Power Scheduler
To provide user feedback on Power Scheduler, please submit your thoughts via this form.
Welcome to Power Scheduler!
Hello! Welcome to your guide for all things Power Scheduler.
This is a living breathing document that will constantly be evolving as we improve Printavo's Power Scheduler in its pre-official-release stage.
Power Scheduler will be available to subscribers of our most recent Premium Tier of Printavo.
If you are using Power Scheduler and have further questions on its functionality, or if you would like to upgrade your Printavo plan so you are able to utilize Power Scheduler, please reach out to your dedicated Success Manager.
Manage multiple types of work and optimize production capacity with Printavo’s Power Scheduler.
Printavo subscribers on the most up-to-date Premium Tier can visually track independent workflows in screen printing, embroidery, digital, promo, finishing, and more!
Printavo's Power Scheduler allows you to manage multiple types of decorations and equipment to better track jobs across departments. For example, if you want to simultaneously prepare screens and ink for a job while you're waiting for blanks to arrive, you can use Printavo's Power Scheduler to easily communicate across multiple departments what's been done and what still needs to be done.
In this article, we will cover:
- Why use Power Scheduler?
- Types of Work and Stations
- Applying a Type of Work to an Imprint on a Quote/Invoice
-
Scheduling jobs on the Power Scheduler
- How to automatically make imprints available to the Power Scheduler
- How to manually make imprints available to the Power Scheduler
-
How to schedule from Power Scheduler (recommended)
- Accessing Power Scheduler
- Basic filters
- Understanding "Unscheduled" and "Unassigned" imprints
- Adding estimated production time to an imprint
- Assigning an imprint to a Station on Power Scheduler
- Scheduling an imprint to a date on Power Scheduler
- Changing Step Statuses
- The imprint panel
- Splitting imprint quantities across dates and/or Stations
- Power Scheduler Views, Column Management, and Exporting Your Schedule
- Managing Power Scheduler details from the job page
- How to remove imprints from Power Scheduler
Why use Power Scheduler?
You may operate so efficiently that taking a job from start to finish feels seamless, but, the fact is, there are still multiple steps that need to be completed along the way. In addition to a lot of the basics that get done on every job (e.g., approvals, prep, ordering, finishing), shops are often tasked to apply multiple types of work to a job - think screen printing and embroidery, or embroidery and heat press.
While Printavo does allow you to create statuses and task lists to track various objectives that need to be completed, Printavo's Power Scheduler allows you to monitor all of those different workflow steps in one location, helping you cut down on the need for potentially-extraneous-feeling statuses and task lists.
Power Scheduler creates a single "source of truth" to help you and your shop keep track of what has been done and what needs to be done for different aspects of a job.
Types of Work and Stations
In this section, we'll take a look at:
- What is a "Type of Work"?
- How to set up Types of Work
- Type of Work Steps and Step Statuses
- What is a "Station"?
- How to set up Stations
- Station Information and Performance (Production Time Capacity)
What is a "Type of Work"?
In the context of Power Scheduler, "Types of Work" refers to any repeatable process with steps you'd like to track (e.g., screen printing, embroidery, finishing).
Each "Type of Work" is assigned its own customizable steps and step statuses - a workflow created by you.
Additionally, Types of Work will be associated with different Stations and can be preassigned to your pricing matrices.
Lastly, Types of Work will be the source point to how you organize your Power Scheduler.
How to set up Types of Work
Where to do this: My Account > Workflow Customization > Types of Work
To access your available Types of Work, head to My Account > Workflow Customization > Types of Work.
From here, permitted users will be able to:
- Add new Types of Work
- Edit existing Types of Work
- Archive obsolete Types of Work
To add a new Type of Work, simply click the button labeled "New Type of Work".
To edit an existing Type of Work, either click the name of the type of work or its corresponding "Edit" link.
To archive a Type of Work you'll no longer be using, click the "Archive" button in the same row of the Type of Work you're looking to pause.
Type of Work Steps and Step Statuses
Within a Type of Work, users can create Steps to help ensure that all necessary parts of the whole are monitored and completed. Steps are the major "to-dos" that need to get done for each type of work.
