Software for Lab-Connected Optical Stores

A lab-connected optical store needs more than a bill and a delivery note. Staff must record the customer’s refraction, frame and lens details correctly, send a clear job to the lab, check the promised date, and know what is ready for pickup. Optical Mart brings these steps into one order record. Teams can track lab stages, scan jobs back in, check lenses, record remakes and follow up with customers. Use the web app from any current browser, or install the offline desktop app on a Windows counter computer for billing and daily work during an internet outage.

Why this workflow matters

Software for Lab-Connected Optical Stores need software that stays practical for real store teams while still giving owners a clear view of operations, follow-up, and business performance.

Optical Mart connects the store workflow instead of pushing teams into disconnected systems.

What the right optical software should deliver

• Connected billing, CRM, prescriptions, appointments, orders, inventory, and marketing support
• Cleaner staff accountability and visibility for owners
• Repeatable daily workflows that reduce manual effort
• A better customer experience during repeat visits

Run each optical lab order from one counter record

Start the order while the customer is at the counter. Add the customer, refraction, frame and lens details together instead of writing the prescription on one paper and the delivery promise somewhere else. If a doctor’s slip uses plus cylinder, use the optical calculator to transpose it into minus cylinder for the lab, with the working shown. Check the power in 0.25 steps before saving the order.

Create the lab job with the lab name, job number, fitting details and promised date. Optical Mart provides eight job stages from booking to delivery, so staff can see whether an order is booked, with the lab, ready to check, or ready for the customer. The job sheet includes a QR code. When the job returns, scan it back in, check the lenses against ANSI Z80.1 tolerances, and record a remake if something is wrong. The same record remains available for billing, dues and customer follow-up.

• Confirm customer name and phone before sending the job.
• Check frame, lens, power, coating and promised date against the order.
• Mark the order ready for pickup only after the lens check is complete.

What to check before promising an optical delivery

A delivery promise is useful only when the team can monitor it. At the time of booking, check that the lab name, job number and promised date are entered correctly. Make sure the power is readable and that the frame and lens details match what the customer selected. If the customer has paid only part of the amount, record the payment and keep the balance due on the same order rather than relying on a separate notebook.

During the day, review overdue jobs and upcoming promised dates. When a lab updates its status through its own web page, the store can follow the job online. Once the packet reaches the counter, scan it back in and perform the lens check before calling the customer. If it fails, record a remake and who pays. The lab scorecard and lab accounts help the owner review recurring issues instead of treating every delay as a one-off.

When an order is ready, use the follow-up list to see who should be called today. Staff can send the relevant words to the customer, take the remaining payment, print the balance due and complete delivery with a clear history.

• Review overdue jobs before making new delivery promises.
• Match the returned lens to the prescription and order details.
• Record remakes, responsibility and customer communication in the order history.

Web and offline support when the optical counter loses internet

The web app is the right place for work that needs the connected account: owners can check sales, collections, dues and overdue lab jobs from a browser, while the lab’s own status page and WhatsApp campaigns run on the website. Staff on Standard and Hospital plans can sign in with their roles on the web. Branch records, stock transfers and invoice share links are also web-based.

For the physical counter, install Optical Mart’s offline desktop app on a Windows 10 or 11 64-bit computer and sign in once. During an internet outage, the counter can continue billing, taking payments, booking appointments, printing labels and handling other supported daily work for up to three days. Records are encrypted on that computer, with a daily backup on the computer and in the cloud. The desktop uploads work every hour and when the connection returns, so the website catches up with the day’s activity.

Without this arrangement, staff may write lab bookings on loose paper, lose track of part payments, promise a delivery without seeing overdue jobs, or re-enter orders later with mistakes. Keep the counter computer signed in and check the sync after the line returns.

• Use the browser for connected oversight, lab status and campaigns.
• Use the Windows desktop app for counter continuity during an outage.
• Check that offline work has synced before relying on the website view.