Dashboard & Production Kanban

The Dashboard in Print Life Software serves as the operational command center for your entire print shop. It combines high-speed, interactive Kanban pipelines with live department capacity tracking, staff assignment filters, milestone automation shortcuts, and a dynamic production schedule calendar.

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1. Feature Scope & UI Navigation

How to Access the Dashboard

Click Dashboard (/dashboard) at the top of the main left sidebar under the Operations section.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Header: [ Main Production ▾ ] [ Timeframe ▾ ] [ All Staff ▾ ] [ Screen Print 6h/8h ]  [•••] │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Column Tabs: [ All Columns 13 ]   [ ● Art Approvals 4 ]   [ ● In Printing 6 ]   [ ● Ready 3 ]│
├──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🔵 Art Approvals             │ 🟡 In Printing               │ 🟢 Ready to Ship / Pickup      │
│ (3 Proofs) (1 Revision)      │ (4 On Press) (2 Curing)      │ (6 Packed)                     │
│ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ ┌────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ INV-1042 • Lincoln High  │ │ │ INV-1040 • Apex Gym      │ │ │ INV-1038 • Riverside Cafe  │ │
│ │ 48 Pcs • Due Oct 18      │ │ │ 120 Pcs • Due Oct 16     │ │ │ 24 Pcs • Due Oct 14        │ │
│ │ Est: 2h 15m [Unscheduled]│ │ │ Est: 4h 30m              │ │ │ [Complete]                 │ │
│ └──────────────────────────┘ │ └──────────────────────────┘ │ └────────────────────────────┘ │
└──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┘

Unified Top Header Bar

Located across the top of /dashboard on a single horizontal row (from left to right):

1. Dashboard & Production Calendar Selector Dropdown (Left):
   • Switch between your custom production boards (e.g., Main Production, Embroidery Pipeline, DTF Printing) or select Production Calendar to open the interactive schedule view.
2. Inline Production Capacity & Staff Filter Row (Center):
   • Timeframe Selector: Toggle between Today's, Tomorrow's, This Week's, or Next Week's Capacity (appears once price matrices have configured Decoration Departments and Daily Production Capacity).
   • Staff Filter (All Staff Dropdown): Always visible; filter jobs assigned to a specific team member, or select Unassigned Jobs. When a staff member is selected, each department pill displays that person's individual contribution (e.g., "Alex 3.5h").
   • Department Capacity Pills: Displays one pill per department (e.g., Screen Printing, Embroidery, DTF).
     • Hover any pill to inspect Booked Hours, Target Capacity, and Remaining Hours with an indicator badge (Available, High Load, or Capacity Exceeded).
     • Open Invoices Only: Only open, active invoices count toward booked capacity (using their scheduled Production Date or Due Date fallback). Quotes never consume production capacity.
     • Click any pill to filter both the Kanban board and the Production Calendar strictly to that department.
   • Clear Filter: Displayed next to the pills whenever a department filter is active to reset the view in 1 click.
3. More Actions (••• Menu Button — Far Right):
   • Located at the far right of the Dashboard header. Clicking the three-dots More Actions (•••) button opens a menu with two options:
     • Automations (Lightning icon): Opens the fullscreen Automation Command Center to configure triggers (Quote Created/Sent/Approved, Proofs Approved, Payment Recorded, Blanks Received, Store Production Batch Created) and custom 1-click SOP workflow buttons. When no automations are active, the More Actions (•••) button illuminates with an animated neon border (animate-glow).
     • Manage Dashboards (Cog icon): Opens the fullscreen Shop Structure Manager to create, rename, or reorder Kanban boards, department columns, and granular sub-status pills.

Column View Switcher Tabs

Positioned directly below the header bar:

• Column Tabs (All Columns + Department Columns): Uses standard page tabs displaying each column's colored status dot and active job count. On desktop, click All Columns for the multi-column Kanban overview or click any individual column tab to expand that column into a full-width left-to-right card sequence grid.

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2. Kanban Board Structure: Boards, Columns & Sub-Statuses

Print Life Software separates shop workflow into a flexible 3-tier hierarchy: Boards $\rightarrow$ Columns $\rightarrow$ Sub-Statuses.

1. Production Boards

Create dedicated boards for different operational divisions (e.g., Screen Print Floor, Embroidery Department, Sales Pipeline).

