Cabinet Making Software Australia — Production Management for Local Shops

Australian cabinet makers have a software problem. The design side is well covered — Polyboard, Cabinet Vision, CabinetPro, and Microvellum all handle kitchen design, cut lists, and CNC output. But once you have designed the kitchen and generated the cut list, you are on your own for managing production.

How do you schedule six kitchen orders through cutting, edging, machining, assembly, finishing, and installation when three need the spray booth in the same week?

The Australian Cabinet Making Industry

Australia cabinet making industry is diverse. At one end: large commercial manufacturers producing modular systems. At the other: one to two-person shops making custom residential kitchens. In between: the 4-15 person workshops that are the core of the trade.

These mid-size workshops are where production software makes the biggest difference. Too small for enterprise MRP, too large for spreadsheets. Usually running 5-12 orders simultaneously.

What Australian Cabinet Shops Need

Production Scheduling

A Gantt-style timeline showing every order through production phases. Typical phases: engineering, nesting/cutting, edging, machining, assembly, finishing, hardware installation, packaging, delivery, and installation.

Material Tracking for Sheet Goods

Cabinet shops are sheet goods businesses. You might stock 20+ board types plus edging, hardware, hinges, drawer systems, and finishing products. Software that automatically adjusts stock when materials are booked to an order keeps the count accurate.

Job Costing in AUD

Job costing software tracks material costs from inventory bookings, labour hours from timesheets, and subcontractor costs per order. Currency matters — software reporting in GBP or USD means mental conversions every time you check a number.

Team Scheduling

Your CNC operator is not your spray painter. Your assembler is not your installer. Scheduling software showing who works on what across all active orders prevents the daily morning scramble.

Software Options

Australian Field Service Tools

ServiceM8, Tradify, and AroFlo are popular in Australian trades but designed for mobile workers going to job sites. They do not handle production scheduling, workshop inventory, or multi-phase manufacturing.

International Workshop Software

Some UK and US-based workshop management tools work well in Australia, provided they support AUD currency and cloud-based access.

Enterprise MRP/ERP

Katana, Fishbowl, MYOB Advanced are designed for businesses with 30+ employees. For a typical Australian cabinet shop, they are expensive, slow to set up, and over-engineered.

Making the Switch

Trial the software with your current active orders. Enter your orders, set up your phases, add your team. Run alongside your current system for a week. Most cabinet shops find setup takes a few hours and the benefit is obvious within the first week. Start simple: production schedule first, then add stock tracking, then timesheets.