Moraware Newsletter – February 2015

Feb 17, 2015 | Newsletter

Harry’s buying a countertop!

Ok, so purchasing a countertop isn’t really big news, but Harry’s worked in the fabrication industry for almost 15 years without ever taking on the customer’s point-of-view first hand. Always generous with his opinion, Harry shares some suggestions based on his experience.

We have some new CounterGo quote form templates to share.

Perhaps you’ve been meaning to give your CounterGo quotes a little design attention, but you can never quite make the time. You can download and import these quote form templates instead!

You will still want insert your own logo, maybe change a couple of the fields and edit the text, but these templates will give you a head start. Or perhaps they’ll just give you a better sens of what is possible and inspire you to go in a different creative direction!

Have you listened to StoneTalk

…the podcast for countertop fabricators? Do you find yourself talking back to Patrick, disagreeing with his commentary or wishing he asked a different question? Let us know! (mailto:support@moraware.com?subject=StoneTalk%20suggestion) Send us your suggestions or volunteer to be interviewed on a future episode.

Want to know more? StoneTalk is our online radio show that features interviews with fabricators and folks in the industry. Each episode is about 30 minutes, and we think you’ll find it entertaining and informative. Here’s a few recent interviews:

Episode 13: Dave Paxton of Paxton Countertops and Showers – a growing fabricator in Grand Ledge, Michigan.
Episode 14: Keith Haight, Executive Director of ISFA, the International Surface Fabricators Association.

You can subscribe from iTunes or download individual recordings from the StoneTalk website .

Want to learn some tips and tricks in JobTracker?

Here are a couple of answers to the most common questions we received last month.

Q: Can we export any of our data to Excel – maybe to create a mailing or to do some additional analysis?

A: Yes, any report or view you create in JobTracker can be copy/pasted or imported to Excel. For example, if you want to export Account information to create mailing labels, first create a custom view to show your Account contacts and address fields (https://help.moraware.com/article/279-sample-view-account-mailing-list) . Once you have a view that contains all the fields you want to include in your mailing, open Excel andimport the data from your customer view (https://help.moraware.com/article/38-export-data-to-ms-excel) .

JobTracker is scheduling software that replaces your whiteboard, file folders, and spreadsheets. To find out more, call us any time. 866-312-9273

Did you know?

Although we didn’t create CounterGo with large commercial jobs in mind, we have pickked up some tricks that allow you to quote bigger jobs – like apartment buildings with duplicate countertops in each unit – reasonably quickly and accurately. This video talks you through the process.

https://help.moraware.com/article/396-quoting-commercial-jobs

First, draw the countertops for one unit using Steps 1-5 as usual, making sure that you have the material priced by the square foot rather than by the slab. In Step 6, note the subtotal for that unit. Next, use that subtotal multiplied by the number of additional units needed to complete your quote and create a Miscellaneous Item to capture the cost of those units. Naturally, you will need to factor in taxes, and you may want to adjust the price per square feet of material in order to be competitive.

Did you know that you can add faucets to price list? If you carry hundreds of faucets, or if you order each as needed, then the simplest approach is to add a Miscellaneous Item on each quote that requires a faucet. But if you have a “manageable” number of faucets that you would like to include in your price list so you don’t have to look up the price each time, then add them as an Other Item on your Price List.

Scroll to the bottom of your Price List and click the Other Items > Add Other Item option.

If you click Specify multiple options for this item, you will be able to model numbers or colors and assign different a different price to each.

Visit our Help pages for step-by-step instructions – or you can even download and import a sample form to get you started!

If you’re just starting with CounterGo, check out our training , which is a sequence of videos that walks you through a quote from start to finish.

CounterGo lets you draw, layout, and quote countertops in 3 minutes. Find out more by calling us at 866-312-9273.

Park Industries will be hosting another Digital Stoneworking Expo in Orlando, FL on March 5, 2015. Consider joining us at Park’s free seminar to learn from industry-leading stone fabricators and their experience using digital technology.

Stone Industry Education events are organized by Stone World and the Marble Institute of America, and each offers a presentation by an industry expert on a particular business topic, as well as a more general Fabricators Forum panel of industry leaders. The next event will be in Dallas, TX on March 26, and it will feature GK Naquin, Stone Interiors North America, who will talk about business metrics, forecasting, and diversifying your customer base.

RemnantSwap is a free place to buy and sell countertop remnants . Take a minute and see what materials are near you. Search for any color or material and we’ll show you what’s closest to you.

CONTACT US
You can reach us at support@moraware.com