When Depiction Software LLC adapted two standard types of construction software to fit the needs of decorative concrete contractors, it brought decorative concrete planning into the 21st century.
Depiction’s Deco-Con Estimator, winner of a Most Innovative Products award at World of Concrete 2005, is now in version 2.0.
Like the typical estimator program, Deco-Con Estimator turns out estimates in seconds, produces custom contracts and vendor purchase orders, and churns out materials lists for crews. After crunching numbers, it synchronizes estimates to multiple computers and lets users print estimates.
The difference with Deco-Con Estimator is that it comes with a database of common decorative concrete products and can be updated to include others. Once a contractor’s formulas are created, the estimator takes care of the rest. A printed contract for a prospect includes contact information, pricing and services to be rendered.
“Your time is too valuable to spend it looking up prices and calculating estimates,” asserts Depiction marketing materials. “Take care of this headache in a matter of minutes and boost the likelihood that your potential customer becomes a contracted one.”
The Estimator can come with specific manufacturers’ product information — five companies have contracted with Depiction to produce versions that offer just that — but the program is designed to be completely customizable. It lets contractors add additional products and create their own formulations.
Meanwhile, Deco-Con Decorative Concrete Imaging Software is in version 3.0. This system lets contractors show customers speculative shots of homes or businesses adorned with a wide range of decorative concrete products: stamped or stenciled concrete, acid stains, epoxy chips, countertops, pavers and more.
The standard edition of the Imaging Software is loaded with more than 25,000 photorealistic images, color samples and patterns from manufacturers such as Brickform, L.M. Scofield, Solomon Colors, Davis Colors, Americrete, Butterfield Color and Bomanite. The software exhibits stamp patterns from Proline Concrete Tools in hundreds of colors.
“This is imaging technology that we originally created for the manufacturers such as Increte, Concrete Solutions and Artcrete, refocused at a reasonable price for decorative concrete contractors,” states company marketing materials.
Manufacturers are still ordering specialized versions of the imaging software, and 25 discrete manufacturer-specific versions are on the market at present. Producers of unique product lines, such as Engrave-A-Crete, get versions that showcase their catalogs exclusively. On the other hand, stamp-makers, stain-makers and other companies benefit when customers can virtually combine their products in a general edition.
The software system contains libraries of images that depict multicolor spray-on texture, knock-down textures, trowel-finish flagstone, interlocking pavers, tiles, granite, marble, brick, epoxy stone, paint chips, stone veneer, stucco and wood flooring. There are even rocks and waterfalls on file, so customers and contractors can do a little speculative landscaping.
Depiction had been producing estimating and imaging software for contractors before it delved into decorative concrete. Designing versions tailored to decorative concrete contractors was easy to do, says Depiction president Garry Galpin, which made the decision to do it a no-brainer. “Also, nobody else is doing this for decorative concrete.”
(818) 707-4451
www.depictionsoftware.com
