Tuesday's parcel to the setter
Not every job is done at your own bench. Pavé resetting goes to a specialist setter. Hand engraving goes to an engraver two towns away. Watches go to a watchmaker who collects on Wednesdays. Rhodium plating, laser welding, pearl restringing: many independent shops send some or all of this out.
Each send-out works roughly the same way. Someone writes a list on a sheet of paper, the envelopes go into a padded bag, and the bag goes by courier or in the owner's car. When things come back, they come back in twos and threes, sometimes with an invoice, sometimes without. Nobody ticks them off against the original list, because the list is in a drawer somewhere.
Then a customer comes in for her eternity ring and you cannot find it. Is it at the setter? Came back last week and misfiled? The setter says he returned it. You are fairly sure he did not.
Why send-outs are a blind spot
The shop's records follow the customer, not the piece. The repair book says 'eternity ring, reset stones' and a price. It does not say 'sent to setter 12th, due back 26th, returned 24th'. Once a job leaves the building it effectively disappears from your system.
Outworkers have their own records, but those follow their batches, not your job numbers. Their invoice might say 'six items reset' without saying which six. Reconciling that against your list is fiddly and usually skipped.
The courier leg adds another gap. If you use a secure courier for high value parcels, the tracking number and insured value live in an email or on the courier's site, disconnected from the pieces inside.
What an untracked send-out costs
| Gap | What it leads to |
|---|---|
| No itemised dispatch note | Arguments with outworkers about what was sent |
| No expected return date | Jobs overdue without anyone noticing |
| No check-in on return | Pieces sitting in the parcel unpacked |
| Invoices not matched to jobs | Paying for work twice or not charging the customer |
| Parcel value not recorded | Uncertainty about what cover applied in transit |
The worst case, a lost piece, is rare but serious, and it is exactly the case where you most need a clear record. The everyday cost is quieter: the time spent every week working out where things are, and customers told the wrong date.
How we track every piece that leaves the shop
- Each outworker is set up in the system with their trade, usual turnaround and contact details.
- When you prepare a send-out, you scan the job envelopes into a batch for that outworker. The system prints an itemised dispatch note with job numbers, descriptions and photos, one copy for the parcel and one for your file.
- The batch records the courier, tracking reference and declared value, so the parcel and its contents are linked.
- Each job shows 'with setter' and an expected return date based on that outworker's turnaround, and the customer's promised date can be checked against it.
- When the parcel comes back, you scan each envelope in. Anything missing from the batch is flagged straight away, while the outworker still remembers the parcel.
- Outworker invoices are matched to the batch, so you can see what you were charged per job and make sure it was added to the customer's bill.
Outworkers do not need to use your system. Some prefer to receive the dispatch note by email and reply with their invoice. We fit around how they already work.
A week of send-outs, done properly
Tuesday's parcel still goes out in a padded bag. The difference is that it goes out with a printed list that matches your records, and when it comes back each piece is scanned in and moved on to quality check or ready for collection.
- Any piece's location is known: in the shop, on the bench, or with which outworker
- Overdue send-outs appear on a morning list before a customer asks
- Outworker charges line up with the jobs they relate to
- A clear record exists for any parcel if something goes wrong in transit
Signs your send-outs need tracking
- You send work to more than one outside trade.
- Dispatch lists are handwritten and rarely checked on return.
- You have spent time hunting for a piece that turned out to be with an outworker.
- Outworker invoices do not clearly show which jobs they cover.
- Courier tracking numbers are not recorded against the pieces inside.