Category: Blogs

OnSite – Screen Printing Shop Management Software

OnSite software has been customized for Screen Printer businesses with applications and features that were specifically designed and tested for use with apparel screen printers. These tasks include tracking production for individuals or specific departments, calculating prices based on many different elements, such as margins and volume discounts, size matrix, and store design, and production variables, such as mesh count, ink color, thumbnail images, and more.

The specialized software is already being used by numerous screen-printing businesses and they have found that it simplifies their businesses and their lives, freeing their time to deal with bigger tasks, such as expansion or improving quality rather than sorting orders and tracking production by hand. With so many software applications available today, there is no reason why you should be wasting manual labor on tasks that can be done faster and more efficiently by a computer program. Call today for more information about our screen printing shop management software.

Shops with digital printing systems offer custom shirts for all occasions and reasons. If you need shirts for an event, you can choose graphics the business already has or make your own. You can create these custom shirts for many great reasons.

1. Family Reunions. Having matching shirts to commemorate a family reunion not only allows families to connect, but also leaves everyone with a custom souvenir of their visit. Choose a graphic for the whole family, and then have each shirt customized with each family member’s name on it. This also means that no one has to wear a nametag.

2. Business Retreats. Team building activities are a popular topic in the business world. Before setting out on your next company retreat, have t-shirts made. These shirts can list the company name and names of each employee, so that everyone can learn each person in the organization’s name.

3. Special Events. Companies usually make custom shirts for special events, such as 5Ks and marathons. Create your shirts with the logo of the event and names of sponsors on the outside.

4. Gifts. Custom shirts can make great gifts for family and friends. Customize each with a personal quote or favorite character or movie.

5. Birthday Party. If you’re going all out for a birthday party, why not make custom shirts? Each can list the name of the birthday boy/girl and his or her age. This is a great way to celebrate a child’s birthday.

6. Bachelorette Party. There’s no better way to go all out for a bachelorette party than to buy matching shirts. Have each girlfriend wear her function in the wedding party.

For more information about our suite of screen printing software for making custom shirts, contact us at ShopWorks.

Finding the ideal software solutions for businesses is no easy task. Operating a business involves so many aspects. Everything from marketing to shipping must be addressed, as well as every step in-between. That is why ShopWorks has worked so hard to develop a suite of software that is ideal for businesses. It is capable of handling the many different aspects of a business. The best part is that this software will practically run your business for you, leaving you free to focus on other things.

Our software suite is called OnSite. It is more than just a few programs boxed together to provide you with basic assistance. OnSite is a suite of programs that are designed to work together. From marketing and accounting to designing and shipping, OnSite can help you manage every step from the comfort of your computer. With just a few clicks, you can see where a project is at in the process — ordering, designing, shipping, and more.

Imagine having that sort of freedom — the freedom to meet with clients and drum up business, instead of sitting behind a computer and struggling with multiple programs as you try to operate your business. OnSite can give you that freedom. Our software is made to handle multiple operations at once, so you will no longer be bound to different programs that do not integrate with each other.

Contact us today at ShopWorks to learn more about OnSite and schedule a demonstration of this useful suite of software.

ShopWorks Apparel Software Solutions – Training Sessions

We have scheduled new in-person training sessions, for the month of November, at our high-tech training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. The first session is scheduled to run from November 6th through November 8th, and will give new OnSite 7 users a chance to become better acquainted with the software solutions for business that are open to them through our system.

This seminar has been structured for those who haven’t used the apparel manufacturing software system before and is designed to give customers knowledge about everything they need to know to use their digital printing systems, print estimating software, and more, to their fullest capabilities.

The classes last for three days, and each class is limited to 16 people, in order to give each attendee the best, most personal experience and training possible. A price break is available for companies who send multiple employees, as each additional attendee from your company only needs to pay $350 to attend, instead of the regular price of $495. The cost includes the class, the necessary materials, and breakfast and lunch for the three days of class. Travel, accommodation, dinner and extras are not covered.

Past attendees have found the in-person seminar to be vital for becoming acquainted with the company, and have found they can use the software much more effectively after attending an in-person workshop. We recommend you attend, and that you bring any managers who have a significant role in your company. It is much easier for them to learn from the developers, than for you to try to translate all of what you learned, once you return.

OnSite ERP Software for Digital Printing

The problems that you face as a digital printing business are largely different from those faced by screen printing or software companies, meaning you need a specific digital printing system to run your business as efficiently as possible. The onsite system from ShopWorx was developed by software experts, alongside digital printing managers and business owners, in order to create a program that is specifically optimized for your industry.

