Software for Soft Furnishing Professionals

9 programs to make designers’ lives easier

BY SOPHIA BENNETT

BlindsBook

BlindsBook bills itself as the complete management system for the window treatment industry. The cloud-based integrated management system combines several features—including work and purchase orders, quotes, scheduling and customer relationship management (CRM)—into one platform. It offers different versions for different types of businesses, including Retail for designers; Fabricator for fabricators, manufacturers and distributors; and Fabricator Plus for resellers. One popular feature is the ability to create quotes using your own charts and prices. BlindBbook can also export information and reconcile to QuickBooks.

“Blind and Screen has been using BlindsBook for two years and it has simplified our work process immensely. We are manufacturers and needed a management system that was tailored to our window treatment business. After reviewing the different management systems available, we quickly realized that BlindsBook had all the things we were looking for. My favorite thing about this software is the work orders. I no longer have to manually figure out cut deductions. BlindsBook also offers great customer service. I needed the system tweaked and they did so free of charge. I am very happy with my decision to acquire BlindsBook into my business.” —Steven Tristan, Blind and Screen, Sylmar, CA

Curtains Calculator

Curtains Calculator is a web application that cuts the curtain calculation process down drastically—often from a few hours to a few minutes. It assists interior designers and sales staff at curtain shops in the decision-making process while quoting, planning and bidding everything from small sales to bigger projects. Features include the ability to quickly create and print offers for customers, do fabric stock control and keep track of customer information with a complete database.

“We started using the Curtains Calculator web app in 2017, and we can no longer imagine our daily work without it. One of the main things I love about it is that you can do the most complicated and hardest calculations in just a few minutes. Also, I love the idea that you can add employees and designers (freelancers) into the application to handle orders by themselves. There are analytics so you can see how many orders are still in waiting for a position and how many of the calculations were successfully closed. In the last two years, we have saved almost 5 percent of our annual revenue just from eliminating human error from improper calculations.” —Evelina Baltune, ADmaja, Lithuania

Design Manager

Design Manager is a cloudbased project management and accounting software for interior designers. By combining multiple functions into one platform, Design Manager saves designers time, money and the headache of trying to patch together multiple systems. Specific tasks the software can handle include specifying products; creating proposals, purchase orders and invoices; and taking care of accounting. With Design Manager, there’s data replication, so designers don’t have to waste time retyping or re-creating documents. The software also presents a full picture of your design business, so you can tell where an item is in the design process in a couple clicks.

Mydoma Studio

Mydoma Studio is a cloud-based project management software for interior designers, interior decorators and home stagers. It allows users to upload contracts, schedule payments, upload deliverables, keep track of costs and time spent on projects, and create mood boards. Users can generate a personal product catalog of favorite products that can be used in multiple projects. If desired, invite clients to collaborate on projects and upload assets such as images and measurements. Users can also take advantage of the Mydoma Designers Community, which provides meaningful connections, discussions and tailored content to support all of the professionals who use the platform. It’s a safe place to ask questions, meet like-minded designers and get connected to a global community.

DesignerInc.com

DesignerInc.com is a trade-only marketplace that allows verified interior designers to source from thousands of vendors—ranging from showroom level to value priced—all in one place. Designers love DesignerInc.com for the time savings, but perhaps even more importantly, they love being able to take full advantage of the company’s technology without abandoning their existing relationships. That’s because DesignerInc.com places orders with the showroom or sales rep of their choosing.

“DesignerInc.com has been a game changer in my business flow and organization processes. With their help expediting projects and facilitating the ordering process for our interior design business, I don’t feel like I have to hire one person just to oversee expediting. You can order samples for any of the hundreds of lines of furniture they carry, and their turnaround for pricing is extremely fast in most cases. The best part is that instead of having to deal with slow response times from some trade-only showrooms, DesignerInc.com has a team that is online at all hours of the day. They track shipping for us and have been great with claims and returns. Their online portal is incredibly user-friendly and makes sense with regard to a design project workflow.” —Kylie Ponton, Ponton Interiors, Tampa, FL

MyBlindCo

MyBlindCo is an all-in-one app for window treatment professionals that provides scheduling, a CRM and the ability to create quotes, all from the convenience of an iPad. The company touts the software’s design as one of its great attributes. Not only was it created by industry experts, it allows designers to create quotes offline, which means you can be in the customer’s home and complete a quote immediately. Once a quote is accepted, you can convert it to an order and get the customer’s signature right away. Quotes get synced to the office in real time, and salespeople can get scheduling updates in the field. MyBlindCo is great for installers too. They can use it for scheduling, updating installation notes and even back-end sales. The product easily integrates with Google Calendar and QuickBooks.

Smartpad Pro

Smartpad Pro is an easyto-use, fully integrated software for window covering dealers that combines performance management, project management and process automation to cover every aspect of a sales team’s workflow. The biggest thing dealers appreciate about Smartpad Pro is that it’s the only software to maintain all of its products and pricing for free. Drapery dealers can use Smartpad Pro’s drapery tool for making the calculations needed to produce accurate quotes for customers. They can also utilize features such as automated marketing tool, the quote tracking and conversion tool, and an integrated workflow manager. Administrative staff like Smartpad Pro because it works with many accounting systems and TaxJar integrations. It includes a payment gateway so sales and installation staff can take payments on the road.

Solatech

Solatech provides numerous industry-specific software solutions for fabricators and retail dealers. They include a cloud-based and offline Point of Sale (POS) system and vendorintegrated selling and ordering solutions that will save time and money for the retail dealers operating from a showroom or Shop@Home. Solatech’s Focus system was designed for retailers as an easy-to-use system that is supported by accurate product data provided in partnership with the industry’s leading fabricators. This exclusive benefit allows Solatech users to quote, price, sell and order with confidence, all while in the home and on an iPad or any internet-enabled device. (The company’s Dealer Ordering System (DOS), which is specific to window covering groups, franchises and fabricators provides similar services for this specific market.) The software integrates with QuickBooks, Dispatch.me (for last-mile management) and Google Calendar. Integrated laser measuring is another key feature.

“Exciting Windows! members are adding the Solatech Focus system to their technology portfolio. Immediate pricing helps build the sale and closes more sales on the first appointment. Ordering direct reduces errors. It is a terrific benefit to customers and installers, and saves time for personal business owners. For managers, adding sales consultants is more efficient and money-saving.” —Steven C. Bursten, Exciting Windows!, Bethesda, MD

Steelyard

Steelyard is a free sourcing website that helps interior designers, architects or purchasing departments secure to-the-trade products. Search and filter thousands of products; store and organize selections in project folders; and send and track purchase inquiries to the vendor with one click. Because Steelyard is not a direct reseller, you can be confident that when you contact a vendor, you’re getting the same (or better) designer terms, discounts and pricing that you would get if you contacted them independently. Steelyard manually vets the credentials of every registered member, so when a vendor receives your inquiry, they immediately know that you are a qualified design-trade customer, which means there’s no need to send your information to multiple vendors. Steelyard also makes product management easy, allowing you to save and organize products by client, project, category or phase. V