Coastal Tree Care Streamlines PHC Offerings with SingleOps
The Customer
In 2012, Coastal Tree Care started with just two employees and the vision of making a difference in the green industry. As an ISA Certified Arborist in the San Diego area, that passion is still what drives the entire team to deliver an exceptional customer experience. Coastal Tree Care takes a holistic approach to tree care with a conscious awareness of the environment to provide client-focused solutions to manage clients’ urban forests.
The Challenge
Coastal Tree Care previously used software to manage its business but found it complicated to use and not intuitive. “It just didn’t flow and was frustrating. There was no scheduler in place, so we went back and forth with the software and Google calendar. We would schedule work and then have to swap back to our email to send the client’s appointment. Nothing synched together, and that caused errors.
“In particular, our plant healthcare (PHC) work was tracked using Excel, and each treatment was entered manually. This was a cumbersome process that did not allow for easy scheduling or optimal organization since the work wasn’t entered on a recurring basis.”
“Our old software had a separate mobile version that was a cloud-based add-on package. No one understood it, and we were never able to use it. We were using paper in the field, then coming back and in the office, and entering it into the software. Additionally, It had many different features that we weren’t using. Overall, we found it to be very frustrating,” explained Kayla McKenna, Operations Manager, Coastal Tree Care.
The Solution
“My boss found SingleOps through a convention. We saw a demo and loved it. We researched other apps, and all came back to SingleOps. It’s very intuitive, and it does everything we needed. SingleOps had everything built-in.
Coastal Tree Care found SingleOps at a tree care software convention. They saw the demo of the tree care service software and loved it. “We researched other apps, and all came back to SingleOps. It’s very intuitive, and it does everything we needed.”
“In particular, the calendar feature was huge. We could generate proposals and schedule work, then email clients without switching out to our work email. Other apps didn’t do that,” explained Kayla.
The Results
Great Implementation
“Our implementation experience was great. SingleOps has an excellent system in place. We did a couple of meetings with implementation specialists and training sessions over multiple weeks. SingleOps worked to make it a seamless transition for us to switch over our data.
“I’ve experienced difficult software migrations in the past, but going to SingleOps was a breeze,” said Kayla.
Recurring Jobs Feature a Game-Changer
Coastal Tree Care’s PHC work ramped up in conjunction with the SingleOps implementation. This was excellent timing for the sales team, as PHC could be sold and entered into SingleOps as recurring jobs consisting of multiple treatments/visits instead of on a one-off basis. Recurring PHC jobs have helped the sales team increase proposal amounts because all treatments within a series can be included and estimated at once.
SingleOps provides limitless potential for entering numerous jobs and scheduling visits. The SingleOps calendar includes unscheduled tasks and visits, which serve as prompts and reminders to schedule PHC services each month to ensure all treatments are applied as needed.
“Entering PHC as recurring jobs has been a game-changer for my team and me. The ability to use job templates and recurring jobs to keep treatment visits organized has enabled high-quality and consistent service, which was not possible when using Excel. We no longer have to worry about things slipping through the cracks.
Mobile Use and Increased Sustainability
Because SingleOps is a SaaS application, Coastal Tree Care can use it on laptops and desktop computers and mobile devices such as iPads with consistent user experience. Coastal Tree Care employees use SingleOps in the field with iPads, enabling the company to step away from paper work orders, which is more sustainable. The sales team uses the system for bidding new jobs. Job templates help reps create proposals faster and more accurately, as costs and prices are populated automatically.
“Additionally, crew leads can track time on specific Jobs by using the Start and Stop Work functions to complete Visits, increasing invoicing efficiency for office personnel.”
QuickBooks Integration
“We’re managing all bidding and proposals in SingleOps. It also streamlines our business because I know it’s ready to invoice when they close out a job. Additionally, we’re using integrated email and text messaging a lot. To support our renewals, we also started using the recurring jobs feature, which has been huge for our plant health care program,” stated Kayla.
Coastal Tree Care integrated SingleOps with QuickBooks, enabling the company to generate all invoices through SingleOps and capture payment info to manage Accounts Receivable efficiently.
Streamlined, Efficient Operations
“From the get-go, when we started using SingleOps, everything was streamlined. We were considerably more efficient than before. Without the need to switch back and forth between systems, I almost didn’t even need my dual monitors. I don’t have to have Gmail and Google calendar open all at once. SingleOps has taken the stress off of us and reduced the number of errors from switching between systems.”
“We’re also able to schedule multiple visits in the same region for the same service, such as aphid foliar sprays, all on the same day each month. This decreases costs and increases efficiencies. SingleOps’ “My Day” page helps ensure crew members complete each assigned visit successfully. Our PHC operation revenue has increased 62% year over year,” explained Kayla
Quick Insights into Key Metrics
“We track multiple Key Performance Indicators weekly, such as plant health care review, client renewals, incoming leads, and close ratio.
“Access to our key metrics through SingleOps reports has been great. It’s been particularly helpful over the last six months to see how COVID-19 has affected our business to stay on track. Additionally, SingleOps will enable us to calculate profitability by-product when we track material usage, which we plan to do soon,” concluded Kayla.