Managing a growing trade service business in Australia is no walk in the park. After all, as your projects and operations get bigger, you’ll have to deal with more complex paperwork, schedules, cash flow issues, and regulations. That’s why you need job management software like WorkBuddy to prevent your dream projects from turning into logistical nightmares.
If you’re not sure whether job management software is right for your business, ask yourself the following questions:
Does your team frequently experience scheduling conflicts?
Scheduling and assigning work to your technicians is far simpler when you use WorkBuddy. When you receive a work order, WorkBuddy automatically finds the right technician for the job based on their qualifications, availability, and proximity to the jobsite. It then dispatches the technician and sends them all the relevant job specifications so they can get straight to work as soon as they arrive.
Do you experience poor cash flow?
Cash flow problems are common for trade businesses, especially when their client base and project portfolio expand. There’s no one way to fix these problems, but job management software gives you the tools necessary to maintain a healthy cash flow.
For starters, cloud-based job management software lets you prepare accurate quotes in minutes and win profitable work using pre-established price books. You and your team can also track timesheets, material costs, and work expenses to generate professional invoices on site, so you get paid faster. Additionally, you can program your job management software to follow up on outstanding payments or when certain project milestones are met to keep your business afloat.
Is your company drowning in paperwork?
While doing everything on paper may have worked when you ran a small trade business, it can be a major hindrance as your company grows. You’ll have to organise piles of documents and manually enter information into a database, which lead to costly mistakes. Tradies may miss appointments because work orders are lost in piles of scrap paper or they may invoice the wrong amounts to clients because of poor data entry.
Job management software cuts paperwork out of the picture by digitising your processes. Users can capture job information directly within an app, so they only have to enter data once. Everything from work orders to invoices are also stored in a central location, keeping data consistent across your teams.
Are you governed by strict industry regulations?
Staying on top of Australian building codes, work health and safety standards, and other local regulations can be challenging, especially when you take on larger projects. Job management software with built-in compliance modules make it easy to track and adhere to regulations pertaining to your business.
WorkBuddy, in particular, allows you to customise compliance checklists using Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) or the Building Code of Australia (BCA) as a framework. SWMS checklists ensure your team is proactively following proper safety procedures and mitigating health hazards on the worksite. On the other hand, BCA compliance checklists help your company understand the technical requirements that go into a construction project such as structural stability, fire resistance, and building amenities. If certain items have not been crossed off the checklist, WorkBuddy considers the job incomplete and automatically alerts the relevant site manager to address the issue.
Do you manage many subcontractors?
If your business coordinates with several subcontractors, job management software keeps you in control. For instance, WorkBuddy comes with subcontractor portals that create a direct channel between your company and each of your subcontractors. Through these portals, you can provide subcontractors with important information for a project, including the scope of services, deliverables, schedules, quality standards, and other relevant conditions. You can even break down contract terms and safety requirements into checklists, so subcontractors know exactly how to play their role according to your standards.
What’s more, subcontractors can use the portals to monitor their technicians’ activities and report on project progress to your team. These reports are a great way to track your subcontractors’ performance, keep them accountable, and identify potential complications with the project. If there are complications, portals allow you to communicate directly with subcontractors to negotiate budgets, adjust schedules, or rectify technical issues so that project deliverables are met on time.
Is your company using different enterprise software?
It’s not uncommon for a growing company like yours to have multiple software in place for various business processes. You may have accounting software for invoicing and estimations, auditing apps for site inspections, cloud productivity platforms for collaboration, and more. However, if all these applications don’t cohesively work together to support your on-site operations, your company’s efficiency will slow down to a crawl. It’s easy for staff to lose track of data and their workflow when they have to constantly switch between multiple programs.
Fortunately, WorkBuddy can integrate with enterprise software and accounting systems like Xero, QuickBooks, and MYOB Online. That means data captured on one system can be shared with others, enabling business processes to flow smoothly to the next. Work schedules can be synced with GPS tools to optimise routes and site inspection data can be measured against WorkBuddy’s compliance module. Meanwhile, financial data recorded on job management systems are immediately reflected on your accounting dashboard for cash flow monitoring. It doesn’t matter what pre-existing systems you may have, as WorkBuddy can be customised to suit your company’s unique workflows.
Whether it’s scheduling, accounting, or compliance, every aspect of your trade business stands to benefit from implementing WorkBuddy. Request a free demo today to learn how WorkBuddy can take your growing business to the next level.