• Creating a Board: Click More Actions (•••) at the top right of the Dashboard $\rightarrow$ select Manage Dashboards $\rightarrow$ type the board title under CREATE NEW PRODUCTION BOARD $\rightarrow$ click Create Board.
• Managing Boards: Each board card allows you to reorder, edit titles with the Pencil icon, or delete unused boards with the Trash icon.

2. Department Columns

Columns represent major operational milestones (e.g., Art Approvals, In Printing, Curing, Fulfillment).

• Adding a Column: Click Add Column (+) on any board card in the Shop Structure Manager.
  • Choose + Create New: Enter title, pick a brand hex color swatch, and click Create & Add to Board.
  • Choose Select Existing: Pick from previously created columns across your shop.
• Reordering Columns: Drag any column card by its 6-dot grip handle (GripVertical) up or down to set its left-to-right sequence on the board.
• Column Header Controls:
  • Color Strip: Visual accent matching your department branding.
  • Click-to-Expand Column Title: Click any column title (or select its tab in the top Column Tabs bar) to expand that column into a full-width left-to-right responsive card grid.
  • Sub-Status Count Pills: Summarizes order counts for each sub-status inside that column.

3. Granular Sub-Statuses

Sub-statuses live inside columns to track fine-grained tasks without cluttering your board with dozens of full columns (e.g., inside In Printing, you might have Press Setup, Printing, and Flash Curing).

• Adding Sub-Statuses: Click the Sub-Status button (+) on any column card.
• Reordering Sub-Statuses: Drag and drop sub-status pills horizontally to order steps sequentially.
• Inline Count Filters: Clicking a sub-status pill on a column header filters that column to show only cards in that specific step.

4. Built-in Protected System Statuses

To prevent broken workflows, the platform includes two protected, immutable system statuses:

• system_complete: Applied automatically when a job is marked fulfilled, shipped, or delivered.
• system_rejected: Applied automatically when a quote expires or is declined and archived.
• Protection: These statuses cannot be deleted or renamed. They are excluded from active production board columns to keep boards focused 100% on active shop work.

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3. Job Cards & Production Indicators

Every card on your Kanban board provides clear visual feedback on job health, timelines, blank procurement, and operator assignments:

• Full-Width Top Due Date Countdown Banner: Displays live countdown (Due in Xd Xh Xm) and promised delivery date (MM/dd/yy) at the top of every card:
  • Bold Bright Red: Overdue or due within 1–2 days.
  • Amber: Due within 3–6 days.
  • White / Standard Foreground: Due 7+ days out.
• Header & Contact Rows: Clean, icon-free rows showing customer name, Quote/Invoice # (#1042), and contact name.
• Payment Status Row: Displays a color-coded payment status line (Paid in Full in emerald green, 50% Deposit Paid / [N]% Deposit Paid in amber, or Full Balance in muted text).
• Blank Procurement Status & Order → Button: Shows real-time garment procurement progress (Blanks Not Ordered, X/Y Blanks Ordered, Blanks Ordered, Blanks Received, or Blanks: Awaiting Invoice). Active invoices that still need blanks ordered display a 1-click Order → button that opens Procurement (/purchase-orders).
• Production Time & Scheduling Badges:
  • Est: Xh Ym: Calculated production run time based on matrix speed and piece counts.
  • Amber Unscheduled Badge: Displayed next to Est: only if an active invoice has neither a production date nor a due date assigned.
• Portal View Tracking & Assigned Staff: Shows whether the customer has opened the quote/invoice (Viewed ... or Unopened), assigned staff names, and mockup approval status.

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4. Production Schedule Calendar

The Dashboard includes an integrated monthly and day-by-day Production Schedule Calendar for sequencing daily press runs:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Calendar Mode: [ Production ▾ ]                      [ Auto-Schedule ]                      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Monthly Calendar Grid                                                                       │
│  ┌──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐                                              │
│  │ Mon Oct 14   │ Tue Oct 15   │ Wed Oct 16   │                                              │
│  │ 6h / 8h      │ 8h / 8h FULL │ 3h / 8h      │                                              │
│  │              │              │              │                                              │
│  │ INV-1040     │ INV-1041     │ INV-1044     │                                              │
│  │ 120 Pcs (4h) │ 200 Pcs (7h) │ 48 Pcs (2h)  │                                              │
│  └──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘                                              │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

View Modes

• Production Mode: Displays active invoices by their scheduled Production Date (automatically falling back to their Due Date if not manually moved). Features full interactive drag-and-drop scheduling between day cells.
• Due Dates Mode: Displays jobs strictly by their customer Due Date.

