Every business owner wants to increase his or her efficiency. When a business operates efficiently, the profits go up, the waste goes down, and the end result is a healthy bottom line. Small business owners are among the largest group in the work force today, but even they need solutions that will help them prosper. If you own a small business in the cleaning industry, you also know that while solutions are needed, you may be fighting tooth and nail with your competition, keeping you a bit more preoccupied and not necessarily on the lookout for any new options. But if you want your cleaning business to grow and thrive, change is the name of the game, and making a foray into the tech world is the best first step to a brighter future.
One area where the right tech can truly improve the growth of your business is business software. If you’re an interior designer, you look for design software. If you’re an accountant, you want to find the most comprehensive money-managing software out there. If you’re a commercial cleaner, you want a software program designed to help cleaning companies. Having the right software can make a difference in how your business flows.
5 Ways Business Software Can Take Your Cleaning Business To The Next Level
Managing customer relationships.
Small business software solutions like CRMs (Customer Relationship Management) allow you to better handle your customer relationships and dramatically improve your daily process. You can produce detailed customer listings and contacts, and you can update any of that information in real-time, right when you gain more information about each contact. Your clients can contact you by using a specially designed customer portal, giving them the peace of mind that if they need something, they can ask for it. If your customer database is organized, you can really make the most of the information you have without wasting time trying to find a phone number or an email address.
Build stronger relationships with your customers through Janitorial Manager’s Client Portal.
Creating quotes and invoices.
If you have ever lost a work order or misplaced a quote for a big job, you know the inevitable stinging feeling that comes when you realize what happened. You can eliminate the sting because with the right business software, valuable documents never come up missing because you can create quotes and invoices right in the program. Also, when your invoices are integrated with your business software platform, all orders and details are captured in real-time so you remove any doubt about whether or not something was completed. Your customers will thank you for being prompt and organized, and you can better track your profits when everything is in one place.
Simplifying employee tasks.
Whether it’s scheduling jobs, assigning work orders, handling customer feedback or managing employee details, a business CRM can help you do all of it! You can see in real time when your employees start and complete their jobs. You can see with one glance where each employee is at any time with the intuitive scheduling and calendar features. You can even keep track of which employees are trained to do each of your services, which helps to keep you accountable to them and their success in training, and helps keep your employees up to speed on the things they still need to learn.
Running reports regularly.
Having a quality reporting feature is invaluable to any business owner. While reports may not be the most fun things in the world, they are extremely helpful when you’re trying to figure out a problem or when you need some analyzed for your budget. Most business CRMs have extensive reporting options, so be sure to look for one that can cater to what your business really needs – reports are great but not if they don’t tell you anything useful. If you ever have a discrepancy with your schedule, a report can give you the precise information you need to alleviate any confusion or to address an issue with one of your employees. If you need updated information at a job site, you can pull a report that shows you what you need to know, at the exact time you need to know it, without having to be in your office looking at a spreadsheet.
Keeping tabs on inventory.
Small businesses thrive on being ready to provide whatever service is needed for a customer, and sometimes those needs require some sort of inventory in order to be completed. For a commercial cleaning company, this would include your cleaning products and tools – every broom, sponge and cleaning chemical you house in your cleaning closet or on a cleaning cart. Too many small businesses are floundering in this area because it’s too hard to keep track of every item used, at every client’s location and by every employee. This is where a cleaning business software program could revolutionize the way you handle your inventory. No more missing or wasted inventory – if you know what you have, you can stop any theft or waste because everything is accounted for.
Buy Business Software Today!
If you’re looking to increase your profitability, have better working relationships with your staff, engage the customers you already have and pursue new ones, then business software is the choice for you. If you’re in the commercial cleaning industry, you need to contact us at Janitorial Manager. We can assess your needs and give you a specially designed software solution to help your business grow. Let us give you a free demo today!