QuickEasy Blog
8 Printing Industry Software Capabilities That Affect Your Margin
If you run a printing business, the capabilities of your printing industry software impacts your bottom line.
That is the pressure most off-the-shelf business software does not support. The printing industry is not the same as mainstream manufacturing. A customer asks for a print estimate. This takes time and serious experience to create. Your team wants to price the job quickly, but the real cost depends on paper, board, vinyl, ink, sheet size, roll size, wastage, machine time, operator time, finishing, outsourcing, delivery and margin. Then the job changes. Artwork arrives late. A material price has moved. One machine is already loaded. Finishing needs to be outsourced. The job gets delivered in batches. That is why the right printing industry software handles more than inventory and invoices.
QuickEasy BOS ERP has been built around this reality. QuickEasy has been developing robust business operating software since 1998. Starting in the printing industry, QuickEasy has deep experience across manufacturing, printing, packaging, signage and related industries. For print businesses, that means one connected system for estimating, sales, production, stock, purchasing, work in progress, job costing, accounting and reporting.
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Key takeaways
- Printing industry software like QuickEasy BOS helps you quote accurately, produce efficiently, control materials, track WIP, and track job profitability.
- For printers, estimating is often a lengthy process.
- Printing software automates estimating. It includes wastage, ink, machine speed, labour, overheads, finishing and the way the job will actually be produced.
- Production capabilities carry the approved estimate into job cards, work orders, routing, planning, WIP tracking and delivery readiness.
- Stock control matters because print businesses rely on materials that move quickly, cost more than they used to and directly affect delivery dates and margins.
- Job costing helps you compare the estimate with the actual cost of the job, so you can see where profit was protected or lost.
- Campaign management and workflow automation matter when you handle complex print, packaging, signage, franchise, seasonal or multi-location work.
Here are the 8 great ways QuickEasy BOS printing industry software supports your business.
1. Print estimates are fast and accurate
A weak estimate can damage the job – and the bottom line – before production begins. In printing, is the estimate the selling price? Yes. But it is also a production plan, a material plan and a margin decision. If the estimate does not allow for the real cost of producing the work, the business carries the risk.
With QuickEasy BOS, your printing estimate is built to factor in:
- paper, board, vinyl, labels, cartons, substrates or other materials
- sheet size or roll size
- layout and imposition
- ink consumption
- setup and makeready
- machine speed and machine time
- operator time
- finishing, folding, binding, laminating, cutting or die-cutting
- outsourcing
- wastage
- delivery
- overheads and margin
QuickEasy BOS ERP supports print-specific estimating by allowing for the details that affect production cost, including wastage, ink consumption, machine speed, shop-floor overheads, material usage, labour, production method and finishing requirements.
It also includes fixed estimating modules for printing, packaging and signage, with custom estimating available for businesses that need a more tailored approach.
That gives your estimators a more consistent way to build quotes. It also reduces dependency on spreadsheets, memory, manual calculations and “that one person who knows how we usually price this”.
For a print business owner, the value is clear: faster quoting, better cost control and fewer jobs that looked profitable on paper but underperformed in production.
2. Production planning brings clarity to jobs
Once a customer accepts a quote, the information moves cleanly into production. This is where many printing companies lose time. The estimator has one version of the job. Sales has another. Production adds instructions manually. Stores checks stock separately. Customer service asks for updates. Accounts waits for delivery confirmation before invoicing. The more manual handover points you have, the easier it is for details to slip.
QuickEasy BOS ERP connects approved estimates to jobs, work orders, job cards, routing forms, production stages and work in progress. The production team works from clearer instructions, while managers can see what is planned, what is active and where pressure is building.
QuickEasy’s production functionality includes customisable work orders, production planning, multiple planning views, task tracking, operator tracking, timekeeping, non-conformance reporting, Gantt-based scheduling, cost tracking, dashboards and real-time reporting.
That matters in a print environment because production is rarely a single-step process. A job may move through artwork, approval, prepress, printing, finishing, packing, dispatch and invoicing. Each step needs the right information at the right time.
3. Stock control keeps materials, jobs and cash flow visible
Print businesses feel stock problems quickly. If the material is not available, the job cannot move. If stock costs are wrong, the quote may be wrong. If too much stock is ordered, cash gets tied up. If too little is ordered, production gets delayed. If stock is sitting in more than one location, the team needs to know what is available, where it is and whether it has already been allocated. QuickEasy BOS ERP connects inventory, purchasing, estimating and production so material control is part of the operational workflow.
