For artists who take commissions
Commission Queue and Trello Commission Queue Alternative for Artists
Work out how many slots you can honestly open, then pick where the queue lives. A gig page fills it for you: every request arrives with the tier, the price and the brief already filled in.
A four-stage queue. Example tiers, not real clients.
The same queue sold on Fiverr leaves you a month after its 20% fee, so a gig page on keeps more.
A commission queue is the ordered list of paid commissions you have not delivered yet, with each client's tier, due date and stage. Open only as many slots as you can finish inside the wait you promise: weekly commission hours times that wait, divided by the hours one piece takes. Trello is the usual home for a public queue, and it is free.
What Trello does not do is fill the queue. Every request still comes in as a DM, gets clarified over three or four messages, and is typed into a card by hand. That intake step is where most commission time leaks, and it is the part a gig page replaces: the client chooses a tier and writes the brief before you ever reply.
How artists set up a queue
The stages a commission queue tracks
Five lists cover almost every illustration commission. Rename them to match how you work.
Requested
The client has asked and you have the brief. Nothing is promised yet, and the request does not hold a slot.
Paid
Full payment or the deposit is in. This is the moment a commission takes a slot and its due date starts counting.
Sketch
The stage where the client approves pose and composition. Most revision rounds belong here, not later.
Color and render
Flats, then rendering. Clients rarely need updates here, which is why a public board saves the most messages at this point.
Delivered
Final files sent after the balance clears. Move the card, free the slot, and the next client moves up.
The most common mistake is letting unpaid requests sit in the same list as paid work. A request is a conversation; a paid commission is a promise. Keep them apart and your slot count stays true. If you are still settling the price of each stage, our guide to art commission prices works out the hourly rate a US artist needs, and the art commission sheet builder turns those prices into tiers a client can read in ten seconds.
Where the queue lives
Commission queue tools compared from Trello to a gig page
What each costs, how a request gets in, whether it takes the money, and whether new clients can find you there.
| Tool | Cost | How a request gets in | Payment | Public status | Who finds you |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trello board | $0 (Standard $5 per user/mo) | You copy each DM into a card | None | Yes, public board | Your own links |
| Notion page | Free plan | You copy each DM into a row | None | Yes, published page | Your own links |
| Google Form + Sheet | $0 with a Google account | Form fills the sheet | None | Yes, view-only link | Your own links |
| Carrd Pro Plus form | $49 a year | Form with brief | Stripe Checkout in the form | No | Your own links |
| VGen | 5% + 2.9% + $0.30 per order | Request form, then proposal | Invoice paid on VGen | Yes, WIP status | VGen search plus your links |
| Gig page on FreelanceNation | $9 to $49 a month + 8% to 3% | Client picks a tier and sends the brief | You invoice the client | Private order list | Marketplace by category plus your links |
Read at source on 7 October 2026: trello.com/pricing (Free covers 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace), VGen's help center (request, proposal, payment, then queue and WIP), carrd.com/pro (Pro Plus forms with Stripe Checkout). VGen's 5% fee read 10 September 2026.
Your queue is full of regulars
Keep the free Trello board. If every client already follows you, the only job left is showing them where they stand, and Trello does that for $0.
You want payment handled for you
VGen runs the whole loop, from proposal to invoice to WIP, for 5% plus processing. Carrd Pro Plus takes the brief and a Stripe payment in one form for $49 a year.
Your slots sit empty between posts
A gig page is listed by category in a marketplace clients search, so requests arrive even in weeks you do not post. You keep your Trello board for status and link it from the page.
03 · FILLING THE QUEUE
How a gig page turns DMs into a queue you can work through
Four steps, and the first one you do once.
Publish three tiers
A sketch, a colored piece and a full illustration, each with scope, revisions, delivery time and a price. The tiers are your slot menu.
The client picks and writes
They choose a tier and send the brief in one form. You get their name, email, tier and price without a single clarifying DM.
