First day in MakerDesk

Set up your workshop and run the first order

Learn the navigation, establish the minimum catalog and inventory records, then turn customer demand into an operational decision.

12 minute guide Owners, operators, and new workshop staff

After this guide

You can move from a new account to a product, its production inputs, and a planned order without losing where the work came from.

1. Orient yourself

MakerDesk keeps global areas, the current workshop, and the page-specific actions visible at the same time.

1
Confirm the active workshop
Use the workshop switcher in the header. Changing it changes the operational records shown across MakerDesk.
2
Use the global rail
Home summarizes attention. Workshop owns demand, catalog, and inventory. Production runs approved build work.
3
Use the contextual sidebar
The second sidebar changes with the selected area. Collapse it when you need more working room; restore it from the header.
4
Recognize planned pages
Planned entries describe the intended information architecture but are not yet operational. Show or hide them in Navigation settings.

Products describe what you sell. Materials and tools describe what production consumes. Recipes connect them.

1
Create a product
Add the catalog identity and first sellable item. Save a draft if the SKU, price, recipe, or image is not ready.
Create product
2
Add materials
Create raw inputs manually or from a supplier reference URL, then set the unit, opening stock, reorder point, and preferred supplier.
Create material
3
Register tools
Record molds, presses, engravers, or other equipment that a recipe occupies so production can see conflicts.
Open tools
4
Create a recipe version
Connect the product to material quantities, tool time, policy role, and quality evidence.
Create recipe

Orders decide how each line will be supplied. Builds only receive work that must be made in-house.

1
Open Orders
Select imported channel demand or create a manual order for a walk-in, pickup, or shipment.
Open Orders
2
Review every line
One order may use several supply paths. Select each line and review finished stock, build readiness, and approved supplier offers.
3
Choose the supply path
Reserve stock when it exists. Otherwise build in-house, order finished units to stock, or direct ship through an approved supplier.
4
Continue in the owning area
Build choices create Production work. Purchases remain purchasing work. Ready lines stay in Orders for pickup or shipping.

Start from exceptions, update the record that owns the decision, and leave a trace for the next operator.

1
Begin on Home
Review orders awaiting decisions, active builds, material shortages, and resource utilization.
Open Home
2
Resolve blockers at their source
Fix stock in Inventory, sourcing in Orders, and shop-floor progress in Builds instead of changing a summary card.
3
Record progress and context
When advancing a build, confirm the move and add the completion percentage and a useful shop-floor comment.
4
Finish with readiness
Before publishing or shipping, review channel readiness and any incomplete operational setup.
Review readiness

Orders answer “how will we supply this demand?” Builds answer “how do we execute the in-house work?”

Product and material setup support drafts. Use Save draft & exit when the operational details are not yet known.

Core concepts

MakerDesk stays understandable by separating identity, catalog, supply, production execution, and fulfillment while preserving links between them.