An example of Steps you might see for a Type of Work called "Screen Printing" might be:
- Garments
- Art
- Screens
- Ink
- Printing
Within your Steps, users can create color-coded Step Statuses to track and share the progress of the individual Steps.
An example of Step Statuses for the above step called "Screens" might include:
- Not Started
- In Progress
- Issue
- Finished
Note: A step cannot be archived if jobs using that step on the power scheduler are in a status past the first status (Not Started). In order to remove a step from the power scheduler, the associated jobs will have to be changed to the first status of that step prior to archiving.
Step Statuses as an Automation Trigger
Where to do this: My Account > Automation > Create Automation
For users familiar with our Automation process, we have added "If a type of work step status is changed to ___ " as an available trigger.
To utilize step statuses as a trigger for any of our available automated actions, head to My Account > Automation > Create Automation.
Then, for your trigger, select "If a type of work step status is changed to ___". You'll see these are broken down into the parent/child relationships in the form of Type of Work - Step - Status.
To learn more about Automation in Printavo, check out our help guide on Automation, email your dedicated Success Manager, or reach out to us at success@printavo.com.
What is a "Station"?
In Power Scheduler, a "Station" is either a piece of equipment, an individual, or a group of individuals who will be responsible for producing a specific Type of Work.
Each Station must be assigned a Type of Work as well as a capacity time (measured in total available minutes).
How to set up Stations
Where to do this: My Account > Workflow Customization > Stations
To access your available Types of Work, head to My Account > Workflow Customization > Stations.
From here, permitted users will be able to:
- Add new Stations
- Edit existing Stations
- Archive obsolete Stations
To add a new Station, simply click the button labeled "New Station".
To edit an existing Station, either click the name of the type of work or its corresponding "Edit" link.
To archive a Station you'll no longer be using, click the "Archive" button in the same row of the Station you're looking to pause.
Station Information and Performance (Production Time Capacity)
When creating or editing a Station, permitted users are able to add a Station Name, associate a Type of Work, and add in the Performance, or the available production time, in minutes, of that Station. (Note: Friendly reminder, to convert available hours to available minutes, use the formula # of available hours * 60. E.g., 7 available hours * 60 = 420 available minutes)
Applying a Type of Work to an Imprint on a Quote/Invoice
Once you have Types of Work and Stations set up in your Printavo account, you'll need to apply the Types of Work to the relevant job so the Power Scheduler knows how to classify and organize your work.
To do this, simply click the "New Imprint" button and add an imprint. You'll now see that you have an option to add a Type of Work!
When you select a Type of Work from your available options, the imprint's overview box will display your selection:
You will have one "Imprint" for each Type of Work on the Line Item Group, so a job where the product(s) in the group will be screen printed, embroidered, and finished might look something like this:
Adding a Type of Work to a Pricing Matrix
Where to do this: My Account > Pricing Matrices
Users who utilize Printavo's Pricing Matrix feature (click here to learn more about pricing matrices!) have the ability to associate a Type of Work with the Pricing Matrix, so every time a Pricing Matrix is selected the relevant Type of Work will auto-populate in the imprint box.
To do this, simply head to My Account > Pricing Matrices and either create a new or edit an existing pricing matrix.
On the matrix builder, permitted users will now see an option to add a relevant Type of Work:
Once added, the relevant Type of Work will auto-select when you choose your matrix in the imprint modal:
Scheduling jobs on the Power Scheduler
In this section, you will learn:
-
- How to automatically make imprints available to the Power Scheduler
- How to manually make imprints available to the Power Scheduler
-
How to schedule from Power Scheduler (recommended)
- Accessing Power Scheduler
- Basic filters
- Understanding "Unscheduled" and "Unassigned" imprints
- Adding estimated production time to an imprint
- Assigning an imprint to a Station on Power Scheduler
- Scheduling an imprint to a date on Power Scheduler
- Changing Step Statuses
- The imprint panel
- Splitting imprint quantities across dates and/or Stations
How to automatically make imprints available to the Power Scheduler
Where to do this: My Account > Workflow Customization > Add Work to the Schedule and/or My Account > Automation
Once a Type of Work is assigned to an imprint and the job has been saved, permitted users will still need to add the imprint to the scheduling tool. This will allow you to add the imprint to its relevant place on the schedule.
