After ten years of scaling cell phone towers, Angel Arbelo decided it was time for a career change. He chose the trades industry and started AA Contractor LLC, a home renovation company that provides residential and commercial renovation services and property management. He’s a sole trader right now, but his big goal is to turn the business into a go-to name for home renovations. To do that, he knew he needed to automate as many admin tasks as possible. So, that’s when he started investigating job management software.
In the early days, Angel’s admin approach blended traditional and digital – QuickBooks for invoices and a separate system for file management. However, he struggled to keep his record-keeping accurate between the two systems. On top of that, the process was time-consuming and prone to errors.
Angel says he often overlooked things, which was starting to impact his bottom line. He knew he needed a more streamlined solution to grow his trade business.
“Sometimes, I’d find myself two months later, slapping my forehead, realising I forgot to bill for a service. It was like money slipping through the cracks,” says Angel.
After considering options that were either too costly or not user-friendly, Angel discovered Tradify. Unlike other software, Tradify’s job management software ticked all the boxes. He says it’s affordable, easy to use, and has all the features he needs, like scheduling, quoting and invoicing, on one platform.
“I knew Tradify could make my life a breeze. Quoting, scheduling and invoicing – everything is in one place.”
Before Tradify, Angel spent approximately 15 hours weekly on administrative tasks, from entering jobs in his paper diary to creating and sending invoices. After spending a long day on the tools, he’d go home and spend his evenings in the office, catching up the day’s admin. Those manual processes took time, and Angel often found himself forgetting to bill for services.
With Tradify, those manual tasks have been automated, significantly reducing the time Angel spends on admin by over 60%.
“In the past, I’d spend 15 hours doing all my billing and stuff every week. Now, pretty much everything gets done on the job site using the Tradify app instead of waiting until I get home to my computer.”
If a client requested a home remodel, Angel would have to go home and check his diary before he could schedule the job. If he needed to adjust his schedule, he would have to make changes manually and call to update the client.
With scheduling software, Angel can now organise his calendar using Tradify’s mobile app while on the go. He can specify what tasks need to be done on what days, and as a project progresses, he can make updates in real-time.
Angel can now see his entire work schedule with a few taps on his phone screen, which means he can allocate more time to strategic planning. He’s turning around projects quicker and responding to customer enquiries faster, and that’s all having a positive impact on customer experience.
“Thanks to Tradify, my business is more organised. I have all my jobs laid out, and the customers can see what’s happening.”
Angel prides himself on making it super clear exactly what his clients are paying for. To do this, he takes notes and photos throughout and tacks the details onto his invoices.
With Tradify, Angel can store those photos and notes in a single system, so when it’s time to send the invoice, he’s got all the information he needs with the click of a few buttons. By speeding up the invoicing process, he’s sending professional invoices that get paid quicker.
“At the end of the job, I make a report including all the notes and all the pictures for the customer. With Tradify, I can make it automatically, send it out faster, and get paid faster, too.”
Running a trade business has many moving parts, and sometimes, you need that extra pair of hands.
Angel appreciates how Tradify lets his wife help him with administration tasks when he’s overloaded. The user-friendly interface makes working together much easier, and by sharing that mental load, Angel finds he can spend more quality time hanging out with his family.
“With less stress doing so much admin every week, Tradify has made life more enjoyable for me and my whole family.”
On-the-go admin: means Angel can spend more time with family when he gets home.
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