Upholstery workrooms: tracking COM and quotes that change after the strip-down

The wingback looked sound until its old cover came off. Beneath it are a cracked rail, tired webbing, and a staple collection assembled with considerable enthusiasm. In this illustrative job, the quoted $1,150 becomes $1,600, and the customer's fabric arrives two yards short while the customer is away.

Keep the material problem and the changed scope visible before work continues. OrderPilot can hold the fabric notes, photographs, revised quote, and renewed signature together. The customer can review the higher price and sign on their phone without coming back to the workroom.

Give customer-owned fabric its own record

Customer's own material, or COM, belongs to a specific customer and job. Record the fabric identity, expected quantity, intended use, and any pattern-direction instructions on the order line. The COM explainer covers the intake conversation; the workroom still needs to confirm suitability and required yardage.

When the customer ships the fabric, use a custom status such as Awaiting COM and keep arrival photographs and the checked yardage in the order conversation. Move to COM received when the material has actually been reviewed. A delivery notification does not establish that the roll is long enough or free from flaws. If the fabric is flawed, photograph the problem and explain its effect before cutting. Ask the customer to resolve replacement, additional material, or an agreed change with the appropriate seller. Keep the workroom's acceptance decision visible. The COM upcharge and CFA guide helps distinguish material approval from the extra work a fabric may require.

Receive purchased fabric through its PO

Fabric the workroom buys from a mill follows the purchasing process. If the sample purchase is for fourteen yards and twelve arrive, record twelve received and two outstanding, using the units in which the fabric was ordered. Keep a shortage or rejection reason with that purchase. Customer-shipped COM is not that vendor purchase. Mixing the two routes would confuse who owns the material and who owes the missing quantity. In either case, release cutting only after the workroom has accepted the amount and condition needed for the job.

Show the strip-down findings before adding the work

The customer needs a clear account of what changed. Share the frame photographs, identify the additional repair, and explain the revised price and timing. Keep the original quoted scope distinguishable from the work discovered after stripping. For this job, the increase is $450. Describe the repair behind it instead of sending only a higher total. OrderPilot's revised-quote email can show what changed, and the customer reviews the resulting agreement remotely. A customer-facing revision invalidates the current signature and asks for a new one where required. OrderPilot retains the earlier signed record. Follow the change-order and re-signing workflow before continuing the added work.

Reconcile payment before requesting more

An added deposit should reflect the revised agreement and money already received. If the customer has paid $600 on the sample job, the revised $1,600 total leaves $1,000. An agreed further $200 payment would reduce that balance to $800; sending the request alone does not change Paid.

Enabled Admin deposit orders work before placement on any Shopify plan; native deposit terms, POS Take Deposit, partial manual payments on placed orders, and ordinary minimum-deposit requirements need Shopify Plus. Choose the supported route for the job's actual state before sending the additional request.

Make the waiting work easy to find

The Orders list's status tabs and live counts let staff find jobs in Awaiting COM. Keep that status separate from Inspected or Ready for pickup so a fabric delay does not look like an unfinished repair. Activity history records who changed the job, and configured updates can keep the customer informed.

OrderPilot does not provide shop-floor labor costing or production scheduling. Use the order record to preserve the agreed scope and next action while your workroom plan allocates bench time. Install or pickup arrangements still need a named owner.

For labeling questions, use the flammability and law-tag checklist to check whether the particular reupholstery work counts as work for sale. Do not assume every repair of a customer's own chair has the same obligations as selling a reupholstered piece.

Keep the intake check short

• Photograph the piece and record its condition.
• Identify COM, required yardage, and the person accepting it.
• State the deposit and payment route.
• Explain how hidden damage changes are priced and approved.
• Record pickup or delivery terms and the next contact.

For the wider fit, continue with which made-to-order businesses fit OrderPilot.