Customer Story

Just over a year ago, Modern Mechanical Services LLC launched in Dallas, TX with a bold vision from founders Aaron Mims and Daniel Manrique: to build the kind of commercial HVAC service company they had always wanted to work for. What began as a two-person operation has quickly grown into a multi-location business serving four major Texas markets, driven by a relentless focus on customer service, a strong operational blueprint, and the right technology partner. For Modern Mechanical Services, that partner was ServiceTrade.

Choosing the Right Platform to Scale

Before launching Modern Mechanical Services, the leadership team had worked with a range of field service platforms at other companies. But those systems were often too complex, better suited to residential and construction workflows than to service-focused operations. In one case, a business partner even attempted to build a custom system from scratch. That effort failed, costing time and resources.

When it came time to start their own company, the Modern Mechanical Services team knew they needed a purpose-built platform that could handle dispatch, scheduling, preventative maintenance, and invoicing, without overwhelming their team.

“We’d seen how hard it was to scale with the wrong tools, ” said Aaron Mims, President and CEO of Modern Mechanical Services. “We needed a platform that was easy to implement, fast to learn, and strong enough to run a professional operation. That was ServiceTrade.”

Key reasons they chose ServiceTrade included:

• Ease-of-use and service-first workflows that matched their business model for growth
• Integration with QuickBooks to enable simple invoicing for accounts receivable
• Support for recurring work like preventative maintenance, which is central to their revenue model

Rolling Out the Platform Across Teams

Rather than doing a phased approach, Modern Mechanical Services fully embraced ServiceTrade from day one. They built a robust internal onboarding and training program that combined ServiceTrade’s built-in training modules with custom documentation tailored to their tech stack and business needs. New technicians were brought up to speed with clear, repeatable processes.

The office team structure was designed around ServiceTrade. The Operations Coordinator handles dispatch and scheduling, the Billing Coordinator manages invoicing and receivables, and the Operation Process Manager ensures optimal use of ServiceTrade and other software tools.

In the field, managers and techs used ServiceTrade for job execution, quoting, and project management workflows. They also leveraged ServiceTrade’s API to build custom reports and track performance metrics that fed into team incentive programs. Field service managers were even bonused based on gross margin, driving business ownership at every level.

“We’re not just giving people software and hoping they figure it out,” Aaron explained. “We’ve built a culture around being hungry, humble, and smart; and we give our people the tools and training to live that out.”

Unlocking Key Solutions for Service Excellence

As the team got fully up and running, they began to unlock key advantages from ServiceTrade that would’ve been difficult, or impossible, to achieve with other systems.

Faster Invoicing and Cash Flow

Invoices are now issued within 24 hours of service completion, which has been critical for maintaining payroll and cash flow, especially in the early stages of growth. ServiceTrade’s integration with QuickBooks keeps everything in sync and eliminates the need for double entry.

Frictionless Quoting and Sales

By discovering deficiencies and determining repair costs right in ServiceTrade, the team turns field findings into repair quotes in minutes. In many cases, quotes are approved the same day, often within hours or even minutes.“We had to make quoting a revenue engine, not a bottleneck,” said Aaron. “Now we’re faster, more professional, and more likely to win the work.”

Elevated Customer Experience

Modern Mechanical Services makes full use of the ServiceTrade customer portal, which gives clients visibility into service history, upcoming preventative maintenance visits, and the ability to request work without making a phone call. In one case, a customer used the portal to flag an urgent issue that resulted in a high-value job, a request that could have been missed without the portal in place.

Results: Rapid Growth with Retention and Reputation

The outcomes speak for themselves:

• Expansion into four markets after just one year in business
• 100% contract retention across customer accounts

• 15–30 invoices sent to customers daily to directly support healthy cash flow

• Same-day quote approvals that allow for quicker service to improve customer relationships

Perhaps most importantly, Modern Mechanical Services has built a scalable, professional foundation without losing its scrappy, service-first culture. With ServiceTrade as the operational core, they’ve combined startup agility with enterprise-level execution.

Advice for Other Service Businesses

Aaron’s advice to other contractors looking to scale?

“If you already have sales skills, good techs, and a few customers, ServiceTrade gives you everything you need to grow. It’s a turnkey solution for the HVAC service world. You just have to run with it.