Getting To Grips With Job Management Software
The job management system is coming of age.
Ok so in the past you might have tried one or two different job management apps or software packages. No doubt sucked in by the promise of hours of free time and a whole lot less stress.
But as a result, you’ve actually been left tearing your hair out. More stressed, less organised and altogether a bit fed up.
Bear with us.
Digital Has Come Of Age
Job management tools have evolved and developed massively in the last few years. Even if you have had a bad experience before, it doesn’t mean you will be left frustrated and stressed this time around.
If you can put in a bit of scoping work upfront – much like you’d go out and size up a job before giving your customer a quote- carefully choosing the right job management software, and going through a proper set up can make all the difference.
We know you’ve heard it all before but hear us out:
- In the past, you used to have a landline phone and a receptionist. So you could only answer calls when you were in the office or at home. Today, you can answer customer calls on your mobile from anywhere, even after hours.
- Once upon a time, when you wanted to post on social media you would need to log into your computer. Today, automation makes it possible to upload a month’s worth of posts and schedule when they will be published.
- Your accounts software calculates your VAT without you having to break out the calculator.
Each of those scenarios shows how much these traditional processes have evolved and shows you that trades businesses who are open to digital advances such as jobbing software can benefit from digital progress.
How To Improve Your Customer Communications
Traditionally, older businesses are slower to embrace change than start-ups. Yet the benefits to your business will outweigh any teething issues .
A specialist job management software, such as ServiceM8 which is built specifically for trades businesses, can make the process easier.
You may already have embraced some aspects of going digital and are already using automation to keep your clients happy and help with winning new business.
Did you know that email marketing tools use automation to insert the customer’s first name on each email.
Automation is not just for marketing and text content, this kind of system can also see trades job management become much easier, quicker and mean less time is wasted on paperwork.
Being in regular communication is now one of the average customer’s most basic expectations. In the past,trades businesses have had a poor reputation for this. Yet, with carefully selected job management software tool you can, not only make this a reality, but it could also handle a lot of the heavy lifting too.
Streamlining The Quote Process Can Boost Sales and Customer Relations
One of the most frustrating things for many home and business owners is the amount of time they’re left waiting for a quote.
A quick Google search shows dozens of forums asking how long they should be expected to wait for a quote.
Most say they don’t expect to wait more than a few days, whilst others said a few hours.
However, when you are running a business, you may well be juggling a lot of other jobs and fitting in quotes to be written becomes a bit of a balancing act.
If you have weighed up job management software against the four Ps of people, pricing, product, and process, that we talk about in our Free Training course, you’ll find the right job management software helps you with more work.
ServiceM8 makes this part of your job especially easy – with just a few swipes you can create professional quotes while at the job.
Meaning that you can be first in the running to win the work. While also impressing the customer with your efficiency.
Never a bad thing when you’re convincing them of your ability to get the job done!
Going Paperless – For Your Sanity and Theirs
If your works van has more papers than your desk, and your desk has more paper than your local office supplies store, then it could well be time to go paperless.
Not only do piles of paper everywhere create a sense of chaos, but also makes it near on impossible to work efficiently. Making it difficult to lay your hands on the job sheets, quotes and appointments when you need them.
Even worse, if you’re managing a team of trades professionals, you might not know where everyone is at any given time. At least not until you come around to doing your end of year filing.
In the field, a job management system can also make it easy to pinpoint client details and lay your hands on your next appointments contact info at the touch of a button to let them know you’re on your way, delayed or even expecting to arrive early.
If you work from a trusty old notebook or scraps of paper, you’ve probably spent more time than you can remember hunting down notes from jobs, invoices, addresses and job specs. In the trades, time is money and paper could be costing you a bundle.
Turn Up Your Time Management For More Profit With Better Job Management
Give yourself more hours in the day by eliminating the time and effort it takes to search for job data. Turn up on time for your customers and benefit from more recommendations, better reviews and even repeat business. You can do all this and more by implementing job management software.
A typical day for a trades business owner may include working multiple jobs, travel time and stops at the suppliers. Not to mention all that admin work.
By using a paper diary alone, it can become increasingly more difficult to stay efficient. especially as your business grows.
A well-chosen job management software will help keep you on the road and heading in the right direction– use it as your virtual PA, without the salary and PAYE contributions!
Record Job Progress For Better Marketing Down The Road
Marketing plays a big part in running a business. Whether you fix leaks or fit new kitchens, the jobs you complete are the best possible form of marketing.
But recording progress and taking before and after shots of you, your work can often fall by the wayside. Especially if you are in a hurry to crack on with the work at hand.
On top of this, remembering to take a camera onto the job site can be a massive hassle. Or maybe once you have taken dozens of images on your phone, you are struggling to remember what job they belong to.
A tool like ServiceM8 will allow you to take both videos and images and save against a specific job – meaning they are there when needed.
You can also use them for case studies and marketing purposes later.
Keep Jobs On Track With Client Sign Off
We’ve all been there – expected to do more for a client that was originally agreed and cost for.
If you’re retiling for example and discover a leak, should you be expected to fix it?
Job management goes beyond simply knowing where you need to be and keeping all the files together. It can actually help keep your projects on track and on budget.
Client sign off is something that’s often overlooked and isn’t possible with paper-based job management.
You can use job management software to keep track of changes.
Just as you would sign for a package that had been sent to you, you can also get your clients to sign off on any required changes so it’s all stored, named and dated for easy reference later.
This means no uncertainty, no disagreements and no jobs spiralling out of control.
Speed Up Invoice Payment
One of the biggest headaches for small business owners is late payment. There a few things that are more frustrating than completing a job and leaving an invoice. Only to be left waiting for weeks to be paid. Sometimes followed up by numerous phone calls and email reminders.
Not only is this a waste of time, but it can also have serious implications for your cash flow and your ability to pay your staff and suppliers.
Unlike a traditional paper- based system, modern job management software has payment apps built in, helping to speed up the process of being paid for a job when done.
Using The Right Job Management Software To Streamline Your Entire Business
Modern jobbing software isn’t just about accessing client details, job history and job scheduling.
It can also streamline your entire business. From easier invoicing, payment reconciliation, marketing, and team management too.
Additional add-ons make it possible to set job reminders and scheduling tools for even more functionality.
Using the right the job management software can help keep jobs on a budget. Making it quicker and easier to win new business, organise marketing assets, receive funds due and implement better business controls.
Chosen carefully, trained fully and used properly, they can help you boost your profits, roadmap your business processes and make life much easier.