Custom swatch management software for interior furnishing
Appfront builds sample management for interior designers and flooring and curtain specialists: every sample of fabric, flooring, wallpaper or window dressing, with supplier, collection, article number and location in the shop; lending samples to customers with a return date and a reminder; expired collections being removed from the shop in good time; and a sample that leads directly to a quote. So the customer doesn't choose at home from a sample that is no longer available.
What is sample management software for interior design?
An interior designer has samples from dozens of suppliers: fabric books, flooring samples, wallpaper books, blinds and roller blinds. Customers choose in the shop or take samples home to see them in the light and next to the sofa. Suppliers replace collections, and a sample that was available last year may no longer be. Sample management software tracks every sample with supplier, collection, article number and location, knows which sample is with which customer, and flags what is expiring.
Without such a system, the lending record sits on a note by the till and a third of the samples never come back. A customer chooses a fabric at home from a book that has been unavailable for a season, which only becomes apparent when ordering. New collections sit in boxes in the warehouse because nobody knows which old books should make way for them.
We build custom software because the system has to fit your range and your shop: which suppliers you work with and what they provide on collections, how your shop is laid out, how you lend out samples and which POS or quoting system you use. A stock system knows items for sale, not swatches that go out and come back.
Sample register
Every sample or sample book with supplier, collection, item numbers, colours and location in the shop, along with its status: in store, on loan, on order or discontinued.
Lending and returns
Lending to a customer with a scan and return date, a reminder when the sample hasn't come back, and the loan visible on the customer's record in the quoting system.
Tracking collections
Which collections are being discontinued and which are new, per supplier, with a list of what needs to leave the shop and what needs to be ordered.
How we build sample management software for interior design
We start on the shop floor: how many samples, from how many suppliers, how many are out on loan, and how often a chosen sample turned out to be no longer available.
Which suppliers and collections you carry, how the shop is laid out, how you currently lend out samples, what suppliers provide and which POS or quoting system you use.
The samples in the register with supplier, collection and location, and labels with a code for scanning on loan and return.
Lending and returns with reminders, flagging of discontinued and new collections, and ordering samples from suppliers.
The integration with quotes and orders, supplier collection information, reporting, and then management and rollout to more branches.
What sample management software for interior design actually does
The components below come up for almost every interior designer. Which ones you need depends on the size of your sample collection and on how you currently lend samples.
Sample register
Samples and sample books with supplier, collection, item numbers, colour and location, searchable by supplier, material and colour.
Lending with a scan
Lend and return samples by scanning the label, the customer and the return date, without a note at the till.
Reminders
A message to the customer when the return date passes, and a list for the shop of what has been out too long.
Collection changes
Discontinued and new collections per supplier, with a list of what needs to leave the shop and what needs to be ordered or placed.
Sample to quote
From the sample straight to the item in the quote, with availability shown, so a choice doesn't land on a discontinued item.
Reporting
Loans per sample and collection, samples that don't come back, and which samples lead to an order and which never do.
Who we build sample management software for interior design for
The software is intended for shops and studios where samples carry the sales conversation and where managing them is currently nobody's job.
Interior designers
Fabric, flooring, wallpaper and window treatments from many suppliers. The register and collection changes are the core.
Flooring specialists
Floor samples that customers take home. Lending and reminders matter most.
Curtain studios and window treatments
Fabric books and sample swatches that change every season. The collection changeover and the integration with quotes are what's needed.
Multi-location chains
The same samples across several shops. The register per branch and ordering from suppliers are the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about samples. For custom interiors, see our page on interior fit-out software; for furniture orders with a lead time, our page on lead time monitoring for furniture orders; and for custom furniture, our page on a furniture configurator. You can read about our approach at custom software development.
Why choose Appfront for sample management software for interior design?
A sample is only useful if it's there, correctly recorded and comes back. That's what we build on: every sample registered, every loan scanned, every collection changed on time.
Samples come back
Lending with a scan and a reminder. The customer knows when the sample is due back, and the shop sees what is overdue.
No choosing from a discontinued collection
Discontinued collections appear on a list to be removed from the showroom, and the quote shows availability. The customer chooses only what can still be ordered.
See what sells
Which samples lead to an order and which never do. At the next collection change, you decide what gets the space.
Security and privacy in sample management software for interior design
The software holds customer details for lending and the integration with quotes. Access is set by role: the salesperson lends out samples and quotes, the buyer manages collections and orders, and management sees the reporting. Every lending and return is logged with name and time.
The software runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily back-ups. Customer details from completed loans are deleted according to the retention period you set.
Frequently asked questions about sample management software for interior design
Questions interior designers ask before getting started.
It keeps track of every sample with supplier, collection, item number and location in the shop, records loans to customers with a return date and reminder, flags expired and new collections, and links a sample to the item in the quote with its availability shown.
At the start we register the samples by supplier and collection, preferably from the collection information suppliers provide, and each sample or sample book gets a label. After that, every new sample goes into the register when it arrives.
From the information suppliers give about collection changes, either imported or entered by hand. For each supplier you see what is being discontinued and when, and which samples need to leave the showroom as a result.
Yes, if you want that: a customer requests samples via the website, the shop sets them aside or sends them, and the loan is recorded in the system straight away with a return date.
Yes. From a sample, the salesperson selects the item for the quote, with availability shown. And for a customer in the quoting system, you can see which samples they have at home.
Yes. Each branch has its own register, samples can be moved between branches, and purchasing sees per collection what is in which shop.
Check this first. Some till systems can handle item loans, which is enough for a handful of samples. Custom development makes sense if you have thousands of samples from many suppliers, if collection changes need tracking each season, or if a sample must link directly to the quote.
Every sample back, and no more choosing from a discontinued collection?
Tell us how many samples you have, from how many suppliers, and how you lend them out now. We'll show you what the register, lending and collection changes look like.