By Louis Iannaco
As RFMS, one of the pioneers in flooring software, celebrates its 25th anniversary, its ascent to industry leadership is as unlikely as it is impressive. Founded in 1985, its software has been installed in more than 3,500 businesses around the world—U.S., Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and Canada—operating in 7,000-plus locations.

What is unlikely is how RFMS came to be. Its founder, Terry Wheat, who owned a full-service flooring store in Tuscaloosa, Ala., needed flooring-specific software that would help run his business. So, with a background in computer science, Wheat wrote his own program.

As other dealers heard about Wheat’s software they began to inquire if it could be made available to them. Thus, RFMS was formed to provide software solutions for specific flooring business management needs. Word of mouth was the primary promotion tool in the early days, Wheat said, but by the mid-’90s RFMS had become one of the leaders in providing software specifically for the specialty flooring retailer.

Advancing with the times

During its quarter century in business, RFMS has kept the software abreast with current technology, Wheat said. “RFMS has been updated through five different platforms to make sure clients can take advantage of all the technological advancements available. Because of the uniqueness of the flooring industry, generic accounting systems simply do not meet the requirements of today’s savvy business owner.”

It is because of these requirements that RFMS was engineered “from the ground up” to address the specific accounting, inventory and sales functions that flooring operations demand. “Since the very beginning, the RFMS program has evolved with that in mind, largely from the input of the users themselves,” Wheat said.

Originally, he added, many people used the software as a control tool, but in most instances the data was captured after the fact. “Most orders were hand written and then put into the computer after the fact. While this gave the user good information earlier than before, it still did not provide the checks and balances that are available today. Now a user can utilize all the tools to make sure that from take-off of the floor plan, or measurement, all the way through to the general ledger, every piece of data has good checks and balances so the dealer knows at any given time exactly where he is.”

The flooring industry has no doubt become more technologically advanced since RFMS was first started, admitted Wheat, who is also a member of the World Floor Covering Association’s ( WFCA) Hall of Fame. “With the addition of eCommerce in the recent past, dealers have become more aware of the need to embrace technology to improve and enhance their businesses. There is more cooperation between the manufacturers, distributors and dealers than ever before.”

According to Aaron Pirner, CEO of CAP Carpet in Wichita, Kan., Wheat has helped thousands become better and more successful business people and managers. “His training and system has been a key pillar to our success at CAP Carpet.”

Jim Buckles, owner of Leonard’s Carpet in Anaheim, Calif., said over the last 20 years of working with RFMS, “It has become an integral part of the business tool upon which I rely. The software suite has both enabled me to eliminate handoffs between employees as well as hard copy paperwork, replacing it with the ease of electronic documents accessible to all in a common database. Not only does it make the company more accurate and consistent, but also more efficient.”

In pondering the future, Wheat believes the opportunities available to RFMS are endless. “The next five years will see many changes in the way the flooring industry does business,” he said. “We’re excited to be on the leading edge in providing the tools needed to ensure success for our clients.”

While RFMS is considered the leading software provider for the flooring industry, Wheat said its purpose is not to simply sell software. “Our approach includes software and education to make sure our users and future users actually improve their businesses,” he said. “RFMS has always operated in a ‘family’ environment and we welcome each of our users as a family member. We believe that is what has made our company what it is today. We consider the success of our clients our greatest reward.”

For more on RFMS, call 800.701.7367