To automatically make imprints available to the power schedule, you'll need to be comfortable setting up Automation in Printavo. Click here to review how to build automated actions in Printavo.
Note: Using automatic methods to add imprints to your Power Scheduler does utilize one of an account's available automations. If you need more automations, please reach out to your dedicated Success Manager or email us at success@printavo.com.
Using Workflow Customization to automatically make imprints available to the Power Scheduler
Where to do this: My Account > Workflow Customization > Add Work to the Schedule
To add a status-based trigger that will automatically make your imprints available, you can utilize the built-in automation shortcut under My Account > Workflow Customization > Add Work to the Schedule.
Simply select the status that you'd like to act as your trigger and you're good to go! You can further edit this automation's details (e.g., payment term variation, automation title, etc.) by clicking the "Edit" link next to the pulldown menu, or by clicking the "View Automations" button to be taken to your full selection of automations.
Now, when your job meets the trigger's criteria, the imprints will be added to the scheduling tool.
To learn how to set different triggers beyond a status change to automatically make imprints available to your Power Scheduler, check out the next section of this guide: Using Automation to automatically make imprints available to the Power Scheduler.
For an overview of any automation that adds imprints to the Power Scheduler, simply click on the "Schedule" tab of an individual job. In the example of the following screenshot, imprints will be automatically added to our Power Scheduler when the status has changed to "Art Approved - Prep for Production".
(Note: It is possible to create multiple independent triggers that result in adding the imprints to the Power Scheduler.)
You'll know the Power Scheduler has accepted your imprints when your job's "Schedule" page looks something like this:
Note: Using automatic methods to add imprints to your Power Scheduler does utilize one of an account's available automations. If you need more automations, please reach out to your dedicated Success Manager or email us at success@printavo.com.
Pro Tip: When an imprint has been added to a job, you may use an available automation and set the trigger to If the quote/invoice imprints are added to the Power Scheduler... to set off any available actions, like notifying your production manager that new jobs need to be scheduled and/or changing a job status.
Using Automation to automatically make imprints available to the Power Scheduler
Where to do this: My Account > Automation
Once on the "New Automation" screen, select any available trigger, then set your action to Add the quote/invoice imprints to the Power Scheduler.
Now, when your job meets the trigger's criteria, the imprints will be added to the scheduling tool.
For an overview of any automation that adds imprints to the Power Scheduler, simply click on the "Schedule" tab of an individual job. In the example of the following screenshot, imprints will be automatically added to our Power Scheduler when the status has changed to "Art Approved - Prep for Production".
(Note: It is possible to create multiple independent triggers that result in adding the imprints to the Power Scheduler.)
You'll know the Power Scheduler has accepted your imprints when your job's "Schedule" page looks something like this:
Note: Using automatic methods to add imprints to your Power Scheduler does utilize one of an account's available automations. If you need more automations, please reach out to your dedicated Success Manager or email us at success@printavo.com.
Pro Tip: When an imprint has been added to a job, you may use an available automation and set the trigger to If the quote/invoice imprints are added to the Power Scheduler... to set off any available actions, like notifying your production manager that new jobs need to be scheduled and/or changing a job status.
How to manually make imprints available to the Power Scheduler
Certain circumstances may arise where you'll want/need to add jobs to your Power Scheduler outside of the normal workflow. For example, maybe you know you're going to win a job and want to hold the space for it prior to the normal trigger that applies the imprints to the scheduler.
Regardless of the reason, if a job needs to be added to the Power Scheduler outside of the normal progression, permitted users can use the "Add to Power Scheduler" button on the "Schedule" tab of the individual job. This will accomplish the same result as your automation, but at a manual pace.
You'll know the Power Scheduler has accepted your imprints when your job's "Schedule" page looks something like this:
Pro Tip: When an imprint has been added to a job, you may use an available automation and set the trigger to If the quote/invoice imprints are added to the Power Scheduler... to set off any available actions, like notifying your production manager that new jobs need to be scheduled and/or changing a job status.
How to schedule from Power Scheduler (recommended)
Once Power Scheduler has accepted your jobs (as covered in the previous two sections: How to automatically make imprints available to the Power Scheduler and How to manually make imprints available to the Power Scheduler), you'll be able to schedule a day and a Station for each Type of Work.
