What software do racking and storage companies use to manage quotes and orders?

Most start with spreadsheets, email and an accounting package such as Xero, then hit a ceiling when repeat retyping and missed follow-ups start costing jobs. The alternatives are generic CRMs, which handle the sale but not the purchasing and delivery, and construction or ERP systems, which handle the project but are heavier and more expensive than a small supplier needs. Zigaflow sits between the two and covers enquiry through to paid invoice.

How do you quote racking when every job is a different size?

You do not need a product for every configuration. Add one-off lines with your own description, quantity, cost and sell price, and save them to your item list only if they will come up again. You can also pull lines through from a previous quote for a similar job, or build a bill of materials item where a configuration is stable enough to reuse.

Can one sales order create separate purchase orders for different suppliers?

Yes. Assign a supplier to each product line and Zigaflow generates one purchase order per supplier from a single sales order in one step. You can reassign suppliers at the point of raising the purchase orders. A saved filter shows any order line that still has no purchase order against it, which is the usual cause of a missed delivery date.

How do you track a delivery when the supplier ships directly to your customer?

Send the supplier a tracking page with the purchase order. They acknowledge the order, which updates its stage and notifies your account manager, then enter carrier, tracking number and dispatch date when the goods ship. Those details can be passed straight to your customer, so you are not relaying delivery updates by phone on every order.

Can you take a pro forma payment before raising a purchase order?

Yes. Raise a pro forma invoice from the sales order and hold the purchase order until payment confirms. With the Xero integration the paid status returns automatically, so the person who raises the purchase order can see the payment has landed without asking accounts. Orders that run on pro forma and orders that run on credit can follow different stages in the same system.

How do staged payments such as 50/50 or 40/40/20 work in quote-to-cash software?

Part invoice against the sales order by overall percentage or line by line, as many times as the schedule requires. Each part invoice pushes to your accounting system separately, and the sales order shows how much of its value has been invoiced and how much remains. Customer payment terms and credit limits sync from Xero and are visible at quote stage.

Does racking software need to integrate with Xero?

It should. Zigaflow syncs two-way with Xero: customers, tax codes and account codes come across, sales and purchase invoices push out, and paid status comes back automatically. Customer payment terms and credit limits are visible from quote stage, and you can block quoting or ordering when a customer exceeds their credit limit. QuickBooks and FreeAgent are also supported.

Do you need stock management if you do not hold stock?

No. Stock control is optional, and plenty of racking resellers run the full quote-to-cash workflow without it because every order is bought in and shipped direct from a supplier. The modules you do not use can be switched off, which keeps the system simpler for the people using it every day.

Can racking inspections and maintenance visits be scheduled in the same system?

Yes. Recurring inspection and maintenance work runs through the same job and project structure as installation work, with its own configurable stages. Site sign-off can be captured by e-signature through an eForm, which gives you a dated record that the visit was completed and by whom, alongside the customer commercial history.

How long does implementation take for a racking business?

Typically one to six weeks, and the pace is mostly set by how much time your team can give it rather than by the software. An hour of onboarding is included, covering workflow stages, data import and connecting Xero and your email. Additional implementation support, including branded document templates and historical data import, is available in packages.

Racking and storage software for businesses where every job is a one-off

One system for used racking traders, resellers and turnkey installers. Quote bespoke configurations, split purchase orders across your suppliers, track direct deliveries to site, and invoice the way the deal was actually structured.

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20+

Years in Operations Software

Zigaflow has been building quote-to-cash software for UK small and mid-sized businesses for over 20 years.

2-Way

Accounting Sync

Customers, tax codes, account codes, payment terms and credit limits sync from Xero. Sales and purchase invoices push out, and paid status returns automatically.

1-6

Weeks to Go Live

Typical implementation timeline, driven by data volume and how much time your team can commit.

Built for the way racking businesses actually sell

Racking and storage is not a catalog business. The same pallet racking goes out at a different height, a different beam length and a different bay count on every job, and the price only firms up once a supplier comes back with a number. Software built around a fixed product list fights that reality instead of supporting it.

Zigaflow treats the one-off as the normal case. Build a quote from free-text lines, a saved item list, a previous job or a floor plan takeoff. Send an RFQ to your suppliers and pull their cost prices straight back into the quote. When the customer accepts and signs, the sales order splits into a purchase order per supplier automatically.

It works whether you hold stock in a warehouse or hold none at all. Resellers who never touch the goods can pass supplier acknowledgments and tracking details straight through to the end customer, so the person who bought the racking always knows where it is.

Key facts

Zigaflow covers quotes, RFQs, sales orders, purchase orders, delivery notes and sales and purchase invoices in one system.
A single sales order splits automatically into one purchase order per supplier when product lines are assigned to different suppliers.
Suppliers can acknowledge a purchase order and enter shipping carrier, tracking number and dispatch date through a tracking page, which can be passed on to the end customer.
Stock management is optional, so businesses that drop-ship every order and hold no warehouse stock can run the full workflow without it.
Invoicing supports pro forma payment before a purchase order is raised, staged deposits such as 50/50 or 40/40/20, and part invoicing by percentage or by individual line.
The two-way Xero integration syncs customers, tax codes, account codes, payment terms and credit limits, and returns paid status automatically.
Typical implementation runs from one to six weeks depending on data volume and internal capacity.

Up and running in a few simple steps

Build the quote

Start from a customer record, a saved item list, a previous quote or a floor plan you upload and mark up. Add one-off lines for anything bespoke. Version the quote when the customer asks for a change, so an earlier version can be restored without rebuilding it.

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Price it with your suppliers

Send an RFQ to one or more suppliers directly from the quote. Their cost prices come back into the quote lines, so margin is calculated on real figures before the customer sees a price rather than being reconciled after the order is placed.

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Get it accepted and signed

The customer accepts the quote online, signs for it, and enters their own purchase order number at the point of acceptance. Acceptance raises the sales order automatically. Automated follow-ups chase unanswered quotes on the interval you set, and can be switched off per customer.

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Raise the purchase orders

The sales order splits into a purchase order for each supplier on the job. Suppliers acknowledge receipt and enter dispatch and tracking details, which feed back onto the sales order so expected dates stay current and any change is flagged to the account manager.

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Deliver and invoice

Raise delivery notes, capture proof of completion by e-signature on site if the job needs it, then invoice as a pro forma, a staged deposit or a part invoice by percentage or line. The invoice pushes into Xero or QuickBooks and the paid status comes back automatically.

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The problems we solve

Built specifically for your industry - Zigaflow tackles the operational headaches that generic software ignores.

Every job is a one-off

It is the same racking every time, but never the same specification. Different frame heights, different beam lengths, different bay counts, and you rarely know what a job needs until the enquiry lands. Systems built around a product catalog make you invent a SKU for something you will sell once.

How Zigaflow helps

Add free-text one-off lines directly to a quote with your own description, quantity, cost and sell price. Save them to your item list only if they are worth keeping. Pull lines through from a previous quote when a job repeats, or build from a bill of materials when a configuration is stable.