FOR CNC MACHINE SHOPS
A CNC job shop lives on quotes. Every drawing needs a price, and that price depends on material, cycle time, setups and how loaded your machines are. Kojo puts your rates and your estimator's rules into one system, so quotes go out quickly and production, stock and payments run on the same records.
HOW THE WORK IS PRICED
A job shop price is built from a few numbers. Material: the bar, plate or casting, sized with allowance for facing and parting, at today's rate, unless the customer supplies it free-issue and you quote a labour-only job work rate. Machine time: the cycle time of each operation multiplied by that machine's hour rate, and an HMC or five-axis machine costs far more per hour than a two-axis CNC lathe. Setup: programming, fixturing and first-piece inspection, which have to be spread over the batch. Then tooling, outside processes like heat treatment, plating or grinding, inspection, packing and freight.
Buyers usually send the same drawing to several shops and compare price per piece, often at two or three quantities. Tolerances and surface finish quietly drive the number: a tight bore or a fine finish means slower passes, more inspection and more rejects. The common traps are a new part whose cycle time was guessed short, a second operation whose setup was forgotten, a small batch priced as if it were a long run, and a repeat order quoted at last year's material rate.
THE HEADACHES
The owner or one senior estimator holds the cycle times and rates in their head. When they are busy or away, enquiries pile up and some never get a reply.
A four-hour setup spread over 20 pieces is a very different price from the same setup over 2,000. Quick per-piece quotes that skip this lose money on every short run.
Customers send the same part number months later and expect last time's rate. Bar and plate prices have moved, but nobody re-checks before saying yes.
Shift output, rejects and machine downtime sit in a register or a WhatsApp group. Nobody can say which machine lost hours last week or why.
THE WORKFLOW
A drawing or 3D model arrives by email or WhatsApp. Check material, tolerances, surface finish, quantity and any special processes like heat treatment or plating.
Decide the operations and machines: turning, VMC milling, drilling, grinding. Estimate cycle time and setup for each, then add tooling, fixtures and outside processes.
Send a priced quote, often at two or three quantities. Follow up until the buyer decides, because most are comparing several shops.
On a purchase order, buy the bar or plate or receive the customer's free-issue material. Fit the job onto machines around the work already running.
Prove the first piece, then run the batch, recording output, rejects and downtime each shift. Do final inspection and a dimensional report if the customer asks for one.
Dispatch with the delivery challan and invoice. Track the due date and follow up until the payment is in.
WHERE KOJO FITS
COMMERCIAL
LIVEPick the customer and part, and Kojo fills material from your raw-material price master, then machining, setup, overhead and margin from your own rates. Setup is part of every calculation, so short runs carry their real cost.
Explore module →COMMERCIAL
LIVERecords how your senior estimator works: cycle time per operation, hour rates for a VMC versus a turning centre, setup allowances. Anyone on the team can then quote a new drawing the same way.
Explore module →COMMERCIAL
ROLLING OUTEvery quote gets a follow-up schedule by email and WhatsApp. A buyer comparing four shops keeps hearing from you without anyone remembering to call.
Explore module →OPERATIONS
ROLLING OUTOperators log production, rejects, downtime and raw material each shift on a tablet beside the machine. It works offline and syncs, which helps where Wi-Fi does not reach every bay.
Explore module →OPERATIONS
ROLLING OUTDrag orders onto machines on a visual plan. Clashes show up before two urgent jobs land on the same VMC.
Explore module →COMMERCIAL
ROLLING OUTCustomers get reminders before and after each due date on WhatsApp, email and SMS. Receivables ageing shows who owes what and for how long.
Explore module →STARTER TO ENTERPRISE
Start with quoting, add production, inventory and payments, then scale across plants with integrations and a dedicated support team.
STARTER
A shop with a handful of CNC machines where the owner does most of the quoting. Start with the quote engine and your own rates, so quotes stop waiting for one person.
GROWTH
A shop with a planner, supervisors and two or three shifts. Add shop-floor logging, inventory and payment reminders, so production and collections run on the same records as the quote.
ENTERPRISE
Several units, often with turning and milling in separate plants. Multi-site roll-up reporting, an open API for your accounting or ERP system, and a dedicated support team with an uptime SLA.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
QUOTE TURNAROUND TIME
Buyers comparing several shops often go with the first credible price, so days lost here are orders lost.QUOTE WIN RATE
Winning almost everything can mean you are too cheap, and winning almost nothing can mean you are too dear or too slow.MACHINE UTILISATION
A machine hour rate only pays back while the spindle is cutting, so idle and setup hours are cost you carry.REJECTION RATE
Every rejected part costs material and machine time that the quote never allowed for.COMMON MATERIALS
Each material page has properties, equivalent grades and a free weight and machining cost calculator.
QUESTIONS
Yes. During setup Kiviro configures your machines, rates, margins and quote templates. The machining estimator then applies your cycle times and setup allowances the same way on every job.
No. Kiviro brings your existing Excel data into Kojo during onboarding and trains your team. Quoting goes live in about three weeks.
It is built for a tablet at the machine, with big buttons. Operators log production, rejects, downtime and raw material for their shift, and it works offline, syncing when the connection returns.
Book a free 30-minute visit. We'll run one of your real jobs through Kojo on the spot. Outside India? We'll do it on a video call.
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