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Pilotiko for cabinetmakers and custom millwork shops
A custom kitchen goes through three places before it's on the wall: the client's home, your shop, and the truck. Delays creep in between those stops.
Pilotiko helps a Quebec cabinet shop follow every kitchen, vanity or built-in from site measure to installation, book shop, finishing and install time without double-booking, suggest the right person for each step based on skills and workload, and draft quotes that a person reviews before anything goes out.
In short
- Each project becomes a dated chain of steps: measure, shop drawings, sign-off, build, finish, install.
- The finishing booth, panel saw and delivery truck are booked as resources, one job at a time.
- Installing manufactured cabinets and countertops falls under RBQ subclass 12.0; Pilotiko helps you display your licence, not obtain it.
- The quotes agent drafts from your price list; nothing goes out without your sign-off.
Why does a custom kitchen take weeks to deliver?
Because every step waits on the one before it. You don't cut before the drawings are signed, you don't spray before assembly, and you don't install until the floor and the electrical are ready.
The client sees one install date. Your shop sees a queue: site measure, shop drawings, door style and hardware choices, signed approval, panel order, cutting, machining, assembly, sanding, finishing, curing, delivery, install and door adjustment. One late step pushes everything behind it.
The bottleneck is rarely where people expect. In many shops it isn't box building, it's the finishing booth: one qualified sprayer, one ventilated space, drying time between coats. If two kitchens reach finishing in the same week, one of them waits.
Demand also follows the household calendar. Kitchens are often shopped for over the winter for a spring or summer install, and plenty of clients call in September wanting theirs done before the holidays. Those waves are predictable; what hurts is noticing them too late in the schedule.
| Step | Where | What can hold it up | What Pilotiko tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site measure | Client's home | Walls not closed yet, client not home | The appointment and who's measuring |
| Shop drawings and sign-off | Office | Client slow to approve | The pending quote and how long it's been waiting |
| Cutting and machining | Shop | Panels or hardware not delivered | Shop hours booked for the job |
| Finishing (stain, lacquer, paint) | Finishing booth | Another kitchen already in the booth | The booth booked as a resource |
| Delivery and install | Client's home | Floor or electrical not ready | Truck and installer in the same slot |
Which RBQ licence does a cabinetmaker need in Quebec?
To install manufactured cabinets and countertops in a building, the Régie du bâtiment du Québec lists subclass 12.0; subclass 6.2, wood and plastic work, also covers cabinets built on site.
The RBQ's list of specialized contractor subclasses includes 12.0, Contractor – Manufactured cabinets and counter tops, and 6.2, Contractor – Wood and plastic work [1]. The French detail sheet for 12.0 mentions fastening prefabricated furniture, laboratory furniture and countertops with built-in sinks [2].
These sheets describe construction work done in a building. They say nothing about building a free-standing piece in your own shop, so don't assume it is covered or exempt. When in doubt, the RBQ suggests its keyword index or contacting it directly [2].
| Item | Source | What Pilotiko does |
|---|---|---|
| Subclass 12.0, manufactured cabinets and counter tops | RBQ [1] [2] | Licence number shown on your hosted website |
| Legal warranties on installed cabinets | OPC [3] | Your warranty terms written once, reused in every quote |
| Certified, labelled composite wood panels | ECCC [4] | Nothing automatic: a checkbox on your receiving list |
What warranties can a client rely on for kitchen cabinets?
Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur uses this very case: cabinets installed by a contractor whose paint or stain fades or flakes prematurely [3]. It notes that expected lifespan depends partly on price: $10,000 worth of kitchen cabinets can't be expected to last as long as equivalent cabinets that cost $25,000 [3].
For a shop, the takeaway is practical. What you write in the quote (species, finish type, number of coats, hardware) becomes the reference point if there's a disagreement. Keep each project's history in one place so you can find it two years later.
What rules apply to panels and shop dust?
Since January 7, 2023, the federal formaldehyde regulations prohibit importing, selling or offering for sale a composite wood product that doesn't meet their requirements. Particleboard, hardwood plywood and medium density fibreboard (MDF) are covered, and finished goods such as furniture must only include certified panels and laminated products [4]. Ask suppliers for the label and file it with the order.
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety points out that wood dust is classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, that sawing, routing and sanding all produce it, and that emptying a dust collector bag also exposes workers [5]. Putting dust collection maintenance on the shop calendar as a recurring task keeps it from slipping.
How does Pilotiko set up a cabinet shop's office?
The Home services template gives you the rooms a shop that also works on site actually uses: Quotes for jobs to price, Workshop for production, Warehouse for panels and hardware, Vans and fleet for deliveries, plus Accounting and Management. A vanity quote waiting for a signature stays visible in its room until it's settled.
Each project step is scheduled with the person and the resource it needs. If the finishing booth is booked Tuesday and Wednesday for one kitchen, it won't be offered to another job on those days. Site measures are booked online into genuinely open slots, with a buffer for travel.
For each task, assignment ranks the people who have the required skill and the most room in their week, and shows why. Giving a lacquer job to someone without that skill is refused unless a manager deliberately overrides it. The quotes agent builds the draft from your price list; you send it.
How many kitchens can a four-person shop deliver in a month?
What objections do clients raise?
- "Why eight weeks?" Show the real queue: approved jobs ahead of theirs, the week theirs enters finishing, and the install date that follows.
- "Someone else quoted less." A detailed quote (species, finish, hardware, install) compares better than a lump sum, and the OPC notes that expected lifespan tracks the price paid [3].
- "Can we change the door colour?" Before cutting it's a new sign-off; after finishing it's a new job. Put the change deadline in the quote.
What isn't available yet?
Where to start?
Set up your project types (kitchen, vanity, built-in) with their steps and durations, your people with their skills, and shared resources like the finishing booth. Then open site-measure booking on your Pilotiko-hosted website.
Related trades have their own pages: finish carpentry, flooring and renovation. To go further: how scheduling works, what makes a good quote, and why human approval stays at the heart of the agents. Plans are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an RBQ licence to install kitchen cabinets in Quebec?
Installing manufactured cabinets and countertops is RBQ subclass 12.0, and subclass 6.2 also covers cabinets built on site. If you only build in your shop, check your situation with the RBQ's keyword index or by contacting it.
Can Pilotiko book the finishing booth?
Yes. A resource like the booth, the panel saw or the truck is booked with the step that uses it. Two jobs can't hold it at the same time.
Can clients book their own site measure?
Yes, if you open that service to online booking. They only see genuinely open slots of the right length, and the appointment lands in the calendar of whoever is going out.
How long should kitchen cabinets last under Quebec law?
There's no fixed period. The Office de la protection du consommateur says a reasonable lifespan depends on factors such as the price paid, the contract terms and how the cabinets are used.
Do my MDF panels have to be certified?
Since January 7, 2023, federal rules require composite wood panels sold in Canada to meet formaldehyde emission limits and be labelled. Finished goods such as furniture must only include certified panels.
Does Pilotiko send quotes to clients?
Not on its own. The quotes agent drafts from your prices and options; a person reviews and sends it. Automatic email sending isn't available yet.
Sources
- Régie du bâtiment du Québec, Specialized contractor's licence subclasses (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Régie du bâtiment du Québec, Sous-catégorie 12.0 – Entrepreneur en armoires et comptoirs usinés (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Office de la protection du consommateur, Legal warranties: renovation work (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations (CANFER): factsheet (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Wood Dust: Health Effects (accessed on October 15, 2026).
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