QuickEasy’s inventory functionality includes:
- multi-warehouse and multi-location control,
- multiple units of measure,
- bin management,
- landing costs,
- weighted average costing,
- MRP,
- replenishment,
- reorder control,
- batch and serial number tracking,
- barcode scanning,
- stock movement control,
- stock checks,
- approvals,
- WIP management,
- inventory price management,
- reports and dashboards.
For print businesses, this is especially useful because stock is tied directly to the job. The benefit is fewer avoidable delays, better purchasing decisions, cleaner stock visibility and stronger control over material-related margin loss.
4. Job costing shows what the job really cost
A job can be accepted at the right price and still lose margin during production. That can happen because material usage was higher than expected, wastage was too high, labour ran over, machine time was underestimated, rework was needed, finishing took longer, outsourcing was more expensive, or delivery costs were not properly allowed for. This is why job costing is one of the most important capabilities in printing industry software.
QuickEasy BOS ERP connect job costing information across estimating, stock, production, purchasing and accounting. That gives your business a clearer view of estimated cost versus actual cost. This is the kind of information that helps a printing business improve over time. That helps you quote better, plan better and protect profit more deliberately.
5. WIP tracking shows where every job stands
Work in progress is one of the biggest visibility gaps in many print businesses. A job may be waiting for artwork. Another is waiting for approval. One is in production. One is at finishing. One is packed but not dispatched. One has been delivered but not invoiced. Another has a problem, but sales does not know yet.
If WIP is tracked through paper job cards, whiteboards, spreadsheets or verbal updates, your team has to keep asking each other what is happening.
QuickEasy BOS ERP helps track work through the business so teams can see job status more clearly.
Sales can check where a customer’s job is. Production can see what needs to move next. Stores can see what materials are required. Customer service can give better updates. Accounts can see when a job is ready to invoice. Management can see delays, bottlenecks and jobs at risk. This is particularly important in print, signage and packaging because jobs often move through several departments before completion. Better WIP tracking gives the business one clearer view of the work in motion. It helps reduce chasing, missed handovers, late surprises and jobs that quietly sit somewhere in the system without enough attention.
6. Workflow automation through Enfocus Switch integration
Many printing companies already use specialist tools for artwork, preflight, imposition, proofing, production and output. The challenge is getting those tools and processes to connect properly.
QuickEasy BOS Pro can integrate with Enfocus Switch to support more automated print workflows. The job ticket information from QuickEasy can help drive workflow steps such as preflight, check and fix, approval, imposition and final output. Information such as customer name, due date, email address, stock to be used and quantity can be used by the workflow instead of being manually carried through the process. This reduces manual touchpoints and helps the job move with fewer interruptions.
For example, Enfocus Switch can use the job artwork file and the job ticket instructions to route the work through the correct workflow. It can also help with quality control by checking whether the artwork size matches the quoted size. Job status can then be fed back into QuickEasy BOS, giving customer service and management better visibility.
The felt value is time saved, fewer manual errors and clearer job tracking. For print businesses that want to automate more of their workflow, integration matters because automation works best when it is connected to the operational system that already holds the job data.
7. Printing software that supports different types of printing businesses
A digital printer, litho printer, flexographic printer, large format printer, screen printer, label printer, signage company and packaging manufacturer do not all work in the same way.
- A digital printer may need fast quoting, short-run flexibility and quick job turnaround.
- A litho printer may need detailed estimating around setup, makeready, machine speed, sheet layout and wastage.
- A flexographic or label business may need strong control over substrates, repeat work, production runs and material usage.
- A large format or signage company may need to manage custom sizes, vinyl, substrates, finishing, installation and delivery.
- A packaging company may need to manage cartons, corrugated, labels, seasonal campaigns, distribution points, repeat supply and stock allocation.
QuickEasy BOS ERP supports all of these printing, signage and packaging environments, including offset lithography, flexography, digital printing, large format printing, screen printing, signage, labels, corrugated, packaging and point-of-sale print.
Generic business software often forces the team to work around the system. In print, those workarounds become costly. They create duplicate capturing, side spreadsheets, unclear costing and gaps between sales, production and accounts.
