5 Ways to Lower Your Plumbing Company’s Overhead

Overhead has a way of weighing on a business. Even when you have plenty of calls coming in, you can quickly get your business into the red if you take on unnecessary overhead. While plumbing businesses tend to be streamlined, there are definitely some ways you can even further cut your overhead. This can help you if you’re struggling or just improve your margins even more if you’re doing well. Here are five things to consider if you could stand to reduce your plumbing company’s overhead.

1. Ditch the Physical Office

Most plumbers who invest in a physical office space regret it. It’s not necessary for the work until you have a lot of people and paperwork to manage. If you’re not quite there yet, consider ending your lease and using your car or a dedicated spot in your home to manage the business.

2. Consider Payment Methods

How do you accept payment? Many credit cards charge large fees, and some services do too. You may be able to find cheaper payment options, even some that look more professional. You can use Shopify’s POS, which is relatively cheap. Or you could go digital and accept payment through your accounting software, like QuickBooks.

3. Streamline Software

Your plumbing business might need multiple different programs. You might have accounting software, customer relationship management software, scheduling software, and much more. You might also have a GPS tracking service, you might be paying for extra storage, and you’re probably hosting a website too. This adds up to a lot in subscription fees. Consider if you need all of the subscriptions you pay for, and if you can find a cheaper replacement service or one that does the job of multiple other services.

For example, our favorite scheduling service is HouseCall Pro. Conveniently, it handles scheduling and has GPS tracking, so you don’t have to pay for a separate service for each.

4. Sell or Rent Unused Equipment

When you first started your own plumbing company, maybe you thought you’d be doing certain kinds of work more often. You may have invested in tools and equipment to do those jobs. But, if you’re not really using them, then you can consider selling or renting them out. Renting is the wiser choice if you feel like you may need the equipment again and can bring in income instead of costing you in overhead.

Similarly, look through any tools you currently rent–do you need all of them?

5. Use a Call Answering Service

Labor adds a great deal to the overhead of any business and, unlike other things like tools and software, it is hard to streamline labor once you’ve hired someone. No one likes letting people go. Consider if you could use a call answering service before you hire a receptionist. Or, consider if you can outsource your accounting instead of hiring an accountant. You can always cancel these services without large financial repercussions, as you might face when letting an employee go.