Print shops and sign makers

Magpie quotes your print and sign jobs and has the customer sign off each proof. It keeps every job on one board and bills it when it is ready.

The counter, the studio and the print room work in one Magpie team.

Crear cuenta
  1. Artwork inFormularios
  2. Proofs to approveFirmas electrónicas
  3. Today's jobsTableros Kanban
  4. Ready to collectFacturación
Fernhill Print & Sign’s jobs board: each job as a card, in columns from Artwork in through Proof sent and Printing to Ready to collect, each with the day it is due.

This combination of six Magpie areas fits a print and sign shop.

Forms
Forms takes a quote request with the size, the quantity, the finish and the artwork.
Proposals
Proposals quotes a sign or a print run as packages, accepted with a deposit.
E-Signatures
E-Signatures has the customer sign off the proof before anything is printed.
Kanban Boards
Kanban Boards keeps every job on one board, from artwork in to ready to collect.
Invoicing
Invoicing bills each job when it is ready, and trade customers on their own terms.
Contacts
Contacts keeps each business customer's colours, paper stock and past jobs on their page.

A quote request arrives with the size, the quantity and the artwork file.

Forms builds your quote request page. It asks what the job is, its size, the quantity and the finish. A File question takes the artwork as a PDF or an image. Each request is emailed to you.

A walk-in customer can send a file from their phone at the counter instead. Quick Transfer shows a code on the shop's computer. Their phone uploads to it without signing up.

Fernhill Print & Sign’s quote request form in the builder: what the job is, a file question for the artwork, then its size, quantity and finish, and the date it is needed.

You quote a shop sign as packages, and the customer pays the deposit on acceptance.

Proposals sets out the sign as packages: a printed panel, or built-up letters. Each line has its quantity, such as 32 square feet, and its price. Optional lines add window vinyl or an A-board.

The customer chooses on their own page, and the total follows. They accept, sign and pay the deposit by card. You see when the quote is opened, and which sections are read.

Grace Liu’s proposal page from Fernhill Print & Sign: the cover, the bookshop’s fascia sign as two packages to choose from, window vinyl and an A-board as extras, and the total in a bar at the foot of the screen.

The customer signs off the proof before anything is printed.

E-Signatures sends the proof as a PDF for the customer to sign. You place a signature, the date and a tick box for the spelling and colours. They open it from the email and draw or type their signature.

You are both emailed the signed proof and a certificate with the time it was signed. A proof linked to the job's invoice offers Pay once it is signed. A customer who wants a change declines it, with a reason.

Every job in the shop is a card, from artwork in to ready to collect.

Kanban Boards gives the shop one jobs board. Its columns can run from Artwork in to Ready to collect. Each job is a card with its due date and the person on it. You move the card as the work moves.

A card holds To-dos, such as ordering the vinyl, ticked off in either place. A rush job can take a colour of its own.

You bill the job when it is ready, and trade customers pay on their own terms.

Invoicing bills a job by its lines: business cards for four names, and the artwork set-up. Sending it emails the PDF with a Pay online button. Your message can say the job is ready to collect.

A business customer's payment terms, such as 30 days, set the due date. Reminders go out until it is paid. Duplicate starts a reprint from the last invoice. Cash or a cheque at the counter is recorded by hand.

Fernhill Print & Sign’s draft invoice to Cedar Row Dental: business cards for four names, appointment cards and the artwork set-up, due in 30 days.

Each business customer's colours, stock and past jobs stay on their page.

Contacts keeps each business customer with a pinned note. It holds their spot colours, their usual stock and their logo files. Their page lists every proposal, signed proof and invoice, newest first.

A follow-up is a To-do with a date and a reason, such as a spring reprint. Follow-ups lists every open one as Overdue, Today or Upcoming.

Fernhill Print & Sign’s follow-ups: a van proof to sign off, a sign's balance to send, cards ready to collect and the reprints coming up, grouped as Overdue, Today and Upcoming with the day each is due.

Seven more areas cover online orders, stock, machines, design hours, QR codes, posts and books.

