Article Number : 1178 |
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| Date | 7/6/2006 9:53:52 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=1178 |
| Abstract | By Kathlene Vercellino Hicksville, N.Y.—For floor covering retailers, estimating is a significant factor in running a successful business. If a dealer does not order enough product he must reorder and takes the chance of getting a different dye lot or the color variation may not match... |
| Article | By Kathlene Vercellino Hicksville, N.Y.—For floor covering retailers, estimating is a significant factor in running a successful business. If a dealer does not order enough product he must reorder and takes the chance of getting a different dye lot or the color variation may not match. Order too much, and he is left with the excess and an unnecessary expense. “Accuracy and professionalism are key to running a successful flooring business today,” said Ron McConnell director of RFMS’ estimating division. “Using a good estimating program allows floor covering professionals to figure jobs and prepare bids in a timely, professional and accurate manner.” “For flooring retailers, good estimating software is a sales presentation and closing tool which builds customer confidence on the spot,” added Steven Wang, president of Floor Covering Soft. There has been a great deal of advancement in technology over the past few years which has made estimating easier and more exact. Today there is a wide range of estimating software which not only help floor covering retailers make professional, accurate estimates, but many can also be integrated into other business software. For example, RFMS’ Measure software has the ability to accurately figure a job, do a seam layout, compile a materials list, generate a cutting diagram for the installers and produce pricing information, noted McConnell. “Our software provides all the components of a complete installation job for both floors and walls,” he added. “It can figure and track any material that must be priced to complete the installation. Measure is a stand-alone software package which has the ability to import and export data to many other programs such as RFMS Business Software, Quick Books, Excel Spread Sheets and XML files. It can also be linked to Disto Blue Tooth laser measuring device and digitizers.” PlanPoint Software by Blue Cove Technologies as well as other software packages also integrate with Quick Books. “In the flooring business, margins are slim and customers are shrewd,” explained Michael Tucker, the company’s COO. “Retailers need to be able to accurately estimate a job and his built-in costs, almost immediately. If he can’t or if he does it incorrectly, he will lose money. “With PlanPoint, dealers will spend less time on paperwork and more time on activities which allow their business to grow,” he continued. “It calculates all materials, including scrap, and it’s based on the coverages and percentages a user specifies. Additionally, it accurately calculates a retailer’s cost, his price and provides a graphic of cost breakdown and profit/loss margin for the job.” Floor Estimating Pro by Floor Covering Soft is a stand-alone software package which works with Comp-U-Floors, Q-Floors and Quick Books, noted Wang. “It also has an Internet edition that can be run from any browser which enables collaboration from different stores.” The following chart displays a variety of estimating software companies to choose from and their contact information: • Blue Cove Technologies Michael Tucker, president 866/321-2583 www.bluecovetech.com info@bluecovetech.com • CDMS Cathy Welsh, operations manager 888/848-2367 www.cdms-inc.com info@cdms-inc.com • Comp-U-Floor Edgar Aya, president 800/766-0330 www.comp-u-net.com sales@comp-u-net.com • Floor Covering Soft Steven Wang, president 866/928-3326 www.floorcoveringsoft.com info@floorcoveringsoft.com • Floor Estimator Massoud Shirazian, president 866/438-3366 www.floorestimator.com info@floorestimator.com • Future Soft Technologies Jim Webster, president 800/933-7638 www.floorsoftware.com sales@futuresofttech.com • LiteningFast Estimating Nick Hurd, president 800/211-4931 www.liteningfast.com info@litening.com • Nivben Dennis Benton, president 859/552-5077 www.nivben.co.nr floorestimator@bellsouth.net • Pacific Solutions Bob Noe, Sr. 800/400-4927 www.pacific-solutions.com bobr@carpetsoftware.com • QFloors Christy Ogden 866/340-2442 www.qfloors.com sales@qfloors.com • RFMS Ron McConnell 205/246-4292 www.rfms.com info@rfms.com • Rollmaster Dev O’Reilly, president 800/777-4107 www.rmaster.com dev@rmaster.com (Editor’s note: In part two we will look at the campatabilities of some of the other estimating programs available to flooring dealers.) |