Questions and answers about PrinTrace and print ERP software
These are the 30 questions print shop owners ask most often about print ERP. They cover quoting, margins, production, inventory, payments and choosing software. Each answer starts with the point, then explains how PrinTrace does it, with verified facts. If you don’t find your question, book a meeting.
Go to: Quoting · Management control · Production · Inventory · Customers and payments · Choosing software
Quoting
How do I make print quotes faster?
Using guided steps that ask for one piece of information at a time and calculate automatically. In PrinTrace you choose the job type, then format, paper, colours, quantity and finishing. The price comes from the same price lists, whoever prepares it. You duplicate last year’s quote and send it as a PDF from the system. The 2025 Mini Analysis on 30 companies estimates 40% less time. Explore quoting
Is there software that calculates printing costs?
Yes: industry-specific print ERP calculates cost and selling price starting from machines, materials and processes configured once. PrinTrace covers offset printing, small-format digital printing, large format, flatbed cutting plotters, embroidery machines and screen printing. Each technology has its own calculation path, inside the same system. A spreadsheet does the maths, but it doesn’t know your machines. How the quoting tool works
How do I make more accurate quotes?
Always start from the same data and compare the quote with the actual cost at the end of the job. In PrinTrace, machines, price lists and yields are configured once. When each job closes, you see quoted versus actual side by side. If a process costs more than expected, you find out and correct the calculation. Later quotes improve. Dashboard and management control
How do I reduce errors in print quotes?
By taking memory out of the equation: the software asks for each item, you don’t have to remember it. PrinTrace’s guided steps walk you through each item: make-ready, colour proofs, packing, delivery. The price doesn’t depend on who prepares it. Every quote stays on file, with its versions and outcome. The PDF comes straight from the system, with no copying figures into another program. Print quotes
Can I calculate margins with print ERP?
Yes. Industry-specific print ERP shows the cost and selling price of every quote, and so the expected margin. In PrinTrace, at the end of the job, you compare that margin with the actual time and materials used. The dashboard brings together indicators on revenue, consumption, purchases and productivity. You set the alert thresholds yourself. Explore the dashboard
How do I avoid underestimating costs on print jobs?
With a calculation that starts from your machines and your price lists, not a guessed price. In PrinTrace each technology has its own items. Make-ready and plates for offset, cost per copy for digital. Square metres and laminating for large format. Comparing quoted against actual for each job tells you where you’re underestimating. Then you update the parameters. Quoting
Management control
How do I know if I’m really making money on every job?
By comparing what you quoted with what it actually cost, job by job. In PrinTrace the job is the customer’s order, and the task is the individual operation. Time and materials are recorded on tasks through time sheets and actuals. At the end of the job you see quoted and actual costs side by side. You don’t need to wait for the year-end accounts. Dashboard and management control
Is there a system to keep an eye on margins throughout the year?
Yes: a dashboard that reads the data as you produce it, not once the accounts are closed. PrinTrace’s dashboard shows indicators on revenue, material consumption, purchases and productivity. You configure them yourself and set alert thresholds. For the margin on each job, you use the comparison between quoted and actual for that job. Explore the dashboard
How do I do management control without a controller on staff?
By having the people who do the work record the data, once, and letting the system aggregate it. In PrinTrace the quote becomes a job, and the job deducts from inventory and generates the delivery note and invoice. Time sheets and actuals come from the department. The dashboard brings together indicators on revenue, consumption, purchases and productivity. You read, you don’t copy it out again. Dashboard
How do I link the quote to the real actuals?
You need a single system that keeps the quote and the job on the same data. In PrinTrace an accepted quote becomes a job with nothing rewritten. The job ticket is born already filled in. In the department, time sheets record time and activities, and inventory records materials and waste. At the end of the job, the comparison between quoted and actual is already there. Job management
Why don’t my margins add up at month end?
Almost always because the real cost of each job isn’t recorded and the margin is estimated by eye. Extra hours, reworks and wasted material never make it into any document. PrinTrace tracks time through time sheets and materials and waste through inventory. It records changes to jobs along with price changes. Comparing quoted against actual shows you where the margin disappears. Management control
How do I get reliable data on production costs?
By recording it where it happens, once, instead of reconstructing it at month end. In PrinTrace every task has its own job ticket. Staff fill in time sheets, actuals record jobs and activities, and inventory deducts materials and waste. Reporting on jobs and activities reads that data. No spreadsheets to cross-check by hand. Job management
Production
How do I organise my print shop’s production better?
With a department workflow and a single job ticket for every job. In PrinTrace you plan and assign tasks to departments and operators. Every task has a status, specifications and attachments. You check statuses without going to the department floor. Reporting on jobs and activities tells you where delays are building up. Job management
Is there software that links quotes and production?
Yes, and that link is the main reason to choose industry-specific print ERP. In PrinTrace an accepted quote becomes a job with one click. The job ticket is created already filled in with paper, machine, processes and delivery. Nobody copies the specifications again. In 2025 PrinTrace customers tracked 295,962 tasks, aggregated data from active customers. Explore job management
How do I reduce waste in production?
By measuring it: reworks, extra hours and waste must be recorded job by job. In PrinTrace time sheets record time and activities, and inventory records materials and waste on every task. Comparing quoted against actual shows which jobs waste the most. The 2025 Mini Analysis on 30 companies estimates 50% less time on job tickets. Job management
Can I assign work to departments from the system?
