Back from HTSA and ProSource: what we heard, and where Smackdab stands

What a couple of weeks! I just got back from two AV industry shows, HTSA and ProSource, and it was so good to be in a room (okay, a lot of rooms) with iPoint users again. We talked through all of it: where Smackdab is today, what's driving people up the wall, and where this industry is heading.

And my favorite part? People kept pulling out their phones to show me AI apps they'd built themselves. Seriously! More on that in a minute.

Where Smackdab is right now

Here's the big one: the bare bones of everything iPoint can do are built in Smackdab.

Is it perfect? Nope, not yet. There are quirks, rough edges and a few "huh, that's weird" moments, and that's exactly what November is for. We're heads down on:

• Testing: running real workflows from start to finish, over and over.
• Fine tuning: squashing quirks and smoothing out the rough edges.
• Finalizing the iPoint import: so whenever iPoint users decide to make the move, their data comes right along with them.

And we are 100% on track to be ready by the end of the year.

See it for yourself

Watch the Smackdab walkthrough

What we heard from dealers

A few themes kept coming up, no matter who I was talking to.

When AI knows everything, what makes you different?

This one stuck with me. AI now has the whole world's knowledge at its fingertips. For years, a dealer's know-how was the thing that won clients and kept them. So how do you compete now?

The answer I kept hearing: service. Knowledge is everywhere. Showing up, communicating well and taking great care of people isn't. Dealers told us that's exactly what they want from their vendors, too. Message received. That's the bar we're holding ourselves to.

What happens on site needs to make it back to the office

You know the story. A tech is on site, the client asks for "one quick thing," the tech knocks it out, and... it never makes it back to the office. No change order. No billing. The parts and the hours just disappear into the job.

What everyone wants is simple: make it easy for techs, with double checks built in, so the work done on site makes it into the change order and into your books. That's a big part of what we're fine tuning right now.

This industry is full of tinkerers

Back to those phones. AV folks have always been tinkerers, and now they've got AI to tinker with. Dealers are building their own reports, dashboards and handy little apps, and using AI to help with things like drawings. It's awesome to see.

So we're building Smackdab for two kinds of people, and both are the right way to use it.

Love to tinker? Build whatever you want on top

Smackdab has a full API and an MCP server, so you can connect AI tools like Claude and build whatever extra pieces you want: dashboards, reports, add-ons, your own custom workflows. Keep tinkering, with your data right there to build on. Check out the API docs.

Just want it to work? It just works

Not everyone wants to be a part-time software developer, and you shouldn't have to be. If you want a system that runs your business without a side project, that's Smackdab too. Everything's built in and connected, and the Smackdab AI assistant is right there when you need a hand.

Heading for the finish line

That's where we're at. The foundation is built, the fine tuning is in full swing, and we're right on track for the end of the year. Log in, poke around and see for yourself.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to chat at both shows. You gave us a ton to chew on, and we can't wait to show you what we do with it.