Comparison
SignCraft vs a spreadsheet.
A spreadsheet is a fine calculator and a poor system. It does not send the quote, chase the customer, hold the proof, or tell you the job is due Thursday. SignCraft does those four things and still exports everything as CSV.
| The job | A spreadsheet | SignCraft |
|---|---|---|
| Price the work | Works, if every formula is right and nobody overwrote a cell | Rates stored per product, substrate and finishing, applied automatically |
| Send the quote | Export a PDF, write an email, attach the file | Branded PDF and an approval link, in one send |
| Follow up | A note in your head, or a calendar reminder you snooze | Day 3, before expiry, and after an invoice is due — automatically |
| Customer approval | A reply in your inbox you have to interpret | Approve or decline from the link, with a timestamp |
| Track the job | A tab someone forgets to update | Five stages, due dates, overdue flags on the dashboard |
| Hold the proof | Email attachments and “looks good” | Uploaded per job and approved with a timestamp |
| Invoices and deposits | Manual copy of the quote, reformatted | Deposit invoice from the quote, partial payments, reminders |
| See the margin | A formula referencing a cost cell nobody updates | Per line, against a threshold you set |
| Work from a phone | Possible, unpleasant, easy to break | Phone-first layout with a tab bar and a search box |
| Get your data out | It is already a file | Full JSON backup, QuickBooks-ready CSV |
One row is genuinely a tie: a spreadsheet is unbeatable for a one-off what-if calculation. The comparison is about running the shop, not about the maths.
Honestly
When a spreadsheet is the right answer.
We would rather tell you than sell you. If all three of these are true, keep your spreadsheet and come back when they stop being true.
- You send fewer than ten quotes a month.
- One person does the quoting, and it is you.
- You do no install work, so there is no schedule to track.
The switch
What moving actually takes.
Load a catalog, or type four products
One click loads 15 starter products. If you only quote four things, add those four and ignore the rest.
Add customers as you quote
There is no import to run. Create the customer on the first quote and it is there next time.
Keep the old spreadsheet
Nothing is migrated. Old quotes stay where they are; new work starts here. Export a JSON backup whenever you want.
Questions before switching.
Can I import my Excel price list?
Not directly. There is no CSV product import yet. You can load the starter catalog and edit the rates, or add your own products one at a time. A full JSON backup covers everything else.
What happens to my old quotes?
They stay in your spreadsheet. SignCraft does not import historical quotes, and you do not need to migrate years of history to get value from it.
Do I still need QuickBooks?
Yes, if you use it for books. SignCraft pushes customers, invoices and payments to QuickBooks Online and exports CSV. It is not a replacement for accounting.
Is the calculator on this site the same maths?
Yes — area × rate × quantity, plus finishing and labor. The pricing calculator does it in public with the same starter rates.
Try it with one real quote.
Sign in with Google and put a job you are working on through it before you decide anything.