Windows & doors CPQ: dealer quoting with install.
What is windows and doors CPQ and which tool fits a dealer? Windows and doors CPQ is quoting software for dealers who sell openings configured to order and installed: unit size, exterior finish, glazing and the install line. Factory configurators build the unit but ask for jamb depth and codes before they show a price, and spreadsheets hold install rates until the homeowner changes a size. Poly9 AI sits in front of the configurator, prices the unit from the factory’s rules and the install from your rates, and returns price on request when a rule is missing.
Dealer jobs are configured to order: unit type and size, exterior color, glass package, hardware, plus install priced per opening or per unit type with a minimum. The homeowner wants one installed total; the dealer needs unit and install lines on the same quote.
Factory configurators build the unit; they often need codes and measurements before a price appears. Spreadsheets hold install rates until the homeowner changes two sizes. Generic CPQ fits fixed SKUs, not driveway quoting.
Choose the factory configurator to build the unit. Keep spreadsheets for rough internal checks. Choose Poly9 AI when the dealer must quote in plain language at the kitchen table, priced installed from factory and dealer rules, with price on request instead of a guess.
The five verbs, plus four that decide it.
Rows the other category wins stay in. Swipe the table on a phone.
| What matters | windows, doors & millwork CPQ | Poly9 AI |
|---|---|---|
| Answer | A form or catalog. The dealer re-keys the homeowner’s list that night. | Answers in plain language: nine casements, 36 by 54, black exterior, argon. At the kitchen table. |
| Configure | Every dimension validated, in the factory’s terms: jamb depth, rough opening, sill type. | Sizes, glazing and finish in the homeowner’s words. Your rules refuse incompatible options. |
| Price | The factory’s unit price. Install is separate, usually a spreadsheet or a flat guess. | Unit from factory rules, install from dealer rates, one installed total. |
| Quote | An order form for the factory, not a quote for the homeowner. | A quote the homeowner approves on their phone at the kitchen table. Price on request when a rule is missing. |
| Present | A CAD-style preview of the unit. | Casements in a finished elevation, labeled as a render. |
| Factory configurator coexistence | The configurator is the only tool; it does both selling and building. | Poly9 AI sells it; the configurator builds it. The configured order goes to the factory system afterwards. |
| Learns your business | Static: the rules the factory published. | Learns from every question and quote which sizes, finishes and install rules come up, and which rules are missing. |
| Pricing model | Licensed through the factory, on terms that vary by manufacturer. | One credit per sales action. $100 buys a thousand, 250 free to start. |
| Time to first quote | An evening of re-keying for a dealer new to the tool. | Same day with a sample catalog. White-glove import for big catalogs. |
Category behavior is described in general terms; specific products vary. Poly9 AI behavior is as shipped in September 2026.
The five steps. Price comes from approved rules, or returns price on request.
Why the differences matter.
Windows and doors CPQ is configure-price-quote for dealers who sell openings installed. Nine casements at 36 by 54, black exterior, argon low-E, priced installed. Each quote has two layers: the unit from the factory’s rules, and the install from the dealer’s own rates.
Factory configurators build the unit. They ask for jamb depth, rough opening and sill type before they will show a price, and they speak the factory’s language. Back at the office the dealer types the whole list in again, in factory codes, and errors creep in between the driveway and the order. Poly9 AI sits in front of the configurator: the dealer asks in plain language at the kitchen table, the AI prices from the factory’s rules and the dealer’s install rates, and the configured order goes into the factory system after the homeowner approves. The configurator builds the window; Poly9 AI sells it.
Here both validate. The configurator checks every dimension the factory needs, and Poly9 AI does not try to replace that. Poly9 AI validates the options a homeowner names with the same compatibility rules, and the approved order then goes into the factory system for the build.
A factory configurator prices the unit only. Install is a separate line the dealer prices by hand, often a flat guess or a spreadsheet. Poly9 AI prices the unit from the factory’s rules and the install from the dealer’s recipes: per opening, per unit type, with a minimum. The homeowner sees one installed total. The dealer sees the unit and install lines separately on the same quote. When a rule is missing it says price on request and drafts the request. It never estimates.
Make the two kitchen ones 30 by 54 re-prices the two units and the install line and updates the total on the same link. The homeowner sees the new number in the reply, not in a fresh PDF three days later. Sizes, exterior colors and glazing packages come from the factory’s millwork rules; install rates come from the dealer’s recipes.
Poly9 AI renders casements in a finished elevation, labeled as a render. The homeowner approves the look and the installed total together.
Cut lists, shop drawings and configured orders are the configurator’s job and stay there. Poly9 AI covers the conversation and the quote; once the homeowner approves, the order goes into the factory system as it does today.
A configurator knows the factory’s rules. Poly9 AI learns from every question and quote which sizes and finishes your homeowners ask about, and which options still have no price rule.
Factory configurators come with the factory relationship, on the factory’s terms. Poly9 AI is one credit per sales action. $100 buys a thousand credits, 250 free to start. The cost follows the quotes, not the logins.
A dealer new to a factory configurator spends an evening re-keying. Poly9 AI quotes the same visit once the dealer’s install rules are written. Same day with a sample catalog. White-glove import for big catalogs.
- The factory order: exact geometry, shop drawings, configured dimensions the plant builds from.
- Units where every dimension must be validated before a price exists.
- Dealers who are trained on it and quote from a desk.
- A factory that already licenses it to every dealer.
- The conversation at the kitchen table: the homeowner’s question in plain language.
- One installed total from the factory’s rules and the dealer’s own rates.
- A quote approved on the homeowner’s phone the same visit, with price on request when a rule is missing.
- Casements rendered in a finished elevation.
This is the normal arrangement. Poly9 AI is the dealer’s sales AI in front of the factory configurator: plain language in, installed quote out, and the configured order handed to the factory system after the homeowner approves. The configurator builds the window; Poly9 AI sells it.
Ask for an option you have not priced.
Whatever you compare it with, run this on your own catalog. Poly9 AI prices from your recipes and matrices through one engine, and when the rule is missing it says “price on request” and drafts the request. The tool that produces a plausible number instead is the one that costs you an order.
Real storefront: an option with no price rule gets price on request. Install rules work the same way.
Questions about windows, doors & millwork CPQ.
Does it replace the factory configurator?
How is install priced?
What happens when a size changes?
What if it does not know a price?
How long until it works?
Do we pay per user?
- Poly9 AI plan catalog, September 2026
Start free. Judge it on your own catalog.
Create your account, add your catalog or start with your industry’s sample catalog, and ask the question you would ask the other tool. 250 sales actions free, no card, and the account stays yours.