Pottery Studio Piece & Kiln Tracker for Google Sheets & Excel
For shared, membership and teaching pottery studios. Find any piece by its number, record one Shelved on date to update a whole load's piece stages, and print Load Sheets and Member Slips · by Unelify
$29USD · one-time payment
Buy nowInstant download after payment. You get a PDF with your Google Sheets links (a blank copy and an example studio) and the Excel files. A free Google account is enough.
Google Sheets: free Google account required. Use the Sheets app for daily work; a computer is needed for the first locale and time-zone setup and for printing.
Room for 2,000 pieces · 5,000 load lines · 300 kiln loads · 200 members · 2,000 payments.
See the real workbook in action: the second gallery item is a screen-recorded demonstration. The pictures use genuine spreadsheet screenshots, enlarged close-ups and actual printable pages. Questions before buying? Email hello@unelify.com.
Payment and your receipt are handled by Lemon Squeezy, our checkout. A problem with your files? Write to hello@unelify.com and we will help.
- Instant digital download, nothing is shipped; works in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel
- Find a piece: type its number, a member ID or part of a name and see its stage, where it is now, its loads, fees and pick-up date
- Kiln Loads: type the Shelved on date of a load and every valid piece on it advances to its next stage automatically, with no edits piece by piece
- Firing fees from your own dated price list (by size, weight or piece, with minimums and member types), plus payments, refunds and each member's balance
- Waiting to fire (an estimate): pieces and measured volume per firing against your own reference load, and the oldest waiting. The kiln tech decides
- Printable Load Sheet and Member Slip, formatted for US Letter and A4, one page per part
- Check and update it on a phone at the kiln or the shelves; print from a computer
Where is that member's bowl?
A member asks about piece 197. Type 197 in Find a piece on the Studio tab: P-0197, Ben Carter, Black serving bowl, Ready for pickup since 23 Oct, on the pickup shelf, its bisque, glaze and re-fire loads, its fees and the date to pick it up by. Each piece, or set of identical pieces that always move together, gets one tracking number at hand-in. Mark it on the piece the way your clay and firings allow, and that number follows it from greenware to pickup.
At the kiln, the tech adds each piece to a load (K-013) by its number. When the load is unloaded and its work is on the shelves, one Shelved on date moves every piece on it to its next stage: in the example, shelving bisque load K-012 turns 27 pieces into "Bisqued, ready to glaze". A piece's stage comes only from what someone has recorded: nothing moves on by itself. The Studio tab then shows what is waiting for bisque, in a kiln, on the glaze shelves and ready for pickup, how much work is waiting for each firing, which members have work to pick up, who has been told and who is past your pickup limit.
The numbers are only as complete as what you record: piece sizes or weights, your prices, your reference loads and your pickup policy are your own figures.
How it works
- SettingsStudio name and contact, currency, inches or centimeters, lb or kg, piece and load number prefixes, member types, firings, kilns, places and your dated price list. In Google Sheets, once, on a computer: File > Settings > Locale and Time zone.
- MembersName, phone or email, member type, maker's mark and shelf. The member ID (M001) is made for you.
- Pieces, at hand-inMember, piece and the In date; size or weight when your fees need it. The piece number (P-0001 for your first piece) comes from the row.
- Load a kilnA row on Kiln Loads, then one line per piece on Loaded Pieces. Type Loaded on, Unloaded on and Shelved on: the pieces move on only after Shelved on.
- Glaze hand-in, pickup and paymentsGlaze handed in on, later Picked up on; on Payments, what members pay.
- Every day: StudioFind a piece, see what waits to be fired and who has work to pick up. Print a Load Sheet for the kiln or a Member Slip for a member.
What's inside
Find a piece, the key numbers (waiting, in a kiln, on the glaze shelves, ready, past pickup, balances), waiting to fire per firing, kilns and the pickup list by member.
