CE Pro July 2021 - 60

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TIPS | EDUCATION & EVENTS | DISTRIBUTION
D-Tools Cloud
Debuts Project
Management Suite
Veteran industry software company's
SaaS platform adds project planning,
resource management, scheduling, task
assignments, item tracking, time tracking
and more. By Jason Knott
AFTER DECADES as the
leading proposal creation
software system for the
custom electronics industry,
D-Tools has made the leap
to become a complete endto-end
software solution
with the addition of several
project management features
to its D-Tools Cloud platform
including project planning,
resource management,
scheduling, task assignments,
item tracking, time tracking
and more.
Randy Stearns, CEO of
D-Tools, says the simultaneous
release of the slew of
functions in the new D-Tools
Cloud Project Management
Suite features has been a
long time in development.
" This powerful, yet
easy-to-use suite of features
bridges the gap from
project estimation to project
completion by adding functionality
that is essential to
all system integrators, " he
notes. Tim Bigoness, chief
marketing officer and vice
president of sales at D-Tools,
60 | CE Pro July 2021
explains, " Normally we
release one feature at a time.
This project management
release is a complete set of
new functionality for integrators
to use after they sign
a contract with a customer.
Now, the same D-Tools presale
experience follows all
the way through post-sale
for integrators. "
D-Tools Cloud is the
company's SaaS platform
that already offers multiple
functions ranging from
system design to change
order management, but now
the platform is a full turnkey
solution for both technicians
and managers with the addition
of the D-Tools Cloud
Project Management Suite.
Some of the new Dashboard
functions, according
to Bigoness, are only found
in major CRM systems. For
example, D-Tools Cloud
enables an integrator to not
just analyze a dashboard
to see the sales forecast
pipeline, but also rate the
probability of closing each
Among the new functions of D-Tools Cloud is an Image Quoting
tool that allows a salesperson to drag and drop products
and resize them directly over an image of the project.
individual proposal based on
its status.
The dashboard also allows
the user to filter by project
type, lead source or salesperson.
Plus, it has the ability to
analyze " lost opportunities "
so dealers can determine
why they were unable to
close particular sales and
identify correctable patterns.
In the Catalog function,
D-Tools is able to provide
real-time dealer-specific
pricing directly from certain
manufacturers and distributors,
such as Savant and
ADI. That pricing is hidden
even from the D-Tools staff,
so there is no risk of an integrator's
pricing levels being
leaked or shared.
D-Tools Cloud can be faster
for quoting than the company's
SI software solution
because the data is being
pulled immediately from the
cloud so the integrator does
not have to build the data
before he or she can provide
the quote to the client, Bigoness
adds. The software also
allows a salesperson to put
the system in Client Mode,
which eliminates markups
and solely presents the
MSRP and final labor costs as
the proposal is being built.
Another unique function
includes Image Quoting,
in which the salesperson
can drag and drop images
of products into a visual of
the room while building the
quote. This is particularly
well suited for retrofit projects
where you can take a
photo of the existing space,
Bigoness says. The software
will also automatically suggest
" Alternates " during the
proposal process, offering
other gear options.
Lastly, there is a new
Installer View that, in a nutshell,
can:
Create and assign tasks
Provide a mobile view
for technicians
Ability to clock in/out
Send personal notifications
Access
to full project
documentation.
cepro.com
http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro July 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro July 2021
