Digital tools can help plumbers and heating engineers manage work more effectively. PHPI recently spoke with Greg Hill, Product Owner at Joblogic, to find out more about how the company’s software can help installers streamline their business.
Q. When it comes to admin, what do you see as the main challenges for owners of small businesses operating in the sector?
The plumbing and heating industry in the UK is tightly regulated, with strict adherence to safety standards, building codes and environmental regulations. Keeping up with these regs and ensuring compliance can be complex and time-consuming. That’s not all: setting competitive yet profitable pricing for services while managing costs, including materials, labour and overheads, requires careful consideration – and documentation.
Similarly, managing a team of skilled workers, coordinating schedules, handling payroll, and addressing employee development and retention are essential for long-term success – but also an admin headache.
Embracing digital tools, such as online booking systems, service management software, and digital marketing, can be challenging for traditional businesses. However, long term there’s no way around it and digital tools will become essential to remaining competitive and meeting customer expectations.
Addressing these challenges requires a combination of industry knowledge, compliance efforts, efficient management practices, investment in workforce development, and leveraging technology to streamline operations, while maintaining a strong focus on customer satisfaction and safety.
Q. How does Joblogic software help to streamline admin and make a business more profitable?
Joblogic can help small plumbing companies stay compliant by allowing them to store important documentation, track certifications, and create checklists for safety and regulatory requirements. This ensures that your team follows the necessary standards. It can also track the qualifications and licenses of your plumbers, sending alerts when renewals are due. This ensures that all your employees have the necessary credentials.
Joblogic can also include specific checklists and workflows for gas safety, helping you adhere to Gas Safe Register requirements and maintain proper documentation for gas installations and maintenance. The software can also help you create and manage health and safety protocols, perform risk assessments, and ensure that your team follows safety guidelines during every job.
Plumbers can use Joblogic to promote eco-friendly practices, such as scheduling energy-efficient installations and managing waste disposal in accordance with environmental standards.
Q. Is the solution tailored to fit the Heating & Plumbing sector?
Yes – it is perfect for plumbers. It offers features and functionalities specifically designed to address the unique requirements of businesses in the plumbing and heating field. These features include:
– Efficiently manage your team of plumbers and heating technicians by assigning jobs, optimizing routes, and ensuring timely service.
– Keep track of equipment and assets used in plumbing and heating work, such as boilers, radiators, and pipes, for maintenance, tracking, and replacement purposes.
– Maintain documentation for certifications, licenses, safety protocols, and industry regulations to ensure your operations are compliant and safe.
– Address the specific requirements for gas safety, including proper documentation and adherence to Gas Safe Register regulations.
– Maintain a comprehensive record of customer interactions, service history, and job details to enhance customer service and streamline future work.
– Create accurate estimates, track expenses, and generate invoices tailored to the plumbing and heating industry.
– Manage customer information, track communications, and handle marketing efforts to build strong customer relationships and stand out in a competitive market.
– Address eco-friendly practices, such as energy-efficient installations and proper waste disposal, in line with industry-specific environmental regulations.
Q. Can the software help with quotations, invoicing, job allocations and regular servicing?
Yes, Joblogic is designed to help plumbers with a range of essential tasks, including quotations, invoicing, job allocations, and regular servicing. Here’s how:
Quotations
Joblogic allows you to create accurate and professional quotations for your plumbing and heating services. You can customize templates, add pricing details, and easily send quotes to clients. This feature helps you present clear and transparent pricing to potential customers.
Invoicing
With Joblogic, you can generate invoices quickly, based on completed jobs or services rendered. The software integrates with your job data, so you can create invoices based on the work performed, materials used, and any additional charges. This streamlines the invoicing process and helps you get paid faster.
Job allocations
Joblogic’s job scheduling and dispatch features enable efficient allocation of jobs to your plumbing and heating technicians. You can optimize routes, assign tasks based on skills and availability, and track the status of each job in real time. This ensures that your team is working efficiently and that jobs are completed on schedule.
Regular servicing
Joblogic can help you set up and manage regular servicing and maintenance tasks. You can create recurring jobs or PPM Schedules for routine servicing of heating systems, boilers, or other equipment. The software sends reminders when services are due, ensuring that you maintain a proactive approach to customer maintenance needs.
Q. Does Joblogic include a way to produce and store gas safety certificates?
Yes. You can create gas safety certificates directly within the platform. You input the relevant information, including details about the gas work performed, the date, the engineer’s information, and any observations or recommendations. Gas safety certificates in Joblogic can often be customized to include your company’s branding, logo, and other relevant details. This helps create a professional and consistent image when providing certificates to clients.
Joblogic also acts as a central repository for your gas safety certificates. This ensures that all certificates are securely stored in the system and easily accessible when needed. You can attach the certificates to specific jobs or customer profiles for quick reference.
Q. Busy heating engineers and plumbers are on the go from dawn to dusk. Is the software accessible from a smartphone?
Yes, Joblogic offers mobile apps that are accessible from smartphones, making it convenient for busy heating engineers and plumbers to manage their tasks, appointments, and job-related information while on the go. Mobile accessibility is a crucial feature for field service management software, and Joblogic recognizes the need to provide a seamless experience for users who are often working outside of the office. Here’s how the Joblogic mobile app can help:
– The mobile app allows heating engineers and plumbers to receive real-time updates on job assignments, schedule changes, and new tasks. This ensures that they are always informed about their next job, even when they’re away from the office.
– Plumbers can access detailed job information, including job descriptions, customer details, service history, and any specific instructions. This helps them provide better service by having all the necessary information at their fingertips.
– The mobile app can integrate with navigation tools, helping technicians find the fastest routes to job locations, reducing travel time and improving efficiency.
– Technicians can use the mobile app to input job notes, update job status, capture photos, record materials used, and gather customer signatures. This eliminates the need for manual paperwork and ensures that all job-related information is accurately recorded.
– The mobile app allows technicians to view their schedules, accept new jobs, and mark jobs as completed, providing better visibility into their daily tasks.
MAIN IMAGE: Greg Hill, Joblogic
