If running your company means you’re clocking up more hours than you should then consider ToolTime, an app that relieves the burden of business admin from small building companies.
So you’ve just finished on site for the day, and there’s just about time to drop in on another potential client to price a job. Then it’s back home and, when the kids are safely ensconced in bed, you can start on quotes and invoicing. Sound familiar?
We all know there are far too many owners of small building firms who are sacrificing precious family and leisure hours at the altar of running a business. The good news is that there’s now digital help at hand, with an app that can claw back considerable time, improve your productivity and present a more professional image to new and existing clients.
ToolTime is on a mission to achieve all of the above and more. So how does it work? Both an office web app and mobile worker app in one, the latter is designed for a specific employee in the field – and will eliminate any paperwork – whilst the former is your access to all of ToolTime’s functionality, including scheduling, quoting, invoicing and your day-to-day business admin. Both are available on any device, whether laptop or tablet, and user-friendliness has been the watchword throughout its development.
For a builder, the journey begins with a full, live demo that explains the features and functions to the business owner and their team. At the same time, ToolTime can support the transfer of all a client’s data – from customer details to service history and materials catalogue from Excel into the software.
The app lists customers, projects, and a calendar whilst a catalogue section will include all of the materials, tools and products you use on jobs, including the pricing. It is from this information that accurate and fully customisable quotes and invoices are created, transforming these invariably onerous tasks into jobs that can be completed in minutes.
Moreover, thanks to the mobile app, staff management is equally at your fingertips. Using this, workers can log their hours on a job to automatically generate time sheets and give you full visibility of your team’s location at any one time.
Every piece of documentation for each of a builder’s clients exists in separate and easily accessible folders, with the location identified through Google Maps. Any initial appointment is booked within the system, with an employee assigned, and SMS reminder for the client set up at no additional charge. Indeed, it’s not just SMS but also email that’s available through ToolTime, and all that correspondence is then recorded. Individual projects that may have been undertaken for that one client over a considerable time frame are organised in sub folders, with all the relevant quotes and invoices.
For the field worker, the mobile app is the epitome of simplicity. Focusing on appointments and time tracking. Appointments are divided into planned, which are those that are yet to be done, documented, which have already been undertaken, and overdue. Relevant notes, including work duration and photography can be recorded, with services that need to be quoted for, including measurements, then sent back to the web app.
The next step is quoting – a process which is up to 90% automated. Utilising the previously uploaded pricing from the catalogue, values will automatically appear for each item entered, which can then be manually adjusted if required. As a result, a PDF file incorporating the trade business’ logo and company details, can very quickly be generated and emailed to the potential client. That combination of mobile and office app will radically reduce the time taken to accurately price jobs.
Within the invoicing function, staged payments can be logged, but the functions don’t end there. ToolTime Pay allows the customer to scan a QR code provided and make immediate payments, for example, obviating the need for them to provide bank details. Finally, if it’s longer-term performance you’re looking to interrogate, every piece of data stored on the platform can be immediately exported to an Excel spreadsheet. This can be particularly useful for end of year accounts, for instance, or when analysing what parts of the business can be made profitable and where costs savings can be made.
This job management platform was first launched in 2019 and can already boast over 10,000 trade users across Europe, all serviced by more than 100 employees. Indeed, this isn’t just a faceless tech company where you’re left with nothing but a piece of software for company. Instead, every single account holder is provided with dedicated customer service personnel who are on hand to address any queries in minutes.
For further information on ToolTime visit The simplest software for tradespeople – ToolTime.