QuickEasy BOS gives print businesses fixed modules where structure is needed, with flexibility for the workflows, estimating rules and operational processes that differ from business to business. That is what helps the software fit the way your team actually works.
8. Campaign management for complex print and packaging work
Campaign work can be profitable, but it is easy to lose control if it is managed manually. Printing and packaging campaigns often include many items, many delivery points, different quantities, different contact people, separate billing rules and tight deadlines.
QuickEasy printing functionality supports:
- seasonal packaging
- product launches
- retail point-of-sale campaigns
- franchise print campaigns
- menus, posters and promotional material
- labels and cartons
- store rollouts
- multi-location deliveries
- contracted supply over several months
QuickEasy BOS ERP includes a campaigns module designed for this type of work. The campaigns module can list all products and services for the campaign, list distribution points, assign quantities to each point, show the final totals that need to be manufactured, provide clarity on stock levels per distribution point, dispatch stock and track shipping progress.
Our software can also support different accounting requirements, such as invoicing one entity or invoicing distribution points separately. For printing and packaging companies, that creates much better control over complex jobs.
Instead of manually tracking campaign quantities, deliveries, billing rules and production requirements across spreadsheets, your team can manage the campaign from one central place. The benefit is cleaner production planning, clearer distribution control, better stock visibility and less admin pressure on the people managing the campaign.
Ready to see how QuickEasy BOS ERP supports your entire print business?
QuickEasy BOS ERP helps printing, signage and packaging businesses quote more accurately, manage production more clearly, control stock, track WIP, understand job profitability and reduce manual admin.
If your team is working across spreadsheets, disconnected accounting tools, manual job cards or systems that do not understand print production, QuickEasy can help you bring the process together.
Speak to QuickEasy about ERP software built for the way printing, signage and packaging companies actually work.
Book a QuickEasy BOS ERP demo.
FAQs
What capabilities should printing industry software include?
Printing industry software should include print estimating, quoting, CRM, job cards, work orders, production planning, WIP tracking, stock control, purchasing, delivery, invoicing, accounting, job costing and reporting. For more complex print businesses, campaign management and workflow automation are also important.
Why is print estimating different from normal quoting?
Print estimating needs to calculate how the job will actually be produced. This includes materials, sheet or roll size, ink, wastage, machine time, labour, finishing, outsourcing, delivery, overheads and margin.
How does QuickEasy BOS ERP help with print estimating?
QuickEasy BOS ERP supports print-specific estimating by allowing for wastage, ink consumption, machine speed, shop-floor overheads, materials, labour, production method and finishing requirements. It includes fixed estimating modules for printing, packaging and signage, with custom estimating available where needed.
Can QuickEasy BOS ERP help with production planning?
Yes. QuickEasy BOS ERP supports work orders, job cards, routing, production planning, task tracking, timekeeping, operator tracking, Gantt-based scheduling, dashboards and reporting. This helps teams manage jobs, capacity, deadlines and bottlenecks more clearly.
Why is stock control important for printing companies?
Stock control affects cost, delivery and cash flow. If materials are unavailable, jobs are delayed. If stock costs are wrong, quotes and margins may be affected. If too much stock is ordered, cash is tied up unnecessarily.
What is WIP tracking in printing?
WIP tracking shows where each job is in the business. In printing, a job may be waiting for artwork, approval, prepress, production, finishing, dispatch or invoicing. WIP tracking helps teams see status clearly and reduce manual chasing.
How does job costing help printers protect margin?
Job costing compares estimated cost with actual cost. It helps show whether material usage, wastage, labour, machine time, outsourcing, rework or delivery affected profit. This helps printers improve estimating, production planning and pricing decisions.
Does QuickEasy BOS ERP integrate with Enfocus Switch?
Yes. QuickEasy BOS Pro can integrate with Enfocus Switch to support automated print workflows. Job ticket information from QuickEasy can help drive workflow steps such as preflight, check and fix, approval, imposition and final output.
Can QuickEasy BOS ERP manage print and packaging campaigns?
Yes. QuickEasy BOS ERP includes a campaigns module for managing products, services, distribution points, quantities, stock levels, dispatch, shipping progress and billing requirements for print and packaging campaigns.
Is QuickEasy BOS ERP suitable for signage and packaging companies?
Yes. QuickEasy BOS ERP supports printing, signage and packaging environments, including digital printing, offset lithography, flexography, large format, screen printing, labels, corrugated, packaging and point-of-sale print.