The 5-Minute Invoice: How Harder Services, Inc. Slashed Office Processes by 90%
A Long Island Staple since the 1920s, Harder Services, Inc. cut office processes by 90% with SingleOps
As a business that has been around since 1922, Harder Services, Inc., also known as “Harder Tree & Landscape Service,” has seen a lot of changes. A family business started by Jack Harder’s great-grandfather in Hempstead, NY, success has always come down to two things: people, and consistently doing quality work. They worked on New York City development in Lower Manhattan in the seventies and eighties, branched into utility tree work with the Long Island Lighting Company in the early nineties, and now focus their attention between utility tree trim, new construction commercial landscape installation, and residential landscape installation.
Harder Services fleet of Army surplus Willy’s Jeeps post-WW2
After decades of success, even the most established businesses need to adapt to stay competitive and impress increasingly savvy customers. That’s why Jack Harder turned to SingleOps when he was looking to fine-tune their operations.
“We’ve been grossly embedded in paper for decades,” says Harder. While this approach served them well, it was time-consuming and limited their ability to scale. Seven years ago, Harder brought in SingleOps, which marked a significant culture change for the company.
The results have been nothing short of transformative. Harder estimates they’ve cut their office processes by a remarkable 90%. What once took almost an entire day — invoicing maintenance by printing, stuffing envelopes, and rubber banding them together — now takes five minutes with SingleOps.
The Snowball Effect of Streamlined Operations
Operations are easier with SingleOps, which frees up the team’s time for other things. “More proposals are being sent out, more inquiries are being answered, more leads are being converted and sent out to sales representatives,” Harder explains.
Having all proposals managed through SingleOps means they can easily follow up, answer customer questions, track success and conversion rates, and even send automated follow-ups. As Harder notes, “We’ve definitely seen a lot faster responses, and it seems like every year they get faster.”
SingleOps also helps Harder with incremental billing, which is a solution to a problem that he ran into over and over. For example, if a job involves cutting down a tree in December and planting a new one the following April, SingleOps allows them to bill for the initial work, leave the job open, and then bill for the final item when it’s completed. Not only does this help Harder’s bottom line, but it also communicates trust with their customers.
Satisfied Crews Are Quality Crews. And Quality Crews Means Happy Customers
Harder understands that its success hinges on strong relationships — both with its customers and its crews. As Harder’s grandfather always said, “We’re in the people business.”
“It definitely has helped keep the communication between us and the crews, and the crews and the homeowners flowing pretty smoothly. Everybody understands what they’re supposed to do and how they’re supposed to do it,” said Harder. Being able to send out crews as prepared as possible goes a long way in ensuring smooth operations, happy employees, and satisfied customers.
The Future is Efficient with SingleOps
For Harder Services, Inc., SingleOps is more than just software. It’s an extension of their team that has allowed a century-old business to evolve and thrive in the modern landscape. As Harder enthusiastically puts it, “I love it. It’s great. It’s efficient. It’s easy to use. It’s very adaptable. You can be as detail oriented as you want or you can be as basic as you want.”
By embracing technology, Harder continues to build a lasting legacy.