Welding customers want two things that pull against each other. They want welders and crew foremen to get what they need without waiting. And they want control over spend, because consumables, filler metal and gas add up quickly, and a job can lose money one box of tips at a time.
Without tools for both, customers lean too far one way. Either every order goes through the office and the field waits, or anyone can order anything and the owner finds out at month end. The app offers a middle ground, and that makes you easier to do business with.
Foremen order, managers approve
Any user on an account can be set as a manager. Orders that need approval go to whoever manages the account by email and text, with an approve or decline button. A contractor's owner can approve a crew foreman's order for a new wire feeder or a case of rod from a job site, without logging into anything.
You can also set how each user orders: orders only, quotes only, or both. A new welder might be quote-only, building what he needs for the foreman to approve. A trusted foreman might order directly up to a budget.
Monthly budgets by job, crew or department
Each user or account can have a monthly budget, and there are two ways to run it:
- Hold only what goes over: orders flow normally, and only the order that would push the calendar month past the budget is held for the manager.
- Approve every order: every order goes to the manager regardless of amount, for areas where the owner wants a look at everything.
A manufacturer might give each welding department a monthly consumables budget on the first setting, while putting machines and equipment on the second. A contractor might set a budget per crew so each foreman knows what he has to work with.
One master account for every location
Many of your best welding customers aren't one shop. They're a manufacturer with several plants, a contractor with field crews and a home shop, or a company with divisions in different towns. Treating each location as a separate customer means duplicate pricing, duplicate part numbers and constant cleanup.
A master account holds the price file, the customer's part numbers and the terms for all its locations. No orders are placed on the master itself; it exists to be pointed at. Each location inherits the master's price file, discount and cross-references, and anything set on a location overrides the master when a site needs something different.
You can also block an item and name what to order instead, and the buyer is told at checkout. Set it on the master and every location follows. When the company standardizes on one filler metal for a qualified procedure, or one auto-darkening helmet for its safety program, every site buys the approved item without anyone sending a memo.
Why it wins business
When a multi-site manufacturer or contractor consolidates welding suppliers, the office wants consistency and control: one price file, approved items, budgets per site or crew. A distributor that can show all of that in one place has a strong case.
And at the shop level, approvals and budgets mean the owner can let welders and foremen order directly without losing control. Orders move out of the office's inbox and into your store, each with its approval already attached.
Ready to walk through it with your own accounts? Book a demo.