Trace Documentation

Getting Started

Trace works in three steps. You write an instruction once. You start an assembly from it whenever you build a batch, with one serial number for each unit. Operators work through the steps, and Trace keeps the build record for every serial.

1. Create Your Account

Select Start Trial and register with your work email and company name. Confirm the email address and Trace opens. Starter and Pro both start with a 14-day trial. Plans, payment details, and invoices live in Billing, which opens from the sidebar.

2. Set Up Your Company

Open Company Profile to add your company name and logo, and Settings to choose how quality checks, reports, and revisions behave. Both are covered in Company Settings. The defaults work for most shops, so you can start building before you change anything.

3. Add Your Team

Open Users and select Add User. Give each person a Trace role: Trace Admin, Quality Checker, or Operator. The details are in Team and Access.

4. Follow the Checklist

The Get Started with Trace card walks you through the first unit: create your first instruction, publish it, start an assembly session, and complete a unit on the shop floor. Each task has a Show Me How guide, and the card also links to setting up reports and completing your company profile. Replay App Tour runs the tour again.

5. Watch the Walkthrough

Video walkthrough of the instruction editor: steps, autosave, step requirements, and publishing.

InstructionsWrite the steps once. Build from them as many times as you need.

The Instructions Library

Instructions lists every product you have written work instructions for. Each card shows the product number, name, revision, tags, step count, who last edited it, and when. Search by product number or name. From a card you can open the quick view, print the instruction, or select Edit Instruction.

The menu on each card (the three dots) has Print Instruction, Edit Product Details, Duplicate, and Delete. Duplicate is the quickest way to start a new product that is close to an existing one.

Quick View opens a read-only walk through every step without leaving the library, with Compare Revisions and Print Instruction one click away.

Create an Instruction

Select New Instruction. Enter a product number and name, and optionally add a product image, tags, and a description. Product image files can be JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, or SVG, up to 5 MB. Create & Edit opens the editor on a new draft.

The Editor

The editor has a list of steps on the left and the selected step on the right. A step is built from blocks that you add underneath the step title, and you can drag blocks to reorder them. The tabs above the step switch between Instruction Content, Measurements, and Step Settings.

Block Types

Bill of Materials and Equipment

Open BOM & Equipment at the top of the step list to keep one list of parts and tools for the whole instruction. Parts and tools you reference in a step appear in that step for the operator, so the list stays the single source.

Measurements

On the Measurements tab, add the readings an operator must record for the step. A measurement has a name, a type, a unit, and an allowed range. The operator enters a value in the assembler, and Trace marks it in spec or out of spec against that range.

Step Settings

The Step Settings tab controls how a step behaves on the shop floor.

• Enable Quality Checking. A quality checker must review the step before it can be finalized. Any step with measurements already has quality checking on.
• This Step Has a Target Time. Give operators a goal and compare it with the actual time.
• Step Must Be Finished Before Leaving. Operators cannot move to another step until this one is finished.

The tab also lists the parts and tools used in the step, and Copy Settings to Other Steps applies the same settings to several steps at once.

Sub-Assemblies

Link Sub-Assembly at the bottom of the step list links another instruction into this one. Use it when a gearbox, for example, is built from its own instruction and then installed in a final assembly.

Autosave and Single Editor

The editor saves as you work. The bar at the bottom shows the save state, plus word, block, and measurement counts, and a zoom control for the page. Only one person can edit an instruction at a time. Undo and redo are in the toolbar.

Readiness Check

Select Readiness before you publish. It lists errors and warnings, such as a step with no content, so you can fix them first. When nothing is wrong it says the instruction is ready.

Import and AIStart from a document you already have, and tidy steps faster.

Manual entry is always free. AI features save time and use credits from your plan. See Plans and Limits for what each plan includes.

Paper to Trace

If your instructions live in a Word document, Import from Document turns it into a draft. Upload a .docx assembly manual, up to 20 MB. Trace extracts the text, images, and bill of materials, plans the sections, and opens a draft in the editor for you to refine. Part numbers and images are copied from the source as they are.

The Import Review panel opens beside the draft. It shows how many steps, parts, tools, images, measurement candidates, and sub-assemblies were found, and lists each detected section with its confidence. Review a section, enhance it, and select Done Reviewing when you are satisfied.

