SYSTEM STATUS — OPERATIONAL · REV 4.22.26
SUPPORT 253·872·5707
PLATE 01 / HOMEPAGELAST REV 04·22·26PRODUCTION-GRADELASER · FABRICATION · PRINT · BINDERY

Estimating for shopsthat actually ship.

Fast, consistent, production-aware estimating for small manufacturers. Built from the floor up. Proven in live shops.

  • 01Quotes in minutes, not hours — without giving up accuracy.
  • 02Pricing that reflects real machine rates, setup, and material yield.
  • 03Templates that preserve your best estimator’s judgment.
See it on your jobRead the systemNO DECK · REAL QUOTE · 30 MIN
QUOTE · Q-14782● LIVE
CUSTOMER · NWSM-04DUE 04·30
ROUTING — 5 OPS
01
Shear
setup 0.4h
02
Laser
run 2.1h
03
Brake
run 1.3h
04
Weld
run 0.8h
05
Finish
out 1 day
PRICING — TIERMARGIN 38.4%
QtySetupRunMaterialPrice / pc
25$420.00$612.50$318.75$54.05
100$420.00$2,450.00$1,275.00$41.45
250$420.00$6,125.00$3,187.50$38.93
Extended — 100 pc$4,145.00
QUOTES INDEXED100,000+
JOBS IN RECORD77,000+
FIRST QUOTE TARGETUnder 30 min
IN DAILY USE ATWorking trade bindery
§ 01
The problem

Most shops are still quoting like this.

Spreadsheets with hidden logic. Tribal knowledge locked in one person. What worked at 20 jobs a week breaks at 50.

FAILURE MODES / OBSERVED
  • 01Spreadsheets with hidden logic, owned by one personRISK
  • 02Inconsistent pricing across customers and estimatorsMARGIN
  • 03Quotes slip when the shop is busy — exactly when they matterTHROUGHPUT
  • 04No record of why a number was quoted, or what changedAUDIT
  • 05New hires take 6–18 months to quote without supervisionRAMP
WHAT IT COSTS
This breaks under growth.

Quotes get slower. Margins drift. Errors compound. The bottleneck stops being the machines — it becomes the estimator.

6–18 mo
To train a second estimator
Drifts
Margins under time pressure
Re-work
Every spec change
One
Person holds the logic
§ 02
The system

The parts that make estimating a system.

Five components. Each maps to something that already exists on your floor — just captured, versioned, and operating at speed.

01 · REAL OPERATIONS

Build quotes the way work actually happens.

Define jobs as a sequence of real operations. Cut, print, bind, weld, finish, pack — each step carries cost logic tied to your shop. No abstractions. No guesswork.

  • Routing from floor operations, not abstract work types
  • Cost logic per step, per machine, per material
  • Outsourced steps tracked alongside in-house
FIG. 2.1 — ROUTING / 5-STEP FAB JOBQ-14782
01
Shear
0.4h / $32
02
Laser
2.1h / $231
03
Brake
1.3h / $104
04
Weld
0.8h / $88
05
Finish
out / $45
TOTAL STEP COST — $500.00 · LEAD TIME 6 DAYS
02 · TEMPLATES

Turn experience into templates.

Capture how your best estimator thinks. Reusable job templates, prebuilt routings, default pricing logic. Quotes start 80 percent complete — the remaining 20 is where judgment matters.

  • Reusable job templates versioned over time
  • Prebuilt routings per product family
  • Default pricing logic baked in, overridable per job
FIG. 2.2 — TEMPLATE LIBRARY42 ACTIVE
T-LC-04
Laser-cut bracket, 12ga mild
3 opsREV 7
T-LC-11
Enclosure panel, 304 SS
5 opsREV 3
T-WB-02
Weldment, tube frame
6 opsREV 4
T-PB-01
Perfect bind, trade book
4 opsREV 9
T-ST-03
Saddle stitch, 32pp
3 opsREV 5
T-FD-02
Fold & trim, 6 panel
2 opsREV 2
TEMPLATES COVER MOST INCOMING RFQS AT REFERENCE SHOP
03 · REAL MATH

Price with real math.

