Tools to Run Your Custom Cutting Boards Business
Running a custom cutting boards business requires managing orders, tracking designs, communicating with clients, handling payments, and organizing your production schedule. The right software stack helps you handle these tasks without spending hours on admin work, letting you focus on craftsmanship and growing revenue.
You don’t need expensive enterprise software to start. Many tools offer free tiers that work well for new makers, and you can upgrade as your order volume increases. Below are the categories and specific tools that matter most for this business.
Order and Project Management
Airtable works well for custom cutting board businesses because you can create a database that tracks each order from inquiry through completion. You’ll store client names, design specifications, wood types, dimensions, finish details, and production deadlines in one place. Multiple team members can access the same base, so everyone knows which boards are in progress and which are ready to ship.
Monday.com offers a visual workflow tool that shows your production pipeline. You can set up columns for “Design Approved,” “In Progress,” “Finishing,” and “Ready to Ship,” then drag orders across as they move through your process. This visibility helps you spot bottlenecks and manage customer expectations about timelines.
Invoicing and Payments
Custom cutting board orders often require a deposit before production begins, and final payment when the board ships. Square Invoices lets you send professional invoices with payment links, so clients can pay deposits directly from their email. The tool tracks which invoices are paid and which are pending, and deposits go straight to your business bank account.
Stripe integrates with most e-commerce and invoicing platforms and handles online payments securely. You’ll pay a percentage fee per transaction (around 2.9% plus 30 cents), but this is standard across payment processors and worth the cost for reliable processing. Stripe also handles refunds and disputes professionally.
Design and File Management
Google Drive is free and sufficient for storing design files, client photos, wood samples, and production notes. You can organize folders by client name or order date, share design drafts with customers for approval, and access files from your phone or computer. This beats storing everything on your laptop, which puts your business at risk if your device fails.
Canva is useful if you’re creating simple designs or customizing templates for client-requested engravings. You can upload logo files, play with text placement, and export designs ready for your engraving or burning tools. The paid version ($120/year) unlocks more templates and features if you’re designing frequently.
Scheduling and Timelines
Calendly prevents back-and-forth emails about design consultation times. Clients book a 30-minute or one-hour slot on your calendar, and both you and the client get a confirmation. This is especially useful if you offer design consultations before customers approve their boards.
Google Calendar is free and works for basic scheduling. You can set production deadlines, mark when orders ship, and block time for bulk tasks like finishing multiple boards at once. Sharing your calendar with team members (if you have them) keeps everyone aligned on deadlines.
Customer Relationship Management
HubSpot CRM offers a free plan that tracks customer interactions and stores contact information. You can log design preferences, order history, and notes about what clients liked or disliked about previous boards. This matters when customers come back for repeat orders or referrals—you’ll have a record of their preferences.
Pipedrive is built for small businesses tracking leads and sales. You can create a pipeline showing prospects in “Design Consultation,” “Deposit Paid,” and “Order Shipped” stages. The visual dashboard shows how many potential sales are in each stage, helping you forecast revenue.
Email Communication
Mailchimp is free for up to 500 contacts and lets you send email newsletters to past customers with new designs, seasonal offerings, or promotions. You can segment your list so repeat customers see different emails than first-time buyers. Building an email list is one of the most cost-effective ways to drive repeat orders.
Gmail works fine for individual customer emails, but as your business grows, consider moving to a business email account (your-name@yourbusiness.com instead of a personal Gmail). Clients take you more seriously, and you can set up labels and filters to organize order-related emails separately.
Accounting and Financial Tracking
Wave is free accounting software where you can track income from orders, log expenses (wood, finish, tools, shipping), and run profit-and-loss reports. At tax time, you’ll have organized records instead of scrambling through receipts. Wave also handles invoicing, so it can replace a separate invoicing tool if your budget is tight.
QuickBooks Self-Employed costs about $15 per month and is designed for small business owners who need to track mileage, log business expenses, and estimate quarterly taxes. If you’re buying materials from multiple suppliers and need to calculate your actual costs per board, this tool provides clarity on your profit margins.
Social Media and Marketing
Buffer lets you schedule Instagram or Facebook posts in advance so you’re not posting manually every day. You can batch-create content—photos of new designs, behind-the-scenes board production, customer testimonials—then schedule them to post throughout the week. A $15/month plan covers multiple social accounts.
Free vs Paid Tools
Start with free tools: Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Calendly (free tier), and HubSpot CRM. These cover design storage, scheduling, and customer tracking without upfront cost. Once you’re processing 5+ orders per month consistently, upgrade to paid invoicing (Square Invoices or Wave) and a visual project management tool (Monday.com or Airtable) to save yourself hours per week.
Expect to spend $30–60 per month on core tools once you scale. This includes invoicing, project management, accounting, and email marketing. At your revenue level (custom boards typically sell for $75–250 each), these subscriptions pay for themselves after a handful of orders.
The Minimum Tech Stack to Launch
- Square Invoices or Wave for taking payments and tracking orders
- Google Drive for storing design files and customer photos
- Calendly or Google Calendar for scheduling design consultations and tracking deadlines
- HubSpot CRM or a simple spreadsheet for storing customer contact information and order history
- Mailchimp for email list building once you have 20+ past customers