Store
Store sells standard prints online, such as business cards in matt or gloss. The customer types the name and title as they order, and collects at the counter.
Inventory
Inventory counts paper by the sheet or the ream, and vinyl by the roll. What runs low goes on the supplier's order.
Asset Tracker
Asset Tracker keeps the wide-format printer, the cutter and the laminator, with their warranties. It records when one is away for a service.
Time Tracking
Time Tracking times artwork set-up and design, and puts the hours on the customer's invoice.
QR Codes
QR Codes makes a code for a customer's flyer. It can point somewhere else after printing.
Social Media
Social Media schedules photos of a finished van or shopfront on Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn. It reminds you for Instagram.
Accounting
Accounting adds each invoice, deposit and card payment to the books.

A bookshop's new sign goes from the quote request to the books.

Each step starts from what the one before it made.

  1. The request

    The bookshop sends the fascia's size, the wording and its logo on your Form.

  2. The quote

    The owner chooses the printed panel and the window vinyl, signs, and pays the deposit.

  3. The proof

    They sign off the proof, and their contact's page lists it beside the quote.

  4. The job

    The sign is a card on the jobs board, from Proof sent to Fitted.

  5. The balance

    You bill the final payment from the proposal, and the owner pays by card.

  6. The books

    The deposit and the balance are in the books as each one is paid.

Setting up takes five steps.

  1. Publish your quote request

    You add the questions your jobs need, with a File question for the artwork. Help: Build, publish, and share a form.

  2. Add your price list

    You add your stocks, materials and finishing with their prices, for quotes to draw on. Help: Proposal starters, saved sections and the price list.

  3. Make the jobs board

    You name the columns your jobs move through. Help: Track work with Kanban boards.

  4. Add your trade customers

    You add each business with its payment terms and a pinned note. Help: Keep a contact list.

  5. Connect Stripe

    You connect your Stripe account, so customers can pay by card. Help: Connect Stripe to receive money.

Plans

A sign maker working alone fits Pro, for your own work in Personal. A shop with staff fits the Team plan, one price for up to 25 members.

The free plan includes 5 invoices a month, 5 proposals and 1 boards. The paid plans have no limit.

Magpie adds no fee to invoices or deposits. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. Prices are on the Pricing page.

Other shops, studios and workshops have pages of their own.

Picture framers

A framer quotes each frame by its moulding, mount and glass.

Art supply shops

An art supply shop sells paints and paper online and at the counter.

Questions print shops and sign makers ask

Can customers ask for a quote online and send their artwork?

Yes. Your quote request Form asks what they need, the size, the quantity and the finish. A File question takes a PDF, JPG, PNG or WebP of up to 10 MB. Each request is emailed to you. Only people who can see the responses can open the file.

Can a walk-in customer send me a file from their phone?

Yes. Quick Transfer, in Your images, shows a QR code on the shop's computer. The customer scans it and chooses files on their phone, without signing up. Each file can be up to 25 MB, and you download it on the computer. The transfer ends after 30 minutes without activity.

How do I quote 500, 1,000 or 2,500 flyers in one go?

You send a proposal with packages, one for each quantity, each with its price. The customer chooses one on their page, and the total follows. A section can offer 2 to 4 packages. Until they choose, the total shows the one you mark Recommended.

Can the customer add lamination or fitting themselves?

Yes. The customer adds or removes an optional line, such as lamination or fitting, on their page. You choose whether it starts added. The total changes with each choice, and the accepted total is what their invoices use.

Can I price a banner or a sign by the square foot?

Yes. A line's quantity can be the area, such as 32 square feet. Its price is per square foot. Quantities can have up to four decimal places. Your price list keeps each material's price for quotes to draw on.

Can a customer ask a question about the quote?

Yes. They can ask about the whole proposal or one section, or request changes. You are emailed, and your reply reaches them by email. A change request does not end the proposal. You revise it and send the new version.

Can I take a deposit before I print?

Yes. A proposal's payment schedule starts with a deposit, invoiced when the customer accepts. They pay it by card into your own Stripe account. The balance is invoiced when you bill it, such as on collection. A deposit paid at the counter is recorded on the invoice as a part payment.

How does the customer approve the proof?

You send the proof as a PDF. You place a signature, the date and a tick box on it. The customer opens it from the email and draws or types their signature. You are both emailed the signed PDF and a certificate with the signing time. Their contact's page lists the signed proof.

What happens if the customer wants a change to the proof?

They decline it, with a reason, and you are emailed what they wrote. You make the change and send the new proof as a new request. The declined one stays on record, with its activity.

