ERP Software Built for Showroom Retailers
Every showroom visitor is a warm lead. Most of them do not buy on the day. IBIOS logs every enquiry, tracks every open quote, collects deposits by link, and shows your sales team who to follow up so they can focus on the customers who are ready to commit.
Why showroom retailing is harder than it looks
Warm leads that go cold because no one followed up
Showroom retailing has a conversion problem that does not exist in online retail. A customer visits, spends time with a sales consultant, is quoted for a bathroom suite, says “I’ll think about it”, and leaves. That is a warm lead with a real intent to buy. What happens to it next determines whether you get the sale or your competitor does.
In most showrooms, what happens next is that the quote gets printed and put in a folder, or emailed from a personal inbox, and the sales consultant remembers to follow up when they remember. By which time the customer has already bought from somewhere else that did follow up.
Deposits present a second friction point. A customer who says yes on the showroom floor still needs to pay a deposit to confirm the order. If that requires a bank transfer, you are waiting for it to arrive, sending reminder emails, and watching the sale dangle. A payment link they can action on their phone closes that gap.
Display model tracking is the third problem most showrooms manage badly. Floor stock moves, display models are sold at clearance, new products are put on show — and the inventory record is always out of date. Quoting a customer on a product that is no longer available is an embarrassing conversation.
IBIOS is built to solve all three problems from a single platform.
How IBIOS helps showroom retailers
Six things that turn showroom visitors into confirmed orders
From the first visit to the deposit payment to the delivery confirmation, every part of a showroom sale managed in one place.
Product Catalogue — Showroom Floor and Special Order
Track products that are physically on the showroom floor separately from special-order items. IBIOS holds SKU, MPN, supplier, trade price, and retail price for every product. Your sales team quotes accurately without checking a spreadsheet or calling the warehouse.
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Customer CRM — Log Every Showroom Visit
Every customer who walks through the door gets a record in IBIOS: name, contact details, what they were interested in, and notes from the conversation. A showroom visitor who does not buy on the day is a warm lead. IBIOS keeps them in your pipeline, not lost in a notebook.
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Quote Follow-Up — Warm Leads That Do Not Go Cold
Send a quote to every showroom visitor. IBIOS tracks which quotes are open, which have been viewed, and which are approaching the agreed response date. Your sales team has a clear daily view of which leads need a follow-up call today — not weeks later when the customer has already bought elsewhere.
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Pay by Link — Collect Deposits Without the Chase
When a customer is ready to commit, embed a payment link in the quote. They pay a deposit by card on their phone — from the showroom floor or their sofa that evening. The deposit is recorded in IBIOS against the order.
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Display Model Tracking
Showroom floor stock and display models are some of your most valuable assets. IBIOS records which products are on display, when they were placed, and their current condition. When a display model is sold at a clearance price, the transaction is logged separately from a standard product sale.
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AI Receptionist (coming soon) — Follow Up Every Enquiry
Coming soon: customers who visited the showroom last week call back to ask questions, and new enquiries come in from the website. When it launches, IBIOS’s AI receptionist will handle routine enquiries, check live product availability, and capture new leads — so your sales team can focus on the customers who are ready to buy.
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Why generic CRM tools miss the showroom selling model
Showroom retail is relationship-led, quote-based, and deposit-dependent. Most sales CRMs are built for subscription products. IBIOS is built for how showrooms actually work.
Quote pipeline for every visitor
Every showroom enquiry becomes a quote record with a follow-up date. No leads lost to a notebook or a forgotten inbox folder.
Deposit by link, from the showroom floor
Customer says yes, payment link sent, deposit paid by card from their phone. No waiting for a bank transfer to arrive.
Display model inventory
Track what is on the floor, when it was placed, and its condition. Clearance sales logged separately from standard product transactions.
AI Receptionist for callback enquiries (coming soon)
Coming soon: customers who visited last week call back with questions, and the AI will handle routine stock and availability queries so sales staff can focus on closing.
Role-gated pricing for sales staff
Sales consultants see the customer-facing price. Managers see cost and margin. Pricing integrity is maintained without extra process.
See pricing
Founding prices for waiting-list members are explained on the pricing page.
Go to the pricing pageBuying guide
Choosing software for a showroom: display stock, special orders and visitors who come back
Written by the IBIOS team. IBIOS was built inside a working bathroom showroom in Northern Ireland, where it runs the business day to day. Last updated 18 October 2026.
How do you choose software for a showroom?
A showroom sells two ways at once: from stock on the floor and to order from a supplier. Most of its customers visit more than once before they buy. Choose software that copes with both kinds of sale and remembers every visitor.
