Why would a software provider have advice for businesses in the mobile service industry?" Well, the answer lies in our six years of experience and the unique perspective we've gained through our day-to-day interactions with thousands of businesses just like yours. As a software company specialising in mobile service management, we've had the privilege of working closely with professionals in your industry, learning about their challenges, successes, and unique needs. Over the years, these interactions have allowed us to become experts in optimising efficiency specifically within the mobile service sector.

Our close collaboration with mobile service businesses has given us a deep understanding of the intricacies and nuances that make this industry unique. We've witnessed firsthand the common pain points that mobile service providers face, such as scheduling complexities, payment processing hurdles, and the need for streamlined communication with clients. These insights have been invaluable in shaping our software solutions and have also given us a wealth of knowledge to share with businesses like yours.

At Squeegee App, we believe in fostering partnerships and sharing our expertise to help businesses thrive. Our goal is not only to provide top-notch software but also to empower mobile service providers with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed. So, while we may be a software provider, our advice stems from years of practical experience and a genuine desire to see your mobile service business grow and prosper. In this article, we'll be sharing five expert tips that can make a significant difference in your journey toward seamless growth in the mobile service industry.

1. Work Scheduling by Location: Prioritise Efficiency Over Overcommitment

One common pitfall for new mobile service businesses is overcommitting to clients' preferred service dates, even if it doesn't align with your schedule or efficient route planning. Squeegee App advises entrepreneurs to prioritise efficiency over bending over backward to fit in clients when it doesn't make logistical sense. Here's how:

Set up work rounds by location and frequency: Decide the frequency of visits to each location that your business will service and map these out to minimise visiting a location multiple times within a week / 4 weekly / monthly period. It's better to begin with gaps to fill in each area than to overcommit to customer requests to visit a location when it suits them but doesn't suit you! Whilst it's tempting to do this in the early days when you are keen to get a high volume of new signups, it's something that halts businesses from growing quickly as it prevents work on particular days and locations being assigned to workers easily when they are added to the business.

Set Realistic Expectations: Clearly communicate your availability and preferred service windows to clients. Managing their expectations from the beginning helps avoid scheduling conflicts and unhappy customers down the road.

Optimise Your Routes: Use route planning to schedule appointments efficiently, grouping them by location. This minimises travel time between clients and maximises the number of appointments you can handle in a day. If the estimated job duration is also added onto each job, a very clear picture of exactly how much time is available for booking new jobs onto any one day can be used to ensure days aren't overbooked.

2. Automated Invoicing: Streamline Your Billing Process

Manual invoicing can be time-consuming and prone to errors. To avoid these issues, Squeegee App recommends automating your invoicing system:

Creating invoices manually at the end of each working day may seem like a small admin task when a business is first starting out. However, to successfully grow a business, owners need to be minimising time spent on routine administrative tasks and using automation wherever possible. In Squeegee, by default, invoices are generated manually on job completion which means that once a service has been completed, the invoice exists on the customer and the owing amount is shown.

To further reduce unnecessary admin, invoices can also be automatically sent to clients for their records. Providing this as a standard process from the beginning, means that fewer customers get in touch requesting assistance with their bills and businesses spend less time manually attaching invoices and sending them to clients.

3. Automated Payments, Including GoCardless: Enhance Cash Flow and Security

Managing payments can be a headache for new businesses. At squeegee, we suggest incorporating automated payment solutions like GoCardless to boost cash flow and security from the very beginning. Many new mobile service businesses now adopt a payment policy whereby only certain payment options are offered - again to reduce time spent on requesting payments, collecting payments, reconciling payments and the inevitable - chasing payments!

Although Squeegee offers a few different payment options to suit different businesses, our recommendation for automated payments is to start using GoCardless for direct debit payments for a number of reasons:

• 90% + payment success rate - this is by far the highest success rate for any payment method
• Unlike debit cards, bank accounts don't expire and almost never change
• GoCardless is covered by the direct debit guarantee offering complete security for your customers
• Direct debit is flexible, the amount can easily be updated without needing to re-authorise a payment and 2 factor auth isn't a blocker unlike with card payments.

At the moment, GoCardless is offering ZERO FEES to new businesses signing up to the service for their first 90 days. Don't miss out on this amazing offer! In Squeegee, just go to:

• Settings
• Invoicing and payments
• Connected services
• GoCardless and start the sign up process here!

4. Automated Quotes and Quote Flow: Speed Up Sales

To accelerate your sales process, automate your quoting system:

With Squeegee App's help, you can streamline the quoting process, ensuring consistency and professionalism in your proposals. Squeegee customers on the Ultimate and infinite plans can have bespoke custom self service quote forms embedded directly on their websites:

Automating the acceptance flow is also a recommendation so that businesses are alerted directly in their system when customers accept quotes and receive automatic confirmation of booking once the job has been added to the calendar.

5. Customer Communication: Foster Strong Relationships

Effective communication is crucial for building and retaining a loyal customer base:

Automated Reminders: Use automated reminders for upcoming appointments to ensure your operatives get the access they need and clients are kept up to date with the date and other necessary information for their appointment.

Personalised Engagement: Personalised communication can lead to repeat business and referrals - Squeegee makes this easy by using tokens in all message templates so that automated messages sent in bulk or after jobs are complete etc look personalised without requiring the time it would take to write them all out individually!

Communication doesn't have to be purely transactional either. When it comes to expanding your mobile service business, your current customers are a goldmine waiting to be tapped. These individuals or companies have already chosen your services, which means they trust your brand and see value in what you offer. Leveraging this existing goodwill can be an incredibly effective strategy for boosting revenue and promoting additional services.

In Squeegee, targeted marketing using Squeegee SEND for email and SMS campaigns to introduce and upsell add-on services is the simplest way to get all the information about new promotions etc in front of your customers. Targeting your whole customer base, or for even better results, a refined, specific audience couldn't be easier:

By following these expert insights from Squeegee App, new businesses in the mobile service industry can set up their operations for optimal growth. Prioritise efficiency, automation, and effective communication to build a solid foundation for long-term success in this dynamic sector.