0349: Home Maintenance And Repair Service Company Automation And Technology

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0349, And It's About Home Maintenance And Repair Service Company Automation And Technology The daily processes and transactions involved in operating a home maintenance and repair service business can mean long hours of repetitive tasks and occasional oversights due to human nature. These days, you can use technology to take care of almost any issue facing your business.    Automating these tasks can result in significant savings in resources and eliminate mistakes caused by human error. The key, however, is to know which tasks should be automated and which ones warrant staff intervention and guidance. Let's take a look at some of them.   Lead Capturing, Nurturing, and Scoring

Automating your lead development process can do wonders for your service-based company's conversion rates. Both hot and cold leads require attention and targeted engagement to convert into paying customers. Using automation software can help sales reps to guide prospects to end of the sales cycle strategically, and it can also direct you towards the leads that will convert the fastest.

Entrepreneurs like you meet new contacts all the time. Whether it's a potential business partner or prospective client, automating your engagement with them can help you forge a solid rapport after your initial contact. Several CRM options will allow you to group contacts by event, type, company, and location, amongst other settings, to ensure that your business card collections don't go to waste.

Outreach efforts with a personal touch tend to garner higher engagement rates, which explains why businesses send out birthday cards, calendars, seasonal greetings, and other materials to customers. With the right software, you can set up automated, sequenced events to gather customer personal data and incorporate it into specific marketing activities.

Automating your hiring process is one of the best things that you can do for your business. Everything from receiving applications and interviewing to setting up drug tests and completing new-hire paperwork can quickly be done with automation. First, outline what your hiring process looks like. Next, determine staff member roles and duties within your operation. And lastly, establish time frames that each activity should fall within. There are tons of HR software programs that can make automating your hiring process a breeze.

Numerous marketing studies show that consumers are more likely to buy from companies if a friend has referred them. Encourage customers to give referrals about your services by simply asking for them. There are several ways to automate this, including adding referral mentions to discount offerings, a website page, and email outreach campaigns.

The Benefits Of Technology

If you have a task that you don't like to do, there's an app or software program to take care of it for you. It might take a few moments of your time to learn and understand how the software or app works, but doing so will save you valuable time and precious energy. It will also free you up to spend time on the tasks you love to do, not on all the paperwork and record-keeping that go along with running a business. 

Here are some programs that we use to make our clients' home maintenance and repair service business easier to manage:

Xero

Like many construction business owners, you probably didn't dream of owning your own business so that you could manage a paper trail and oversee cash flow. You likely have very little interest in following up on unpaid invoices or spending time paying bills. That's where Xero comes in. Xero takes care of accounting for your small business.

You can create and track invoices and purchase orders, manage sales and purchases, and set up scheduled bill payments. You can even reconcile bank transactions any time from a computer, tablet, or smartphone and have up-to-date financial information about your business. If you have employees, you can track payroll and manage time and money spent on projects.

Xero offers easier business financial management without the headaches. 

Receipt Bank

If you hate taking time away from your clients and work projects so you can manage your paperwork, Receipt Bank has what you need. Receipt Bank is a technology platform that construction business owners can use to manage their vital business documents. Anything necessary that relates to your business - such as receipts, invoices, and other documents - you simply capture on your mobile phone, through email, or scan on your computer, and upload it to the platform.

Receipt Bank then takes the information and displays it for you so you can download it or send it to connected accounting software. It can also categorize your expenses for you. It requires some time to set up manually, but once your account is set up, Receipt Bank will save you vast amounts of time.

Hubdoc

Hubdoc takes care of data entry, such as entering all your bills, invoices, and other paperwork for you. Hubdoc allows you to take pictures of your paperwork, link it to your account, and develop usable data. It automatically fetches your bills and syncs with your accounting programs. You can even give your accountant access to the program so they can stay on top of your finances as well.

If you love the idea of simplifying your home maintenance and repair service business and avoiding masses of paper everywhere, Hubdoc can help you.

TSheets

Getting timecards into QuickBooks and processing payroll can be a big hassle for your construction company. Timecards come in late, causing a payment to be under enormous pressure to meet direct deposit deadlines is a tremendous feat on its own.

Tracking employee bonuses, reimbursements, and garnishments take time and money and can cost your company some severe fines, penalties, and lost productivity if you weren't able to handle it correctly. Manual time cards are painful, and we have found the best time card calculator using TSheets.

Final thoughts

There's no question that these types of apps and software platforms can make business owners' lives easier. Most business owners didn't start their business so they could be surrounded by paperwork and endless record-keeping tasks. Choosing a platform that meets your company's needs will free up time and energy to focus on the things you love to do. Set aside a week or two to take a look at any processes that can be automated within your business. Automating repetitive and tedious tasks can aid you in uncovering hidden cost-savers and potential sales opportunities for your Home Maintenance And Repair Service Company.

About The Author:

Sharie DeHart, QPA is the co-founder of Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood, Washington. She is the leading expert in managing outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services companies and cash management accounting for small construction companies across the USA. She encourages Contractors and Construction Company Owners to stay current on their tax obligations and offers insights on how to manage the remaining cash flow to operate and grow their construction company sales and profits so they can put more money in the bank. Call 1-800-361-1770 or sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com