CarpetBossPro Blog — Upholstery, Rugs & Tile

Choosing Upholstery Cleaning Software: What to Check Before You Add Sofas, Rugs and Tile

Most software for carpet cleaners handles the carpet fine. Rooms, square feet, a job, an invoice. The gaps show up when you try to run the rest of the business through it: the sofa that needs its own price, the protector that needs to actually get applied, the rug-only home with no carpet at all. Before you commit to a system, it's worth checking how it handles the work beyond the carpet.

Start With How You Track Today

Tracking upholstery and add-on work was covered in Tracking Upholstery, Rug and Tile Work With Reports, Tags and Custom Fields. If you can't do that kind of tracking today, that's usually the first sign your current setup is hiding the upholstery side of the business.

Many companies run upholstery on spreadsheets and paper, or on generic field-service software that only knows an address and a notes box. Neither knows what a loveseat is. Here's what to check instead.

1. Can You Build Your Own Service List?

You should be able to set up every service you sell with your own price: sofa, loveseat, chair, sectional, dining chair, area rug, mattress, tile and grout, pet odor treatment, stain protector, deodorizer and spot removal. Check that services can be priced off the property's measurements, so tile by the square foot doesn't need a calculator.

In CarpetBossPro, estimates are built from whatever service list you set up, and each service becomes its own line item on the invoice.

2. Do the Job Details Know About Upholstery and Add-Ons?

A notes box isn't enough. Look for job details that treat the extra work as real fields: checkboxes for upholstery, rugs, mattresses, tile and each add-on, right alongside the rooms. Check whether there's a way to mark a rug-only job, and whether access notes for pets, gate codes, parking and the hose live on the address.

Also check that a new job at a home fills in from the last one, and that estimate details carry onto the job when the customer approves. Re-typing the sofa every year is how it gets forgotten.

3. Does the Tech Checklist Follow the Job?

This is the one most systems miss. When stain protector or pet odor treatment is on the job, does a step for it appear on the tech's phone? When it isn't, does the step stay off? A checklist that adapts to the job is what makes paid add-ons actually get done.

Check that the checklist can record stains that did not come out, a job condition and a note for the customer, and that the office can see the finished checklist. See Add-On Steps in the Tech Checklist: Making Sure Paid Add-Ons Actually Get Done for what that looks like in practice.

4. Photos, Customer App and Billing

Upholstery, rugs and tile are where before-and-after photos matter most. Check that techs can take them on the job, that they're saved with the job and that customers can see them. Check what the customer app offers: invoices, online payment, card updates, service requests and plan sign-ups.

On billing, look for invoices with line items and sales tax, card on file charged on completion or on a schedule, past-due follow-up, and monthly account billing for property managers with many addresses.

5. Repeat Work, Texting and Price

Check how repeat cleanings work. Can you set yearly or every-six-months plans by minimum days between visits? Is there a map of homes that came due, so you can fill a day by area? Check for two-way texting, automated reminders and on-the-way and arrived alerts, and what text allowance comes with the plan.

Then check the price, and whether upholstery and add-ons cost extra. CarpetBossPro plans are Start at $59/month, Pro at $89/month and Crew at $199/month, with upholstery, rugs, tile and add-ons on every plan and a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Imports are a CSV import, and imported addresses are placed on the map automatically.

Try It With Real Jobs

The best test is to run last month's jobs through a system before you switch. Quote a three-room carpet job with a sofa and protector. A sectional by itself. A rug-only home. A kitchen and two bathrooms of tile. See how many clicks each one takes, what the tech would see and what the invoice would say.

The live demo at my.carpetbosspro.com/demo.html is a fully stocked sample carpet cleaning company you can click around with no signup. For the full picture of how upholstery, rugs, tile and add-ons work together, go back to the CarpetBossPro upholstery cleaning software page.