Platforms
FlowFlex for home improvement and installers
FlowFlex Shutters is a FlowFlex prototype for businesses that survey, measure, make to order and install, from first enquiry to snag-free.
FlowFlex Shutters is a prototype Flowbird built on FlowFlex for businesses that survey, measure, make to order and install, from first enquiry to snag-free.
[Try the prototype](https://flowflex-shutters.flowbirdhosted.com/#/sales) · Book a call
*The FlowFlex Shutters sales board. A prototype on sample data, not a live client.*
Built for businesses that measure before they sell.
If your sale means a visit to the customer’s home, a measure, a quote from those measurements, an order made to size and a fitter on site, a standard CRM ends up as stages for every visit and a spreadsheet for the rest. FlowFlex Shutters is built around that cycle instead.
- Shutters, blinds, curtains and awnings
- Windows, doors and conservatories
- Fitted kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms
- Flooring, garage doors, gates and fencing
Three screens that run the cycle
One for the enquiry, one for the job once it is won, one for the people out on the road. All three are in the demo.
Enquiries
Every enquiry lands with an owner and a clock, measured against a 60-second target, and has to pass qualification before it becomes an opportunity.
Jobs
Won work from order confirmation to snag-free, as its own record linked to the sale, so sales and delivery are never measured off the same stages.
Diary
Surveyors, fitters and the sales team in one week view, with the load per person. Booking a survey here writes the survey onto the record.
Everything about the job on one page
The contact, the property, both surveys, the quote, the window schedule, the job and every message, on one record. No jumping between a sales deal and an operations deal.
- A window schedule that drives the quote, the factory order and the fitter’s checklist
- Four sales stages, with a move refused until what the next stage needs is there
- A second property against the same customer, not a second contact
- Three unanswered calls flag the deal as No Contact without writing it off
Built for the phone, nothing to install
Two screens laid out for a phone browser, off the same records: the surveyor captures the measure and the fitter closes the job, each seeing only what their role allows. Nobody downloads anything, and the office re-keys nothing.
- Today’s address, the access note and the units on one screen
- Capture flows with checks before a visit can be completed
- Per-role access, so a surveyor cannot see order margins
- A cancelled visit keeps its place rather than disappearing
Where are my shutters? Answered without a call.
An optional page at the customer’s own link: their order, where it is in manufacture, the balance due and their window schedule. The same data, read-only, with no login to a CRM.
- Order placed, in manufacture, on its way, installation booked, fitted
- Order total, deposit received and balance on completion
- The window schedule the customer agreed to
- No account for the customer to create
From the first message to snag-free
The same steps for every customer, each one written onto the record by the person who did it.
- Enquiry. From the website form, WhatsApp or the phone, assigned to an owner, with the response time measured against target.
- Qualified. Six questions on the record: coverage area, the right product, the decision maker, ownership, timing and roughly how many windows.
- Consultation. The first survey, booked in the diary. The windows go into the schedule as the surveyor measures.
- Quote and deposit. The quote is built from the window schedule, then the technical measure confirms it and the deposit is taken.
- Made to order. The job tracks the factory order and the 4-week and 8-week updates the customer is sent while it is made.
- Fitted and signed off. The fitter closes the job from their phone. Any snags stay on it, and it is done when it is paid and snag-free.
Everything the cycle needs, on one platform
Each of these is in the prototype and can be clicked through, on sample data.
Enquiry inbox
Every enquiry with an owner and a clock, and speed to lead measured against a 60-second target.
Qualification gate
An enquiry earns its place in the pipeline. One that does not is recorded with the reason, never counted as a lost deal.
Four sales stages
Surveys, quote and deposit read off their own records, so a deal never moves sideways to record a fact.
Window schedule
Room, size, product, frame, slat and colour per window, with the area worked out from the measurements.
Team diary
Showroom visits, surveys, installs and remedials in one week view, with load per person.
Phone-ready screens
A surveyor view and a fitter view, optimised for the phone browser and gated by role. Nothing to install.
One thread per customer
WhatsApp and email in one conversation, with follow-up sequences that stop when somebody replies.
Reports and exports
Speed to lead, win rate, source return, margin and field workload, with CSV exports for the accountant.
What works in the demo, and what is not connected yet
The screens are real and clickable. What sits behind them is not, yet: a FlowFlex build connects what the prototype only draws.
| Area | In the prototype | Not connected yet |
|---|---|---|
| Data | Every screen reads and writes records | Seeded in the browser, and resets on reload |
| Sign-in | A role switcher shows what each role sees | No authentication |
| Messages | Written and recorded on the customer’s thread | Nothing is sent: no WhatsApp or mailbox connection |
| Diary | Booking writes the survey or the fitting date | No calendar connection |
| Files | Shown where photos, signatures and quotes would sit | Placeholders, with no file storage |
| Automations | The website form acknowledges a new enquiry | The others describe what they would do |
So, is FlowFlex Shutters a fit?
FlowFlex Shutters is a fit if:
- you visit the customer’s home to survey or measure before you can quote
- what you sell is made or ordered to size, then fitted by your own team
- your CRM has a stage for every visit and a spreadsheet for everything after the sale
- your surveyors and fitters work from paper, texts or a separate app
It is not the right fit if:
- you sell off the shelf with no site visit
- you are a one-person business, where a simple job app costs less
- a well-configured CRM platform like HubSpot or Pipedrive already fits how you work
Common questions
What is FlowFlex Shutters?
FlowFlex Shutters is a prototype Flowbird built on FlowFlex for a made-to-measure shutter business: enquiries, sales, surveys, manufacturing and installation in one system. The demo is anonymised and runs on sample data.
Is it a live product I can sign up to?
No. It is a prototype that shows what a FlowFlex build for this kind of business looks like. A real build starts from your own process, data and team, and the prototype gives that conversation a head start.
Does it only work for shutters?
No. The cycle it is built around (survey, measure, quote, make to order, fit) is the same for blinds, windows and doors, fitted kitchens and bedrooms, flooring and garage doors. The product lists change; the shape does not.
Can it connect to Outlook, WhatsApp and our accounts system?
The prototype is not connected to anything. A FlowFlex build can connect with Microsoft 365, accounts systems like Xero, Sage and QuickBooks, and the tools you already use, and the Discovery Sprint settles which of those the first version needs.
How do we start?
With a FlowFlex Discovery Sprint (£995 + VAT): workshops, planning and a written roadmap that says what the first version should cover and what it would cost.
See FlowFlex Shutters against your own process.
Tell us how an enquiry reaches you, who surveys, who fits and where the paperwork lives today. We will walk you through the prototype against that, rather than the sample data.
[Try the prototype](https://flowflex-shutters.flowbirdhosted.com/#/sales) · Book a call
Related: FlowFlex, the platform this is built on.