Launched 18 months ago , Framepoint ® from Tommy Trinder has been shaking up the software market , with its ‘ pay as you go ’ pricing model . From under £ 100 a month window companies can access the firm ’ s cutting edge Framepoint Technology ® to price and order their windows and doors , with no upfront cost and no tie in .

CEO Chris Brunsdon , himself a former window installer , explains the thinking behind bringing the subscription concept to double glazing :

“ Historically you ’ ve needed a bag of cash and nerves of steel to invest in decent quoting software in our industry . To manage all this on top of the day job of selling and fitting windows , was

beyond most smaller window firms . We just felt there had to be a better way .”

Supplying software tools on a subscription basis ( commonly known as ‘ Software As A Service ’ - or ‘ SaaS ’ for short ) is nothing new . SaaS is big business in the UK and the market for software delivered over the internet for a monthly fee is expanding rapidly . By 2025 the global spend on SaaS products is predicted to grown by a further $ 100bn . But asides from saving on upfront investment , what other benefits does SaaS bring to the glazing industry ?

“ Speed is key ,” says Chris . “ Even if you ’ re not tech savvy , we can have you selling with Framepoint ® within the hour . In their first month with us , many subscribers report a saving of

around 30 hours on quoting . That can be a game changer in a buoyant market when there ’ s not enough hours in the day .”

An emphasis on ease of use , driven by the fact that customers can give up and walk away anytime , is a common feature of SaaS . This hard truth has driven Tommy Trinder to invest heavily in designing an interface that is as user-friendly as possible ; windows and doors can be free sketched on Framepoint ®, just like drawing on a pad . It ’ s point

and touch to show off different colours , ironmongery and glass . And one tap to overlay designs onto a photo of your client ’ s house .

“ You really need to listen to installers ,” says Chris . “ Last month , by popular demand , we shipped our Magic Paintbrush feature , for instance . This allows subscribers to re-colour all items in a quote

( Ali , PVC or timber ) in one click . A simple device that wows customers and saves hours .”

But doesn ’ t the prospect of customer ’ s cancelling at any time , make for a stressful existence ?

“ I love the challenge ,” says Chris . “ Every month I have to create so much value that all my customers want to renew , and a load more want to join .”

Peter Hambleton , Sales Lead at the firm , says : “ Not having a showroom can leave you relying on the customer to use their imagination . The Framepoint ® software bridged that gap and can show a very clear likeness of what they ’ re looking to achieve .

“ We can try things out with the customer so quickly using our touch screen laptops . We then instantly create pricing requests through the software which get sent straight on to our suppliers , but we also use the same drawings for quoting . You don ’ t have to do the same things over and over again . We haven ’ t had to use a pen and paper at all .”

Starting a new business in the middle of a pandemic presents a unique set of challenges , but Peter and team have used the opportunity to rethink processes and work smart with Framepoint ®.

Restrictions may have eased , but many people are still nervous about visiting public spaces . The team at Estuary View have been meeting customers online using Framepoint ®’ s remote selling feature , and “ the feedback has been absolutely amazing ”, said Peter . “ We ’ ve been able to create products with customers virtually on a zoom call , bouncing ideas back and forth , changing designs , they send us a picture of their property , we superimpose the products onto their house . It ’ s fantastic . If the customer is an hour and a half away then you ’ re

usually looking at a whole day to do that , whereas we ’ ve done it in twenty minutes !”

Framepoint ® has saved a huge amount of time in the office too , says Peter .

“ We ’ ve done some research into this and we ’ re saving three to four hours a day with Framepoint ®, so that ’ s essentially 20 hours a week . It frees us up to concentrate on what we ’ re good at , and we can be more productive and sell more .”

“ In this industry you ’ re always up against two or three other companies on every job , and

often some of the big nationals . They don ’ t use anything like Framepoint ® – we can trade on the fact that we ’ re a local , independent company , but that we ’ re ‘ down with the kids ’ and using the very latest software . The feedback has been amazing . You can almost tell that the customer is thinking ‘ Okay , this company really knows what they ’ re doing !’, and it sets us above the competition .”

www . tommytrinder . com