Tips for managing customer orders and deadlines

Get everything into one master order list

If your orders live in three places — a notebook in the workshop, an email folder and the back of an envelope — something will slip. Pick one master list and keep it religiously. A simple spreadsheet works beautifully, as does a decent paper job book, but only if it is the single source of truth.

For every commission, record the same handful of details:

• Customer name, phone number and email address
• What they have ordered, including dimensions, timber species and finish
• Deposit paid and balance outstanding
• Agreed completion window and collection or delivery method
• Any special requests, such as a carved inscription or a particular stain match

Spend five minutes updating it at the end of every working day. That small habit is the difference between a calm workshop and a fortnight of apologetic phone calls.

Work backwards to build a realistic schedule

Deadlines are met by planning backwards, not forwards. Start with the date the piece must leave your workshop and subtract the time each stage genuinely takes.

Take an oak dining table due on 14 December. Oiling needs at least 24 hours between coats, and you want three coats plus a couple of days to harden — so allow five days for finishing. Before that comes assembly and glue-up, then sanding, then machining, then timber ordering, and finally the customer’s approval of the design. If your timber merchant takes a week to deliver, that approval needs to happen in early November, not the week before Christmas.

Add a buffer of 15 to 20 per cent to every estimate. It feels indulgent until a board splits or a client changes their mind about the dimensions, and then it quietly saves you.

Quote lead times you can actually keep

A lead time is a promise, so quote one you would be happy to be held to. Many makers underestimate because they plan for a perfect week with no interruptions; real weeks include sharpening, timber runs and the odd emergency repair.

Be specific. “Eight weeks from receipt of deposit” is far clearer than “about two months”, and it gives you a firm date to write down. When your workload changes, update your website and social posts the same week rather than letting enquiries pile up against an old estimate.

It is perfectly professional to say, “I can’t start that until March, but I can add you to my list and take a deposit to hold your slot.” Customers respect honesty far more than a date you quietly miss.

Communicate before customers have to chase

Most complaints about small craft businesses are not about quality — they are about silence. Send a confirmation message at the point of order that repeats the essentials: item, finish, dimensions, total price, deposit received, completion window and collection arrangements. That one email heads off a dozen later questions.

Then keep in touch at sensible intervals. A photograph of the timber being machined, or the piece in its first coat of oil, reassures the customer and often earns you a share on social media.

If something is running late, tell them as soon as you know. A short, direct message — “I’ve had a delay with the brass fittings and your table will now be ready on the 19th rather than the 12th” — lands far better than an apology the day it was due.

Avoid overcommitting in the first place

Overcommitting is the single biggest cause of missed deadlines. Before you accept a job, count the hours it will really take, not the money it will bring in. If you have twenty-five productive hours in a week after admin, quoting, tidying and deliveries, that is your genuine capacity.

• Keep roughly 20 per cent of your capacity free for repairs, repeat orders and small stock items
• Take a deposit of 25 to 30 per cent that is clearly non-refundable, and ask for the balance before collection
• Publish a Christmas or seasonal cut-off date in September, while there is still time to plan
• Keep a waiting list — it turns a “no” into a “yes, later”

Learn to say, “I’d rather do it properly in the spring than rush it now.” Good customers will wait for good work.

Batch your work and protect your admin time

Constantly switching between jobs eats hours. Where you can, batch similar tasks: cut all the components for three projects in one session, sand several pieces together, and oil in one go so the drying time overlaps.

Set aside one afternoon a week for paperwork — invoicing, ordering timber, replying to enquiries and updating that master list. Keep it in the diary like any other appointment, and hold a short monthly review. Note what slipped, why it slipped and what you will quote differently next time. After a few months you will have real numbers behind your lead times rather than hopeful guesses, and a workshop that runs on quiet confidence instead of last-minute panic.