Here are some of the best features for digital printing companies:

1. With ShopWorx, you can model different production processes. This feature is very useful in illustrating the methods of printing that are available to customers, and which are most useful for their needs.
2. You can also track production schedules by individual worker, machine or department. This helps you to pinpoint weak spots within your company and then put changes into effect to strengthen those areas, whether it’s retraining employees or letting them go, replacing equipment or another solution.
3. The system allows you to store pricing and inventory information based on square feet, square meters, linear feet and many other variables. As a printing company, this can be incredibly useful when you have different lengths of material, or price it differently based on measurements or quality.
4. You can store production and design variables, such as material types, imprint locations, file locations and many more within your system. This is useful when you need to go back and reprint an order, or you want to check details for reference in the future. Many clients will come back year after year and want the same order, which is difficult if you don’t have the details saved.

Thanks to the Internet and other new technologies which have made starting and owning a business easier, there is much more competition in nearly every industry, today. Often what will set certain businesses apart from others is superior customer service.

One way to dramatically improve your customer service is by investing in good business software, like OnSite 7. Software suites like OnSite 7, in addition to growing other areas of your company, allow for better customer relationship management, with all of a customer’s information being stored in one place, and better data-gathering ability. Often suites will come with specific customer relationship management software to grow this area, in particular.

Not only will you no longer lose customer information, since the computer stores it all together for you, but you will also be able to keep much more information, with greater ease than before. This will enable future contact with the customer to be personalized, and both of your experiences will be more positive.

More Reasons Customers Will Pay More

In a blog post last week, we detailed research that indicates customers are willing to pay more for a product or service if they receive better, more convenient service, and if your product or service is slightly better than those offered by your competitors. Here are a few more reasons why you should be spending more money developing your products and services, and charging your customers more, as opposed to focusing on decreasing the cost to your clients.

• Consider the cost of ownership for your product or service. If you are offering software solutions for business, apparel ERP, or digital printing software, and your customers have to pay for updates every month, they are going to quickly become frustrated and switch to a more expensive system where the updates are included. Having to pay for updates constantly is like paying to stay in an expensive hotel room, and then being charged $15 for the water bottle in the mini bar — it’s annoying and feels cheap. Charge more, up front, so your customers have less frustration, down the road — and they will be happier.

• Make sure your customer service is incredibly friendly. Many people like Apple, over Windows, simply because they can take their broken iPhone to any Apple store and walk out with a replacement an hour later. They are willing to pay more for the customer service and convenience.

• Build a personal relationship with customers, whenever possible, even if that relationship only lasts for the duration of the transaction. People are more likely to pay more to purchase something from someone they like and with whom they feel a connection.

With improving technology, there are more reasons than ever to use business software. Here are five ways that business software can help improve the efficiency of your operation:

• Since this type of software is web-based, your employees and clients simply need a computer with Internet access. This means that it can be accessed from home or even another country.

• Since this software holds all of a client’s information in one place, it’s easier to turn leads into sales. Each time a quote is generated, a file is created with that customer’s information to make follow-up calls easier.

• All of your information, documents, invoices, quotes, timesheets, projects, calendars and more are stored in one place.

• Managers can track projects by logging onto the software, meaning fewer missed deadlines and emails.

• Workers who are working from home or another location can log the time worked by simply logging onto the business management software application.

Learn about the benefits of Business Software Solutions.

In the last blog, we discussed five reasons for using business software, including convenience for employees working from home and consolidation of documents. Here are five more reasons:

1. Large numbers of people can be logged on to business software at the same time, meaning it can benefit any size business, from a small hometown company to a fortune 500 corporation.

2. The software tracks customers’ purchasing habits and anticipates their future choices, giving them better personal service.

3. You no longer need multiple software applications since one company can do it all. This means you not only improve your business, but you save money compared to past practices while doing it.

4. You or your employees can share documents without having to attach them to emails. Having one copy of everything largely cuts down on confusion and the potential for mistakes.

5. Since the software is easy to use, you don’t need to spend large amounts of time retraining your employees.

IRS Tax Advice for Small Businesses: Part II

We gave several IRS tax tips for small businesses in our last blog, including limiting and double-checking deductions, using the accounting and information services in your software solutions for business and an onsite system to keep track of your accounts throughout the year, and having a CPA look over your return before you submit it. Here are a few more tips before April 15th arrives:

• One common tax mistake made by small businesses is failing to pay payroll taxes. These taxes are made up of contributions, including the employer’s half of social security and Medicare taxes, which are due on a monthly basis. Business owners with cash flow issues often use these funds to carry them over from month to month, and then find themselves facing tax day thousands short with extra penalties for missing their monthly payments. Even if you are short on cash, make sure you resist the temptation to use those funds, and stay on top of your payroll taxes.
• Some small business owners attempt to avoid these pesky payroll taxes by classifying workers as independent contractors, which is above board if they really are independent. More often than not, though, this is a misclassification that can cost thousands of dollars, should the IRS decide to pay a visit and check on this classification.
• If you pay workers or vendors in cash, you also may be in for an audit. Paying in checks or automatic transfers leaves a paper trail that can be verified, but paying in cash leaves an opportunity for tax fraud by underreporting employee wages. Make sure you have a strong paper trail for every money transaction you take part in.