Some landscapers get to enjoy the warm weather in the Southern United States all year round. That keeps their landscaping projects and maintenance business running no matter what month of the year it is. However, those in Canada and the Northeastern United States aren’t so lucky.
Snow season is upon them, and many landscaping businesses have ground to a halt. When you can’t even see the grass, you can’t plant flowers, trim hedges, or mow lawns. So instead, trucks are parked, crews can be laid off, and the business gets prepared for the upcoming spring thaw, which will bring plenty of new landscape design projects.
Winter doesn’t need to be the end of the season for your landscaping business. DynaScape users who run Manage360 are turning the landscaping software into snow removal software, utilizing the same tools in the job maintenance modules to get their crew members on the road clearing snow.
Winter can be the perfect time of year to think about scaling your business and adding more clients to your contact list through snow removal contracts. Specifically for those businesses who have a fleet of trucks that just need a plow attached. Now those trucks are operational all year.
For landscaping businesses who want to scale with snow removal this winter season and beyond, here are five ways DynaScape’s Manage350 and maintenance software can help.
1. Create Snow Removal Contracts
You can use Manage360 to create contracts for your snow removal services, ensuring you don’t miss a single site when the snow starts falling. Customers who have hired you to clear their driveways and parking lots don’t want to be forgotten and snowed in. So, with a proper contract management system in place, you can be assured that each customer will receive snow removal services when they need them.
Snow removal in Manage360 starts with the creation of an estimate, from which a proposal is submitted to the customer. Once the proposal is signed, you can indicate that the estimate was Won in Manage360 to move onto the production and service stage. You can organize all of your snow clients into area-based routes, and then when the snow hits, dispatch your crews to service those routes and clear out the snow.
With all your landscaping contracts in one location, Manage360 makes it easy to see the contracts you have for spring and turn them into winter snow removal contracts. Push customers through your sales pipeline and tap into your existing database of customers you provide lawn services for. This is a perfect opportunity to scale your business, adding more services all year round to your existing customer base.
2. Build Snow Clearing Routes
During the winter season, plow drivers need to be on the road quickly. Snow removal is a safety issue, so getting plows and crews quickly to the correct location is essential. Your customers are paying good money to have someone else handle their snow removal so you want to make sure they are satisfied.
With routing tools in Manage360, build routes that will take drivers quickly from location to location in the most optimized way. Reduce their driving time, so they get snow removal done quickly. Considering snow removal deals with driving constantly, gas expenses will be higher than usual. So, don’t waste any more gas than needed having your plows drive around in an unoptimized way. Get them from job to job in the shortest distance and time possible and save money on fuel expenses.
3. Dispatch Your Crews
Landscape maintenance crews who use the crew tracking mobile app already know how convenient it can be to use and reduce time dispatching crews to locations. In addition, the same mobile app can be applied to snow removal contracts. Crews and individual plow drivers can see on the app which location they need to be at next, and if things change throughout the day, new sites can be added to their timesheets from the website.
When a driver finishes plowing one location, they can check the mobile app to see where they are needed next. This will help you ensure that the driver is always on the move to the next job, clearing snow quickly and efficiently.
4. Use the Mobile App for Time Tracking
Once the crew knows where they need to go, they can clock into work or non-billable activities to keep track of their time. A typical day for a plowing crew might involve clocking into travel time as soon as they get in the truck, clocking into their first site once they arrive, and alternating between travel and plowing clock-ins until all the snow is cleared.
The mobile app will dictate what work needs to be done – whether the crew needs to push a parking lot, shovel sidewalks, or put down salt, you can specify exactly what they need to do at each job site. Using the mobile app, the crew’s time is logged accurately without each member trying to write down their hours after completing a job.
5. Know Where Your Crews Are
Whenever a crew clocks in or out of an activity on a timesheet, their GPS location is stored with that activity. Using the Crew Audit Map, you can use these location stamps to see where your crews are, and check their timesheets from the website to see what stop they are on in their route list, as well as where they are going next.
Turning Landscaping Software into Snow Removal Software
To scale your business, add additional services to offer to your clients. While that may be different during a busy spring, summer, and fall season, winter is the perfect opportunity to turn that landscaping maintenance software into snow removal software.
Stay on top of contracts and utilize your equipment and crew members all year round by making snow removal a part of your landscaping business. Take care of your customers during all seasons and be the trusted company they turn to, whether for grass, leaves, or snow maintenance.