How to Make Your Plumbing Business More Efficient
The more jobs you do, the more revenue you make. It’s a simple principle, but not enough plumbing businesses focus on making their work more efficient so that they can complete more work. Instead, owners get bogged down with paperwork and other business essentials that aren’t completing plumbing calls. From following up on unpaid invoices to maintaining your tools, you’re busy. So, how do you make your business more efficient so that you can make more? Here are some simple things you can do to cut time.
Better Scheduling
Each of your trucks spends too much time driving between calls and driving back and forth from suppliers. A great scheduler can cut down on this. Receptionists can learn to schedule calls that are geographically close together back-to-back, so your plumber drives a few minutes to the new call instead of across town. If your plumbers tend to grab supplies early in the morning, they can schedule calls near the suppliers at that time too. These little cuts really add up to significant time savings, letting each of your trucks attend more calls per day. A digital receptionist can schedule your calls efficiently.
Automatic Estimates
Drawing up estimates by hand every time is a lot of work, and it might make your pricing scheme imprecise, which translates to lost dollars. Investing in some estimating software and setting it up will end up being a big time saver and will make sure you’re getting every dollar you need for each type of job. Automatic estimates can be generated in seconds after only a little bit of input from your plumbers. The result is that the quote is in your customer’s hands faster—which also translates to better customer service.
Outsource Certain Work
No one is good at everything. Chances are, you’re trying to spend time on things you’re not good at, and it is costing you time. Most small and mid-sized business owners make this mistake. You don’t have to be the accountant, receptionist, human resource professional, marketer, mechanic and owner of the company. Any work that costs you significant time should be outsourced to other companies, especially if they interfere with your off time, which you absolutely need to stay efficient. Here’s a quick guide to what you can outsource as a plumber:
- Choose an accounting firm or at least software to help handle your finances.
- Choose a marketing firm to handle social media and other marketing pursuits.
- Choose a digital receptionist to answer calls and even handle customer complaints.
- Choose a freelance mechanic or a shop to maintain your equipment.
- Choose human resource software to make managing employees easy.
Set a Maintenance Schedule
Broken tools and equipment, or vehicles that aren’t reliable, end up costing you a great deal of time. Equipment that is in poor condition can cost you many minutes per day, which really adds up in the long run. Outright broken equipment can cost you a trip to your supplier. Set a regular maintenance schedule for all of the equipment and tools you’ve invested in. It seems to cost more time, but you save yourself the huge time-sunk of poorly maintained equipment. You can also get a live answering service and make your plumbing business more efficient.
FOLLOW US