So You Need a Pottery Planner
I spent years juggling studio schedules, kiln firings, and client orders on loose-leaf paper and whatever calendar app I could find. Nothing worked until I found Planner For Pottery Top 10 and actually started using it with some discipline. Here is the real picture of what it does and what it doesn't do. Planner For Pottery Top 10 is essentially a tracking system designed around the actual workflow of a working potter. It covers piece scheduling, glaze formulation logging, kiln loading plans, drying time windows, and firing records all in one place. The name refers to its ten core planning modules, which most users don't actually need all of them. I only use four regularly. The rest sit there.
How the system actually works
Start by mapping out your current production cycle. I had to learn this the hard way because I jumped straight into entering data without thinking through my process first. My first month of planning was a mess because I tried to force my studio routine into a structure that didn't match how I work. Here is what actually helps: sit down and write out every step from clay prep to final packaging for one complete batch of work. Usually that looks like wedging, throwing or trimming, drying to leather-hard, carving or decorating, drying to bone-dry, bisque firing, glazing, and glaze firing. Only then does the planner start making sense. The kiln section is where most people get stuck. The module wants you to record chamber temperature, element health, pyrometer calibration notes, and shelf placement diagrams. I used to skip the shelf diagrams and just note which pieces went in. Then I lost three mugs during cooling because I didn't realize they were sitting too close to a hot spot near the kiln wall. After that I started drawing simple grid layouts for every load and it cut my breakage rate roughly in half over the next six months. Glaze logging is another area where the planner actually saves you from repeat mistakes. I keep a record of base formula, percent additives, application method, firing temperature range, and the actual result on test tiles. The counter-intuitive thing nobody tells you is that recording the room humidity when you mix glaze matters more than most potters think. I noticed my celadon was running thinner on days over sixty percent humidity even when my measurements were identical. That realization alone made the planner worth it.
What the ten modules actually cover
One is raw material inventory tracking. Another handles production scheduling with lead times. A third manages glaze recipes with version control. The firing log tracks each kiln cycle with before and after photos. There is a client order tracker for custom work. Piece catalog for finished work with dimensions and prices. Equipment maintenance schedule. Studio lease and overhead notes if you run a paid space. Social media and wholesale outreach log. And a notes section that most people ignore entirely but I find useful for random observations like which clay body cracks more in winter or which glaze interacts badly with a particular colorant. The inventory module has a real limitation. It assumes you buy materials in consistent units. If you source clay from different suppliers who sell it by the bag, by the pound, or by the cubic foot, you end up doing conversions manually. I keep a separate spreadsheet for suppliers who don't fit the standard unit and link it to the planner rather than trying to force everything into one system. It works fine once you accept the extra step.
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Getting it set up properly
Most people rush the setup. Don't. Spend two full sessions on the initial configuration. First session covers your studio profile, kiln details, and default firing schedules. Second session covers your most common clay bodies and glazes so you have a working library before you start planning actual work. If you skip this you will spend more time editing defaults than you save. The download is available through the main planning platform. There is a free tier with three active projects and a paid tier that unlocks unlimited projects plus the advanced glaze comparison tools. The free tier is enough for a hobby potter doing a few firings per month. If you are taking commissions and running two or more kiln loads weekly the paid tier pays for itself within the first month in reduced material waste alone.
When this system falls apart
It does not handle multiple kilns well if they fire at very different schedules. I have a small electric kiln for test work and a large gas kiln for production. The planner treats them as separate entries and the overlap tracking gets confusing. I solved it by creating a combined firing calendar view and ignoring the module's built-in overlap warnings since they are calibrated for single-kiln use. Also, the mobile app is sluggish on older phones. If you are entering data between firings on a three-year-old device expect a two to three second delay on every save. Not deal-breaking but annoying when you are trying to log something quickly while your hands are still wet. There is no automatic integration with e-commerce platforms. I used to wish it pulled order data directly from my shop. Instead I export order lists as CSV and import them manually. Takes about ten minutes per batch of orders. Nothing automated will replace knowing which order is which when your email and your planner disagree about a delivery date. The biggest mistake I see new users make is treating the planner as a complete business management tool. It is not. It tracks production, scheduling, and materials. It does not handle invoicing, tax records, or payroll. Keep those separate. Trying to stretch this into a full studio ERP is how people end up abandoning it after three weeks frustrated.
If you want something lighter and just need basic kiln firing logs and a simple calendar I would point you toward a straightforward digital notebook instead. This system is overkill for casual throwers. It is built for people who fire regularly and need to track what happens across dozens of pieces and multiple firings without losing their mind. Start small. Pick one current project and run it through the full planner workflow before adding more. That is how I learned it and that is how most potters stop underestimating what the system can actually handle.