Drag-and-Drop & Auto-Scheduling

1. Automatic Placement: All active (non-finished, non-archived) Invoices automatically appear on the calendar on their Due Date (or scheduled Production Date) with zero configuration needed.
2. Rescheduling: Drag a job card from one day cell to another to balance press capacity, or click Auto-Schedule in the calendar toolbar to pack jobs into open workdays before their due dates.
3. Day View Timeline: Click any day cell to open the detailed Day View. Drag cards onto 15-minute time slots or use the Set Time dropdown to sequence jobs across morning and afternoon shifts.

Calendar Visibility Rules

• Active Invoices Automatically Included: All active Invoices automatically appear on the Production Calendar and Capacity Tracker—no column or status toggles required.
• Terminal State Auto-Exclusion: Checking "Mark as Terminal State" on any status automatically removes completed, shipped, or delivered jobs from the active schedule and capacity tracker.

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5. Shop Floor Production Sheet Integration

Your Kanban columns connect directly to the tablet-friendly Production Sheet used by press operators on the shop floor:

1. Open any quote or invoice at /quotes-invoices/[id] $\rightarrow$ select the Production tab.
2. In the Shop Floor Milestone Checklist card, click Configure Statuses.
3. Select your production column (e.g., Screen Print Floor, Embroidery Production).
4. Select the statuses to show as one-touch milestone buttons.
5. As press operators tap each milestone on their tablet, the job automatically advances through your Kanban pipeline in real time!

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6. Troubleshooting & Diagnostic Matrix

Symptom / Question	Root Cause	Exact Remediation Step
A job shows an amber "Unscheduled" badge	Active invoice has neither a due date nor a production date.	Set a Due Date on the invoice or click the Unscheduled badge to drag the job onto a calendar day cell.
Quotes are missing from the Kanban board	Quotes expired, archived, or marked rejected.	The Print Life automatically filters out cold and expired quotes to keep boards focused on active production. Search for the quote under /quotes-invoices to un-archive or extend its expiration date.
Production Capacity Bar does not appear	No price matrices have Decoration Departments configured.	Go to Pricing & Materials $\rightarrow$ Matrices $\rightarrow$ open your decoration matrix $\rightarrow$ under Optional settings, expand Decoration Department & Capacity $\rightarrow$ set Department Name and Daily Hours.
Staff filter shows 0 jobs for a team member	Jobs have not been assigned to that staff member.	Open the job Work Order $\rightarrow$ click Job Assignment $\rightarrow$ assign the team member.
How do I remove completed jobs from the calendar grid?	Status is not set as a terminal state.	In Shop Structure Manager, click the sub-status pill $\rightarrow$ check Mark as Terminal State $\rightarrow$ click Save. Completed jobs will disappear from the calendar view.

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7. Frequently Asked Questions & Action Prompts

How do I create a new production board?

1. At the top right of the Dashboard, click More Actions (•••) $\rightarrow$ select Manage Dashboards to open the Shop Structure Manager.
2. In the top banner under CREATE NEW PRODUCTION BOARD, enter your board title (e.g., Embroidery Pipeline or Quick Turn DTF).
3. Click Create Board.
4. Click Add Column on your new board card to add your workflow columns!

[How do I add columns and sub-statuses?](chat:How do I add columns and sub-statuses to my board?) • [Show me Dashboard](chat:Show me the Dashboard)

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How do I add columns and sub-statuses to a board?

1. On the Dashboard, click More Actions (•••) at the top right $\rightarrow$ select Manage Dashboards.
2. Locate your board card and click Add Column (+).
3. Enter your column name and pick a brand color swatch, then click Create & Add to Board.
4. To add sub-steps inside that column, click Sub-Status (+) on the column title bar.
5. Drag and drop column cards vertically or sub-status pills horizontally to order your workflow from start to finish!

[Show me the Dashboard](chat:Show me the Dashboard)