For Manufacturers
ARCAT vs. spec writing software: two tools, two jobs.
It's easy to assume spec writing software and ARCAT do the same job. They actually sit at different ends of a project: one shapes the product decision, the other records it.
Who does what, and when
The same project. Two different jobs.
Spec writing software is great at what it does. So is ARCAT. They just work at different points in the same project. Here's how it actually breaks down.
Where decisions are made
The research and selection platform
- Research and choose building products for a project. The design team comes here to evaluate options.
- Holds the content that drives the decision: BIM, CAD, specs, SpecWizard, catalogs, and more.
- Found and specified early, while the choice is still open.
- Free for the end user, with no gated downloads, registration, or subscription.
Where decisions are recorded
The documentation tool
- Assembles the documents once products are chosen, usually not before.
- Records decisions the design team has already made elsewhere.
- Paid subscription, typically a few thousand dollars a year.
- Built for spec writers, a smaller, specialized audience.
The construction timeline
Getting specified is a long game. Position matters.
A commercial project commonly runs one to three years before it breaks ground. Where you show up in that timeline decides whether you influence the choice or simply appear in the paperwork after the fact.
01
Pre-Design & Programming
02
Schematic Design
03
Design Development
04
Construction Documents
05
Bidding
06
Construction
ARCAT
Found and specified: stages 1 to 3
Spec Writing Software
Recorded: stages 3 to 4
Spec output carries into
bidding and construction.
ARCAT influences the product choice while it is still being made. Spec writing software prepares those choices for the bidding stage, after the design team has already decided.
What spec reports actually tell you
Know what the reports measure.
Spec software reporting can show you firms and projects where your products appear in the documents. That information is useful for your sales team. Just be clear about what it is, and what it is not.
What the reports show
Projects where your products already appear by the documentation stage. In most cases the product was chosen earlier, and the report is measuring that outcome, not creating it. Useful for tracking where you landed, but it reflects decisions that were already made upstream.
What ARCAT does
Gets your products discovered and chosen at the front of the project, while the design team is still deciding. That decision then flows downstream, where the spec software documents it later.
No gate, no friction
Free to use. So they keep coming back.
$0
What architects and specifiers pay to use it
0
Registrations or logins to access content
2M+
Unique ARCAT users every year
The bottom line
Use both. Just know which one moves the needle.
Spec writing software makes it easier for a specifier to write your product into the documents. ARCAT is what gets you into the conversation in the first place. Anyone who works in specifications will tell you the same.
Get your products specified on ARCAT