With over 20 years’ experience in his plumbing toolbelt, Aaron Pama’s goal for his Brisbane-based plumbing business, AJP Plumbing & Gas, is simple – get the client’s job completed efficiently and cost-effectively.
That motto has made the company a trusted and reliable name in the community, providing high-quality and skilled plumbing services for both residential and commercial clients.
Over the years, AJP Plumbing has methodically won more work and added more qualified plumbers to the team to meet increasing customer demand. Nine years ago, it had a major growth spurt. To keep that promise of completing jobs efficiently and cost-effectively, the company went looking for a way to tidy up some of its admin processes. AJP’s office manager Renee James shares how Tradify has become an “integral part of how we operate daily.”
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Operational bottlenecks cause scheduling conflicts
When Renee first joined the business, AJP Plumbing used a mix of spreadsheets and pen and paper to book jobs, take notes and send invoices. As the business grew, those manual processes became more time-consuming, and prone to errors that shouldn’t happen in real-time. This led to scheduling conflicts and invoicing mistakes.
“Trying to schedule jobs and order materials on time was always challenging. With manual methods, it was easy to miss important details or forget to update schedules, leading to delays and confusion with clients,” Renee explains.
Tradify for streamlined business processes
AJP Plumbing looked at other options but found Tradify was the best fit. It’s affordable, user-friendly, and packed with essential features like scheduling, quoting and invoicing all in one app.
“Tradify was just what we needed – it’s made everything simpler and helped our workflows,” Renee says.
Efficient resource allocation with scheduling software
Tradify’s intuitive scheduling software has significantly improved Renee’s management of the team. With paper schedules and invoices out of the picture, she can quickly assign jobs to plumbers using the app. This streamlined process saves time, letting the team concentrate on getting the work done instead of paperwork.
Tradify also sends real-time notifications to plumbers about their upcoming jobs, so they’re always in the loop and ready to go.
“It saves us so much time,” says Renee, happy that the team can focus on getting more done without the old back-and-forth.
Using the Maps feature, she can assign plumbers to new jobs based on their proximity. It makes it easy to adjust schedules on the fly, accommodating last-minute changes and emergencies without missing a beat.
The result? AJP Plumbing can now fit more jobs into each day, saving money on fuel and maximising productivity.
“We can see where the boys are located and book their next jobs based on that information – it’s been a game-changer,” explains Renee.
Job info stored in one place
With five plumbers on the team, the ability to store and access notes for each job directly from their phones has been a major improvement. It means they don’t need to send the same plumber back to a specific job if an unexpected issue comes up or it takes longer than planned, because everyone has access to the same job information from one central place – even on the go.
“With all the necessary information at their fingertips, any of our guys can pick up where another left off,” Renee says.
Better coordination with subcontractors
Before Tradify, AJP Plumbing relied on phone calls and emails to coordinate with other subcontractors. Now, Renee shares the schedule with those subcontractors so they can see when AJP’s plumbers will be on-site, along with any useful job notes. This keeps everyone on the same page, minimises delays, and ensures the project gets completed efficiently.
“Sharing our schedules means less back-and-forth and more getting the job done efficiently,” says Renee.
SMS booking confirmations and payment follow-up
For AJP Plumbing, emailed booking confirmations often slowed the scheduling and payment processes. Missed emails would sit unread, leading to longer wait times for confirmations and slower payments.
Quotes are viewed 2.2 faster when they are sent via text message compared to email!
Now, with Tradify’s SMS feature, they’re confirming jobs faster. Renee says, “It’s especially handy for customers who might not have the time to check emails regularly.”
Sending quotes to clients via text message results in a 22% higher acceptance rate compared to email!
They’ve also set up automated SMS payment reminders. So, instead of making awkward calls to remind customers about due invoices, the SMS feature does the job, which helps keep cash flow steady and everyone’s focus on the work at hand.
“Tradify isn’t just a tool – it’s become integral to how we operate daily,” Renee adds.
Tradify pipes up organisation and productivity.
- Cloud-based system – plumbers and subcontractors can access job info on the go.
- Better resource allocation – AJP Plumbing schedules and completes jobs faster for high workforce productivity and customer satisfaction.
- Real-time scheduling – Renee assigns jobs based on location, making it easier to accommodate emergency jobs.
- Automated SMS reminders – sending booking confirmations and payment reminders by text helps cash flow and workflow.
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