Enhance Step

Enhance in the editor rewrites one step for clarity and structure. It does not touch your images, and it shows the original and the result side by side with a list of suggested changes. Each change can be checked or unchecked, the whole thing is applied only when you choose Apply Enhancement, and it can be undone afterwards. Parts and tools the model suggests are marked so you can check them.

Publishing and RevisionsOnly published revisions can be used to start an assembly.

A new instruction starts as a draft. Select Publish to make the draft the latest published revision. You can add a change note describing what changed, or have AI write one from the differences (this uses a credit). Once published, further edits start a new draft revision. Revisions already used by assemblies stay exactly as they were.

Compare Revisions shows two revisions side by side so you can see what changed in each step. It opens from the card in the library or from Quick View.

AssembliesOne assembly is one batch: an instruction, a purchase order, and a list of serial numbers.

Start an Assembly

Open Assemblies and select Start Assembly. Pick the instruction, choose the revision (the latest by default), and enter a purchase order number. Then set the serial number count and the starting serial number. Trace creates that many serials in sequence, for example 5201 to 5205.

The Assemblies List

Each card shows the product, purchase order, who started it, how many people are working on it, the number of serials, and overall progress. Use Open Assembly to go to the shop floor view, the download button for reports, and the gear button to manage the session.

Manage an Assembly Session

The manage dialog has three parts. Overview shows the status, the progress split between finished, ongoing, and not started, and each serial with how many steps are done. Settings edits the product details, purchase order, and tags, and switches the Rapid Finish Check on or off. Danger Zone holds actions that cannot be undone.

When an assembly is complete, Overview also shows an AI Session Overview: an executive summary of the quality control that took place and any open items. It can be regenerated (one credit) or generated automatically when an assembly completes, which is a setting.

Shop FloorWhat operators see when they work through an assembly.

Work a Serial

Select Open Assembly, then pick a serial. The page shows the current step with its text, images, parts, and tools. Along the bottom is a row of numbered step bubbles: green is finished, orange is in progress, and grey has not started. A bubble marked You is the step you hold, and a name under a bubble shows who else is working there.

The panel at the bottom right summarises the step: how many measurements are done, any remarks, and the quality check state. Select Finalize Step when everything required is complete. The button stays locked and says what is missing until then.

Measurements

A step with measurements shows each one with its unit and allowed range. Type the value and Trace marks it In Spec or Out of Spec. A step cannot be finalized until every measurement has a value.

One Operator per Step

The first operator to open a step holds it, which stops two people recording over each other. If someone else needs the step, they select it and send an access request. The holder can approve or deny. If approved, the holder switches to read-only and the other operator takes over.

Batch Finalize

When the same step is complete on several serials, Batch Finalize finalizes them together instead of one at a time. Every serial still has to meet the step's requirements.

Quality Checks

A step set up for quality checking cannot be finalized until a quality checker approves it. The operator selects Request QC and chooses a checker, and only people with a Quality Checker role appear in the list.

The checker reviews the step and fills in the Quality Check Report. Notes are optional when approving and required when rejecting.

If the checker rejects the step, the quality check state turns to Rejected and the step cannot be finalized. The operator resolves the problem and requests a quality check again.

Random Spot Checks

Turn on Random QC Verification in Settings and Trace occasionally requires an unscheduled quality check when an operator finishes a step that does not already need one. You set how often it happens. The operator sees a Spot Check Required prompt and starts the check, or chooses Later, but the step cannot be finalized until a quality checker approves it.

Remarks and Problems

Select Remarks to record something that happened on a step. A remark has a Problem (what went wrong, with up to 10 supporting images) and a Solution (what was done about it). A remark stays marked Awaiting Solution until the solution is written, so open issues are easy to find. Everything is logged against the serial and step.

Rapid Finish Check

With Rapid Finish Check on (it is a setting for each assembly), operators see a verification prompt if they finish several steps in a row much faster than expected. It catches steps that were clicked through without being done.

Tablet and Paper

The assembler works on a tablet. Step bubbles and buttons are sized for touch, and the page follows the screen size.

