100% Canadian • Built in BC
Digital timber cruising and GPS plot establishment for BC — with a powerful Windows desktop companion.
Designed by cruisers — for cruisers. 100% designed, developed and written in British Columbia, Canada. Works fully offline under dense canopy; sync and export back at the office.
Designed by an active timber cruiser with 30+ years of cruising, compilation, auditing, training and appraisals experience. First released in 1999, CruiseMate lets cruisers collect, validate and correct data in the field, eliminating handwritten cruise cards and delays between collection and compilation.
Developed by Infinite Forestry Solutions (formerly Coastfor Enterprises Ltd.) and Emerald Computer Services, and used across British Columbia.
CruiseMate was developed in 1999 by John Armstrong, RFT (ret), ATE (ret) and Chris Kovalcik. At that time John had about 23 years of cruising experience in British Columbia, Canada. After thousands of plots and painstakingly filling in cruise cards, it was time to bring cruising into the 21st century. Together with Chris, CruiseMate was designed and launched in 2000. The software allowed cruisers to collect data in the field, validate it for errors before leaving the plot, and export to approved compilation programs back at the office.
Cruisers love the software and the response is overwhelming. Productivity increases because many required calculations were built in, and office data arrived error-free for instant compilation. No more delays between collection and processing.
Continuous improvements have been made since its inception. For example, the GPS plot location function was added. John developed this process in 2011, which was adopted by the Government of British Columbia in 2013. It enables cruisers to navigate to plots with sub-meter GPS units in an auditable and repeatable way.
CheckMate followed CruiseMate for check cruising and auditing, and is extensively used by the Ministry of Forests, Range and Natural Resource Operations in BC. It compares check cruiser data with original data and calculates/tabulates results per measurement tolerance categories as outlined by standards. Many larger companies have also adopted CheckMate as their go-to auditing software.
CompMate was developed in 2013 by Chris Kovalcik and Els Armstrong, RFT (ret), ATE (ret) and fully approved in 2015. This software has gained popularity in BC due to its intuitive, comprehensive design, small file sizes, and compatibility with ENFOR software.
The right hardware matters. As technology evolves, we constantly search for the best products. Our website features some of our current favorites, but for more information, please contact John Armstrong at john@cruisemate.ca or by phone/text at 250‑819‑4128. We invite you to explore our products and contact us for a free demo.
Rugged handheld computers and GNSS devices for extreme environments.
Windows tablets/laptops and field‑ready phones for all‑weather data collection.
Integrated GPS for waypoints, track logs and accurate plot establishment.
We can help source hardware and get crews configured for the field.
Menu‑driven data collection built for British Columbia standards.
Appraisal (Coast & Interior), Industrial fixed/variable, Fixed/Variable plot or 100% cruise, BA & Enhanced Count, BigBaf‑LittleBaf, Stump & Site trees.
Establish plots with integrated GNSS; waypoints and track logs for auditability.
Automatic/manual validation; Risk Group & Maturity Class calcs; conflict alerts.
Import/export to common compilation programs; print cards to PDF.
Quick Access Bar, 9‑tree view, dropdowns for species and codes, scientific calculator.
Traverse notes with draw module; walkthrough tree screen speeds documentation.
Multiple protections and file merge on PC to combine field files.
Grading, Volume/Weight (heli), Volume/Value for evaluations — plus bespoke modules.
Menu-driven data collection software system designed to accommodate multiple appraisal and industrial timber cruising systems currently used in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. Runs on iOS, Android, Windows 10/11 and Windows Mobile.
First released in 1999, CruiseMate was the first of its kind in the forest industry, enabling in‑field collection, validation and correction of data.
CruiseMate is the first software of its kind in the forest industry, allowing cruisers to collect, record, validate and correct data in the field. Data entry, hand written cruise cards, and delays between the data collection and the cruise compilation became a thing of the past when CruiseMate was developed in 1999!
CheckMate followed CruiseMate for check cruising and auditing and is extensively used by the Ministry of Forests, Range and Natural Resource Operations in BC. CheckMate compares the check cruiser’s data with the original cruiser’s data and then calculates and tabulates the results by measurement tolerance categories as outlined by current standards. CheckMate Integrates with CruiseMate and CompMate and currently runs on Windows Mobile and iOS
Intuitive comprehensive compilation software designed to integrate seamlessly with CruiseMate and CheckMate.
