April 11/18, 2016; Volume 30, Number 21
By Terry Wheat, president of RFMS
It is encouraging to see that measuring and drawing rooms using either a mobile app or software program on a laptop have been gaining traction in the floor covering industry. But what if you could also estimate the quantity of specific products such as carpet, tile or planks and quickly include necessary add-ons and services to develop a complete quote for review by the customer while still in the home?
Measure Mobile 3 does all of that and more. Following are a few capabilities and highlights of the system.
Project management. Measure Mobile stores all projects in the cloud, which means they can be accessed from any device, anytime, anywhere. Sales managers, installers and others can be given access to anyone’s projects within the company in order to reassign tasks, review or make additional edits. With Measure Mobile, floor plans that used to take all day and were previously delivered in hard-to-decipher graph paper sketches are now available in digital format immediately after the estimator has finished measuring the home. More important, for companies that employ a dedicated estimator, Measure Mobile allows sales personnel to remain in the showroom.
Advanced drawing features. Measure Mobile has moved beyond just simple line drawing and shape editing. By integrating with bluetooth technology (Leica Disto e7100i, e7500i or D2), rooms can now be drawn accurately and faster than ever. Advanced functions such as drawing curves, angles, adding holes and punch-outs allow even a novice estimator to draw the most complex rooms.
Capture important project details. It’s not enough to just accurately draw rooms. An estimator or sales professional must also take good notes, document the job site with pictures and review a checklist to make sure anything that will affect the sale or installation is recorded. Measure Mobile allows users to include all of this in the project. For example, estimators can attach notes to each room for the installer and others to see later on. In addition, a customizable checklist can be created to ensure there are no surprises when the installers arrive on the job site.
Onsite estimating and quoting. Instead of asking clients if they can wait for a day or two to get back to them, estimators can use Measure Mobile to develop a complete and accurate quote while still on the job site. Measure Mobile’s real-time roll “allocator” allows users to easily view and edit seam location, move cuts on the roll plan and quickly adjust max T-seams allowed per room. (Available options let estimators reuse products on the other side of the room to save waste.)
Once the quantity for the primary flooring products has been calculated, Measure Mobile provides a checklist tool that can be customized for specific uses. Default calculation methods such as Room Area or Perimeter and Match Material create a dynamic worksheet that is adjusted on-the-fly if the room sizes or primary flooring product quantities are adjusted.
Share proposals with clients. Measure Mobile includes a Proposal section, which allows for creating a proposal document that suits your needs. Hide or show exactly what you want, then share it with your client on your device or email it to them. If you want to provide a more complete set of documents to your installer or back-office teams, simply adjust the content that you wish to display and email it to the appropriate team members.
Measure Mobile for RFMS Business Management Users. RFMS users have an option to get all of above plus integrate Measure Mobile with their RFMS Business Management Software. This allows users to obtain real-time access to their product database, including pricing. It can also be used to search for and update existing quotes or create new quotes and orders directly from the app.
With Measure Mobile 3, the customer is able to see firsthand what is being referenced during the sales process, thereby building her confidence and helping her better understand the purchase. It’s all about taking the floor covering purchase process into the 21st century by using tools that save time and create a better buying experience for the consumer.