Carman

Carman is cloud-based business management software for flooring retailers, carpet shops, wholesalers, and contractors. It follows work from the initial customer order through delivery and fitting, with tools for flooring estimates, installation scheduling, invoicing, and payments. Stock tracking covers multiple locations and products sold by pack, square metre, box, or length. The CRM can hold several names, addresses, and contact details for an organisation, and links to Companies House and Royal Mail databases. Users can send quotes and invoices by email or SMS, create payment links, and track payments with reminders. Carman exports information to Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks; listed integrations also include Yoti Sign, Fidelity Payment, and Blink Payments. Yoti Sign can return signed documents by email for storage in the client file, with optional identity verification, encrypted signing, and a document audit trail. A B2B portal uses Carman’s API to show live stock for online trade sales. The iOS and Android Companion App includes a diary, delivery checklist, device tracking, stock adjustments, job photos, and customer sign-off, with role-based access levels. The maker offers quotations and demonstrations, but does not state a software price or trial duration.

Carman combines flooring stock, customer, sales, and fitting workflows, with companion apps for iOS and Android and a B2B stock portal. Buyers need to request a quotation for pricing details.

Carman suits flooring retailers, carpet shops, wholesalers, and contractors managing orders through delivery and fitting. It is especially relevant to businesses tracking varied stock units, installation work, and customer payments.

Overview

Carman is cloud software for flooring retailers, carpet shops, wholesalers and contractors. It is most suitable for businesses whose sales, stock units and installation work are all flooring-specific. Its broad operational coverage is the main attraction; the trade-off is that you must obtain a quotation before you can assess the cost.

Key features

The system follows an order from estimate and customer details through delivery, fitting, invoicing and payment. Flooring estimates and installation scheduling are built into that flow, so retailers and contractors can keep commercial and installation work in one system rather than stitching together generic tools.

Inventory can be divided by pack, square metre, box or length, with stock tracked across multiple locations. Those units match common flooring sales, making Carman a stronger fit for flooring warehouses and showrooms than a general stock ledger. Its API also powers a B2B portal that displays live inventory for online trade sales.

The CRM holds several names, addresses and contact details for an organisation and connects with Companies House and Royal Mail databases. Quotes and invoices can go by email or SMS, while payment links, payment tracking and reminders support collection after the sale.

Accounting data can be exported to Sage, Xero and QuickBooks. The maker also lists Fidelity Payment and Blink Payments integrations, alongside payment reconciliation with Xero or Zero Accounting. Yoti-Sign returns signed documents by email for storage in a client file; optional identity verification, encrypted signing and an audit trail make it more suitable for formal customer paperwork than a basic emailed approval.

The iOS and Android Companion App adds a diary, delivery checklist, device tracking, stock adjustments, job photographs and customer sign-off. Role-based access levels let owners restrict what different app users can do. That combination is useful for installers and delivery staff working away from the office, although companies should define permissions carefully before handing out mobile logins.

CarmanPay keeps full card details with its payment provider rather than on Computers for Flooring’s systems. The privacy policy describes the customer as data controller for information held in hosted Carman systems and says reasonable technical, physical and organisational safeguards are used. Those statements clarify responsibility, but buyers should still review their own compliance requirements.

Pricing

Carman uses paid, quotation-based pricing. The contact process includes a free, no-obligation demonstration, but no software price or trial duration is published. This suits businesses that need a tailored conversation and may value an in-house development team able to modify the system to customer specifications. It is less convenient for smaller operators comparing predictable monthly costs or wanting to trial before committing.

Support is included in the monthly licence and is advertised as available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because there are no published seat, usage or renewal terms, ask the quotation to spell out users, modules, implementation, custom work and any limits that affect your operation.

Platforms

Carman runs on the web and has API access, with Companion Apps for iOS and Android. The mix covers office administration, integrations, trade-sales portals and mobile fitting or delivery work without limiting field staff to a desktop.

Who it's for

Choose Carman if you run a flooring retail business, carpet shop, wholesaler or contracting operation that needs stock by flooring unit, multiple locations and a connected quote-to-fitting process. It is particularly compelling when mobile crews need checklists, photographs, stock adjustments and customer sign-off. Businesses outside flooring, or very small teams that only need invoicing, are unlikely to benefit from its specialised breadth.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Flooring-native workflow: estimates, scheduling, delivery, fitting, invoicing and payments follow the same job.
• Practical stock units: pack, square metre, box, length and job-lot handling reflects real flooring sales, with multi-location tracking.
• Strong field coverage: the Companion App supports diaries, checklists, photos, device tracking, stock changes and sign-off.
• Broad back-office connectivity: exports to Sage, Xero and QuickBooks, plus payment and e-signature integrations.
• Included round-the-clock support: 24/7 customer support is part of the monthly licence.

Cons

• Budget uncertainty: pricing, seat terms, quotas and trial length require a quotation.
• Trade-specific scope: its specialised inventory and fitting workflow offers little reason for non-flooring businesses to adopt it.
• Customisation may add complexity: modifications require a sales conversation and should be costed and specified up front.

Alternatives

Flooring Contractor Software is a useful starting point if you want to compare a wider field of contractor-focused products.

Pick DoAllFloors if a free beta plan matters: Starter allows up to five users and 1 GB of storage, with billing stated as $59 per month after beta. FlooringFlow suits a small operation wanting a free tier capped at two jobs per month, or a $39-per-month Pro plan with unlimited jobs for one included user.

MeasureSquare is the better comparison when measuring and on-site retail consultation are central; its Mobile Retail plan is $54 per month for one user and it offers a free trial. Cilio uses custom monthly licensing and transaction pricing for configurable workflows.

RFMS is another paid flooring-management option with demo-based pricing. RollMaster is worth considering when text alerts are the priority, with a $99-per-month plan covering 1,000 texts. QFloors starts at an $89-per-month calculator estimate for one user, while Floorzap starts at $399 per month and includes staff training and ongoing support.

Verdict

Carman is a strong choice for flooring businesses that want one system for specialised stock, customer records, payments and installation work, backed by capable mobile apps and integrations. Choose it when that end-to-end control and possible customisation justify a quotation-led purchase. Look elsewhere if you need transparent pricing, a published trial or a simpler tool for a small, non-flooring operation.