Production tracking board — See where every order is without walking the shop floor
A production tracking board shows each open order and the stage it's in, updated by the people doing the work. The office, the floor and the owner each see the view they need. It suits shops where answering 'where's my order?' means a walk to the floor or a phone call.
By Julia Ja, Owner
Orders by stage
Updated from the floorWhy it matters
The problem it solves
In many shops, job status lives on paper tickets and the supervisor's memory. When a customer calls, the office puts them on hold and walks the floor, or interrupts someone at a machine.
Rush jobs get passed along by word of mouth, and a job stuck waiting on hardware sits unnoticed. Often the first sign it's late is the customer asking where it is.
Example · illustrative
A cabinet shop on a Thursday
- At 8:30 am a contractor calls about the kitchen cabinets for a house on Elm Street.
- The office manager opens the board and sees the boxes are assembled but the doors are still at finishing.
- At 1 pm the finisher marks the doors done on the shop tablet, and the job moves to packing.
- A remodel order that has sat at assembly since Monday is highlighted, so the supervisor checks it and finds it waiting on hinges.
How it works
How production tracking board works
- Starts whenAn order is confirmed and released to production
- 1Step 1Create the job cardThe order lands on the board with its items, due date and notes, without retyping.
- 2Step 2Move through stagesOperators mark each stage done from a tablet or phone, such as cut, processed, assembled or packed.
- 3Step 3Show each role its viewOffice staff see the customer and due date. Operators see the work. Prices stay off the floor view.
- 4Step 4Flag delaysJobs that sit too long at one stage or pass their due date are highlighted.
- A person decidesSet priorityA supervisor reorders the queue when a rush job or a breakdown changes the plan.
Before · by hand
- Job status lives on paper tickets and a whiteboard.
- The office walks the floor or calls to answer a customer.
- Rush jobs are passed along by word of mouth.
- Late orders are noticed when the customer calls.
With production tracking board
- The office sees each order's stage at a glance.
- Operators update the board as they finish each step.
- Late or stuck jobs are highlighted before the customer asks.
- A finished order can start the invoice and a ready notice.
What we build
The parts of production tracking board
Your systems
- Airtable
- Google Sheets
- Microsoft 365
- Slack
- QuickBooks Online
- NetSuite
What we build
1Job cards from orders
Each confirmed order becomes a card with items, due date and notes, pulled from your quoting or order system.
2Stage buttons for the floor
A tablet or phone screen with large buttons for each stage, so operators mark work done without typing.
3Role views
Separate views for office, floor, supervisor and owner, each showing only the fields that role needs.
4Delay alerts
Rules that highlight jobs stuck at one stage or close to their due date, and notify a supervisor.
5Finish triggers
When a job reaches its last stage, it can start the invoice, a ready notice to the customer, or a pickup list.
Your team decides
- Supervisors decide priority and reorder the queue.
- Operators confirm each stage; the board never guesses progress.
Industries it fits
What production tracking board looks like in each industry
Glass processing & fabrication
Each order moves through cutting, edging, tempering and packing, and operators see sizes but never prices. The office sees the same orders with customer and due date, so it can answer calls from the desk.
Everything for glass processing & fabricationYour industry isn’t listed, or works differently? Describe it and get an answer in a minute.
Getting started
What you need first
We go through these with you in the audit, before anything is built.
Before we start
5 things to have ready- A clear list of your production stages, and who marks each one done.
- A device at or near each station, such as a shared tablet or operators' phones, and Wi-Fi that reaches the floor.
- Access to the system where orders are confirmed, so cards are created without retyping.
- A decision on which fields each role can see, especially prices and customer details.
- A supervisor who owns the queue order and acts on delay alerts.
How a rollout runs
- 1Walk the floorWe follow a few orders through the shop and note each stage, each hand-off and where status gets lost today.
- 2Design the viewsWe set the stages, fields and views for each role with you, including what stays off the floor screen.
- 3Connect ordersWe link the order or quoting system so confirmed orders become cards, and test it with recent orders.
- 4Pilot on one lineOne area or crew uses the board first, so buttons and stages can be adjusted before the whole shop moves over.
- 5Add alerts and finish triggersOnce updates are reliable, we turn on delay alerts, customer notices and invoice starts.
What to measure
How to know it's working
Weekly report · production tracking board
IllustrationJobs past due date
The plainest sign of whether delays are caught early.
