ServiceM8 setup for trades
I built my electrical business so it could run without me.
I used ServiceM8 in my own electrical business for 13 years. It helped get the jobs, diary, quotes and invoices out of one person’s head and into a way of working the team could follow.
- Electrical business, not a demo
- Jobs, diary, quotes and invoices
- Built around the team doing the work
What I bring to it
I look at the work you do, then sort ServiceM8 around that. Not the other way round.
What I had to make work
My own ServiceM8 account had to run a real electrical business.
This is the account I used at West Yorkshire Electrical. It is not a demo or a template I picked up from somebody else.
What gets sorted
The bits that hold the day up.
We use jobs you have already done. One that went well, one that turned into a pain, and the regular work that should be easy by now.
New work
What happens when somebody gets in touch. Who picks it up, what information is needed, what gets booked in and what needs chasing.
The diary and jobs
Categories, templates and clear job information, so the office and the lads can see what is happening without ringing round for answers.
Quotes, invoices and paperwork
The things that need doing on every job, put where they are needed so they are less likely to sit there until somebody remembers.
After the job
The handover, invoice and follow-up. Then we run a job through it properly before anyone starts relying on it.
How I work
I look at the job first. Then I build the setup.
Go through the work
We look at the jobs and find the bits getting missed, repeated or held up.
Make a proper plan
I map what needs to happen from the first enquiry through to invoice and the next job.
Build it in ServiceM8
I set up the bits that fit your work, rather than dropping a generic template on top of it.
Run a job through it
We test it before I call it finished, then show the office and the lads the part they need.
This will feel familiar if
ServiceM8 is there, but nobody is using it the same way.
The diary is fine. The rest is not.Jobs are booked in, but quotes get missed, paperwork is all over the place and nobody is sure what still needs invoicing.
Everything depends on who you ask.If you are still ringing round to find where a job is up to, it needs sorting.
Start with the job
Tell me where the work is getting stuck.
Tell me your trade, how many people use the diary and what is doing your head in with ServiceM8. I will look at where I would start.