Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for countertop manufacturers.
A checklist built from how countertop manufacturers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Quotations and customer selections
- Templates and measurements
- Slab and remnant inventory
- Cut layouts and production stages
- Quality checks
- Delivery and install scheduling
- Stage invoices and payments
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For the sales office
- For templaters and programmers
- For shop crews
- For installers and accounts
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Quotations won and lost by material
- Slabs in stock, reserved and idle by lot
- Remnants available by size
- Jobs by stage and days in the shop
- Rework and broken pieces by cause
- Installs planned and completed by crew
- Balances by customer, oldest first
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- SMS
- Online payment gateway
- Accounting export
- Nesting layout files
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- How does a slab stay linked to a job?
- Can we keep a record of offcuts and offer them again?
- What does the templater record on site?
- Can the shop see a revised order straight away?
- Does it support laminate and solid surface as well as stone?
- Can installers confirm completion on a phone?
- How are deposits and stage invoices handled?
- Can existing stock and open jobs be brought in?
- What happens during the demonstration?
- Who supports the system after launch?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Template data is retyped
- Slabs are chosen but not reserved
- Remnants are never reused
- Cutouts and edges differ from the order
- Install days slip
Prefer to talk it through? See the countertop manufacturers page.