Sign Shop – Online Store – How to Start a Sign Business

Sign Pricing Program – SIGN CALC (Instant Download)

SIGN-CALC SIGN PRICING SPREADSHEET (see picture of program below) Now includes our Sign Shop Marketing Guide !

Note – Sign Calc prints quotes and invoices whereas Quick Quote does not. However, Quick Quote pricing is more detailed.

This program is available as an INSTANT DOWNLOAD and is easily installed and ready to use in minutes. Along with the program are instructions on how to install and use the software and how to easily edit data to customize the program to your market. This is a program that no sign shop should be without.

The cost of the program is $24.99. When you order online with paypal you will immediately be sent to a folder that will contain the zip file for the program. Simply download the file to your desktop and extract it and you are ready to start pricing signs. If you have any questions you can email me at steve@reflectivestore.com or call 850-934-3157.

To order our SIGN-CALC Pricing Spreadsheet for $24.99 with paypal click below:

CLICK HERE TO ORDER SIGN-CALC

After paying your will be taken to a download page where you can download the Sign-calc files.

This program was written to provide Sign and Vinyl Graphics Shops with a tool that will allow them to price, quote and invoice jobs using one simple program. This is a spreadsheet based program that is simple to use and simple to edit. The program comes with prices based on national averages already entered. However, these prices are easily increased or decreased based upon your market. The program takes the amount you enter and calculates a price and then automatically transfers the pricing information to a proposal page and an invoice page for easy printing. (see picture below) To use the program just extract all the program files into a directory on your desktop and open the signcalc.xls spreadsheet file. Then to set the program up you simply update the prices and put in your company information. After you do this you save the program and you are ready to start using it.

Also, the spreadsheet has line items called other that can be renamed to any other service you provide. Other categories can also be easily changed.

An image of the program can be seen below. The image displays all three pages of the spreadsheet at one time. In the program the three pages are accessed one at a time by clicking on a tab at the bottom of the page. As you can see it is a very easy program to use.

The spreadsheet can be opened using the freeware spreadsheet reader provided with the package, Excel or Lotus 123. I recommend either the free reader or excel. It runs on any Windows 95,98,2000,XP,Vista or Windows 7 or 8 based computer. It also runs on MAC machines that have excel installed.

To use the program you simply fill in the blanks on the data entry page with information pertaining to the customer and the job. The program applies your pricing to the data you put in and AUTOMATICALLY transfers it to the proposal page (page 2) and the invoice page (page 3). At the bottom of page one (data entry page) you will see that the program also gives you the opportunity while you are pricing to apply an additional discount. This is a useful tool that lets you lower a price without having to go in and change your rates. I find this to also be a good marketing tool.

Keep in mind that you can print only the page you want. If the customer does not need a proposal you would just click on the tab for page 3 and print the invoice only. This is what I normally do. The proposal page is great for when you need to bid a job.

As I mentioned before the program has line items marked “other” that can be changed to anything you wish. Other categories can also be renamed very easily.

As you enter customers, you can save each spreadsheet using that customers name as the file name. This gives you a permanent record of the job. This is very useful for marketing purposes. Also, if the customer needs your services again, (and they will) you will already have their information on your computer. I have tried to make it very flexible.

I also include a separate spreadsheet file that contains BLANK proposal and invoice pages that you can print and keep with your for times when you do not have access to a computer.

I have provided a good image so that you can see for yourself what the program looks like and what it offers. The program saves me a lot of time and keeps me much more organized. I am the creator of the spreadsheet and I support what I sell. If you have any suggestions for improvement to the program please let me know. Also, keep in mind that when you buy this spreadsheet you will get our Quickquote spreadsheet also at no additional charge.

The picture below shows all three sheets of the spreadsheet. The first is the data entry sheet. You access the other two by clicking on tabs at the botton of the spreadsheet. The 2nd and 3rd sheets are filled out automatically.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER SIGN-CALC

Sign Pricing Program – QUICK QUOTE (Instant Download)

QUICK-QUOTE SIGN PRICING SPREADSHEET(see picture of program below) Now includes our free Sign Shop Marketing Guide !

Note – Sign Calc prints quotes and invoices whereas Quick Quote does not. However, Quick Quote pricing is more detailed.

As a bonus, when you order our Quick Quote spreadsheet you will be able to download our Signcalc spreadsheet for free! There is no need to order both. If you have any questions you can email me at steve@reflectivestore.com or call 850-934-3157.

To order our Quickquote Pricing Spreadsheet for $24.99 with a paypal click below:

CLICK HERE TO ORDER QUICK QUOTE

After paying your will be taken to a download page where you can download the Quickquote and Signcalc files.

Some of the updates to our Quick Quote program are:

-New easier to use layout. We have updated the layout to make Quick Quote even easier to use than before. The program runs on Windows 95,98,2000,XP,Vista or Windows 7 and will run on a Macintosh if the Mac has Excel installed. Windows users do not need Excel since the package comes with a shareware spreadsheet reader for Windows.

