Your First 7 Days with Kontraktr
Follow this guide in order. By the end of Day 7, Kontraktr is running your shop — not the other way around. Each day takes 10–25 minutes. You can stop and pick up where you left off.
~2 hours
Total setup time
7 days
Days to full workflow
8–12 hrs
Hours saved per week
Before you start
Have 3 real customers and 1–2 real jobs in mind as you go through this. Don't use made-up data — running a real order through the system is the fastest way to learn it. Also: this guide tracks your progress locally in your browser. Refresh the page and your checkmarks stay.
Before you take your first order in Kontraktr, spend 20 minutes on setup. Get this right and everything downstream runs smoother. Your shop name, logo, and contact info show up on every invoice and customer portal — so it matters.
Add your shop info
Go to Settings → Shop Info. Fill in your business name, address, phone, and email. Upload your logo — PNG with a transparent background works best. This info auto-populates on every invoice, work order, and customer portal page you generate.
Use your official business name exactly as it appears on your bank account. It'll show up on invoices your customers pay.
Set your timezone and currency
Still in Settings → Shop Info, confirm your timezone. Due dates, production schedules, and calendar views all rely on this. If you're in Central time and you leave it on Eastern, your 5 PM deadlines will show up wrong.
Review your status pipeline
Head to Settings → Job Statuses. You'll see the default pipeline: New Order → Art Approval → Films → Screen Burned → In Production → Bagging → Ready → Shipped → Completed. Drag statuses to reorder them to match how your shop actually runs. You can rename any status — just keep the internal slug consistent.
Most shops add a 'Customer Pickup Ready' status between Bagging and Completed. Takes 30 seconds and saves the daily 'is my order done?' phone call.
You can't delete the COMPLETED_ORDER or HOLD statuses — those are system-reserved. Everything else is fair game.
Invite your team (optional on Day 1)
Go to Settings → Team. Add your press operator, art department, or front desk staff. Assign roles: Admin (full access), Manager (most access, no billing), or Staff (production view only). They'll get an email invite to create their password.
Your shop is configured. Every document you generate from here on will have your branding on it.
FAQ — Real Shop Scenarios
30 questions screen printing shops actually ask. Art approval disputes, reprint policies, rush job workflows, and more.
Browse the FAQFull Documentation
In-depth reference for every feature: QR scanning, customer portal, automations, API integration, and the marketplace.
Open the docsEmail Support
Questions, edge cases, or something not working right? Our team responds within one business day.
support@kontraktr.ioOnboarding Call
Want a live walkthrough? We offer free 30-minute onboarding calls for new shops. We'll get you set up together.
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