Key Issue

There is no doubt that successful electrical contracting businesses are built upon technical skill, experience, knowledge and a commitment to quality and customer service. But developing good administration habits and skills will also undoubtedly act as a catalyst for business growth.

Despite the digital revolution of the past 30 years, most tradespeople – over 75% in most markets, according to internal market research commissioned by Fergus – are still using manual, often paper-based systems and processes to manage their businesses. This can ultimately lead to poor cash flow, lower profits and significant stress on the business owner.

The trades have effectively been left behind and ignored by the software industry, predominantly because the average size of trades businesses was considered too small to matter. This reliance on paper-based systems and other processes, such as email, which aren’t joined up, leads to inefficiencies. It’s all too easy for things to slip through the cracks, whether it be late payments or invoices, and that makes running a business laborious and stressful. Job management software is one solution and the best ones allow you to integrate all aspects of your business, granting you complete oversight from start to finish.

Always know your day-to-day costs and what you need to cover equipment hire and wages. You should always have the minimum your business needs in your account and never go below this. Keep a close eye on your accounts and payments in and out. Know when a customer has failed to pay an invoice, when you’re due to pay a supplier, or when a late payment needs chasing. Spend some time every day on your accounts and file receipts and invoices as soon as you get them. It saves time later when you need to file your tax returns.

Controlling your overheads helps eliminate waste. Fergus, for instance, integrates all aspects of your business and gives you a powerful, and easy to read, visual overview of your business in its entirety. You can see the status of a job, from quote to completion which gives you the power to plan ahead. Then you can employ sub-contractors when you need them and hire equipment only when necessary. You can assign staff to jobs in seconds by just dragging and dropping them onto it; they’ll automatically receive a notification through the app, and there’s no need to phone or meet with them.

You can build bespoke quotes in minutes, adjusting pricing or mark-ups on materials, or offer discounts where necessary; create digital job cards which can be seen anywhere and by anyone on your team, by just logging into the app; fill out templated gas and electricity certificates; log hazards and on-site incidents; and record sign offs, all within the app.

Problems can arise on any job and, if not dealt with quickly, they can escalate. This can then delay completion and eat into your bottom line. So, it’s important to spot them as soon as they happen and deal with them.

Get in the habit of issuing clear and easy-to-understand invoices as soon as a job is done. Fergus simplifies this task. By logging your costs, the materials you purchase for a job, and tracking the time you and your employees spend on it, the app has all the information it needs to feed into the invoice for you at the end. You can follow up late payment with automatic SMS messages.

With the tips outlined above, you’ll be able to run your business more efficiently and more profitably. You’ll be happier, able to achieve a good work/life balance, and have more time to do the things you enjoy. Your customers will be happier too and will see that yours is a business they can rely on. A satisfied customer will likely recommend you and your business can grow.

Before launching in the UK, Fergus started life in New Zealand and quickly expanded successfully into Australia, helping many electricians down under to grow their business and get a better work/life balance. One user, Anthony Lack, took the reins of his family’s 48-year-old electrical business from his father and managed to double the number of employees, and get close to doubling revenue, in a few short years.

His first step was sitting down and chatting with everyone in the team to find out what they loved, and what frustrated them about working at E J Lack Electrical.

His team felt they were doing a great job on site and at keeping their customers up to date. What wasn’t working was the paperwork. Anthony knew even the most user-friendly paper-based system wasn’t the best way to run a business and took on Fergus. Since then, Anthony estimates the amount of time he and his staff spend on data entry has shrunk by 30-50%. The amount of physical paper lying around the office, such as invoices and delivery notes, is also down by at least 95%.

He says Fergus has given him the time to work on building the business rather than being bogged down in paperwork.