We talk to Jayne Griffiths, director of secondary glazing specialist, Storm Windows, about the advantages of EndtoEnd’s Integrate quotation software.

GT: Tell us more about Storm Windows.

Jayne Griffiths (JG): We’re a family-run company, with 20 years’ experience specialising in the manufacture and installation of handcrafted bespoke secondary glazing.

We’re proudly based in the Midlands, and we work with listed, classic and historic properties all over the UK.

Our bespoke secondary glazing offers an answer to the question, ‘how do we keep the character of a period building, but make sure it’s as energy efficient as possible?’

I always make a noise about our talented team of craftsmen, as they manufacture each individual product. This lets us make units which are out-of-square, shaped, arched or curved. For our customers, it means they’re suitable for many different types of windows, including sash, casement and York sliders.

GT: Why did you seek out a software solution?

JG: Like many companies, we had an in-house quotation system – it had developed and grown over time. And (you guessed it!), it predominantly consisted of complex Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

I like a good spreadsheet as much as the next person, and we had been able to make it do what we wanted to, but we knew its overall effectiveness and efficiency had run its course. It was accurate, but it was time-consuming as each quotation needed to be typed for the customer.

You also end up with ‘experts’ and gatekeepers with this type of process. Only a handful of people know the details and nuances of how it works… or what to do when it doesn’t.

With Integrate, we are now able to send a quotation once it is completed by our estimator, at the click of a button.

GT: What were you hoping new software could offer your business?

JG: Time. Is it possible to move everything onto one system to keep all notes, emails, customer records and quotations in the same place? If we could do this, we knew we could speed up the time it takes to get quotations to customers.

GT: Did you have any concerns about the Integrate software?

JG: I thought our existing system would be too bespoke to be fully replaced by a purchased CRM system. I was expecting EndtoEnd to say the only way was to operate using the system we already had in place. But Integrate isn’t an ‘off the shelf’ generic product. It’s a specialist, like us.

The iIntegrate system completely changed my thinking. The software has allowed us to maintain our bespoke product design, and then provide quotations to fully reflect this.

We’ve got the support of software experts behind us, combined with the flexibility that comes from working with industry experts who understand our business.

EndtoEnd promised they’d be set up for a company like us and they were.

GT: You’re a few months into using it now, how has it been going?

JG: It works! We’re seeing our quotations go out much quicker and we can easily keep track of all our leads.

As with all new systems, there have been some teething problems and ironing out of little bits.

For example, we needed to ensure the new system reflected the same values as our previous system, and the EndtoEnd team have worked closely with us in the quotations module to include all options on the costing matrix.

The strength of any software system is the flexibility, support and responsiveness of the team. We’ve got there and have continued to evolve the system to accommodate the individual requirements of Storm Windows, including all the additional details on the quotation summary and invoices.

We’ve had to learn a new system… old dogs and new tricks spring to mind.

But, in truth, we’ve always been open to change as a business, so perseverance has resolved this. The fact integrate is so intuitive also helps.