Watch Argus video case study

“The way we work with our clients, the partnership philosophy, has been fundamental to our success and is very much how SmartTrade has worked with us." (Jacqui Bensemann, Managing Director)

ARGUS Fire Protection was growing rapidly and facing numerous process changes. Jaqui was looking for a partner prepared to take the time to understand ARGUS’s operational needs business, provide innovative technology solutions, and to respond to the evolving needs of a growing business.

ARGUS was the largest implementation project that SmartTrade had undertaken at the time, and there were some hiccups along the way. However, the open relationship that developed was fundamental to the success.

"One of the things ... is the complete transparency and honesty of the SmartTrade team. If something can't be done they tell us immediately meaning we are living in the real world, not the dream world."

“There is absolutely no way we would be where we are today without your wonderful software.”(Jodi Baines)

Jodi’s email back in November 2012 was really appreciated by our team, particularly Kevin Greenfield:

I have just stopped for a few minutes to reflect on how far we have come from the early days when we didn’t have ST and I sit here smiling, remembering the patience that Kevin always had when he took my many calls when we first set up SmartTrade.

I recall thinking this guy must be so sick of me but he never showed it and between the two of us we tailor-made our systems just how we wanted them to be. There is absolutely no way we would be where we are today without your wonderful software.

Last week we moved into new premises and now have a team of 18 staff. We have been able to manage our growth knowing that our systems have been able to support the growth and quite effortlessly we have been able to expand and take on new staff. Today we had a new manager start and within ½ an hour of me giving him a quick lesson he was up and running, booking in new jobs on SmartTrade and scheduling them in the diary too!

Actually I could go on and on but I must get on with my day as having ST means I’m flat out never without something to do. (I think that’s a good thing lol!) Please pass on our thanks to your hard working team.

Jodi Baines

Aspen Landscapes Ltd

 

“The best part is our Plumbers are happy with the system...” (Kylie Chaplin)
Kylie’s email explains this successful mobilisation far better than we could (but don’t assume that every mobilisation is so straightforward – read our Tips for mobilising).

Hi Matthew,

I spoke to you in regards to feedback for integrating Smart trade mobile into our plumbing business.
Well we are now 4 weeks along from our original trial and have all of our plumber’s using the system.
We have found implementing the mobile version to our office has created time across our entire staff’s workload, especially the administration side.
Our invoicing process is savings us at least 3-4 hour’s every week as all of our job sheets are pre-entered onsite, which makes Invoicing a breeze rather than a mammoth task each week.
The best part is our Plumbers are happy with the system and are no longer having to complete entries twice on their timesheets and manually on their job sheets, bonus!
All round implementing from the administration side to the outside staff has taken us a little over 2 weeks and we are experiencing our first week paperless J
I would like to say thanks to Smart trade for helping us through this stage as we have had a lot of phone calls to the support team ironing out all of the little things we are not sure about.
Considering we were so nervous about shifting so many staff from a paper system we feel that overall it has worked out really well and would happily recommend Smart trade!

Kind Regards
Kylie Chaplin

“The program and support from SmartTrade is wonderful.” (Darren Brownlee)
The paperwork that chained Darren to his desk is now in the distant past, and he now has time to work on the business, rather than in it.
Darren was frustrated by the time he spent on paperwork and administration, such as processing job sheets, orders and invoices, obtaining current supplier prices, chasing up paperwork from field staff, and searching for job information. Particular bug bears included entering the same data several times and field staff spending too much time in the office.
SmartTrade was up and running in days, rather than weeks. Darren started with the office solution, and then mobilised his team. “I can quickly open a job and assign it to an employee ..., changing the employee, date and time is as easy as dragging the job in the calendar.” All my information is accessible with a few mouse clicks, which means considerable time saving and no lost information”
SmartTrade allows Darren to import electronic price files from suppliers. “I import price files from Tradelink and Reece Plumbing. It saves me as lot of time and makes sure that I am using the current prices when I cost a job.”

“With Government contracts I can’t afford to get it wrong. SmartTrade lets me track the job from the time it’s logged through to reports and invoicing. Nothing is missed.” (Roger Davis)

Like many small business owners, Roger juggled customer calls, working on jobs and dealing with the paperwork. With largely manual systems, he was faced with employing someone in the office if grew the business. Instead, Roger implemented SmartTrade.

One wise decision Roger took was to set up his main customers (insurance companies, schools...) to log jobs via SmartGate. “The number of incoming calls on my mobile reduced by 20% once those customers started logging jobs electronically. I was interrupted less often and could focus on the job”.

Another feature that made a big difference was importing invoices from his main electrical supplier (AWM) directly into his jobs. “The hours spent copying the items invoiced by my supplier into my job sheets are now history!”

“I’m dealing with high tech products. It’s very important to project the right image, using dirty bits of paper isn’t on” (Nick Ray)

In 2005 Nick, then the Service Manager of Rinnai New Zealand, spotted an opportunity to set up a business servicing gas appliances, responding to a severe shortage of skilled technicians. Nick decided to use SmartTrade coupled with QuickBooks, having seen a Rinnai contractor successfully using this combination, and to mobilise from day one.

Importantly for any start-up business, Nick was determined to maintain a healthy cash-flow and minimise bad debts, by invoicing and collecting payment before leaving site. “It removes the opportunity for people to think of reasons why they shouldn’t pay” explains Nick.

Gas Appliance Specialists has grown, but Nick still runs the business from the field.

“SmartTrade is full of fantastic features.... This, combined with outstanding support, has made my life so much easier. I now have time for my family!” (Csaba Fancsali)

Csaba’s goal was simple, to cut down the time he spent on administration and paperwork, but without significantly changing the workflow he was used to.

Csaba’s was spending his evenings on office work, time better spent with his young family. He explained “I often leave home before 7am and get back late in the afternoon, just to spend another few hours sorting out jobs and paperwork"

With SmartTrade, Csaba now completes his job sheets and orders onsite . When he gets home, the information is electronically uploaded to SmartTrade. He can then quickly create and e-mail invoices to his customers, as well as export invoices and orders to his accounting package. Tracking jobs is now much easier, thanks to the easy to use search screen and the integrated calendar.

SmartTrade has exceeded Csaba’s expectations.

Steve and Kirsten Orr run a successful electrical contracting business. With 3 field staff, Steve works out on site as well as managing the business. Kirsten helps out part time, as well as running a busy home with a child to look after.

Slashing the paperwork was a key reason for implementing SmartTrade, and the benefits are apparent. Steve now only spends half a day a week in the office, finding that quoting on site is much quicker and the time taken to invoice has been cut in half.

Other benefits include more accurate pricing of jobs thanks to price files downloaded electronically from AWM, and field staff returning paperwork on time.

All in all, less time in the office and more time to enjoy life in Echuca, a beautiful town on the Murray River, about two and a half hours north of Melbourne. Echuca is known as the paddle steamer capital of Australia and was once the busiest inland port in Australia.

SmartTrade’s great, it doesn’t cost me a thing because it saves me far more than it costs.

In the last 5 years it’s the single biggest thing we have done to increase profitability. It also gives me accountability, I can pull up a job from 5 years ago in seconds to prove my guys did the job right.

I have so much less stress, if someone came and told me they were going to take SmartTrade away from me I couldn't go back, I would retire right away!

I’m more than happy to talk to anybody thinking about using SmartTrade!

Andrew Baartz

Baartz Electrical Contracting

Jondaryan, QLD

0419 753413