César Peinture, a painting and decoration company based in Brest since 2014, had no online presence and managed their material stocks and timesheets on paper and spreadsheets. Without a digital showcase, the company was missing business opportunities in a market where online search has become the first reflex for homeowners.
Our solution combined two complementary dimensions: a professional showcase website highlighting the team's craftsmanship through a filterable portfolio of completed projects, and internal management tools digitizing product inventory, multi-site stock tracking, and employee timesheets with digital signatures.
Context before the project
Founded in 2014 in Brest, César Peinture built a strong local reputation through the quality of their services: building painting, decoration, flooring, wall coverings, exterior work, and plasterwork. The trained and certified team works with both residential and commercial clients.
Yet the company had no website. Prospects discovered César Peinture only through word of mouth, unable to browse a portfolio of completed work or request a quote online. This lack of digital visibility significantly limited business development.
Internally, daily management relied entirely on manual processes. Paint and material stocks were tracked from memory or on scraps of paper, making inventories tedious and shortages frequent. Employee timesheets, filled out on paper, had to be re-entered for payroll with all the associated error risks.
Project objectives
To support its growth and professionalize its tools, César Peinture needed a solution capable of:
- Creating a professional online showcase highlighting completed projects with a visual portfolio filterable by category.
- Managing product inventory with a structured catalog, barcode scanning, and multi-site stock tracking.
- Digitizing timesheets with a system for entry, digital signature, and management validation.
- Centralizing data in a single tool accessible to all team members according to their role.
- Optimizing local SEO to capture prospects searching for a painter in Brest and surrounding areas.
The implemented solution
We developed a single Rails application combining a public showcase website and an internal management space, all within a coherent and easy-to-maintain tool.
Public showcase website
- Impactful homepage with full-screen hero visual showcasing the team's work
- Filterable portfolio by category (painting, flooring, wall covering, exterior, plasterwork) with high-quality photo gallery
- Presentation pages detailing services, company history, and contact information
- Contact form and quote request to convert visitors into prospects
- Optimized SEO with JSON-LD structured data, OpenGraph, and automatic sitemap
Stock management and inventory
- Complete product catalog with categories, suppliers, and barcode scanning
- Multi-site tracking of stock levels with traceable movements (entries, withdrawals, transfers, adjustments)
- CSV import for bulk product addition with automatic format detection
- Alerts and visibility on stock levels to anticipate restocking needs
Staff management
- Monthly timesheets with daily hour entry and meal allowances
- Validation workflow : draft, signed by employee, validated by administration
- Integrated digital signature to paperlessly complete the process
- PDF generation of timesheets for archiving and accounting
Results achieved
Key performance indicators
New
client acquisition channel via the showcase website
100%
stock management digitization
0 paper
for timesheets thanks to digital signatures
Local SEO
optimized to capture Brest-area prospects
The launch of the showcase website immediately gave César Peinture a professional digital presence. The portfolio, filterable by category, allows prospects to discover the quality of work before even making contact. The online quote form opened a new acquisition channel.
Internally, stock management went from approximate tracking to a structured and traceable inventory. Stock movements are logged, levels are visible in real-time, and transfers between sites are documented.
Timesheets, formerly on paper, now follow a complete digital workflow: entry by employee, digital signature, validation by administration, and PDF export for accounting. This process eliminates re-entry and associated errors.
Evolution and roadmap
The César Peinture platform continues to evolve to support the company's growth:
- Job site management : tracking of ongoing projects with scheduling and team assignment
- Online quotes : creating and sending professional quotes directly from the application
- Portfolio enrichment : adding detailed descriptions and client testimonials to completed projects
Conclusion
The César Peinture project perfectly illustrates how an all-in-one approach can transform a small craft business: a single application combines a commercial showcase, stock management, and staff tracking. This unified architecture simplifies maintenance and ensures data consistency.
For César Peinture, digital has become a lever for growth and efficiency: a professional online image, controlled inventory, and simplified HR processes. It's this same pragmatic philosophy we apply to every project: simple tools that solve real problems.