Tuscaloosa, AL -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/3/2006 -- RFMS, Inc. continues to manifest itself as the leader in technological advancements designed specifically for the floor covering industry. For 21 years RFMS has provided a business management system for the industry that truly functions the way the industry works. That has been possible because all RFMS software is designed and developed by people who own floor covering businesses and are, on a daily basis, running their floor covering businesses with the latest developments. In the past 5 years RFMS has put forth special effort to provide additional software products to its suite that give any dealer the tools needed to become the leader in its market. Two of these products, Measure and B2B E-Commerce, are featured in this article.

MEASURE
The latest addition to the RFMS suite of software products is Measure Simple. Measure Simple makes takeoff estimating easy, accurate and most importantly, affordable. Before Measure Simple was released, takeoff estimating software available throughout the industry was sold at a price point that was a barrier for many small operations and the individual sales person. Measure Simple was released at Surfaces 2006. This product was designed so that every person involved in selling and estimating floor covering can both easily use and afford this tool. No floor covering salesperson should have to function without it. And at a price of $299.00 every salesperson can reap its benefits. The return on investment is almost instantaneous. In addition to Measure Simple, RFMS also has released the next versions of Measure Desktop, Professional and Commercial. These versions add many never-before-seen features and benefits to an already superior software product.

Measure Simple and the other Measure editions (Desktop, Professional and Commercial) enable you to create estimates for all types of flooring jobs faster, with greater accuracy and less waste. Better, faster estimates mean greater profit for your flooring business.

As you graphically draw room layouts and choose materials, RFMS Measure calculates the exact amount of materials needed and the cost. You can quickly present various material and installation choices to your customer. Customer satisfaction increases, while you take advantage of additional sales opportunities and close more sales. It streamlines the steps in creating estimates, guiding even beginners through what can be a very complicated process. Measure Desktop, Professional, and Commercial offer a variety of advanced drawing features that provide the most seasoned estimating professional everything needed. So whether you are estimating one room or a thousand room commercial project, Measure has the tool for you.

New features include the ability to use pre-built tile patterns that can be dropped into a room. Grout calculations can be easily assigned to tile based on size, thickness and the desired grout spacing. Ability to design countertops, backsplashes and tub surrounds has been made easy. By simply adding the surface and the edges, a 3D visual is offered while at same time providing the calculations needed for each area, even down to the tile count.

B2B E-COMMERCE
B2B E-Commerce software has been a primary focus of RFMS for the past several years. Again RFMS has proven to be the leader in pioneering this initiative. Now dealers of all types, independents, members of buying groups, mill alliance dealers, commercial oriented, builder oriented and dealers specializing in apartment management can receive product catalogs/pricing information, invoices, shipping notices, and send purchase orders to vendors, all with the click of a button. Presently, RFMS has hundreds of dealers using this technology to keep their selling prices and gross margins updated when a supplier price change goes into effect. Product records contain dealer specific pricing and all color level information for carpet, wood, laminate, ceramic tile – any product that is contained in the dealer’s price agreement.

Keeping pricelist updated during the many price changes over the past few years became a thing of ease for those using B2B and RFMS. Add to that the ability to get invoices electronically that automatically tie back to purchase orders sent earlier using B2B, the savings become obvious. The RFMS B2B module is not just a data file download, but rather a full software package, so there’s no need to use multiple programs.

In addition Shaw, Mohawk, Beaulieu and Gulistan, a growing number of major distributors are also using B2B including Ohio Valley Flooring, WM Bird, Adleta, JJ Haines and All Tile. In the past few months, BR Funsten, Tri-West RA Siegel, Longust, BPI, CMH, Emser Tile and Dal Tile have all committed to offer B2B in 2006.

The technology available to today’s floor covering professionals has never been more exciting. RFMS Measure and the entire suite of RFMS Business Management software provide the very best technology has to offer. By understanding the needs of floor covering businesses, RFMS is able to create the best possible combination of technological advances and cutting edge business practices/applications for all business size and types. For more information or to see a free demo, please contact RFMS at 1-800-701-7367 or visit http://www.rfms.com and http://www.rfmsmeasure.com.