- Visitors and appointments. Booked consultations, walk-ins and phone enquiries, each attached to a customer record you can pick up on the next visit.
- Floor stock and special orders. What can go home today, what is ex-display, and what has to be ordered from the supplier.
- Quotes from supplier documents. Special orders start from supplier price lists and quotes. They should not be retyped.
- Deposits on special orders. A deposit when the order is placed and a balance on delivery or collection, each recorded with its reference.
- Supplier orders and goods-in. Each special order tracked from the supplier to your warehouse to the customer.
- Brands and staff. If you trade under more than one brand, keep them apart; and limit payment details to managers and owners.
How do you keep track of visitors who do not buy on the day?
Most showroom sales are made on a second or third visit, often to a different member of staff. If the first conversation lives only in a notebook, the second one starts from scratch.
IBIOS records every visitor in the CRM, with their appointments, quotes and notes, and bookings cover showroom visits, home surveys and phone consultations in one diary (walk-in bookings coming soon). If your phone provider already records calls, IBIOS can turn those recordings into call reports and call briefings.
What does consumer law mean for a showroom?
Across the UK, including Northern Ireland, a sale made in your showroom carries no legal right to change one’s mind, although the Consumer Rights Act still applies if goods are faulty or not as described. Sales made by phone, online or in the customer’s home generally carry a cancellation period under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, with exceptions such as goods made to the customer’s specification.
That difference affects deposits on special orders, so your quote terms should say which applies, and your software should keep the accepted quote with the order.
What about the till?
If most of your takings are small counter sales, a retail EPOS is the right first purchase. In IBIOS, counter sale (EPOS) and barcode scanning are coming soon, not live yet.
IBIOS is stronger on the considered purchase: the visitor who comes back, the quote from a supplier price list, the deposit, the special order and the delivery or collection date.
Retail EPOS, ecommerce platform, generic CRM or IBIOS?
How the usual options tend to work out for a showroom that sells from display and to order.
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Retail EPOS / till system | Fast counter sales of stock items. | Special orders, deposits and visitor follow-up usually sit outside it. |
| Ecommerce platform | Selling online with a product catalogue. | Built for the web basket, not the in-person consultation and quote. |
| Generic CRM | Following up leads. | No supplier orders, stock or goods-in, so the order lives somewhere else. |
| IBIOS | Showrooms with repeat visitors, quoted special orders, deposits and stock across locations. | Early access by waiting list. Counter sale (EPOS), barcode scanning, delivery planning and the AI receptionist are coming soon, not live yet. |
What you need in place before you switch
- Your appointment types and how long each takes.
- A list of what is on the floor, what is ex-display and what is order-only.
- Supplier price lists and your own catalogue as files.
- Your deposit terms and your returns and cancellation wording.
- Your brands, if you trade under more than one, and which staff work on each.
What it costs
For a showroom the real cost is the visitor who was never followed up and the special order that arrived late without anyone telling the customer. Compare software on how it prevents those.
Founding prices for waiting-list members are explained on the pricing page. You can start with CRM, bookings or quoting on its own.
Last reviewed October 2026.
What people get wrong
- Treating every visitor as a stranger on their second visit.
- Selling an ex-display item twice because the floor stock was not recorded.
- Taking deposits on special orders with no terms about cancellation.
- Buying a till first and trying to quote special orders through it.
- Mixing two brands’ customers in one list.
- Showing payment details to every member of staff.
Related reading
Showroom retail software FAQs
Can IBIOS remember visitors who did not buy?
Yes. Every visitor has a CRM record with their appointments, quotes and notes, ready for the next visit.
Can IBIOS separate floor stock from special orders?
Yes. Stock is held by location, and special orders are supplier orders raised against the customer’s job.
Does IBIOS have a till?
Not yet. Counter sale (EPOS) is coming soon; today customers pay by link and payments are recorded against the order.
Can I run two showroom brands in one business?
Yes. Brands can be kept separate, so staff limited to one brand see only that brand’s customers and jobs.
Will IBIOS answer the showroom phone?
Not yet. The AI receptionist is coming soon; today IBIOS produces call reports and call briefings from recordings your phone provider already makes.
How do I get IBIOS?
Join the waiting list. IBIOS is in early access and there is no free trial.
Tell us how your showroom sells
IBIOS runs a working showroom every day. Tell us your mix of floor sales and special orders, and we will tell you honestly where it fits and where a till system should come first.
IBIOS Limited · company no. NI743167 · 10 Ballyclare Road, Doagh, Ballyclare BT39 0PE · Production is hosted in the UK.
Ready to stop letting warm showroom leads go cold?
Join the waiting list for early access. Or book a demo and see the quote follow-up pipeline and pay-by-link deposit workflow in action.