Help Articles Manage the Unmanageable: A Quick Solution for Sample Doors and Warranty Tasks

A Quick Solution for Sample Doors and Warranty Tasks

How Cabinetshop Maestro Helps You Manage the Unmanageable

Every cabinet shop faces unique challenges, and some can be exceptionally frustrating. Small, urgent tasks—like warranty claims or sample doors—often slip through the cracks. When overlooked, they lead to delays, customer dissatisfaction, and workflow inefficiencies.

Fortunately, Cabinetshop Maestro offers a simple but flexible way to handle these short, time-sensitive tasks. Let’s look at how you can track them effectively and maintain full visibility of their progress.

The Problem: Tracking Small, Urgent Tasks

Warranty replacements, sample doors, and similar items don’t always fit neatly into your regular production workflow. They’re small enough to be overlooked yet critical enough to cause major headaches if forgotten.

Without a clear system to manage these quick-turnaround items, they can derail your team’s efficiency and leave customers feeling dissatisfied.

The Solution: Two Approaches in Cabinetshop Maestro

Cabinetshop Maestro gives you flexibility for managing small tasks—like sample doors or warranty items—in ways that suit your workflow. Below are two effective strategies.

1. Treat These Items as Tasks within the Job

The simplest approach is to create tasks directly within the job they relate to. To ensure they don’t get overlooked:

  • Mark Tasks as Late: Highlight them in red on the workflow board for immediate visibility.
  • Use Correct Milestones: If the job’s milestone is “Drawings/Estimate” but the task is tied to “Build,” it won’t appear in your active to-do list. Assign the task to the same or earlier milestone to keep it visible.

2. Create a Dedicated Room for These Tasks

For a more structured method, you can create a special “room” within the job:

  • Set Up a Custom Room: Label it “Sample Doors” or “Warranty Items.”
  • Build a Task List: Add steps like “Build Sample Door,” “Finish Sample Door,” and “Show to Customer.”
  • Show Room Separately: In room settings, select “Show this ROOM on Workflow Board separately from JOB.” This way, tasks move independently of the main job.
  • Hide When Done: Once completed, set the room’s milestone to “None.” It disappears from the board but remains linked to the original job.

Why This Works

These approaches keep small, urgent tasks:

  • Highly Visible: Items marked “late” or set as separate rooms stand out on the workflow board.
  • Well Organized: They remain part of your overall job management, whether assigned to existing tasks or placed in their own rooms.
  • Efficiently Managed: By isolating quick-turn tasks, your team stays focused without disrupting main job progress.

Real-Life Example: Creating a Sample Door

Suppose a customer wants a sample door before final approval. Here’s how you’d manage it:

  1. Create a “Sample Door” room within the job.
  2. Add tasks like “Build Door,” “Finish Door,” and “Present to Customer.”
  3. Track them separately on the workflow board so the rest of the job isn’t affected.
  4. Once the sample door is approved, mark the room complete to keep your board clean.

This method ensures you track every step from start to finish without disrupting the larger project.

Take Control of Small Tasks Today

With Cabinetshop Maestro’s workflow tools, even your smallest, most time-sensitive tasks can be handled smoothly. Whether you’re rushing a sample door or dealing with a warranty claim, this system ensures nothing is lost in the shuffle.

Ready to see how it works?

Start your free 14-day trial today and take the first step toward a more organized, efficient shop.