Yes. In PrinTrace the workflow follows departments and operators. You plan and assign tasks, and everyone sees their tasks with the complete job ticket. Statuses update as work progresses, and time sheets record the time spent. Call-off orders handle repeat deliveries of the same job. Explore production
How do I know where a job stands without asking the department?
By checking the job’s status in the system, from the office or from your smartphone. In PrinTrace every task has a checkable status, and the department workflow shows where the job is. Your customer sees it themselves in the customer portal. The 2025 Mini Analysis estimates €6,042 a year lost on ten “where’s my job?” requests a day. Customer portal
Inventory
How do I manage inventory in a print shop?
By linking it to jobs: every job draws down the materials it uses. In PrinTrace, inventory manages materials, waste and selling prices. Items are linked to suppliers, so you build the basket and send the order from the system. You record goods received and read reports on purchases and consumption. No more counting by hand at month end. Inventory management
How do I avoid running out of paper mid-job?
With a low-stock alert and supplier orders placed from the system. In PrinTrace you set a minimum stock level per item: when it drops below that, the system alerts you. You add items to the basket, create the supplier order and send it. On delivery you record the goods and stock updates. Reordering runs on data, not memory. Explore inventory
How do I reduce material waste?
By recording waste on every job and reading consumption by period. In PrinTrace, inventory records materials consumed and waste job by job. Reports on purchases and consumption, and statistics, show which materials and which jobs waste the most. Comparing quoted against actual completes the picture. Inventory
Can I link inventory to production?
Yes, and that’s the right way to keep it up to date. In PrinTrace the quote states paper and materials. When it becomes a job, production records actual consumption and waste. Stock updates without manual counts. Purchases start from the basket with items assigned to suppliers. Reports on purchases and consumption read the same data. Inventory and production
How do I know how much material I actually have in stock?
By checking stock levels in the system, updated by deliveries and consumption. In PrinTrace you record goods received on arrival, and consumption is drawn down from jobs. Purchase and consumption statistics tell you what comes in and what goes out, item by item. The low-stock alert flags what to reorder. Waste included, because that also leaves inventory. Inventory management
Customers and payments
How do I know which customers pay late?
From the payment schedule: it shows every invoice, its due date and payment status. In PrinTrace the payment schedule is fed automatically from issued invoices, with no re-entry. Each customer’s ledger brings together invoices and payments over time. You immediately see who’s paying late, and for how long. From there you send reminders, individually or in bulk, without searching for invoices by hand. Accounting and invoicing
How do I reduce unpaid invoices in my print shop?
By sending reminders early and systematically, with the payment schedule in front of you. In PrinTrace you send reminders, individually or in bulk, from overdue invoices. Ri.Ba. flows bring the payment into the bank on the due date. Receipts and payments are recorded in the cash book. No overdue invoice is left forgotten in a drawer. The customer ledger shows you who is often late, before you accept the next job. Accounting and invoicing
How do I keep track of receipts and payments?
By recording them in the same system that issues your invoices and receives your suppliers’ invoices. In PrinTrace, receipts and payments update the cash book and the payment schedule. Purchase invoicing records your suppliers’ invoices. Customer ledgers and the VAT register are ready. The revenue report tells you how much you’ve invoiced, period by period. No spreadsheet to reconcile at month end. Accounting
Can my customers see their invoices and jobs themselves?
Yes, with the customer portal, an add-on package to the system. Your customers log in with private credentials, order products, and see the status of their jobs and their invoices. It works like a private e-commerce site. For you, it means fewer phone calls and fewer invoices to resend. Access is by credentials only: each customer sees only their own data. Customer portal
How do I decide whether to grant extended payment terms?
By looking at the customer’s history before answering. In PrinTrace the customer ledger shows invoices, payments and delays. The payment schedule tells you how much they still owe. If you grant the extension, you manage collection with Ri.Ba. and reminders. The decision stays yours, with the data in front of you. If you’d rather take a deposit, the pro-forma invoice is already in the system. Accounting
Choosing print ERP software
What’s the best print ERP for a printing company?
The one that covers your whole flow from quote to invoice, calculates your technologies and has a public price. Not a brand name. PrinTrace is a cloud print ERP for print shops and digital printing, from €59 per user a month. Over 250 companies have used it since 2010. Compare it using our guide. How to choose print ERP
Is there a cloud print ERP for print shops?
Yes. PrinTrace is a cloud print ERP for print shops and digital printing: no installation, you open it from PC, Mac, tablet and smartphone. Data is held in data centres in Italy, with backups every night. DPS manages security and updates. The monthly fee starts from €59 per user, support included. Cloud and security
How do I fully digitalise a print business?
One workflow at a time, starting with quoting. Bring quoting, jobs, production, inventory, accounting and the customer portal together in a single system. Each piece of data entered once. In PrinTrace, onboarding includes basic setup and loading your records. PrinTrace is compatible with digitalisation grants and with Italy’s 4.0 and 5.0 tax credit schemes. Grants and incentives (in Italian)
More questions about print ERP? Bring it to a demo
Didn’t find yours? Bring it to a demo. In 45 minutes, online or in person, we’ll redo one of your typical quotes in PrinTrace.
Tel. +39 06 5290689 · info@printrace.eu
DPS Soluzioni Informatiche, Viale Giorgio Ribotta 11, 00144 Rome, Italy