Accessing Power Scheduler
To access Power Scheduler, click on the button called "Power Scheduler" on the left side of your app under the section labeled "General":
You should now be looking at a table that looks something like this:
Basic filters
At the top of the table are three pulldown menus that allow you to quickly filter your view:
A. Date Filter - Use this pulldown to select the schedule options for the date or date range you would like to see.
B. Type of Work Filter - Use this pulldown to select the schedule for the Type of Work you would like to see.
C. Station Filter - Use this pulldown to select the schedule for the Station you would like to see.
Understanding "Unscheduled" and "Unassigned" imprints
- Unscheduled imprints have not been assigned to a date on your schedule.
- Unassigned imprints have not been assigned to a Station on your schedule.
The upper left corner of your table is where all new imprints added to the scheduler are added.
This area is where all of your unscheduled imprints live, regardless of whether or not the imprint is (un)assigned.
By default, all new imprints added to the schedule are both unscheduled and unassigned.
Eventually, you will want all of your imprints to be Scheduled and Assigned, but it is possible for a job to be Unscheduled and Assigned or Scheduled and Unassigned. Use the table below for further clarification on the different combinations of (un)assigned and (un)scheduled imprints.
Note: If a date on the Power Scheduler has no Unassigned work Scheduled, then that date will not display any options for Unassigned work. For example, if February 1 has 3 jobs that are all assigned to a station, then there will be no "Unassigned" menu for February 1.
Click the ">" in any table cell to expand the hidden row(s) beneath.
Adding estimated production time to an imprint
It is critical to add the estimated production time to an imprint because this is the data that feeds into your Stations' capacities. In other words, estimated production time is how Power Scheduler knows how booked up a Station is or isn't.
To add/edit the estimated production time on an imprint, click on the "Minutes" cell of the imprint row, add your estimated production time (in minutes), then hit enter to submit. (Note: Permitted users can change this estimate at any point.)
Assigning an imprint to a Station on Power Scheduler
There are two ways for permitted users to assign an imprint to a Station on Power Scheduler.
The first way to assign an imprint is to click the "Station" cell and select the Station from the pulldown menu. This will assign the imprint to the selected Station. Permitted users can also reassign or unassign using the same pulldown menu.
The second way to assign an imprint is to "click and drag" the imprint row onto the Station's row. Permitted users can also reassign or unassign using the same "click and drag" method.
Scheduling an imprint to a date on Power Scheduler
There are two ways for permitted users to schedule an imprint to a date on Power Scheduler.
The first way to schedule an imprint is to click the "Date" cell and select a date from the pop-up calendar. This will schedule the imprint to the selected date. Permitted users can also reschedule or unschedule using the same calendar.
The second way to schedule an imprint is to "click and drag" the imprint row onto the date's row. Permitted users can also reschedule or unschedule an imprint using the same "click and drag" method.
Changing Step Statuses
To change a Step Status for the Steps of your imprint, simply click the Step Status and select the new status. This can be done at any point in your scheduling and assignment process (i.e., it is not necessary for a job to be scheduled or assigned to change a Step Status).
The imprint panel
Clicking on the imprint number will slide the imprint panel out from the side of the Printavo application. The imprint panel provides you with high-level information about the job in the following order:
- Imprint number
- Job name
- Customer name
- Production due date
- Customer due date
- Type of work
- Matrix applied (if any)
- Imprint notes
- Mockup(s) applied to the line item group imprint modal
- Power Scheduler information (schedule, time, quantity, date, Station)
- Step Statuses
- Source line item group details/product information
- Source line item group quantities (by total and by size)
- Mockup(s) applied to the individual line items
- Production notes
- Production files
- Customer notes
Splitting imprint quantities across dates and/or Stations
In cases where a date and/or a machine is over capacity, or perhaps something came up and you weren't able to get through the capacity you were expecting, Power Scheduler gives you the ability to split your imprint quantities over multiple dates and/or Stations.