Handhelds in the field. Windows at the office.
What some of our clients have to say.
Meet the CruiseMate team — decades of combined forestry, IT, and cruising expertise.
CruiseMate is a collaboration between Infinite Forestry Solutions Ltd. and Emerald Computer Services Ltd.
Infinite Forestry Solutions (formerly Coastfor Enterprises Ltd.) was founded by John Kovalcik, a professional timber cruiser with over 30 years of experience in cruising, auditing, training and appraisals. John created CruiseMate in 1999 as the first field-ready digital cruising solution, allowing validation and correction of data directly in the bush.
Emerald Computer Services, led by Chris Kovalcik, provides the software engineering, IT expertise and support that powers CruiseMate and its companion applications CheckMate and CompMate. Together, the two companies have supported forestry professionals across British Columbia for decades.
John began his career in the forest industry in 1978 with MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., Nanaimo, BC, where he worked as a timber cruiser until April 1982. He has owned and operated a successful forestry-consulting firm since 1985 and incorporated in 1987. He specialized in Timber Cruising, Residue and Waste, Training, Auditing, the development of Timber Cruising software and the development of GPS plot location establishment. As a proponent of Timber Cruising Accreditation John served on the Forest Measurements Panel of FPBC for many years until October 2024. John received the software innovation award in the Northern Interior in 2007 for the development of CruiseMate and was awarded the 'Distinguished Forest Professional' award by ABCFP in 2017. As of November 30th, 2024 John retired from practicing professional forestry as a RFT and ATE (and is currently registered as RFT(retired), ATE(retired) with the FPBC). John is still active in sales of CruiseMate, CheckMate and CompMate software as well as being the exclusive dealer for Forestry related resale, service and support of the Arrow and Skadi lines of GNSS Receivers in BC.
Els was actively involved in Forestry from 1985 to November 2024, Her expertise consists of all aspects of operational cruising, cruise compilations as well as data analysis, training and compilation audits. From 2007 to 2013 Els was employed by the Ministry of Forests, Range and Natural Resource Operations as the Regional Timber Cruising Coordinator for the Southern Interior of BC and then returned to the consulting world. Els has a long history serving as a volunteer on several boards at the Association of BC Forest Professionals and has served on ABCFP's council (2018-2020) and then the FPBC - Forest Measurements Panel until October 2024. Els also served as a Director in the Southern Interior Timber Cruisers Association during many years between 1995 to 2024. As of November 30th, 2024 Els retired from practicing professional forestry as a RFT and ATE (and is currently registered as RFT(retired), ATE(retired) with the FPBC). Els is currently active in sales and support with Infinite Forestry Solutions Ltd. and leads our Infinite Equine department. Please visit Els at https://www.infinite-equine.ca/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/els.armstrong.
Since 1991, Chris has built a career in the I.T. industry, earning diplomas in Electronics Engineering and Computer Programming, along with a Bachelor’s degree in Technology Management. He has developed software in several computer languages including Perl, PHP, Java, C, C++, C#, Python and more for many platforms, including Windows Computers, iOS and Android, Unix-based systems and Handheld PCs. Over the years, he has also gained extensive experience in database design, web development, mobile app creation, and system integration. Beyond development, Chris provides I.T. solutions tailored for both business and personal needs, offering practical advice and hands-on support. As Founder & CEO of Emerald Computer Services Ltd. and Advent Technologies Inc., he is always eager to share his expertise and would be more than happy to discuss a solution for your software or I.T. needs.
In British Columbia, Canada — 100% designed, developed and written in BC.
iOS, Android, Windows mobile handhelds, Windows 10 and 11 handhelds and a Windows desktop companion.
Appraisal (Coast & Interior), industrial fixed/variable length, fixed/variable plot or 100% cruise, BA & Enhanced Count, BigBaf‑LittleBaf, stump and site‑tree data — and more.
Yes - training, setup and ongoing support are available. Contact Infinite Forestry Solutions or Emerald Computer Services.
Contact us for team pricing, training, and custom modules.
2060 Robbins Range Road
Kamloops, BC V2C 6W1