In this guide 6 sections
Ask whether the software follows a room as a project, not a sale. It should hold the survey, multi-brand quotation revisions, pre-wiring stages, installed serial numbers and later service calls on one record. GullySystem builds this for AV dealers as project software. If most sales are boxed TVs and soundbars, a billing app is enough.
Does it start at the site survey
The job begins when an engineer measures a room. Dimensions, seating positions, screen size, throw distance and speaker placement shape everything after. Check that these are recorded on a phone at the site, with photographs.
If the survey stays in a notebook, the quote is built from memory. Ask the vendor to open a survey record beside the quotation it produced. Watch how many fields carry across.
- Room dimensions and seating positions
- Speaker layout, screen size and throw distance
- Photographs of walls, ceiling and power points
- Interior designer’s name and contact
Can a quotation draw from several brands and keep revisions
An AV quote mixes equipment from four or five brands, plus cable, acoustic panels and labour. Each brand sends its own price list. Ask how a new price list is loaded, and who does it.
Then ask about revisions. Several rounds are normal while the budget settles. You want each version kept side by side, so the customer sees what changed. A quote rebuilt from scratch each time is the problem you are trying to remove.
Will it hold the pre-wiring window with the interiors team
Conduit and back boxes must go in before the false ceiling closes. Miss that stage, and cable either runs along the wall in full view or the ceiling is opened again after the carpenter and painter have finished. Ask whether project stages carry dates the interior designer can see.
A read-only link or a message at each stage keeps the designer informed without opening your system. Ask how a slipping stage is flagged, and to whom. Ask too whether stages waiting on the carpenter or electrician show on one list.
Where are serial numbers and service calls kept
Years after handover, a customer asks about a projector’s warranty. Find out if every AVR, projector, speaker and amplifier is stored with model, serial number and warranty date. Then ask to search for it by customer name.
Service calls should log against that installation. If the site has a support contract, its renewal date belongs on the same record. Where there is no contract, free visits should still be counted. Otherwise nobody sees how much support is given away.
- Model, serial and warranty date per item
- Search by customer name or site
- Support contract and renewal date per site
- Calls and visits logged against the installation
How are job cost, billing and data handled
Margin on an AV job leaks in small pieces. Extra cable, a replaced bracket and a second calibration visit rarely reach the job cost. Find out whether material and visits can be added after the quote.
Ask how advances, stage bills and final invoices reach your accountant. Ask what happens to your data if you stop using the software. Get both answers in writing.
- Extra material and visits added to job cost
- Advances and stage bills linked to the project
- How entries reach the accountant
- Who owns the data, and how it is returned
AV vendor question sheet
A sheet with the questions from this guide on the left and each vendor’s answer on the right. Add a column for what the vendor showed on screen, not just what was said. Compare two vendors on the same page.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Is project software excessive for a small AV shop?
It can be. If most sales are soundbars and TVs off the shelf, a billing app does the job. The case changes once two or three installation projects run at the same time.
Should the software design the speaker layout for us?
No. It records the layout your engineer works out, with dimensions, positions and photographs. The acoustic design stays with your engineer and the tools they already use.
Can the interior designer see project stages?
Yes, where a read-only link or stage messages are offered. Ask to see it in the demo. Designers rarely need more than dates and status.