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Workflows in the Shop: order and item workflows, accepted pieces and moving on by itself

Workflows in the Shop lets you follow both kinds of work every order has: making each item, and getting the order itself from arriving to shipped. This guide covers the order and item workflows, setting the defaults, accepting pieces, how an order moves on by itself, and rejecting and reprinting.


Not live for everyone yet. The Shop and Workflows are rolling out to a closed pilot first, so some accounts won't see them yet. Once they open up, the Shop is part of the Print Farm and Enterprise plans.


When you use the Shop, Workflows covers both kinds of work and connects them, so an order knows when all its items are really finished. This article is part of the Workflows guide.


Table of contents


Two workflows: the order and its items

  • The item workflow is what happens to each item after it is printed: finishing, inspecting, ready for the order. The ready-made one is Item finishing.
  • The order workflow is the order's own life: in production, ready to pack, packed, shipped. The ready-made ones are Packing & shipping and Order pipeline.


The Shop starts one run for each item being made and one for the order itself. On the Workflows board these are Item and Order cards.


With no item workflow, an item is done the moment it is printed. With no order workflow, the order has no steps of its own. Nothing else changes.


See: Ready-made workflows: Basic post-processing, School pickup, Item finishing and the order workflows


Setting the defaults

Open Settings > Shop > Production, under Workflows:


  1. Pick the Default item workflow.
  2. Pick the Order workflow.


These are the same account-wide rules you see in Settings > Workflows, not a second copy. Changing either affects new work only. Manage workflows opens a list of your workflows, where you can make one the default or edit it, with a link to all workflows.


If your item workflow doesn't move items on by itself, a banner says "Items on (workflow) wait for someone to move them on" and offers Switch to the starter, which switches to Item finishing.


Settings > Shop > Production, the Workflows section with Default item workflow set to "Item finishing" and Order workflow set to "Packing & shipping", and the "Steps are done once for the whole item." line.


See: Shop settings and permissions: import defaults, due dates, brands, production and access


Choosing a different item workflow for one product

A product can follow its own item workflow instead of the account default, for example a hand-painting route for one product. On the product's page, under Item workflow, pick the workflow. "Every item made for this product follows this instead of the account default." Clear the choice to go back to the account default.


The same row lists Extra work, which adds tasks only for some orders, such as "Hand-painted adds Prime, Paint and Dry".


See: Workflow rules: choosing which workflow applies, by account, label or product


See: Shop products: map store products to Projects, variants and CSV import


What happens when an order is released

Releasing an order to the print queue starts the order's run and a run for each item. With Order pipeline, moving the order into its Queued stage is what releases it, after "Release this order to the print queue?"


If a run can't start when an order is released, the release still goes ahead. An item with no run can be started from its page with Start its workflow; it joins the order's run while that is still open.


Accepting pieces at the bed

When a finished print is cleared from the bed, the Shop counts what it made as accepted for the item. For work printed as one plate, one finished print counts as one piece, so if several pieces came off one plate, fix the number with Correct the count on the item's page. Work released as several plates counts a piece once every plate has printed its share. Correct the count opens Count printed pieces; an item with nothing in the queue to count from has a Count step instead.


Accepted pieces are what the Shop's checks read:


  • Item finishing opens Finishing when the first piece is accepted, and moves to Ready for the order once every piece is accepted and the required tasks are done.
  • Tasks done for every piece, like Inspect, count the item's pieces.


See: Shop production work: the Work page, clearing plates, trays and finishing steps


When the order moves on by itself

The order workflows hold Ready to pack behind two checks: every item's workflow finished, and every piece accepted. When both pass, an order sitting in In production moves to Ready to pack on its own. Until then, opening the order's run shows what is still short, such as "Hex Coaster Set: 2 of 4 accepted", with Open item.


An order or item waiting for a person to tick a task stays where it is. The board shows how long each card has been in its stage, and Over a day finds the ones nobody has touched.


Working items from the Work list and the item page

  • Shop > Work lists one row per item, with its steps, where it is and what it needs next. Filter by Assigned to me.
  • The item's page shows the item's Steps, the same tasks as on its run. Each step's menu has Assign to me, Assign to someone, Unassign, Skip or Waive, Block and Unblock.
  • The order's Production tab shows the order's stages over each item's stages, each naming the workflow it follows with a link to it.


For ticking, notes and waiving, see working through a workflow.


The Shop item page for Spiral Planter - Medium, Sage (Order #1104), with its Pieces and Steps sections. The menu of the Inspect step is open, showing Assign to me, Assign to someone, Unassign, Waive and Block.


Rejecting a piece and reprinting

A piece accepted by mistake, or found damaged later, can be rejected from the item's page with Reject a finished piece. It stops counting as made, so the item owes it again; "Nothing is reprinted until you ask." SimplyPrint then offers Reprint, or you can do it later from the same page.


A finished item run isn't reopened, and an order already in Ready to pack doesn't step back. Runs only move forward; the reprint carries its own run.


Emails and buyers

Workflow emails go to SimplyPrint users only, such as the person who started the work, the assignee or the account owner. They are not sent to Shop buyers, and nothing is sent through your store connection.


See: Shop customers and privacy: what is stored, importing customers and erasure


Workflows


The Shop


Projects and printing

Updated on: 06/11/2026

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