Industry virtual networking starting March 17
Update: We’re bringing all industries together into one shared session for now so there are more perspectives and stronger conversations. We’re trying something new in the community! Starting March 17, we’re hosting a weekly 30-minute networking session for home service pros across all industries. Join one session or all four—no commitment. These will run once a week until April 7 while we pilot the idea. 👉 Link to join: https://meet.google.com/vmf-xjiw-iad 👈 The goal is simple: bring a challenge and get ideas from other pros. Format: • Quick intros • Everyone shares one challenge • Group feedback and ideas • Quick wrap-up 🕒 Tuesdays at 11:30 AM ET ⏱️ 30 minutes Interested? Comment below then we'll invite you and send you a reminder email with the link!Milwaukee vs DeWalt Tools, which one?
We’re Lock Nerds Locksmith, a Buffalo, NY-based company that’s always relied on Milwaukee tools. But we’re curious—what tools do other pros trust? We're looking for honest pros and cons between Milwaukee and DeWalt to see if it's time for us to reconsider our setup.
Sharing Processing Fees
I love Jobber. It has helped transform the front-end of our business by streamlining the calls - requests - estimate - job conversion - invoicing process. Our receivable time has reduced drastically due to the ease of Jobber payments (credit/debit/ACH) and financing options. The record keeping of client communications is very helpful and all of the data reports are helpful with job costing and showing us where and how we can become more efficient. I have been holding my breath, hoping that Jobber will soon have an easy option in the payment areas to either apply the full or split by percentage, the processing fee. It is reasonable at the current rate, but it certainly adds up at the end of each month and year. Just like inputting a percentage of required deposit, I would love to see a percentage I could apply towards the fee for the customer that is customizable and transparent for them. This may change their ultimate decision on the method they seek to use, but it would also allow me to reinvest the savings elsewhere. I have tried adding a line item in the quote for the processing fee, but it can add a lot of manual effort to reconfigure if there are certain change orders or adjustments throughout the job. I'd like to hear other people's experience with it, if possible. Any ideas are helpful, insight, or plans for the future regarding Jobber payments. Thank you!
Best way to handle inbound calls to company line?
Curious yalls thoughts. Looking to not just grow, looking to scale and improve / continue to implement systems. Currently have myself, 1 outside sales rep, and field labor crew (fence install company) current process: customer calls into company # (my cell phone). I try to answer as if it were an office line to answer asap. From that, I confirm I can Text them, I then send a request form via jobber that has basic info / few questions to answer. If / when they fill it out, I add to the schedule for a confirmed day / time to quote on site. etc…… I feel this part is a lot of back and forth, and until I have an in house admin office worker that can answer these calls the first ring - I won’t be able to truly grow / stay efficient. (If I’m tied up, I don’t like calling them back 2 hours later, etc) but also - I love having them fill out the form bc the way I have questions on it, it turns it from a warm lead, to a warmer lead. Any way to streamline this, get more efficient, improve this current process? ANY thoughts or advice - real thankful.How do you utilize reports in your business?
I am curious to hear which reports you consider most valuable in your business and what actions are taken based on those reports if anyone is willing to share. Are there reports that you use regularly in Jobber or reports that you wish were part of Jobber? If so how do you utilize the information that the reports provide? Are changes made based on the reports? Is the data used to create the reports monitored internally for consistency? Thanks for sharing all input is helpful!Will AI replace jobs in home service and skilled trades?
I saw an article yesterday about all the tech jobs that are being replaced by AI and I thought about how hard that would be to know your position can be replaced by someTHING that can do it faster and cheaper than you can. Then I thought how happy I am that I decided a long time ago that I am going to work with my hands. Be handy. Solve real problems. I would be safe in saying that AI is never going to cut your lawn, remove your junk, exterminate your bed bugs, plumb in or wire your home. Am I going to regret saying this? Is AI reading thins and just started plotting to take all our jobs???How Much Should You Really Be Charging?
The number one question I receive is tied directly to the fact, most contractors are still guessing when it comes to pricing. Overhead. Profit. Labor rate. Trip fees. They think just because they throw a number they hear their competitors use, thats all that they need. It may work, but how and what do you divide these funds is just as important for your business health. If you don’t know how to do the math, you’re not building a business. You’re surviving check to check and think you need more work, when you do not. So here’s the plan: This Tuesday & Thursday on IG, I’m walking you through our Contractor Price Builder Worksheet FREE on instagram live. We will cover: - How to calculate your real hourly rate - The difference between markup and margin - Why profit is a non-negotiable - And how to price with confidence Join the session. Bring your numbers.
We Need a Catalog to Build Estimates 📗
🥳🔥We need a catalog 📗! The items in the catalog help with building out an estimate. These items are the nuts and bolts of the products and services. Examples of catalog items are materials, permits, labor, subs, and anything else you need to complete a job. The ability to add images to the item would be a plus! Creating an Item in the Catalog; Item Name; Description for customer (can be toggled on to let customer see or turned off); Sku Number; Part Number; Quantity; Unit (Each, Feet, Gallon); Cost Code; Type; Unit Cost; Extended Cost (Calculated After you input the qty); Unit Price; Extended Price (Calculated after you input the qty with selected Markup or Margin); Markup; Margin; Taxable y/n; Internal Notes; Image of item 😮Currently, we build estimates outside of Jobber. Once we know the prices, we create the estimate in Jobber and send it to the customer. It would be nice to create an estimate in Jobber and, behind the scenes, see the prices, quantities, and markups of items we picked from the catalog to determine the estimated amount. Once the job is complete, adjusting the actual item's prices or quantities would be super cool to see how the final numbers compare to the estimated cost. Is there anyone else out there who would benefit from a catalog?
