Bridal alterations tracking: jobs, fittings and deadlines

One job per dress, not one chat per bride

The unit of work is the dress, not the bride. A bride can have a gown and a reception dress, each with its own fittings, changes and seamstress, and each needs its own job. Give the job a number you can write on the garment bag and say on the phone (A-2026-0142), and put everything about that dress under it: measurements, the pinning photos, the list of changes, the stages, the price and the pickup date.

• Bride and date: name, phone, wedding date, and the date she needs the dress, which is earlier.
• The dress: model, size, color, where it came from (bought here, bought elsewhere, family heirloom) and its condition on arrival, with a photo.
• Changes per fitting: hem, sides, straps, bustle, cups, lining, beading, zip or buttons. Each line with who pinned it and at which fitting.
• Price and balance: the quoted price, deposit, and what is left at pickup. The quote is easier when you price alterations by the line.

Fittings on a calendar, with the deadline worked backwards

Book the fittings from the wedding date backwards, not from today forwards. The final fitting goes one to two weeks before the wedding, the second about four weeks before, the first six to eight weeks before, and each fitting needs sewing time after it. When a bride books late, the calendar shows immediately which fittings will not fit and the conversation happens before the dress is cut, not the week of the wedding. The fitting timeline guide has the full schedule.

In SewingERP the fittings are appointments on the bride's card, with rooms and staff, an optional online booking page, and an email reminder the day before. A fitting that is marked done can record the new measurements, so the card keeps a history instead of a single overwritten number.

Stages the seamstress reports, not a status someone guesses

Between fittings the job is in the workroom, and the question the front desk gets is always the same: is it ready? The answer should come from the person sewing, at the moment she finishes, not from a phone call. Split the job into the stages your workroom really uses (take in sides, hem, bustle, press, final check) and let the seamstress mark each one started and finished.

In SewingERP the dress card carries a QR code. The seamstress scans it with her phone, picks her name and taps start or finish on her stage. Nothing to install, no password. The shop sees the whole workroom on one screen, and the hours of each stage, at each worker's rate, become the real cost of the alteration.

A list of what is late, every morning

Tracking only pays off if someone looks at it, so the system should do the looking. The useful list is short: alterations past their due date, stages open for days with no update, stages nobody is assigned to, fittings in the next two weeks for brides with a balance, and work sent to an outside workroom that is past its return date. That list is the morning meeting.

SewingERP's dashboard has exactly that list, called “what's stuck today”. It is built from the jobs, the stages and the calendar, so nothing has to be typed twice.

Photos, measurements and the pickup

• Photos at every fitting. A photo of the pinned hem settles the “it was longer last time” conversation. Attach it to the job, not to a phone's camera roll.
• Measurements with a date. Brides change size between fittings; a measurement history shows it. Garment measurements belong to the dress, body measurements to the bride.
• Pickup with a signature. A short agreement signed at the first fitting (what is included, when it is due, the cancellation terms) and a signature at pickup prevent most disputes. E-signatures are included in every plan. What to record and have signed goes through it step by step.
• The balance before the dress leaves. Put the balance on the pickup appointment, and remind the bride a few days before. Deposits and payment plans explains a policy that works.

Questions