Accept and invoice
Reply to the email (the buyer is the reply-to), send your PayPal or Stripe invoice, and the paid request takes a slot.
Mark it completed
When the piece is delivered, mark the order completed in your panel. The marketplace fee goes on your next invoice.
Plans: Starter $9 a month with an 8% fee on completed orders, Pro $19 with 5%, Studio $49 with 3%. Yearly billing is half the monthly price on every plan.
Slot math
How many commission slots to open
Slots are a capacity number, not a popularity number. Opening 20 because 20 people asked means somebody waits four months, and a four-month wait is where cancellations and chargebacks come from.
The planner above runs one formula: weekly commission hours times your promised wait, divided by hours per piece. Change any one input and the slot count moves with it.
| Hours a week | Hours a piece | 2-week promise | 4-week promise | 8-week promise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 3 slots | 6 slots | 13 slots |
| 10 | 4 | 5 slots | 10 slots | 20 slots |
| 12 | 6 | 4 slots | 8 slots | 16 slots |
| 20 | 8 | 5 slots | 10 slots | 20 slots |
| 30 | 12 | 5 slots | 10 slots | 20 slots |
Rounded down, because a slot you cannot finish on time is the one that costs you a client.
Questions artists ask
Commission queue questions, answered
Each answer leads with the direct reply. Prices were read on each tool's own page.
What is a commission queue?
A commission queue is the ordered list of commissions an artist has accepted and not yet delivered. It shows who is next, what each client ordered and what stage each piece is at. Artists usually publish it on a Trello board, a Notion page or a spreadsheet so clients can check their place without sending a message.
How to make a commission queue?
Decide how many slots you can finish inside the wait you are willing to promise, then make one list per stage, for example Requested, Paid, Sketch, Color and Done. Add one card or row per client with the tier and due date, and move it as you work. Publish a view-only link in your bio.
How many commission slots should I have?
Open as many slots as you can deliver inside the longest wait you will promise. Multiply your commission hours per week by that wait in weeks and divide by the hours one piece takes. At 12 hours a week, a 4-week promise and 6 hours a piece, that is 8 slots.
How do commission slots work?
A slot is one place in your queue. You announce how many are open, each accepted and paid request takes one, and when they are gone you close commissions until pieces are delivered. Capping slots keeps your delivery promise honest and tells clients exactly when to come back.
Is Trello good for a commission queue?
Trello is the most common choice because a board with one list per stage reads clearly to clients and the free plan is enough for one artist. Its weakness is intake: every request still arrives by DM or email and has to be typed into a card by hand, and Trello takes no payment.
Can I make a Trello commission queue for free?
Yes. Trello's Free plan costs $0 and covers up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace with unlimited cards, which is plenty for a public commission board. Paid plans start at $5 per user a month billed annually and add features a solo queue rarely needs.
Does VGen have a commission queue?
Yes. On VGen a client sends a request, the artist replies with a proposal and invoice, and once the client pays the commission is added to the artist's queue, then marked WIP when work starts. VGen charges a 5% service fee plus Stripe processing at 2.9% and $0.30.
Should a commission be paid before it enters the queue?
Most working artists take full payment or a deposit, often 50%, before a commission takes a slot. An unpaid request holding a slot blocks a paying client, and a deposit filters out people who were only asking. Deliver final full-resolution files only after the balance is paid.
How does a gig page fill a commission queue?
A gig page lists your tiers with scope, price and delivery time. A client picks a tier and writes the brief in one form, and the request lands in your panel and your inbox with the buyer's name, email, tier and price, ready to accept, invoice and mark completed.
Choosing how clients pay before a commission takes a slot? Our comparison of art commission payment methods puts Stripe, PayPal and Venmo side by side on a $150 order, and art commission sites compared by fee covers where new clients come from.
Fill your commission slots without chasing DMs
Publish your tiers, get listed by category, and let each request arrive with the tier, price and brief. Keep your Trello board for status and link it from the page.
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