Book Demo

CUSTOMER STORIES: HUMBOLDT COUNTERTOPS AND SURFACING

How Humboldt Countertops Ditched Folders and Tripled Revenue

Kelley Montana and Kari Chalmers, the second generation owners of Humboldt Countertops, credit their father George, who started the company, with their dedication to continuous improvement. He passed down his passion for seeking new technology and always looking for better ways to do things. Over the last ten years, Kelley and Kari have embraced this way of running the shop. 

“Having all our customer and job information on the computer has changed the game. It’s made things very efficient and less stressful. We have eliminated hunting for files and costly errors. Folks in sales and the field are able to get answers instantly because they can log-in from anywhere and view the job's files.”
Kari Chalmers
Co-Owner, Humboldt Countertops and Surfacing

Summary

  • Centralized scheduling: Replacing paper files and clunky software with Systemize gave the entire team instant access to customer and job data from any location, eliminating costly errors and keeping every project on track.
  • Estimates in minutes: Instant drawing and estimating in the showroom with CounterGo speeds up customer decision making and getting to signed deals.
  • Efficient route planning for crews: The maps capability in Systemize helps Humboldt optimize routes for measuring, templating and installs across an expanding service territory, saving time and reducing trip costs

See how thousands of fabricators like Humboldt Countertops save hours every week with Moraware

Schedule a Demo

The Challenges

Humboldt Countertops was using a dated, clunky system that became too basic for the shops growing business. Relying on paper files for scheduling created frustration and bottlenecks for the team.

 

  • Outgrown technology: The previous scheduling software was difficult to use and couldn’t keep pace with their requirements and scheduling needs.
  • Inefficiency due to paper dependency: Critical customer and project details lived in filing cabinets and on people’s desks leading to misplaced documents, wasted time, and inability to answer customer questions in a timely way.
  • Limited data access: The team lacked visibility into schedules and job details causing response delays and bottlenecks. 
  • Reporting gaps: No audit trail to trace job change requests.

The Solution: Digitizing Operations with Moraware

After seeing a demo of Moraware at an ISFA event, the team decided to implement Systemize for scheduling, CounterGo for estimating, and Moraware Inventory for material allocation and tracking. They selected the Moraware suite because they liked its ease of use and believed they could ramp up quickly.

 

The modules were integrated sequentially. The shop began with scheduling, focusing first on centralizing their most critical processes where expensive mistakes often occurred. CounterGo and Moraware Inventory were added as they became proficient with Systemize.

 

Humboldt Countertops and Surfacing

Humboldt’s Move from File Folders to Streamlined Operations 

  • Centralized job management: Digitized all customer and job data in Systemize to centralize information and make it accessible for the entire team at any time, from any location. The sales team can provide immediate answers without leaving their desks, improving response time and customer satisfaction.
  • Smart scheduling: Customizable templates in Systemize have been created for different material types and job dependencies drive better scheduling decisions and ensure everyone is on the same page.    
  • Instant quoting:  Drawing and estimating is fast and efficient. The addition of an iPad in the showroom powered by CounterGo provided instant, on-the-spot quoting.
  • Efficient route planning for install teams: The maps feature has been crucial as Humboldt Countertops has added new employees and expanded their territory to help plan the most efficient routes. Mapping is used by sales (to determine trip charges), by the scheduler (for templates and installs), and the field team (to find the location).
  • Change tracking: The Systemize Change Log, one of their favorite features, tracks every update, identifies job or quote mistakes, keeps everyone accountable, and identifies pain points in their process. It has become an essential tool to gauge potential areas for improvement.
  • Personalized views: Humboldt’s staff uses various views to filter down to what they need to know for the day, based on their role. Everyone can set up their preferred views such as the overall calendar with color coding, an install or measure calendar view, a list of drawings that need to be done on the CAD, or fabrication happening this week. These views can also be easily shared with team members.
“In terms of scheduling, we get less phone calls now from clients calling to get the information. Moraware is helping us do a better job being proactive and contacting and communicating with our clients.”
Kelley Montana
Co-owner, Humboldt Countertops

The Results

  • Tripled gross sales, doubled headcount: Humboldt Countertops continues to grow while achieving a five-star reputation on Google, Yelp, and Facebook that the shop has built over 35 years. They have scaled without sacrificing quality.

  • Estimates in minutes, not hours: With on-the-spot quoting in the showroom, customers get answers before they leave, accelerating decisions and signaling professionalism from the first interaction.

  • Fewer customer callbacks: The sales team can answer questions immediately without chasing paper files, reducing inbound calls requesting status updates.

  • Costly scheduling errors are now rare: Field crews arrive with accurate, up-to-date job information accessible from any location, even when last-minute changes occur.

  • A built-in accountability trail: The Change Log captures every update, making it easy to pinpoint where breakdowns happen and coach the team accordingly.

  • Easier to grow: With workflows and processes living in the system rather than in someone’s head, onboarding new employees and delegating with confidence has become significantly easier.

“I love the scheduling feature. You can set up dependencies. We work on several different types of materials with different time frames and different scheduling requirements. So, the ability to have those different templates in there has been great. It pulls everybody in the shop together so we’re on the same page.”
Kari Chalmers
Co-owner, Humboldt Countertops and Surfacing

About Humboldt Countertops and Surfacing

Humboldt Countertops and Surfacing (HCS) is a family-owned shop in Northern California with 35 years of history and gets rave reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook. Now led by second-generation owners Kelley Montana and Kari Chalmers, the shop prides itself on providing the best experience possible for their customers and embracing technology to keep their operations running smoothly and efficiently.

 

Humboldt Countertops Snapshot

Location

Northern California

Job Types

Residential and commercial

Output

7-10 jobs per week

Employees

11 employees

Moraware Products

CounterGo (quoting)
Systemize (scheduling)
Moraware Inventory (inventory)

Years of Operation

35+ years