If Trace is unavailable, controlled paper run sheets can be used for a limited time. Set an Authorised Until date and time and a note in Settings, and the authorisation ends on its own. The paper fallback is covered under Company Settings.

Reports and SharingThe build record, as a file you can hand to someone.

PDF and Excel Reports

From an assembly card, use the download button to generate the Product Assembly Traceability Record as PDF or Excel. The record has the assembly information and a session overview, then each serial with its steps: who completed each one and when, the measurements and whether they were in spec, remarks, and quality check results. The document number and revision in the report header come from Settings.

Exported reports are stored with your company records for the retention period you set, so you can come back to them later.

Report Branding

In Settings, Report Branding sets how your company appears on exported PDF and Excel reports. Use your company logo from the profile or upload a custom one, then choose a Brand Color for title bars and section headers and an Accent Color for highlights. Report tables stay neutral so they print cleanly.

Share an Assembly

On Pro, select Share on an assembly to choose who can see it. There are three choices: Don't Share (company members only), Anyone with the Link, and Password Protected. Copy the link and send it. You can switch sharing off again at any time.

Viewers open a read-only page for the assembly and can download reports without an account. This is useful for sending a customer the build record for their order.

AnalyticsProduction and quality at a glance.

Analytics opens with a Right Now row: open problems, the longest-open problem, active sessions, live workers, and drafts in progress. Below it are totals for the last 7, 30, or 90 days (your choice): steps completed, QC pass rate, problems reported, and instructions published.

Production Targets compares the units finished today with the daily target you set for each product, and charts each day against its target. Daily totals follow your shop timezone, which is set in Company Settings.

Team and AccessWho can see and do what.

Users

Open Users to see everyone in the company, the role each person has, and how many seats you are using. Select Add User to create a user with a username, email, and password, a platform role, and a Trace role. The three-dot menu on a card opens that user's settings.

Roles

A platform role covers company-wide areas: users, billing, company profile, and storage. A Trace role covers work instructions and assemblies. Trace comes with three Trace roles:

Roles can be customised. Open the role manager from Users to create your own role, duplicate an existing one, and switch individual permissions on or off. Permissions are grouped by area, such as Assemblies, Instructions, Quality, and Reports, and each group can be expanded to its individual permissions. A person can also be given extra permissions beyond their role.

Product Access

Having an account is not the same as having access to a product. Product access is granted per person, so a user who should only use Trace does not get Measure or Quote just because the company has them. The product switcher shows each signed-in user only the products they can open.

StorageEvery file in one place.

Storage lists every file used by your instructions and reports: images, videos, 3D models, documents, and exported reports. The meter at the top shows what you use against what your plan includes. Filter by source (Instructions or Reports), type, or date, and select a file to preview it.

View Breakdown splits usage by file type and shows what each instruction is using.

Deleted files go to Trash first. From there you can restore a file or delete it permanently to free the space.

Company SettingsBehaviour that applies to the whole company.

Open Settings and use the four tabs. Changes save automatically, and the status at the top shows when they are saved.

Quality and Automation

Random QC Verification turns random spot checks on and sets how often they happen, from 0% to 20% of eligible step finishes (7.5% by default). Steps that already need a quality check are never picked. Batch Finalize applies the same chance to each eligible serial. Automatic Executive Summary Generation creates the AI session overview for you when an assembly completes (one credit each). With it off, you can still generate one by hand.

Documents and Records

• Product Assembly Traceability Record. The document number and revision printed on exported reports.
• Require Separate Publisher. The person who publishes cannot be the draft author.
• Allow Non-Latest Revisions. When off, assemblies can only start on the latest published revision.
• Paper Fallback. Authorise controlled paper run sheets until a set time, with a note on the reason.
• Record Retention. How many years exported reports are held. The default is 5, and held reports cannot be deleted.

Costing

Set an Hourly Labor Rate to estimate labor cost from the time tracked on each step. Leave it empty to hide cost figures. The Shop Timezone sets the calendar day used for Analytics totals and production targets.

Report Branding

The logo and company details printed on reports. See Reports and Sharing.

Plans and Limits

Trace has two plans, both with a 14-day trial. Larger teams can contact us about a Custom plan. Current prices are on the pricing page.

FAQ