Time spent at each stage
Shows where work waits, which is where to look for a bottleneck.
Status checks on the floor
If the office still walks out to check, the board isn't trusted or isn't current.
Stages skipped or updated late
Shows where operators find the update step awkward or forget it.
Jobs invoiced on completion
Shows whether finished work turns into an invoice without waiting on someone.
We measure the baseline before building, so the change can be compared afterwards.
When it’s not a fit
- The board is only as current as the updates. If operators don't mark stages, it shows old information, so the update step must be quick.
- In a very small shop where everyone can see every job, a whiteboard may be enough.
- It shows where a job is, not why it's stuck. A person still needs to find out what's holding it.
- Weak Wi-Fi or tablets in awkward places lead to skipped updates. Check the floor setup before choosing devices.
Tool or custom build
Do you need a custom build?
Option A · a ready-made tool
An off-the-shelf tool may be enough
Tools like Katana, Monday.com or a well-built Airtable board can track production stages. They fit when your stages are simple and orders don't need to flow in from another system.
Option B · built around your systems
When a custom build is worth it
A custom build makes sense when cards must come from your quoting system or roles need views with prices hidden. It also fits when a finished job should start the invoice.
Not sure which fits?
What it typically costs
Typical ranges as of October 2026. Not a quote.
Ready-made tool, set up by us
An existing platform on your own account, configured for your business.
- Setup, one timepaid to Lorryn
- $1,000–$2,000
- Tool subscriptionpaid to the provider
- $25–$100 / month
Fits when your process matches what the platform already does.
Custom build
Built around how you work, with no platform subscription. You own it.
- Build, one timebasic version to full version
- $2,000–$9,000
- Running costshosting and usage, on your accounts
- ~$5–$25 / month
Fits when your systems, rules or exceptions don't match a ready tool.
Optional Automation Care: $125 · $250 · $375 / month
1, 2 or 3 hours of support a month, with monitoring and alerts included. Without it, you run it yourself after handover.
Typically works with Airtable, Google Sheets, Microsoft 365, Slack.
Booking into or writing to your field-service, practice or shop software adds up to $500 to the ready-made tool (often a built-in feature) and $500–$1,500 to a custom build.
Your price depends on volume, the systems involved and how many exceptions need a person. Our team confirms a fixed price before any work starts.
Proof and who stays in charge
From our results · Glass processing plantLiveA glass processing plant runs a production board for four roles, and operators never see prices.Read the case studyWho does what
The automation does the routine steps. A person makes the call.
- 1Create the job cardAutomated
- 2Move through stagesAutomated
- 3Show each role its viewAutomated
- 4Flag delaysAutomated
- 5Set priorityA person
FAQ
Questions about production tracking board
No. A shared tablet or the operator's phone is usually enough, with large buttons for each stage.
Yes. Each role has its own view, and pricing can be left off the floor view entirely.
Usually, yes. Orders can come in from your quoting or order system, and finished jobs can start the invoice.
Jobs that stay in one stage too long are highlighted, so a supervisor can check and correct them.
The board can send customers an update at stages you choose, such as ready for pickup.
Yes. Each product type can have its own path, so a job that skips a step doesn't sit waiting for it.
Stages and views can be edited as the shop changes. Jobs already on the board keep their place.
Yes. Stage names and buttons can show in Spanish or another language, while the office view stays in English.
Related use cases
Often built together
- Customer communicationCustomer status updatesSends customers a text or email when their job, order or case moves to the next stage.
- Inventory & operationsMaterial optimization & job costingPlans how stock is cut for each order, prices the job from that plan, and checks it against what was used.
- Billing & paymentsInvoicing automationBuilds a draft invoice from the finished job or order and puts it in your accounting software for review.
Want production tracking board for your business?
Pick the step that suits you. Every path starts with how the work runs today, and we'll say honestly whether it's worth automating.
- Right now · any hour
Ask Lorryn AI
Describe your process and get a first answer in a minute: what to automate, what it connects to, and a rough estimate.
- Free · 15 or 30 minutes
Talk to our team
Bring one process to a video call. Leave knowing whether it’s worth automating and how.
- Free · 6 of 15 spots left
Get a free written plan
Free for businesses with 3 or more employees, while spots last (normally $250).
Claim a free audit9 of 15 claimed