Don’t Use Residential Software for a Commercial Service Business
Commercial and residential service contractors work completely differently. So why would a commercial contractor adopt service management software designed for residential contractors? While they work in similar fields — HVAC, plumbing, electrical — commercial and residential service contractors work in altogether different ways. Three key differences highlight the complex work demands that face […]
Solving the problem bigger than double data entry
Is the administrative burden of data entry in your back office the biggest problem you face as a service contractor? Just imagine how much easier life would be if you could eliminate all of that wasteful double data entry. Just imagine what it would be like if your technicians could capture data in the field […]
What Software Buyers Can Learn from Agile Development and Lean Manufacturing
Software companies long ago abandoned complex release processes where comprehensive new versions would show up every few years. So why do software application buyers continue to plan for and tolerate implementation schedules that span several months or in some cases even years? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and software buyers […]
The Economic Downturn is Coming. Are You Ready for Greedy Growth?
Trade wars have sent steel prices up twenty five percent and farmers are getting killed by the collapse of the agricultural commodities market. Job growth slowed to a paltry 75,000 in May, and the two prior months of April and March were revised downward by 75,000. The European Central Bank is already easing monetary policy […]
Cyber Attacks in Fire and Life Safety
In 2019, there’s a fresh wave of ransomware hackers targeting US-based fire and life safety contractors that have legacy server systems. Several have been either forced to pay a bounty or face devastating disruptions when the cyber attack is unleashed. If you believe you are safe because no one is going to notice or care […]
Avoid This Pitfall When Going Paperless
When we talk to commercial service contracting companies about going paperless, the conversation usually starts with how they envision paperless processes will benefit their back offices by saving time and money. They want to send invoices faster, save money on postage, and reduce tech phone time. Going paperless definitely results in these and other improvements […]
End of Quarter Questions for Commercial Service Companies
Think back to the start of the year – did you set goals for your business? Of course you did. But how do you know your goals are focused on the right things? That you are monitoring the right numbers? To help make sure you are on the right track, we’ve put together three questions […]
The Data Gut Punch
January 14th marked the start of the AHR Expo in Atlanta at the 1.4-million sq. ft. Georgia World Congress Center. With 50-thousand attendees, that place was a madhouse. I, along with the rest of the ServiceTrade team, was engaged in back-to-back conversations with commercial mechanical service contractors about their growth goals. As we usually do, […]
Challenging to Win the Information Arms Race
You know the information arms race in your market has begun when both Microsoft and Amazon are advertising big data solutions on Sunday night football. Commercial property managers will surely be tempted to invest in technology to commoditize your services. Fortunately, we have a plan, and Billy Marshall will show you how to challenge to […]
Service Contractors: Grow like a software startup
Every Sunday evening I receive an email from the software investment banking team at Key Bank Capital Markets. The subject line of the email is “Software Valuations,” and the email contains a link to a weekly report that details the valuation metrics of about 100 different software companies. All of these companies are public corporations, […]