Welding shop scheduling software for 1-10 person shops
Bead Board puts your hands on jobs by the day, so you, the lead, and the new guy all know what is on the bench tomorrow without a group text.
Quick answer
Bead Board is scheduling software for welding and fabrication shops with 1 to 10 people. Anyone in the shop can put a welder on a job for a day. A day board shows who is on each job, a week roster shows Monday to Sunday by welder or by job, and each hand has a just-me view of their own week. It works with no signal and shows up on every phone when signal returns. It schedules days, not hours: no start times, no time clock, no payroll.
Welders on jobs by the day
One entry is one welder, one job, one day. Put Dave on the handrail Tuesday. Put Dave and Manny on the trailer deck Monday through Friday in one pass.
Split days are fine. A hand can be on two jobs the same day and shows on both, because that is what actually happens when a repair comes in hot.
The day board
Today's jobs as rows, with the hands on each one. Jobs with nobody on them still show, so the gap is visible before anyone strikes an arc. Underneath, the welders with nothing on today, each one tap from being put somewhere.
The week roster
Welders down the side, Monday to Sunday across, job names in the cells. Flip it to jobs down the side when the question is coverage instead of people. Tap an empty cell to fill it.
Just me, for the hands
A welder opens the app and sees only their own week: which job, and any note you left, like bring the 7018. Switch to everyone with one tap. Owners open it the other way round, on the whole shop.
Changes from the floor
Anyone in the shop can move a hand. It saves with no signal in the back bay and lands on everyone else the moment signal returns. Take somebody off and you get an Undo, not a confirm box.
A schedule, not a time clock
Bead Board schedules days. No start times, no punches, no approvals, no pay rates. Hours still get logged the way they do now, against the job, and you still see actual against estimate on the card.
Scheduling software for a three-person shop
Most shop scheduling software is built for plants: work centers, routings, capacity planning, load levelling. A three-person fab shop does not work that way. The same two guys are on the same handrail for a week, then one moves to a repair that came in hot.
Bead Board schedules by the day and by the job because that is how a small shop actually runs. Everybody is included for $99 a month flat, so putting another hand on the board never changes the bill.
Not built for
Questions welders keep asking
Does Bead Board have scheduling?
Yes. You put welders on jobs by the day. A day board shows who is on each job today, a week roster shows Monday to Sunday by welder or by job, and every hand has a just-me view of their own week.
Can my welders change the schedule?
Yes. Anyone in the shop can put somebody on a job or take them off. Small shops run from the floor, and the lead should not have to find you to move one guy.
Does the schedule work offline?
Yes. Changes made with no signal save on the phone and land on everyone else when signal returns. That matters in a metal building where bars go to zero.
Is it a time clock?
No. It schedules days, not hours. There are no start times, no punches, and no pay rates. Hours are logged separately against the job, the way they already are.
Can one welder be on two jobs in a day?
Yes. A split day shows the welder on both jobs. Bead Board does not stop you, it puts it on the board so everybody can see it.
How much does welding shop scheduling software cost?
$99 a month flat for the whole shop, scheduling included. No per-user fee, so adding a hand to the board does not change the bill. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
Free resources
Compare Bead Board: Bead Board vs the whiteboard • Bead Board vs a spreadsheet