What We've Shipped: Crateful Development Log

We're building Crateful in public. Every week, we'll update this page with what's been shipped, what's in progress, and what's coming next. No vague roadmaps or "coming soon" promises. Just real updates from the person actually writing the code.

March 2026

Week 14 (9th Mar – 18Mar)

Shipped:

• General maintenance and improvements across the platform: squashing bugs, tightening up edge cases, and keeping things running smoothly as more stores come on board

In Progress:

• Mobile companion app (iOS and Android): steady progress being made, barcode scanning and core inventory features taking shape

• Working closely with onboarded stores to understand their specific workflows and resolve any unique edge cases they raise - if something doesn't work the way you'd expect it to, we want to know about it

Week 13 (2nd Mar – 8th Mar)

Shipped:

• Crateful Uploads spruce up: Stores now get a badge on their sidebar when new stock lists are available, so you'll never miss a fresh upload. There's also a "Clear Unread" button to dismiss it when you've caught up.

• Sortable columns on stock lists: Click any column header (title, artist, price, discount, etc.) to sort ascending or descending. Works properly with all data types including percentages and prices.

• Request a Distributor: Can't find your distributor on Crateful? Hit the new "Request a Distributor" button on the uploads page and we'll look into adding them.

• Subscribe to distributor alerts: Toggle notifications for any distributor group so you get an email (and soon, an in-app alert) whenever a new stock list is uploaded from them.

• Admin tooling for store alerts: When we upload a new stock list, we can now notify all subscribed stores with one click to make your life easier.

• Uploads page redesigned: Swapped the old card layout for a cleaner table view that's easier to scan, with quick-links to search any item on Discogs directly from the table.

• Mobile and tablet improvements: Instead of hiding columns on smaller screens, you can now tap any row to open a popup with all the item details. Added a gentle nudge to use a bigger screen for the best experience.

• Order fixes: Fixed total value calculations, CSV export formatting, and saved orders now persist properly during unusual edge cases on the My Orders page.

In Progress:

• Sourcing and uploading stock lists from UK distributors to build out the catalogue

• Companion mobile app (iOS and Android) with barcode scanning to add physical stock to your Crateful inventory

February 2026

Week 12 (24th Feb - 1st Mar)

Shipped:

• Internal admin dashboard: built tooling to upload and manage distributor stock lists centrally so stores can browse them without the distributor needing to be onboarded. Stock lists from UK distributors will be added and updated regularly

• Stores can now browse pre-loaded distributor stock lists directly from their dashboard alongside any spreadsheets they upload themselves

• Navigation and signup flow tweaks to make the store experience feel like the core product rather than a secondary path

• Minor UI improvements and bug fixes

In Progress:

• Sourcing and uploading stock lists from UK distributors to build out the catalogue

• Companion mobile app (iOS and Android) with barcode scanning to add physical stock to your Crateful inventory

Week 11 (17th - 23rd Feb)

Shipped:

• Distributor demo accounts: distributors can now request a fully loaded demo with their own spreadsheet data so they can see exactly how their catalogue looks on the platform before committing

• Two-factor authentication on all accounts for added security

• Column mapping improvements: reworked the spreadsheet parser to handle edge cases in non-standard Excel formats. If your spreadsheet is a bit unconventional, Crateful can now handle it

• Cover art enrichment (experimental): thumbnail images on stock list items pulled automatically via Discogs. Every product card, table row, and order form entry now shows cover art rather than just text

• Image caching so artwork loads instantly and doesn't need fetching every time

• Cover art scanning is now significantly faster: smarter lookups that find the right artwork more often, handles spelling variations and remastered editions better, and skips duplicate items in the same spreadsheet. Scanning large lists with 1000+ items is roughly 4-5x quicker than before

• Live progress bar during thumbnail scans so you can see exactly how far along it is and cancel if needed

• Analytics dashboards for both distributors and stores: see total orders, revenue, most popular products, top spending stores, and more. Filter by today, this week, month to date, or year to date

• Refresh Stock Quantities: distributors can upload an updated spreadsheet and have quantities refreshed instantly without remapping columns

• Live stock quantity syncing: stores see real-time availability as orders come in

• Inventory module (experimental): stores can track their full stock, monitor bestsellers, and see revenue at a glance

• Tidied up CSV and stock list pages across the board: cleaner layouts, less clutter, easier to scan through large lists

• Two new blog articles and general site improvements

• Bug fixes and general housekeeping

In Progress:

• Companion mobile app (iOS and Android) with barcode scanning to add physical stock to your Crateful inventory

Week 10 (10th - 16th Feb)

Shipped:

• Cold outreach campaign began: 180 UK record stores and distributors contacted directly