Up to 2,000 pieces (or sets of identical pieces): stage, place now, loads, size or weight, fees, holds, issues, ready since and pick up by.
Up to 300 loads: kiln, firing, status, loaded, unloaded and shelved dates, cone or program, who loaded and unloaded, result and notes, pieces and % of your reference load.
Up to 5,000 load lines: the load number and the piece number, with a check on every line. A line that needs a fix never moves its piece.
A printable page for a load: numbered lines with piece number, member and mark, piece, size and checked by, plus lines for the firing log. 25 pieces per part.
A printable page for a member: their pieces and stages, fees due, not due yet and paid, the balance, the earliest pickup deadline and your pickup policy. 18 pieces per part.
Up to 200 members: type and type changes, balance, fees not due yet, a balance check, last told on and pickup status.
Up to 2,000 lines for payments, refunds, Balance moved and Credit moved. Opening balances are entered on Members.
Your studio, units, prefixes, pickup and clear-out limits, member types, firings, kilns and places, the dated price list, colors and your own words.
The first steps inside the file, and an example studio (Hollowfield Clay Studio) to look around first.
Questions
Does it control or schedule my kiln?
No. It does not connect to or run a kiln and makes no firing or safety claim. Waiting to fire is a volume estimate against the reference load you enter for each kiln; your kiln tech decides when a kiln is full and how to fire it.
How does a piece move from stage to stage?
Stages are calculated from the records you enter: the piece's load lines, the load's Loaded on, Unloaded on and Shelved on dates, glaze hand-in, pickup and other recorded actions. Shelved on advances the valid pieces in that load to their next stage. Nothing physically moves by itself, and a load line that needs a fix never moves its piece.
How are the firing fees worked out?
From your own dated price list: per cubic inch or cubic centimeter, per lb or kg, per piece, or included, with a minimum per piece and a quantity for sets. Each fee uses the price row in force on its hand-in day, and the member type's own row first. Fees are worked out again each time: never change a price row that pieces use, add a new row with a new From date. If a fee needs missing dimensions, weight or a price, the piece shows "Fee review" instead of a final amount. A Member Slip with unresolved fees is marked NOT FINAL.
Does it text or email members, or take payments?
No. The pickup list shows who has work ready, when they were last told and who is past your pickup limit. You tell them yourself and type the date. Payments are what you record; it does not take payments or send invoices.
Does it clear out old work?
No. Pickup and clear-out limits are your studio's policy. The file reminds you when a member is past them; it never clears anything.
Who is it for?
Shared, membership, community and teaching studios where members bring their own work through bisque and glaze firings. It is not made for paint-your-own-pottery studios.
Can I try it before putting in my studio's real numbers?
Yes. Start with the included fictional Hollowfield Clay Studio example: type a Shelved on date for load K-012 and watch its pieces move on. Use the separate blank copy when you're ready for your own studio.
Inches or centimeters, lb or kg, my currency?
Yes. Sizes in inches or centimeters, weights in lb or kg, and your currency are chosen on Settings.
Do I need Microsoft Excel?
No. Google Sheets is free with a Google account; on a phone, use the free Google Sheets app. If you prefer Excel, the Excel files are included too: a blank file and the example.
How do I get my copy in Google Sheets?
Open the PDF you download and tap a button: a blank copy or the example. Then tap "Use template". A copy is saved in your own Google Drive, and you can share it with your studio staff.
Can I print from my phone?
Check and update it on a phone; print from a computer. In Google Sheets, type the cells named in the grey line at the top of the Load Sheet or Member Slip into the Name box, then File > Print > Selected cells, Fit to page. Each part prints on one page (25 pieces on a Load Sheet, 18 on a Member Slip); a longer list prints in more parts. Formatted for US Letter and A4.
How much does it hold?
2,000 pieces, 5,000 load lines, 300 kiln loads, 200 members and 2,000 payment lines. For a new copy, the START-HERE guide shows how to carry members and their balances over.