Austin’s Lawn Care Generates Revenue and Saves Time with SingleOps
The Customer
Austin’s Lawn Care & Landscaping, LLC provides residential and commercial landscaping and hardscaping services in the Johnson County and Kansas City metro areas. Austin Heath, owner, is a Certified Commercial Pesticide Applicator, certified by the National Concrete Masonry Association as a Certified Segmental Retaining Wall Installer, and a Techniseal Certified Applicator.
The Challenge
“We were using Google spreadsheets to manage the business and printing out work tickets, but people lose sheets all the time. The amount of billing that we did was so cumbersome. We were constantly going back and forth with spreadsheets and QuickBooks and copy/pasting. It took days to get billing done at month end.
“A few years ago, I’d selected Arborgold and locked myself in a dungeon trying to get it off the ground before spring, but it didn’t go well. Still, I know a good software application can help in every aspect of running the business, and I wanted to get away from spreadsheets and paper,” explained Austin.
The Solution
“We looked at Arborgold again and also considered Aspire, but it was too expensive, then narrowed our selection down to SingleOps and Clip. We all agreed that SingleOps looked great. One thing that stuck out in my mind was the fact that SingleOps had a lot of customer service in place. Someone came out and helped us get off the ground, which was beneficial, whereas Clip would have given us their program and had us watch videos. While that approach may be fine for smaller businesses, we do a lot more, including work for subcontractors. Ultimately, we selected SingleOps.”
The Results
Austin’s Lawn Care worked closely with SingleOps during implementation and was able to integrate with QuickBooks which the business uses for payroll, resulting in numerous benefits.
Excellent Onboarding and Support
“We’ve got good support from SingleOps. I worked closely with SingleOps to get it off the ground. I don’t find it helpful to watch webinars to learn a system, and they supported me and helped me learn without being forced to watch webinars. Someone from the SingleOps team came and met with our crew and helped us make further improvements,” said Samantha Nolan, Account Manager, Austin’s Lawn Care & Landscaping.
More Reliable Billing in Less Than One-Quarter of the Time
“SingleOps has improved our day-to-day operations as far as billing is concerned. Billing had been such a thorn in our side, but now it’s much easier. It’s a huge improvement,” stated Austin.
Samantha explains, “During our busiest part of the year, all of the month-end billing used to take me 2 to 3 days of constant work. Now with SingleOps, it’s a lot easier for us and streamlined. It takes me 4 or 5 hours, and that’s collecting all payments, sending receipts, and sending invoices to customers who pay by check.
“I open up and the receivables report and the payment button is right there. I don’t even have to open invoices anymore. It shows any balance and if the credit card went through, and I don’t have to click and open everyone.”
Improved Scheduling – Nothing Falling Through the Cracks
SingleOps has also improved the scheduling process for Austin’s Lawn Care. In particular, activities such as biweekly or monthly maintenance are more easily scheduled, so things don’t fall through the cracks. “It’s allowed us to not miss a beat, and improved customer service, so we don’t have to worry about looking bad,” stated Austin.
Increased Accuracy and Increased Profitability
“Previously, we had lots of issues transferring things over from spreadsheets and proposal notes. Errors are inevitable with copy/pasting. But we’ve had increased accuracy with SingleOps.
“I also think we’ve been more profitable this year using SingleOps.”
Mobile and Sales Support
“SingleOps is doing exactly what we want in the respect that it’s got us in the cloud and we’re able to send all our people out with iPads and everything’s working well there.
“For our Sales Manager in particular, tech isn’t his thing. Before SingleOps, he hand-wrote everything. He doesn’t enjoy many software applications, but he uses SingleOps quite a bit, including entering new leads and creating proposals. He really likes it and that’s a testament to your program being really easy to use,” said Austin.
Sending Emails and Saving Money
“I use the email report all the time to do a mass email and we’re not paying extra fees for that. We used to have our marketing firm send out mass emails, but with SingleOps, we can narrow down the list based on services the customer gets and send emails only to the right customers. This has saved money, and also made us money,” stated Samantha.
Integrated Email and Text Messaging
“I love integrated text messaging. If I’m out in the field, I can quickly and easily send a text message to say I’m on my way. Additionally, it’s great that the customer won’t have my personal number,” concluded Austin.