Set up well.
Keep work moving.

Your workshop, in one place

Workshop Plan brings the office and workshop together: jobs, a delivery calendar, customers, product and part libraries, stock, cut planning, filing and reports. Each user sees the pages and actions the owner has allowed.

Install and sign in

1. The business owner creates an account on the website and manages the subscription there.
2. Open Users & access and add up to 10 people. Give each person a name, password and the permissions they need.
3. Install Workshop Plan on each PC. Enter the person's generated username and password. The same user can sign in on several PCs.
4. The app lists saved usernames as options. Select a person, or choose Other user to enter a username in a blank field, then enter the password.

Use Switch user in the app sidebar to change people on a shared PC. Saved offline work stays in the original user's workspace. Open editor drafts are retained as encrypted recovery copies; sign back in as the original user to recover them.

Existing device usernames and passwords continue working as user logins. The business owner's account remains for website administration.

Connect your workshop

Standalone Windows or Linux host: download Workshop Plan Host 2.0.0 and run its launcher on the always-on host computer. Register it using the owner account. The service starts at boot and continues when the desktop app is closed. Existing workshops must retain their database and restore a compatible .wpbackup before changing hosts; setup can also explicitly create an empty workshop.

The following steps apply when retaining a desktop app as your existing host:

1. Sign in to Workshop Plan on the main workshop PC so it appears in the website's computer list.
2. On the account website, select the exact computer under Workshop host and choose Make host.
3. Restart Workshop Plan on that PC. Choose its existing workshop data or explicitly start a new workshop. Selecting a replacement host does not move data automatically.
4. The app retains its protected host connection in an internal background process. Sign in as a staff user to work on the screen. Switching staff, or closing the foreground app, leaves that host connection running.
5. Other PCs connect over the same workshop LAN. Keep the host powered on, connected and awake. After a reboot, launch Workshop Plan to start the saved host connection; staff need not sign in first.

Use Settings → Workshop LAN → Check LAN connection to see the host status and retry the connection. The public website coordinates access; workshop data still travels directly over the LAN.

Host authority belongs to the selected installation. Signing into the same user on another computer does not make it a host. Staff page permissions remain separate from the host connection.

Work offline and sync

Once activated and synced, a PC can use its saved workspace and make permitted changes while the host or internet connection is unavailable. Online services such as AI extraction and route calculation still need their service connection.

Changes are queued locally and retried automatically. The host checks permissions again before accepting them. A retry does not intentionally apply the same confirmed operation twice; the local queue is acknowledged only after a host receipt.

Open Sync centre for changes that need a decision. Compare this PC’s version with the workshop version, choose individually or for the batch, then apply. If the workshop changes during your review, refresh the comparison before trying again. A failed reviewed batch rolls back its shared changes and retains the original saved work.

The app opens its saved workspace before checking the host in the background. An unchanged sync check keeps the current page in place. For a new PC, wait for its first successful sync before relying on the local view being complete.

Find the right page

Use the left navigation bar. Only permitted pages appear. Small grey numbers beside page names help you remember the navigation shortcuts; see the app’s keyboard help for the keys on your platform.

Jobs and customer updates

Create a job with a repeat customer or a one-time customer name. Add products, parts or free-text work, then set the due date, priority and phase. Use grid, list and board views to organise the workload.

Customer interaction history is kept separately from ordinary job notes. Automatic customer-status assessments help flag attention where the integration is enabled. A read-only PC can view the saved assessment; changing an override requires job editing access. The authoritative host supplies the assessment service with source history.

Use the job toolbar and context menu for permitted actions. Undo is available for supported changes; it is not a substitute for a retained backup. Review deletions and sync decisions before applying them.

Spreadsheet import and saved Google Sheets connections can bring work into the job list. Connections, editing and imports require their corresponding job and integration permissions. Check imported results before using them for production.

Products and parts

Build reusable products from parts and consumables. Store quantities, notes, custom fields and manufacturing information so repeat orders do not need to be configured again. Manage reusable components in the Library and their available quantities in Inventory.

