1 · CABINET-SHOP NATIVE
Cabinet-Shop Native, Not Generic Tradie ERP
Cabinet work isn't a series of 30‑minute service calls. It's rooms, sections, built‑in furniture, and projects that move from lead → quote → job → workshop → install.
Cabneo is shaped around that reality:
- Sections and products, not just "jobs".
- Quotes that reflect real kitchens and laundries, not boilerplate work orders.
We don't try to be a one‑size‑fits‑all tool for every trade.
2 · JOB TRUTH
Job Truth, Not Accounting Software
Your accountant has Xero. You need something else: a clear, honest view of whether each job actually made money.
Cabneo cares about:
- Budget vs actual on labour and materials.
- Job health and schedule risk.
- Quote and job profitability you can explain to a non‑accountant.
We don't try to replace your GL, payroll, or BAS. We integrate where it helps; we stay out of the way where it doesn't.
3 · FREE DESIGN
Free Design Is Expensive
Weeks disappear into drawings and detailed quotes that never turn into work. That's not "being helpful"; that's unpaid labour.
Cabneo respects your time:
- Supports a path from ballpark → paid concept → full drawings.
- Helps you see where your design and quoting hours actually go.
We want your tools to make it easier to charge for real design work, not encourage endless free drawings.
4 · QUOTING
Quoting Should Match How You Think
Every shop has its own mix:
- Sections (kitchen, laundry, vanities).
- Products from a catalogue.
- Custom pieces and site work.
Cabneo's quoting is designed to:
- Reuse patterns (quote library/templates) instead of re‑inventing every job.
- Show internal cost and margin as you build the quote.
- Respect the way cabinet makers actually scope work, including ballpark pricing when appropriate.
We don't force you into a single "per cabinet" or "per ticket" model to make reports work.
5 · WORKSHOP-FIRST
Workshop-First Views, Not Office-Only Calendars
The factory floor does not live in Outlook.
Cabneo treats the workshop as a first‑class place:
- Daily list views of tasks that make sense to crews.
- Timelines and calendars where they help, not as the only way to see work.
- Clear separation between "what needs doing today" and long‑range planning.
We avoid views that look nice in a demo but don't survive on a dusty monitor in the factory.
6 · SMALL & FOCUSED
Small, Focused, and Honest
More features is not always more value.
Cabneo aims for:
- Small, focused releases that solve real pains (not vague roadmaps).
- Opinionated defaults over endless configuration.
- Clear "no"s: things we deliberately don't do because they'd slow the rest down.
We'd rather do a few important things well for cabinet shops than be a checkbox list that nobody uses fully.
7 · HUMAN CONVERSATIONS
Human Conversations Matter
Most of the hardest problems in these shops aren't technical; they're conversational:
- How to talk about design fees.
- How to qualify clients without feeling rude.
- How to follow up on quotes without chasing forever.
Cabneo's role is to:
- Surface scripts and patterns from real cabinet makers.
- Give you tools that support those conversations instead of fighting them.
Software can't replace judgement, but it can make good judgement easier to act on.