Every quote reflects actual production. Setup separated from run. Machine rates. Material yield. Volume scaling. Change the quantity — price updates instantly. No hidden spreadsheet formulas.

  • Setup and run separated and visible
  • Machine rates, material yield, volume scaling
  • Instant recalculation on every change
FIG. 2.3 — PRICING TIERS · Q-14782MARGIN TARGET 35%
QtySetupRun hrsMaterialCostPriceMargin
25$4204.6$318.75$1,051.25$1,620.7535.1%
100$42018.4$1,275.00$3,095.00$4,145.0038.4%
250$42046.0$3,187.50$6,982.50$9,732.5039.8%
500$42092.0$6,375.00$13,345.00$18,250.0036.8%
Recalc on changeEvery field live — no macros, no hidden cellsOK
04 · MARGIN CONTROL

Control margin without slowing down.

See margin in real time. Cost and price side by side. Target thresholds. Flags on risky quotes. No more blind quoting at the back of the shop.

  • Cost vs price visibility on every line
  • Target margin thresholds per customer class
  • Warnings when a quote drifts below target
FIG. 2.4 — MARGIN / LAST 12 QUOTESTARGET 35%
Q-1478238.4%
Q-1478141.2%
Q-1478031.9%
Q-1477937.1%
Q-1477822.2%
Q-1477740.0%
FLAGGED: Q-14778 — 12.8 PTS UNDER TARGET · REVIEW BEFORE SEND
05 · TRACK & IMPROVE

Turn estimating into a measurable function.

Know what is happening in your pipeline. Quote status from draft to sent to won or lost. Version history on every quote. Win-rate trends by customer and product family.

  • Quote status: draft → sent → won → lost
  • Version history per quote, per revision
  • Win-rate trends by customer and product
FIG. 2.5 — PIPELINE / CURRENT MONTHAPR 2026
Draft
28
+6 wk
avg age 1.2d
Sent
54
+12 wk
avg age 4.8d
Won
31
+9 wk
win rate 57%
Lost
23
-2 wk
top reason: price
WIN RATE TRAILING 90D — 59.4% · AVG. QUOTE-TO-CLOSE 6.1 DAYS
§ 03
Industries

Built for small manufacturers with real workflows.

Mixed materials, mixed equipment, mixed in-house and outsourced steps. If the work is physical, JAWS has a routing for it.

IMG · LASER CUT — 304 SSphoto placeholder

Metal & Fabrication

Laser, press brake, weld, finish — in any combination, with outsourced steps tracked alongside your own.

  • OP·01Laser cutting
  • OP·02Bending and forming
  • OP·03Welding and secondary ops
  • OP·04Mixed in-house and outsourced
IMG · PERFECT BINDERphoto placeholder

Print & Bindery

Offset and digital print with full finishing routing — the same system running daily at a working trade bindery.

  • OP·01Offset and digital print
  • OP·02Perfect bind, coil, stitch
  • OP·03Fold, cut, finish
  • OP·04Schedule-driven production
IMG · JOB SHOP FLOORphoto placeholder

General Manufacturing

Multi-step routing, mixed materials, job-shop environments. Whatever the combination of operations — it maps.

  • OP·01Multi-step routing
  • OP·02Mixed materials and vendors
  • OP·03Job-shop environments
  • OP·04Low and mid-volume work
§ 04
How it works

No long rollout. No consultants.

Four linear steps from first call to full adoption. Measured in days and weeks, not quarters.

STEP 01

Configure

Load your machines, rates, materials, and customer classes. Done with your team, not around them.

~ 1 day
STEP 02

Template

Build your first job templates from live jobs you already quoted last month.

~ 3–5 days
STEP 03

Quote

First real quotes go out the door. Side-by-side with your old spreadsheet, until you stop needing it.

Week 1
STEP 04

Adopt

Front desk, estimators, and owners all in the same system. Spreadsheet goes away.

Month 1
§ 05 · EVALUATE

See how your shop would quote in this system.

Bring a real job. We’ll model it live, next to your current spreadsheet. You’ll know in 30 minutes whether it works for your floor.

Format
Working session · not a demo
Duration
30 minutes, by video
What to bring
One recent RFQ you already quoted
Outcome
A price you can compare side-by-side
Cost
None