-New sign categories. We now have more sign categories as well as an additional line labeled “other” that can be used for an additional category of your choice. Everything is already set up. Just enter the type of sign and then enter the factors for that sign in the input area. Takes only seconds.

-Letter size calculator designed to calculate the size letter needed for maximum impact. You simply enter the distance that the reader will be from the sign and the program gives you the minimum letter size necessary and the size needed for maximum impact.

-Marketing Effectiveness Analysis Module. Enter the number of people who found you using the yellow pages, newspaper, word of mouth, signs etc.. and the program will give you the percentage of your total traffic that each category brings in. This is a great tool when budgeting your advertising dollars.

-Labor Plus Materials Calculator. Using this calculator you can quickly price literally any job. All you need to know is how much your materials will cost you and how many minutes it will take you to do the job. The spreadsheet applies a multiplier to the materials and adds a labor charge to arrive at a final price. It is a fool proof pricing method. I use it as a backup for anything that cannot be priced using square foot values.

Here is some more information on our program:

One of the most tedious tasks in signmaking is the calculation of prices for customers. While the customer waits the signmaker has to fumble through little books and use a hand calculator in an attempt to calculate a price. If the customer then asks for the sign to be priced a different way, they have to go through the whole routine again. Often this process makes the signmaker look uncertain of themselves. Additionally, prices are often quoted too high or low resulting in either a lost customer or lost money.

We have developed an easy to use sign pricing program that makes pricing signs, banners, vinyl lettering jobs and digital printing work as easy as 123. To use the program you simply enter the square footage of your sign or the number of letters you are cutting and let the program do the rest. The program will price a specific sign 5 different ways for you. For digital prints or vinyl graphics you simply enter the dimensions of the print or graphic and the program will price the graphic 7 different ways instantly. The program takes only seconds to pull up and only a split second to calculate a sign price. Best of all the program allows you to edit prices to match your market. The default prices in the program are taken from national averages.

The software is broken down into 4 sections; most common signs, vinyl lettering, graphics and artwork, and digital printing. Within these sections each sign type is priced instantly several ways giving you all the information you need to quickly respond to your customer.

The program is written using an excel spreadsheet format so the user can see everything that is going on at one time. For example, when you enter the square footage for a banner you are instantly given the price for that banner using 10 oz material, 14-15 oz material, double sided material, installed, uninstalled, with one color, with two colors, or with drop shadows. When you enter the number of letters you will cut in the “vinyl letter section” of the program the software instantly calculates what to charge when applying those letters to a vehicle, a boat, a storefront, or what to charge for just the letters. It also makes allowances for high performance vinyl and on location installations. Because of the spreadsheet design you can view all these prices at the same time making it easy to compare rates. Cutting graphics, artwork and printing digital prints are handled the same way.

Please note that nothing but Windows 95/98/2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8 is required to open and use this program. All the necessary software to run and edit the spreadsheet is included. Since the program is written in Microsoft Excel/Lotus 123 format it can be easily added to , edited and modified in an infinite number of ways. Unlike other programs, if you don’t like the way something is calculated or the way something is set up you can easily change it. If you read through a basic book on Lotus 123 or Microsoft Excel you would have no problem editing this program to suit your needs. It is a very practical program that I use everyday in my shop.
If you do have Excel on your computer then you would use that to open the spreadsheet. Also, you can go to docs.google.com and use google’s free spreadsheet software to open the quickquote spreadsheet. If you use the google system you will be able to access the spreadsheet no matter where you are.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER QUICK QUOTE

Discount Vinyl Sign Cutters / Plotters ( CAD )

There are several brands of vinyl sign cutters sold in the US. My favorite two brands are Roland and Graphtec. Signwarehouse has a series of cutters made by Graphtec that are also good machines. The key is good service and a good warranty along with a good price. The machines below are priced very well and are all quality machines capable of commercial work. The small hobby machines are good for small sign jobs or at home crafts. When you buy your machine, make sure to get the best software package that you can in the bundle. You will never be sorry for spending extra money on better software. Also, we have a vector art store at the following link. CLICK HERE.

Discount Vector Graphics Clip Art for Sign Shops and Signmaking

Free vector art is available all over the internet. The problem is that you may not find the free art you need. Or it may not be in the correct format. Or it may take you all day to find it. That is why I like to keep a nice collection in my shop ready to go.

Here is our collection of affordable vector art collections. Most of these collections have tons of vector art in them. Keep in mind that you can use an entire image or pick out pieces that you want from that image. In my Flexi Sign program I just select “convert to outlines” and this allows me to pull out pieces to use in my sign. It is simple and no matter which program you use you will be able to figure it out. For example, I needed a palm tree for a lawn care sign. I found a tropical vector scene, selected “convert to outlines”, selected the palm tree, and pasted it into my sign. Simple as that. I like to keep a fairly large collection of clipart available so that customers can go through and pick what they like. People like selection.

To go to our discount vinyl cutter store CLICK HERE.