Taxidermy Shop Digital Transformation: A 90-Day Plan

By MountChief Editorial Team|Updated Mar 2026

Most digital transitions fail because they try to change everything at once - this guide doesn't. The 90-day plan here is designed to be phased: each stage builds on the previous one, and at every point in the transition you can still run the business. You don't flip a switch and hope everything works.

The context matters: 60-70% of US taxidermy shops still run on paper. If you're in that majority, you're not uniquely resistant to change - you're in a market where digital adoption is still early and where the shops that move first have a genuine competitive advantage.

TL;DR

The 90-day plan here is designed to be phased: each stage builds on the previous one, and at every point in the transition you can still run the business.
90-day plan here is designed to be phased: each stage builds on the previous one, and at every point in the transition you can still run the business.
The 90-day plan here assumes you're starting during the off-season - January through August are the ideal months.
After 12 weeks, conduct a review:
Are all active jobs in the system with current status?
The context matters: 60-70% of US taxidermy shops still run on paper.
A taxidermist who tries to implement new intake software in November while processing 20 deer per day is setting themselves up for errors, customer frustration, and the conclusion that "the software doesn't work."

Why Transitions Fail

The most common digital transition failure mode for taxidermy shops is implementation during peak season. Deer season is the worst time to learn a new system. Everything happens fast, customers are watching, and mistakes matter. A taxidermist who tries to implement new intake software in November while processing 20 deer per day is setting themselves up for errors, customer frustration, and the conclusion that "the software doesn't work."

The 90-day plan here assumes you're starting during the off-season - January through August are the ideal months. If you need to transition during season, start smaller and later in this plan.

The second failure mode is trying to do everything simultaneously: new intake software, new customer portal, new invoicing, new tannery tracking, new compliance records - all at once. Each piece is individually simple. Together, learned simultaneously, they're overwhelming.

Month 1: Intake and QR Tags (Weeks 1-4)

Week 1: Setup and Configuration

Create your MountChief account. This is a 20-minute process.

Configure your intake form with your standard species and mount types. Add your pricing for each service you offer. Set your business name, contact information, and payment methods.

Connect your QR tag printer. The printer setup takes another 20-30 minutes. Print 10 test tags and scan them with your phone to confirm they load the correct records.

Test the full intake workflow: create a test customer, enter a test job, generate a QR tag, print it, scan it. Do this end to end before the first real customer.

Week 2: First Live Intakes

Start running every intake through MountChief. Use the digital system as your primary intake method and keep paper as a parallel backup if it makes you more comfortable - but commit to entering every intake digitally.

Expect the first 5-10 digital intakes to take longer than your paper process. This is normal. By intake 15-20, digital intake will be faster.

Week 3: Intake Photos and Condition Documentation

Add intake photography to your workflow. Three photos per specimen minimum: full specimen front, side view, and close-up of any notable features or damage.

Attach photos to the job record in MountChief during intake. The habit forms quickly once the workflow is established.

Week 4: QR Scanning at Location Changes

Establish the scanning habit: every time a specimen changes location in your shop, scan the QR tag and update its status. Freezer in, fleshing table, preparation area - each move gets a scan.

By the end of month one, every specimen in your shop has a digital record and a QR tag. You can find any job record in seconds by scanning the tag on the specimen.

Month 2: Customer Portal and Communication (Weeks 5-8)

Week 5: Enable the Customer Portal

The customer portal is the feature your customers see. Enable it in your MountChief settings and configure the welcome message customers receive with their tracking link.

Test the portal from a customer's perspective: complete a test intake, open the tracking link in a browser as if you were the customer, and confirm the portal shows the correct information and looks professional.

Week 6: Start Sending Tracking Links at Intake

Beginning this week, every customer who drops off a specimen receives their tracking link at intake. The link is part of the intake confirmation message sent automatically when you complete the intake.

You'll get questions from some customers about what the link is. This is normal. The explanation is simple: "It's a link you can check any time to see where your mount is. It updates automatically when anything changes."

Week 7: Configure Milestone Notifications

Set up the automated milestone notifications for each status change in the job workflow: intake confirmation, at tannery, returned from tannery, production start, mount complete, pickup reminder.

Test each notification by moving a test job through the status stages and confirming the messages send correctly.

Week 8: First Status Call Reduction Check

Compare this week's status call volume to a comparable period before the portal launch. You should see measurable reduction. For most shops that start sending tracking links consistently, call volume drops 50-70% within the first few weeks.

