The reality of a tailoring shop
A tailoring shop is a small factory with a counter in front. There is usually one person taking orders, a cutting master who decides how each piece is cut, and a few karigars on machines, some paid a monthly salary and some per piece. Orders come in all day: shirts, trousers, blouses, salwar kameez, school uniforms. Each one has a promised date written in a register.
The trouble starts when the shop gets busy. Two karigars both think the other one is doing an order. A customer’s old measurements are on a page nobody can find. At month end, working out how many pieces each karigar finished takes an evening with a calculator.
What a shop needs, in order
1. A clean order list. Every order with its garments, order date and delivery date, sorted by the latest order. Status moves from pending to in progress to ready to delivered. The dashboard lists deliveries due in the next 30 days. More on order management.
2. Measurements you can find in seconds. Search the customer and open their dated measurement sets. A set can name the preferred cutting master, which helps when one master always cuts for a regular customer.
3. Work split by stage and by person. You define your stages, such as cutting, stitching, kaaj-button and ironing. Each garment stage is assigned to a karigar, who sees it on their own board and marks it started or done. Read about karigar management.
4. Piece rates and payroll. Per-piece karigars get a piece rate multiplied by the tasks they complete. Salaried staff get salary structures, monthly payroll runs and salary advances with repayment. See attendance and payroll.
5. Billing at the counter. Take the advance when the order is booked; it carries onto the final bill. Accept cash, UPI, card, bank transfer or cheque, and keep partial payments visible. See GST billing for tailors.
6. The galla. A daily cash register for cash in and out by source, so the evening count matches.
A typical order, start to finish
- A customer orders two shirts and one trouser. You open their profile, check last year’s measurements and update the chest.
- You create one order with three garments and a delivery date, and take ₹500 advance.
- The cutting stage is assigned to the master, stitching to two karigars.
- Each karigar marks their task done. The order shows ready, and if you have connected WhatsApp, the customer gets an “order ready” message.
- At pickup you raise the bill, the ₹500 is already deducted, and the customer pays the rest by UPI.
When the shop grows
Shops that send work out, for example to an embroidery unit, can track it with job work. The production view adds a Gantt chart and capacity planning based on how many karigars and contractors you have.
For a shop with a few staff and karigars, Studio at ₹999/month + GST allows 10 logins and includes karigar assignments, attendance, payroll and GST invoicing. Compare plans on the pricing page. If you mainly stitch for women, the ladies tailor page goes deeper on blouse and suit work.
Frequently asked questions
How do tailors keep records of orders and measurements?
Most still use a register and a measurement book. Software keeps the same details per customer, but makes them searchable and ties each measurement set to the order it was used for.
Can I pay my karigars per piece in tailoring software?
Yes. In VogueDesk you set a rate per stage for each garment type, for example stitching a blouse or finishing a kurta, and the work each karigar completes is counted against those rates.
Does tailoring shop software work with a biometric attendance machine?
VogueDesk accepts check-ins from biometric devices that use the iClock protocol, which covers many common ZKTeco and eSSL-type machines. Attendance can also be marked by hand.
Do I need a computer at the counter?
No. VogueDesk runs in a phone or tablet browser as well as on a computer, so you can take orders on whatever device is at the counter.
Can I bill with GST from tailoring software?
Yes, on the Boutique plan and above. You set your GSTIN once, pick HSN or SAC codes from a master list, and the invoice works out CGST and SGST or IGST.
Last updated 31 October 2026.