Planning out a job before you do it can make a lot of difference whether you make any money on the job, or if you have enough fabric
During the process of taking in and doing each job, there are a number of stages of planning. There is an initial over preplanning that one does at the beginning. Then, there are more focused planning that takes place at each step. When an upholsterer is first beginning in the trade he may not know about planning, or may... Planning at all the various stages helps to minimize errors and helps to do a better job. For a beginning upholsterer this planning may need to be more involved and on paper. For a professional upholsterer, many of these planning steps are almost automatic and may only require thinking out each step in advance.
A Scheduling Calendar will help you keep track of your jobs
Doing a cutting layout will often determine whether or not you will have enough fabric to finish the job. See more about cutting layouts here.