The New Generation of Flooring Entrepreneurs: How Jude Bontemps Uses MeasureSquare CRM to Work Smarter

From Smart Insights to Rapid Growth: How Design Construct Flooring Used AI to Scale Smarter

There’s a new wave of flooring entrepreneurs hitting the scene. They’re tech-savvy, agile, and hungry to grow their businesses–fast. Jude Bontemps, founder and owner of Design Construct Flooring, is part of that wave. His journey to building a strong flooring business reflects the story of many newcomers entering the industry today.

The old standards no longer apply. Today’s entrepreneurs like Jude are looking to optimize, simplify, and consolidate their workflows, and that’s exactly what Jude sought when searching for flooring-specific takeoff software.

After almost a decade of working as a general contractor, juggling multiple trades and chasing endless jobs, Jude realized the traditional GC grind wasn’t sustainable. He decided to focus on one scope: flooring. A year and a half ago, he launched Design Construct, aiming to build a lean, technology-forward company that could scale quickly. With the help of MeasureSquare CRM and MeasureSquare 8, Jude is achieving just that.

Finding Tools That Match a Growth Mindset

Right away, Jude knew he needed software that could keep pace with his ambitions. Callidus felt outdated, and other generic solutions weren’t designed for flooring. MeasureSquare 8 stood out; not only was it user-friendly, it offered AI-powered takeoffs, a feature few competitors could match.

“I was juggling over five different software programs: a CRM, invoicing, takeoffs, QuickBooks, Excel, phone logs, email, you name it. Why isn't there a software with everything combined in one?” he recalled. Then he discovered MeasureSquare CRM: “This is exactly what I’m looking for.”

Jude learned the platform largely on his own.

“I compare it to tracing in a coloring book. You trace it, you know what material goes in, add the adhesives and labor, and that’s it.”

That intuitive experience let him get started immediately, even while building a team from scratch.

Streamlining a Complex Workflow

MeasureSquare CRM transformed how Jude manages his business. Tasks that once involved juggling multiple platforms now flow seamlessly in one connected system. His workflow, simplified, looks like this:

MeasureSquare CRM Workflow Flow:

• Import Bids → Review Projects → Assign to Estimators → Complete Takeoff → Double-Check & Request Pricing → Build Bid → Awarded Projects → Invoicing & SOVs → Send Submittals → Track POs & Work Orders → Analyze Profitability
  

This system reduces errors, saves time, and allows Jude to scale while retaining complete control over the entire process.

Project Summary

Jude tracks profitability and costs for every project using Project Summary in MeasureSquare CRM.

“Profit margin is really the main thing I’m looking at to see if I’m going to make money on a job or not.”

By logging purchase orders (POs), work orders (WOs), and payments directly in MeasureSquare CRM, Jude has a live view of project costs throughout the lifecycle. While recording payments is still manual, he feels confident in tracking job performance without relying solely on QuickBooks.

Price Requests

Sending pricing to vendors is now streamlined, replacing a tedious four- or five-step process.

“Now it’s realistically a one-step process. Actually, it’s like a two-click process. And it saves all of your vendor correspondence right in the CRM. I don’t have to dig through emails from weeks ago.”

This efficiency keeps projects moving and ensures pricing information is always at his fingertips.

Submittals

Submittals, which used to be a headache, are now a breeze. Many projects reuse the same materials, stored in a general folder on Microsoft Outlook or OneDrive, making attaching product data nearly instantaneous.

“It's just a drag, pull in, attach the product data, hit print, and it literally attaches everything on the back end instead of me trying to do it manually. If you’re doing several a week, you save a couple hours easily.”

Previously, Jude would create templates in Excel, input materials, convert to PDFs, and manually append product data; steps that were redundant and time-consuming. Now, MeasureSquare CRM handles the heavy lifting.

Airtable

While MeasureSquare CRM manages projects, Jude uses Airtable to track leads and store client information.

“I store all my leads in Airtable because you don’t know if they’re hot or cold. Pulling estimates into Airtable gives me one central database of commercial and residential clients, instead of overloading the CRM.”

He also plans to connect Airtable with MeasureSquare CRM via open APIs to create a unified, automated workflow in the future.

AI Tools in MeasureSquare CRM

Teaching his junior estimators used to be a challenge, especially when it came to identifying materials for each project. That’s where the AI Analyzer in MeasureSquare CRM comes in handy. Its Extract Materials tool quickly identifies all materials in a diagram, drastically reducing the time spent manually reviewing schedules.

“The AI and price requests are the biggest game changers for me because when I was teaching them [his new hires], a struggle point for them was, ‘Where do I find a finish schedule? How do I know which material is for flooring or which material is this?’

It was a growing pain for his new hires. Now with AI, his team can just hit analyze and it gives them a list of all the flooring material involved in a project. So now it’s as simple as copying and pasting the materials when they're working on a diagram.

“So that was a big help for them. It saves them a lot of time. This way I don't have to look through it. I'll double check it and I tell them to double check it as well, but based on my experience, it's about 90%. It's pretty damn accurate,” says Jude.

On Using AI Takeoff in MeasureSquare 8

While Jude’s estimators handle smaller-scale takeoffs in MeasureSquareCRM, he still relies on MeasureSquare 8 for larger, more complex projects. And he’s been exploring its AI Takeoff tool since first starting out.

Jude says: “Honestly, I think it's getting better. When I first started, it was a hit or miss, so I stopped using it. But recently, it’s gotten better. You have to train the AI. So, in the last six months, I just use it every time just so it can get smarter because I know that's how AI works.”

GC Experience: Professionalism In Submittals & SOV

Jude’s experience as a general contractor gives him a unique edge. He knows what commercial clients expect, especially when it comes to schedules of values (SOV) and submittals. 

Early on, he noticed that many smaller companies struggled to get SOVs right. 

“Your guys’ SOV template makes the format way easier,” he says, adding that Measure Square allows him to handle these documents efficiently and professionally. That foundation makes managing change orders seamless, helping him deliver high-quality work every time.

Submittals used to be just as tricky. “A lot of flooring companies will just send a bunch of product PDFs without cover pages or transmitter sheets. As a GC, you could be very particular and send it back, and then you might not get that submittal back for another month or so,” Jude explains. 

With Measure Square, he keeps the process organized and professional, saving time and avoiding unnecessary back-and-forth.

Scaling Fast with MeasureSquare CRM 

MeasureSquare CRM has fueled Design Construct’s rapid growth. Before implementing the system, Jude could produce roughly 50 estimates per month. With streamlined workflows and AI-assisted takeoffs, he and his team now complete 80-100 a month. Once his junior estimators are fully trained, he predicts they’ll be able to achieve an average of 120-150 a month.

Small Details, Big Wins

Perhaps the most illustrative example of Measure Square’s impact is in the details. Seam placement, for instance, is critical in flooring layouts, which is a nuance even self-proclaimed ‘jack-of-all-trades’ Jude never would have known without the software. MeasureSquare 8 ensures these small but crucial details are handled correctly, saving time, reducing errors, and building professional credibility for his company.

In Conclusion: From Smart to Smarter

Barely a year and a half in, Jude Bontemps is already ahead of the game, with his eye on analytics, optimizing every part of his operation, and putting AI to work intelligently. He’s proof that the smartest leaders can get even smarter with the help of Measure Square.

For more info on MeasureSquare CRM, click here.
To schedule a demo, click here.

For more info on Design Construct Flooring, click here.