To do this, click the "Copy" icon next to the imprint number. This will duplicate the imprint line on your schedule and allow you to split the quantities across multiple imprint lines. From here, simply redistribute your total quantity across your multiple lines, recalibrate your dispensed minutes, and reassign/reschedule the imprint as normal. Each time an imprint is split, a letter will be added to the imprint number to help you monitor the work being done on each split.
(Note: There is no limit to how many times an imprint can be split.)
To delete a split quantity, open your imprint panel and delete any extraneous splits by clicking the "X" icon corresponding to the split. You can also use the imprint panel to view related split imprints.
Power Scheduler Views, Column Management, and Exporting Your Scheduler
Power Scheduler's table comes with two default views, but also allows you to save custom views based on preferences and permissions. Meaning, if the default shows Columns ABCDEFG in that visibility and order, you can save a view to show Columns DFABG in that visibility and order, thus rearranging to your preferred view and hiding columns that may not be relevant to that particular view.
In this section, we will cover:
Default views
Power Scheduler currently has two available pre-set views: Grouped View and List View.
- Grouped View imprints are organized and schedulable by date based on your selected Date Range, Type of Work, and Station filters. Unscheduled imprints will always display at the top of your Grouped View.
- List View shows you all imprints for your selected Date Range, Type of Work, and Station. Unscheduled imprints will display first, followed by your scheduled imprints within the date range.
Click the corresponding button on the Power Scheduler to toggle between Grouped View and List View.
Columns and column management
To rearrange columns, click and drag them from location to location within your table. Clicking the "hamburger" menu (three stacked horizontal bars) of the column header will allow you to pin, filter, hide, and view columns. You can also remove columns from your current table by dragging them into the gray space above or to the side.
Saving views
Rather than continuously rearranging, hiding, and revealing columns for an optimal view at your workstation, it is possible to save views on the Power Scheduler.
"Super Admin" Printavo users can save these views to be visible either just for themselves or for any user with access to the Power Scheduler. Non-admin users can still save views, but will not be able to share the views across users.
To save a view, simply click the "+" icon in the view bar, name your view, select your viewing permission, and click "Save View".
To edit a saved view, select the view you would like to edit, make your changes, and then repeat the saving process.
To delete a saved view, click the "+" icon in the view bar, click "Manage Views", and then click the blue "Delete" text next to the view or views you would like to delete.
Note: A view will only be fully deleted if you click the blue "Save View" button. Clicking cancel or outside of the alert box will prevent the view from deleting.
Exporting your schedule
Lastly, by right-clicking in the main area of your Power Scheduler, you'll see the option to export your schedule in either CSV or Microsoft Excel format.
We have provided some sample exports for you to download if you would like to preview the contents of the information. Click here to be taken to both an Excel and CSV example of the Power Scheduler Export.
Note: Depending on your browser settings, you will either be prompted to download the file or it will download automatically.
Managing Power Scheduler imprint details from the job page
Any imprint details that permitted users can manage on the Power Scheduler can also be managed on an individual job's page. To access these details, click the "Schedule" tab at the top of the job.
While imprint details can be managed here, and there are certain circumstances where this is beneficial (e.g., changing Step Statuses, scheduling during slower times, basic Station assignments), please be aware that the "Schedule" page on the job provides imprint information for the imprints on this job only.
As such, we recommend any complex schedule management be done from the Power Scheduler.
Schedule History
Scrolling down on the "Schedule" tab of a job will reveal its Schedule History. Here, you can see who made what changes to the imprints related to this job and when, as well as how long it took for the imprint to progress its step statuses.
How to remove imprints from Power Scheduler
To remove imprints from the Power Scheduler, navigate to the "Schedule" tab of the job of the imprints you'd like to remove. (Note: Any changes made to your imprint details on the Power Scheduler will revert to their original state once removed.)
Underneath your imprints, click the blue text that says "Remove from Power Scheduler".
Confirm that you'd like to remove your imprints and they will be taken off of the Power Scheduler. Imprints will be re-added to Power Scheduler if they meet your automation criteria or if you choose to manually re-add them via the "Add to Power Scheduler" button.
NEXT: 4.9 Payments, Refunds, and Deposits
PREVIOUS: 4.7 Calendar Management Basics
Power Scheduler Export Examples
Click the files below to access examples of the Power Scheduler export as an Excel file or as a CSV.
Comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.