If call volume hasn't decreased, check whether tracking links are being sent consistently at intake and whether customers are receiving the messages.

Month 3: Tannery Tracking and Business Records (Weeks 9-12)

Week 9: Tannery Shipment Manifests

Before your next tannery shipment, create the manifest in MountChief. Add every specimen going out to the manifest, mark them as "At Tannery" in the system, and send the manifest to the tannery with the shipment.

Request a receipt confirmation from your tannery when they receive the shipment. When capes return, reconcile against the manifest line by line before marking them as returned.

Week 10: Invoice and Payment Recording

Record every deposit and payment in MountChief. Review any prior outstanding jobs and enter their payment status.

Export your invoice records and compare to your manual payment tracking to confirm everything is captured. From this point forward, all payments are recorded digitally at the time they occur.

Week 11: Compliance Documentation Review

Review your state's wildlife compliance requirements and confirm your intake form captures all required fields. For deer, that's typically: customer name, license number, harvest date, and harvest location. For turkey and waterfowl, confirm federal USFWS documentation fields are captured.

Test whether your compliance records are searchable: can you pull up all deer intakes for a specific date range? Can you search by license number? This is what you need for a compliance inspection.

Week 12: Full System Review

After 12 weeks, conduct a review:

Are all active jobs in the system with current status?
Are all tannery shipments documented?
Are all customer portal communications working?
Are compliance documentation fields complete on recent intakes?
What processes still have paper elements that should be digital?

Identify any gaps and close them. At this point, your shop should be running digitally across all core functions.

Entering the Next Season

By the time deer season approaches, you'll have had months of practice with the digital workflow. Your intake will be faster than your old paper process. Your customers are already familiar with their tracking links. Your compliance records are organized and searchable.

The transition that seemed like a significant change in month one is just how your shop runs by month three.

For the management software at the center of this transition, see taxidermy shop management software. For shops transitioning from a paper system, see the paper to software transition guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I digitize my taxidermy shop operations?

Start with intake and QR tags - these are the foundation of everything else. Use the first month to convert your intake process to digital, establish QR tagging for all specimens, and start taking intake photos. Month two adds the customer portal and automated milestone communications. Month three adds tannery tracking, invoice recording, and compliance documentation review. This staged approach lets you build habits and troubleshoot issues at each phase without the overwhelming experience of learning everything simultaneously. The full transition takes about 90 days of consistent implementation during the off-season.

What order should I implement digital tools in my taxidermy shop?

Intake first. You need digital intake records before you can do any of the other digital functions effectively. Everything else - QR tags, tannery tracking, customer portal, invoicing - is built on the foundation of digital intake records. QR tags come immediately after intake because they tie the physical specimen to the digital record. Customer portal comes next because it's the highest-impact feature for your daily experience (immediate reduction in status calls). Tannery tracking and invoicing come third. Compliance documentation is reviewed and completed last because it's a quality check on the records you've been building throughout the process.

Can I go digital during deer season or should I wait for the off-season?

Wait for the off-season if possible. Deer season is the worst time to learn a new system. The pace is fast, the stakes are high, and mistakes during intake have real consequences. January through August is the optimal window - you have time to learn the software thoroughly, configure it for your specific workflow, and practice through lower-stakes intakes before the season pressure hits. If you absolutely need to transition during season, start with intake only and defer the customer portal, tannery tracking, and other features until the following off-season. A partial transition during season is better than a failed full transition.

How does this apply to solo taxidermy shops?

The principles in this guide apply to solo shops just as they do to larger operations, though the scale differs. A single-person shop may have lower absolute volume but faces the same documentation, compliance, and customer communication requirements. The practical advice here scales down to any shop size.

What is the most common mistake taxidermists make with taxidermy shop digital transformation?

The most common mistake is treating taxidermy shop digital transformation as an afterthought rather than building it into the standard workflow from the start. Shops that encounter problems in this area typically did not establish clear processes before season, which means every situation becomes a one-off decision rather than a standard response.

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Sources

National Taxidermists Association (NTA)
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Taxidermy Today
Small Business Administration (SBA)

Get Started with MountChief

The right shop management software is the foundation of a well-run taxidermy operation. MountChief combines AI intake, tannery tracking, customer portal communication, and compliance documentation in one platform built specifically for taxidermists. Try MountChief free and see the operational difference in your first week.