ACM, vinyl, 3M wrap film — priced once, with substrate-specific waste factors. Add new materials in seconds.
Linear-ft pricing with wrap-film options. Vehicle spec cards attached to the quote so installers see exactly what they're wrapping.
Raster/braille line-items, tactile options, and code-compliance notes pinned to the product so estimators don't re-research for every job.
Required before/after shots per install. Missed photos block the push-to-bill. The archive makes warranty claims trivial.
What a sign shop gains by moving off the spreadsheet.
| Capability | Flowtora One platform | Spreadsheets + email | Generic CRM |
|---|---|---|---|
Sq-ft + linear-ft pricing in one quote Channel letters, banners, and wraps on the same proposal. | ✓ Built-in, with waste factor. | ~ Manual math, every time. | ✗ Generic line items only. |
Site survey capture on a phone Photos, measurements, electrical — all attached to the project. | ✓ Field-first, offline-tolerant. | ✗ Phone roll + email yourself. | ✗ Not a CRM feature. |
Permit + landlord tracking Line items + project-level due dates. | ✓ Trackable, renewable. | ✗ A shared spreadsheet. | ~ You build it yourself. |
CNC / print / finishing queues Per-station checklists and time tracking. | ✓ Out of the box. | ✗ A whiteboard. | ~ Generic kanban. |
Install routing + field app Day view, required photos, signature, push-to-bill. | ✓ Same record, end to end. | ✗ Text messages. | ✗ Add a second app. |
Deposit + balance invoicing Deposit at approval, balance at install. | ✓ One record, one click. | ~ Manual in QuickBooks. | ~ Separate billing module. |
The six questions every sign-shop owner asks on a demo.
Can I price illuminated vs. non-illuminated as one quote with options?
Yes. Option groups are first-class. Build "illumination" as an option group with LED, neon, and non-illuminated selections, each with its own material + labor cost. The customer sees the choice and the impact on the total, on one proposal.
How does permit tracking work?
Permit fees are line items on the quote (pass-through or marked-up — your call). The project record has a permit tab with submission dates, approval dates, and expiration reminders. When a permit is denied or resubmitted, the history is logged and visible to anyone on the account.
What does the install crew need to use the field app?
Any iOS or Android phone. No native app install required — it runs as a PWA (web app you can "add to home screen"). Works in a spotty signal too: photos and signatures queue offline and sync when the crew hits a cell tower.
Can we put our own logo on the customer portal?
Yes. Every workspace gets a branded portal at yourshop.flowtora.app with your logo, colors, and copy on the portal + proposal PDFs. Custom domain (portal.yourshop.com) ships on the Pro plan with automatic TLS.
How do multi-location sign franchises work?
Each location gets its own queues, price book, and reports, while HQ sees the consolidated roll-up. Branch-scoped RBAC means a regional manager only sees their region. Ships on Enterprise — reach out and we'll scope your specific hierarchy.
What if my estimator already has a spreadsheet they love?
Import it. We'll help you translate the formulas into Flowtora's price book during onboarding (usually a two-hour call). After that the spreadsheet becomes a backup, then it disappears.
Set up your sign shop in an afternoon.
Import customers, seed your price book, send your first quote — today.