Can the customer pay when they approve the proof?

Yes. You link the proof to the job's invoice as its related invoice. Once the customer has signed, their signing page offers Pay while the invoice has a balance. They pay by card into your own Stripe account.

Can I see every job in the shop and where it is?

Yes. The jobs board shows each job as a card in its column. A card shows its due date and the person on it. You name the columns: Artwork in, Proof sent, Printing, Finishing, Ready to collect. Activity lists every move, newest first.

Can I mark a rush job?

Yes. A card can take a colour, such as red for a rush. The whole card takes its shade. Each card shows its due date on the board. A To-do on the card can have its own date and a reminder.

Can my staff see the jobs on their phones?

Yes. Everyone in the shop works on the same board, in one team. A card can be assigned to the person printing or fitting it.

How does a customer know their job is ready?

You send the invoice when the job is done. The email has your own message, which can say the job is ready to collect. It has a Pay online button, and reminders go out until it is paid.

Can business customers pay on account at 30 days?

Yes. A customer's payment terms, such as 30 days, set each invoice's due date. Reminders go out on the days you choose until it is paid. Invoicing shows what is outstanding and overdue across every customer.

Can I repeat a regular customer's last order?

Yes. Duplicate on any invoice makes a new draft with the same customer, lines, notes and terms. It takes a new number and today's dates. You change the quantity or the names, and send it.

Can I bill a customer for the same job every month?

Yes. Make recurring issues and emails an invoice's lines every month, quarter or year. A club's monthly bulletin or a café's specials board can be billed that way. Reminders go out until each invoice is paid.

Can customers pay at the counter?

Yes. Cash or a cheque is recorded on the invoice by hand, in full or in part. A customer can also pay by card from the invoice's payment link on their own phone. A card payment is recorded on the invoice by itself.

Can I add HST or VAT to an invoice?

Yes. Invoicing has named tax rates, such as HST or VAT, each with a percentage. Each line uses one of them or no tax. A combined rate such as GST + PST shows each tax on its own line. Registering and filing stay with you.

What does Magpie take from a card payment?

Magpie adds no fee to invoices or deposits. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. The rest goes to your own Stripe account, and Stripe pays it out to your bank.

Can I keep a customer's brand colours and paper stock where I will see them?

Yes. A pinned note on the contact stays near the top of their page. It can hold their spot colours, their usual stock and where the logo files are. The contacts search reads notes too, so a colour reference finds the customer.

Can I see every job we have done for a customer?

Yes. Their contact page lists every invoice, proposal and signed proof, newest first. Your notes and calls are there too. Each entry links to its record, so the last order is one click away.

Can I remind myself about a customer's yearly reprint?

Yes. A follow-up has a date and a reason: the trade show banner each March. It is a To-do with the usual reminders. Follow-ups lists every open one as Overdue, Today or Upcoming.

Can I bill the time spent on artwork?

Yes. Time Tracking runs a timer on the job, at the customer's hourly rate. In the invoice, Add unbilled time lists the finished entries for that customer. Each becomes a line priced from its time and rate.

Can customers order business cards online?

Yes. Store sells business cards as a product. Options such as Finish and Quantity each have their own price. Personalisation fields ask for the name, the title and the phone number as they buy. With local pickup, Magpie emails them when you mark the order ready.

Can I keep count of paper and vinyl?

Yes. Inventory counts paper by the sheet, with a ream as a pack of 500. Vinyl is counted by the roll. An item below its minimum is listed to reorder. An order to your supplier can be emailed from Magpie.

Can I keep track of the printers and the cutter?

Yes. Asset Tracker keeps each machine with its serial number, condition and warranty end date. Its receipt is attached. Start maintenance records one away for a service, with the date it is expected back. Reports count what is in maintenance.

Can I make a QR code for a customer's flyer?

Yes. QR Codes makes a dynamic code whose website you can change after it is printed. It downloads as an SVG, a PNG or a PDF for the artwork. Its page counts the scans.

Can I post photos of a finished van or shop sign?

Yes. Social Media schedules posts to Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn at the time you choose. For Instagram, Magpie reminds you and opens the post filled in. Each photo is cropped to Instagram's shapes around a point you set.

Put every job on one board.

Create a Magpie account and make a team for the shop.

Create account