Software for local service businesses with a storefront

A shop with a counter sells two ways. Walk-ins pay at the register, and your POS handles that. The other half is slower: the customer who wants a quote for 40 custom shirts, the bride booking three fittings, the business that needs a signed work order and an invoice with net-15 terms. That second half is where SoloWOS fits, next to your POS.

A custom job, from the quote to the pickup

1. The customer finds your shop on Google and taps your booking link for a 20-minute consultation, or fills out a quote request form with what they need, quantity and deadline.
2. You send a proposal with each item as a line, your turnaround time and a 50% deposit (example terms). They accept on their phone with their name.
3. If the job needs a work order (repairs where the customer approves a cost ceiling, or a liability waiver for a valuable item), send the PDF through E-Signatures.
4. Create the deposit invoice from the proposal. They pay by card from the link through your Stripe account.
5. Fittings or follow-up visits are booked from a single-use link, so the customer picks exactly one slot.
6. At pickup, ring up the balance on your POS, or send the balance invoice from the proposal for a business customer who pays later.

A typical week at a print shop

• Monday: four quote requests from the website form. Three proposals go out before lunch from your saved template.
• Tuesday: a youth soccer league accepts 60 shirts and pays the deposit. The order goes on the production board.
• Wednesday: a restaurant approves the menu proof you uploaded to their client portal, with a pinned comment fixing one price.
• Thursday: walk-in day. The POS handles the counter; SoloWOS isn't involved.
• Friday: the league picks up. The balance invoice was paid by card that morning, and you log the blank shirts and ink in Expenses.

All 13 tools, one by one

How a local service shop uses each tool:

• Link in Bio: A page linked from your Google Business Profile and Instagram with your booking page, quote request form and hours. Edit it when holiday hours change, with no website update.
• Short Links: A QR code on the counter card and the bag stuffer that leads to your quote form, so you see how many customers scan it in the shop compared to online.
• Forms: Quote requests that change by service: alterations ask for the garment and date, printing asks for quantity and sizes. Answers land on the customer's contact. No file uploads, so artwork comes by email.
• Scheduling: Consultations, fittings and drop-off windows, one customer per slot, with buffers and a reminder email the day before. Walk-ins aren't booked here.
• Proposals: Written quotes with line items, turnaround and a deposit percentage, accepted online. Useful for any job over a few hundred dollars that you'd otherwise quote on a sticky note.
• E-Signatures: Work orders with a cost ceiling, a waiver for a customer's valuable item, or a contract with a business account, signed from a phone with a certificate.
• Document Tracking: Your price list or catalog for business accounts as a tracked PDF: see which companies opened it before you follow up.
• Screen Recording: Rarely needed at a counter. Helpful for showing a business customer the proof on screen and explaining the change they asked for.
• Notes & Boards: A production board for custom jobs with due dates, and a page with supplier contacts and reorder notes.
• Time Tracking: Times custom work, such as a full alteration or a repair, so your quotes match how long the job really takes.
• Invoicing: Deposit and balance invoices for custom jobs, and invoices with net-15 or net-30 terms for business accounts, with reminders if they're late. Counter sales stay on your POS.
• Expenses: Supplies, rent, utilities, equipment repairs and card processing fees, with receipts, to see profit per month in one report.
• Automations: Email a thank-you with your review link a day after an invoice is paid, and follow up on a proposal that hasn't been accepted in 3 days.

Licenses, BOI and sales tax

• Licenses and permits: the SBA says most small businesses need a mix of federal, state and local licenses and permits, and that local governments set their own licensing, permitting and zoning rules. Start with your Secretary of State's site, then your city and county.
• Beneficial ownership (BOI) reports: in March 2025 FinCEN removed the BOI reporting requirement for companies created in the US. It now applies to foreign companies registered to do business in a state.
• Sales tax: whether services and goods are taxable depends on your state, and sometimes your city. Invoicing lets you set the tax rate on each invoice; your state revenue department tells you what to charge.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; check yours with a lawyer or your licensing board.

SoloWOS or Square: which fits

Choose Square if:

• Most of your revenue is walk-ins paying at the counter. You need a POS, and SoloWOS doesn't have one.
• You run more than one location and want them in one system.

Choose SoloWOS (often next to Square) if:

• A good part of your work is custom jobs that need a written quote, a deposit and sometimes a signature before you start.
• You invoice business accounts on terms and want reminders to go out without you.

Prices and features checked on October 23, 2026 on each company's site.

Start with these three

Proposals with your three most common jobs saved as templates, Invoicing for deposits and business accounts, and Scheduling for consultations or fittings. Add Forms for quote requests once those run.

Free tools that help

• Profit margin calculator per job or product line.
• Break-even calculator for your monthly rent and payroll.
• Payment fee calculator to compare card fees on a large job.
• DSO calculator for how long business accounts take to pay.
• QR code generator for counter cards and window signs.

What SoloWOS won't do for a local shop

• No point of sale, card reader, cash drawer or receipt printer.
• No inventory, barcodes or stock alerts.
• No payroll, employee timesheets for wages or tip pooling.
• No gift cards or loyalty points.
• SoloWOS doesn't file taxes, issue 1099s or collect sales tax for you. Invoicing sends the invoice with a pay link (card through your Stripe account) and your other payment details; your accountant or tax software handles the rest.