Renaming, editing, importing and deleting use separate permissions. Permitted offline edits are queued for sync, including product configuration changes. A conflict keeps the saved version available for comparison.

Cut planning and stock

Load job products and parts into Cut plan, choose the sheet size and layout direction, then review the sheet layout and breakdown. Zoom and pan to inspect the result, including panning at 100% zoom.

Use Inventory to track sheet stock, parts, products and custom items. Review stock deductions and adjustments before saving. Calculating a plan, changing stock and exporting cutting output require the appropriate actions to be enabled for the PC.

Customers, filing and documents

Keep repeat customer details in Customers and open records in their own tabs. The customer editor’s actions appear in the toolbar. Viewing a customer does not grant access to restricted job or filing information.

Filing groups documents into folders and links paperwork to workshop records. Use the available folder and document actions to rename, organise, archive or remove items. Generate fabrication forms and other paperwork from the relevant job, then preview or export where permitted.

Document viewing, editing, generation and export have separate requirements. A device that can view a job does not automatically gain access to the Filing page or unrestricted backups.

Plan and run deliveries

Create a named route, add stops and review their order on the map. A route-summary box stays over the map so distance and estimated travel information remain visible while you inspect the route.

Save the route and its scheduled date to keep it available in Deliveries and Calendar. The daily agenda can contain multiple items, each with its own Open action. Save permitted route changes offline and sync when the host is reachable.

Dispatch, completion and exports require their corresponding delivery permissions. Route calculations and geocoding use online services and are estimates; check the route before setting out.

Backups and recovery

Scheduled backups preserve local data and, on an appropriately configured host, the shared database. Backup creation, export and restore are separately controlled. Check the latest backup result in Settings and keep a recovery copy outside the computer that holds the main data.

Sync protects collaboration; backups protect recovery. Do not delete the old database or offline queue when moving to a new device or changing permissions.

On a PC authorised for hosting, backup recovery and sync decisions, use Settings → General → Recover saved changes from another workspace. Select the old database, inspect the listed operations and confirm that they belong to this workshop. The app copies them into Sync centre for review without replacing newer local edits or changing the source database.

If access locks while an editor is open, editor fields and supported draft details are saved in an encrypted recovery copy before the window may close. Use Recover editor drafts after access is restored. Recovery includes job requirements, product definitions, part NC content, supplier products and ordered route stops, as well as fields in inactive tabs. Review and copy the details you need; it does not automatically overwrite newer saved records. Older permission scopes remain on the PC; restoring those permissions makes their scoped recovery available.

Background services and MCP

Workshop Plan includes background sync, scheduled backups, generated paperwork, customer-status processing and optional integrations for Sheets, extraction and routing. Their availability depends on user permissions, settings and service connectivity.

The local MCP connection lets a configured AI client use the app’s exposed workshop tools. Tool availability follows the signed-in user’s access: enabling MCP does not grant access to hidden pages or extra write actions. Keep the connection local and enable only the access the PC needs.

Optional cloud sharing lets an authorised host publish a read-only workshop mirror for the website. This is separate from the local network sync between PCs and is subject to the host’s sharing settings.

Users, permissions and support

The owner manages up to 10 active or pending users on the website. Permissions apply to that person on every PC. Online changes are checked regularly; changes affecting the visible workspace require a restart. Previously saved work remains in its original permission scope.

Resetting a password or revoking a user invalidates their sessions on every PC. If that user authorised the host installation, its saved host session is also revoked; reauthorise the host before expecting LAN sync to resume. A disconnected PC can use only its last verified permissions until the signed offline access expires. Revocation cannot reach a PC that is offline immediately.

Passwords are entered at sign-in. Session keys, tokens, offline password verifiers and host credentials are held in the operating system's protected credential store. They do not replace operating system account security or revoke previously exported files.

For support, include the app version, the action taken and the visible error. Do not send passwords or session tokens.