What generic ERP and accounting software do well
Accounting and bookkeeping programs are built for sales invoices and e-invoices, customer accounts, collections, cash and bank, and tax returns. A generic ERP adds bills of materials, warehouses and costing. If you have a program that does this well, there is no reason to drop it; SignFlow does not replace it.
The difficulty is that sign work does not flow like series production. Every job has its own size and material, often starts with artwork the customer must approve, and ends with an installation. A generic system can be adapted to that, but usually at the cost of time, customisation and ongoing upkeep.
What sign shop software is built around
- Design approval is a stage: an order cannot leave design without a verified design file; the customer can approve or ask for changes from an approval link.
- Departments work in parallel: CNC, paint and electrics get separate tasks on the same order, each closes its own, and the responsible department moves the job on.
- Installation is its own record: date, address, on-site contact and crew; it cannot be completed without a photo, and an order whose installation is unfinished cannot be closed.
- Product templates are sign-specific: channel letters, light boxes, pylons or vinyl each ask their own questions, with units and bounds.
- The workflow is yours: you draw the stages, who works at each one and how jobs move between them.
Generic ERP and SignFlow side by side
| Topic | Generic ERP / accounting program | SignFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Sales invoices, e-invoices | Its core job | Not included; invoice your customers from your accounting program |
| Customer balances, collections, cash | Included | Customer records, but no balances or collections |
| Quotes and order prices | Included | Quote and order lines priced with VAT; an accepted quote converts into an order |
| Stock and purchasing | Usually strong, with costing | Material needs per order, issues from the depot and purchase requests; no accounting valuation |
| Design approval | Usually not a concept of its own | A stage rule, with a customer approval link and a record |
| Department tasks | Production orders, often needing customisation | Parallel department tasks are part of the workflow |
| Installation | Usually missing or adapted from a service module | Installation plan, calendar, crew assignment and completion with a photo |
| Product definition | Stock items and bills of materials | Product templates that ask sign-specific questions |
What SignFlow does not do
To be clear: SignFlow does not issue invoices or e-invoices to your customers, does not keep customer balances or collections, and does not produce accounting entries. The invoices SignFlow issues are only for its own subscription. Prices on quotes and orders are there to see what a job is worth and to print the quote; nothing is posted to accounting.
So you still need an accounting or bookkeeping program for your own sales invoices. SignFlow holds the part that program cannot see: what happens in the shop between taking the order and delivering and installing it.
When sign shop software makes sense
For a business making series products, with no installations and no customer design approval, a generic ERP may be the better fit.
- Your accounting program is fine for invoices and accounts, but it cannot tell you which stage a job is in.
- Design approvals, cross-department work and the installation plan run outside it, in spreadsheets or messages.
- The time and upkeep needed to adapt a generic ERP to sign work feels too heavy.
Using both together
- 1
Keep your accounting program
Sales invoices, e-invoices, customer accounts and collections stay where they are today.
- 2
Move the shop floor into SignFlow
Adjust the workflow to your own stages, define product templates for the jobs you make most and invite the team with their roles.
- 3
Open new orders in SignFlow
Write the quote in SignFlow and convert it, or open the order directly. When the job is done, invoice it from your accounting program. The help pages walk through the first steps.