The software kitchen showrooms use, sorted by the job it does

The contract is signed, the deposit cleared, the drawing lives in Design Flex. Seven weeks later the installer calls to ask if the uppers came in, and the answer is in somebody's inbox. Or on the whiteboard. Or in the head of the designer who's off today.

Nothing went wrong with the design software. It did its job. The problem is that nobody bought software for the next job.

That's how this page is sorted: by the job each tool is built for, using what each vendor says on its own site. Prices are as published on the date at the top of the page. Where a vendor doesn't publish a price, we say so.

What software do kitchen showrooms actually use?

Most showrooms use two or three tools, not one. A design program for drawings, quotes and manufacturer catalogs. Then something for the business side, which in small showrooms is usually a spreadsheet plus email. Larger showrooms with stock add an ERP. In-home sellers and remodelers often add a contractor CRM.

Sorted by job, the field looks like this.

One thing the table can't show: these overlap less than the feature lists make it look. A design tool and a job tracker do different work, and most showrooms that have both use both every day.

What does design software cover, and where does it stop?

Design Flex and ProKitchen cover the drawing, the renderings, the catalog pricing and the quote that comes out of it. That's the hardest software job in the showroom and they're built for it. Where they stop is the order itself: acks, lead times, freight, damage, install day.

If you sell manufacturer cabinets, Cyncly is plain about which tier you need: Design Flex, the one with catalogs. Foundation is for showrooms that don't need manufacturer cabinet catalogs. ProKitchen splits the same way, with and without catalogs. Cyncly's pricing page doesn't state per-seat terms, so ask how many designers one license covers before you budget for three.

We wrote a longer page on what Design Flex covers and what you'll still need to run if you're weighing that one.

Do you need quoting software like KitchenDEV, or an ERP like ECI Spruce?

Only if your volume calls for it. KitchenDEV is built for catalog quoting and purchase orders across manufacturers, and Spruce is built for a showroom that holds inventory. Neither publishes prices. A showroom ordering a few kitchens a month from two or three lines usually doesn't need either.

KitchenDEV quotes each business separately, with a one-time setup fee and a month-to-month subscription. Its Retailer Suite covers quoting, proposals and POs, and it builds your catalogs at setup with upkeep included. A CRM isn't something they list on the plans page.

Spruce reads like a different animal. Inventory, receiving, min/max, suggested orders, installed sales, delivery, AR. It also lists special orders created and tracked in the software, and direct import of takeoffs from 2020 Design and ProKitchen. If you run a counter and a warehouse, that's a serious fit, and a showroom on Spruce may find special-order tracking already covered.

Are Houzz Pro, Jobber or Leap a fit for a showroom?

They fit when your showroom behaves like a contractor: you sell in the home, run crews and bill by job. Houzz Pro is built for remodelers and designers, Jobber for field service across 48 listed trades, Leap for in-home sales. Houzz Pro and Jobber don't name kitchen showrooms, and Leap lists Kitchen & Bath as one of its industries.

Houzz Pro lists New Construction, Remodeling, Interior Design, Architecture and Painting. Jobber's industries page includes Carpentry, Remodeling and General Contracting. Leap's pricing page is built around contractors.

If your installers are your own crew and most of your work is remodel, these deserve a trial. If you mainly sell cabinets and sub out the install, a lot of what you'd pay for is field scheduling you won't use. We looked at each in more detail: Houzz Pro for a showroom and Jobber for a showroom.

What's the gap between signed contract and install day?

It's the job tracker. Once the design is sold, someone has to place each supplier order, chase the ack, watch the lead time, log what's been paid to each supplier, book delivery and install, and handle the remake. Design software is built for the step before this, so most small showrooms do it on a spreadsheet.

Here's what that stretch holds on a typical kitchen:

• Orders split across suppliers (cabinets, counters, hardware, sometimes appliances)
• An ack per order, checked against the drawing before you confirm
• Lead times that move, and a backorder or two
• Supplier payments made and still owed
• Delivery date, inspection on arrival, damage claims
• Install date, punch list, the replacement door three weeks later

A spreadsheet handles this fine at four jobs. At fifteen it starts to slip, usually on dates. We wrote a step-by-step on tracking cabinet orders from contract to install.

Which combination fits which showroom?

Pick by headcount, and by one question: do you hold stock? A 2-person studio needs one design tool and something that tracks orders and dates. A 10-person showroom with a warehouse may need an ERP. A remodel-heavy shop with crews may want a contractor tool instead of a job tracker.

Two-person design studio, mostly manufacturer cabinets, install subbed out. Design Flex or ProKitchen with catalogs, plus a job tracker. An example with published prices: Design Flex without Success Plan at $2,495 a year, plus Salone Studio at $99 a month ($1,188 a year), comes to $3,683 a year. With ProKitchen's catalog subscription at $2,395, the same pair comes to $3,583.

Five or six people, a couple of designers, an office manager. Same design tool (check seat terms with the vendor), plus a shared tracker everyone can see from a phone. This is where whiteboards stop working, because the person who asks "did the counters come in?" isn't the person who ordered them.

Ten-person showroom with stock on the floor and a warehouse. Design Flex for design, and look hard at an ERP like Spruce for inventory, purchasing and special orders. If the ERP covers your special orders well, you may not need a separate tracker. If your team still keeps a side spreadsheet for install dates and supplier balances, that's the sign. For the job tracker side, Salone Showroom is $139 a month ($1,668 a year) for 4 or more users.

Remodel firm that also runs a showroom, own crews. Houzz Pro, Jobber or Leap. Leap if you sell in the home, Jobber if you run lots of short field jobs, Houzz Pro if you want 3D floor plans and marketing in the same place. Keep your kitchen design software for the cabinet drawings.

Where does Salone fit?

Salone is the job tracker in that list. It doesn't draw kitchens, price manufacturer catalogs or place orders with manufacturers, so keep your design software. It holds the order after the sale: supplier rows, costs and balances, delivery and install dates, files and acks, and a finance view for the owner.

Each showroom sets up its own order fields (cabinet line, door style, finish, supplier, whatever you track) and runs them on a status board from New to Complete. If you want to see it with your own jobs, that's on the home page. And if a spreadsheet still covers you, keep it. Software is worth paying for when the dates start slipping, not before.