• First distributor demo account set up with real catalogue data

• Automated email notifications: stores get notified when a new stock list goes live, order confirmations and fulfilment updates sent automatically, invoice reminders go out without manual chasing

• Store order notes: stores can now add notes to individual orders for special requests or queries

• PDF generation for packing slips and invoices: distributors can download these automatically from their dashboard

In Progress:

• Spreadsheet parser improvements for handling a wider range of file formats and column structures

• UI refinements based on early feedback from store owners

Week 9 (3rd - 9th Feb)

Shipped:

• Beta launch of Crateful at beta.crateful.app

• Crateful for Independents launched alongside the beta: stores can upload any distributor's spreadsheet themselves and use the platform as their own order management tool, no need to wait for distributors to be onboarded

• Pricing finalised: distributor plans from £39.95/month + VAT, independent store plan at £19.95/month + VAT, free for all users during beta

• Landing page and marketing site live

• Crateful for Independents page live at beta.crateful.app/independents

• Blog section added

• Contact and support channels set up (hello@crateful.app)

• Final round of QA and bug fixes before public launch

January 2026

Week 8 (27th Jan - 2nd Feb)

Shipped:

• eCommerce integrations: stores can push approved orders directly to Shopify, WooCommerce, or Discogs in one click

• Order export: one-click consolidated spreadsheet export of all orders for distributors

• Deadline and minimum order value settings for distributors

• Low stock threshold alerts

• Real-time stock availability visible to stores

• Final UI polish pass across all dashboards and user flows

• Responsive design testing across mobile, tablet, and desktop

Week 7 (20th - 26th Jan)

Shipped:

• Distributor dashboard: view incoming orders, confirm, edit quantities, add notes, mark as paid/fulfilled

• Multiple stock list management from a single dashboard

• Order history and tracking for both distributors and stores

• Email notification system: new stock list alerts, order confirmations, deadline reminders

• Store invite flow: distributors can invite stores via email with a unique link, stores sign up free and connect instantly

Week 6 (13th - 19th Jan)

Shipped:

• Store dashboard and ordering interface: browse active stock lists, filter and search products, select items, set quantities, submit orders

• Store account creation and onboarding flow

• Wholesale connection system: stores link to their distributor accounts via invite

• Order submission and confirmation workflow

• Mobile-friendly store interface for browsing and ordering on any device

Week 5 (6th - 12th Jan)

Shipped:

• Spreadsheet upload and column mapping engine: upload any Excel or CSV file and map columns (SKU, title, artist, price, quantity, etc.) to Crateful's stock list format

• Stock list publishing: distributors can publish mapped spreadsheets as browsable stock lists for their stores

• Distributor account creation and onboarding flow

• Authentication system with secure login and session management

• Database architecture finalised and deployed

December 2025

Week 4 (22nd - 31st Dec)

Shipped:

• Core UI development: built out all primary screens for both distributor and store dashboards

• Design system established: typography, colour palette, component library, consistent spacing and layout across the platform

• Functional prototyping of the full order workflow from spreadsheet upload through to order submission

Week 3 (15th - 21st Dec)

Shipped:

• Frontend development began: translating wireframes into a working interface using a modern tech stack

• Distributor and store dashboard layouts built out

• Navigation, routing, and page structure implemented

• Early iterations of the spreadsheet upload interface

Week 2 (8th - 14th Dec)

Shipped:

• Wireframing and UI/UX design for all core user flows: distributor onboarding, spreadsheet upload, column mapping, stock list browsing, order placement, order management

• User journey mapping for both distributor and store personas

• Database schema design: users, organisations, stock lists, products, orders, connections

• API architecture planned and documented

• Tech stack finalised

Week 1 (1st - 7th Dec)

Shipped:

• Project kicked off

• Market research: analysed the current vinyl distribution landscape, existing tools, and pain points across UK distributors and independent record stores

• Competitor analysis: reviewed what's available in the market and identified gaps in UX, pricing models, and feature focus

• Product scope defined: core MVP focused purely on the ordering workflow between distributors and stores

• Boilerplate and project scaffolding set up: repository, hosting, development environment, CI/CD pipeline

What's on the Radar

These are things we're actively thinking about based on conversations with stores and distributors. Nothing here is guaranteed, but if you're reading this and thinking "yes, I need that," get in touch. That's literally how features get prioritised here.

• Search across multiple distributors from one store account

• Reorder from previous orders (one-click repeat)

• Analytics dashboard for distributors: most ordered titles, busiest stores, seasonal trends

• API access for distributors to push stock lists programmatically

• Companion mobile app with barcode scanning

This page gets updated weekly. Want to request a feature or tell us what to build next? Email Curtis directly at hello@crateful.app. No ticket system, no queue. Just a conversation with the person writing the code.