How to set up a commission queue (Trello, Notion, a sheet, or a public page)

A commission queue does two jobs. You see what's next. Your clients see where they stand, so you get fewer "hey, any update?" messages.

Most artists end up with two versions. A private tracker holds everything: names, prices, due dates, and whether they've paid. A public queue shows only a nickname and a status. Keep those two apart and you're most of the way there.

What to put in your commission queue

Start with the statuses. Each one is a column on a board, or a dropdown in a sheet. Keep it short. Five or six is plenty.

"Waiting on client" is the one people skip, and it's the most useful. It shows which pieces are stuck, and it's not on you.

Then give each commission a few details in your private tracker:

1. Client handle and how to reach them
2. What they ordered, like "half body, 1 character"
3. Price, and whether it's paid
4. Due date, if you promised one
5. Where the references are

Not sure what to ask for? See how to ask clients for references.

For the public queue, pick a nickname for each one. Ask the client what they'd like, or use initials. Never post a real name, a price, or an email.

Commission slots: how many at once

Slots are how many commissions you take at one time. Say you have 5 slots and 3 commissions in progress. That means 2 slots are open.

Slots keep you from saying yes to 20 people in one weekend. When a piece is delivered, its slot opens again. A clear "2 of 5 open" in your bio also tells people to book soon.

How to set up a Trello commission queue

Trello is a board from the start, which makes it the fastest option. A board has lists (columns) and cards. You drag cards from list to list to show progress.

1. Make a new board called "Commissions."
2. Add one list per status, from Accepted to Delivered.
3. Add a card per commission. Put the client handle and order in the title.
4. Open a card and click Dates to add a due date.
5. Drag the card to the next list as you work.

For a public queue, make a second board with nicknames only. Set its visibility to public. Trello's help says anyone with the link can view a public board, but only members can edit it. Public boards are not indexed by search engines like Google.

The free plan costs $0. It gives you up to 10 boards and 10 collaborators per Workspace, unlimited cards, and 250 Workspace command runs a month. Attachments are capped at 10MB per file, so keep big PSDs and reference packs somewhere else.

How to set up a Notion commission tracker

Notion takes longer to set up, but one list can have many views. You can have a board for daily work and a table for prices.

1. Make a new page. Under "Get started with," click the three dots and choose Board. You can also type /Board view on any page.
2. Add a Status property with your statuses. Notion groups a board by status when the database has one.
3. Add properties for the client, price, paid, and due date.
4. Add a page per commission. Drag cards between columns as you go.

For a public queue, publish a separate page. Open it, click Share, go to the Publish tab, and select Publish. Anyone on the web can view it. Subpages get published too, unless you hide them. Viewers can switch between the database's views and open the pages in it. So never publish your private tracker. Make a public copy with nicknames and statuses only.

The free plan costs $0. File uploads are capped at 5MB each, which is small for art files.

How to set up a commission tracker in Google Sheets

A sheet is the simplest of all. Anyone with a Google Account can make one. It's great if you like seeing everything in rows.

1. Make columns: Nickname, Client, Order, Price, Paid, Due, Status.
2. Select the Status column. Click Insert, then Dropdown.
3. Type your statuses as the options and click Done.
4. Add one row per commission and sort by due date.

For a public queue, make a separate file with only Nickname and Status. Never share your private tracker. Share the public file with "Anyone with the link" as a Viewer. Viewers can open it without signing in, but they can't edit.

The catch with all three tools is the same. The tracker lives in one place, and the references, sketches, and finals live in your DMs and email. You copy the status over by hand each time.

How refDrop's board and public queue work

refDrop keeps the queue next to the work. Each commission gets its own box: one private link where the client drops in references and notes, with no account. You post sketches for sign-off and deliver the finals in the same box. See how to send finished commission art to a client.

The board

Every box sits on your dashboard. Once you have three boxes, you can switch between List, Grid, and Kanban views. Kanban is the board.

• Statuses. You start with New, In progress, Waiting on client, and Delivered. Rename them, recolor them, add your own, and put them in any order under Tags and statuses.
• Kanban view. One column per status, plus No status. Drag a box to a new column, or change its status from a menu.
• Tags and stars. Tag boxes by type, like "headshot" or "full body," and star the ones you want to keep an eye on.
• Delivery dates. Set one on each box and sort by it. Your client sees the expected delivery date on their box page.
• Search and filters. Search by title. Filter by tag, status, open, closed, or archived, or starred only.

The public queue

Your public page lives at refdrop.to/<name>. "Show my queue on my page" is on by default in your page settings. Then tick "Show in my public queue" on each box you want listed. You can give each one a nickname, too.

The queue shows only open boxes, each with its status and nickname. Never the title, files, notes, or email. It shows the first five, then "and 3 more," or however many are left. When you change a box's status, the queue changes too.

Slots on your public page

In your page settings, set commissions to open or closed and pick a number of slots. Every open box takes a slot by default. For a box that isn't a commission, untick "Counts as a commission slot while open." A box you made from an accepted request always takes one. Your page then shows something like "Open, 2 of 5 slots." Close a box and its slot frees up.

When you're closed, visitors can ask to be notified. They leave an email and type in a code to confirm it. They get an email when you open again. Your slots are separate from refDrop's own limit of 5 open boxes on the free plan.

refDrop is free to start. It never handles money, so keep using your own payment links. To take requests on the same page, see how to make an art commission form.

Which one should you pick?

If you already live in Trello or Notion, start there. Both are good, and both have a free plan. Tired of copying statuses between your tracker, your DMs, and a public list? Give each commission a box and let the queue follow along.