Advice on keeping track of what I do for customers

[timeshifter]

Looking for some advice on keeping track of what I do for customers.

I'm a one man business and do mostly on-site support for very small businesses and some residential work too. I don't have a shop, except for what I've set up in my basement, but it's not a retail walk-in type of thing. I've been at this a long time and don't really plan to add people any time in the future.

Currently use QuickBooks Online and Tsheets. Just upgraded my QuickBooks Online to the version that lets me integrate the two. I like this setup and will likely stick with it.

Problem: keeping track of what I do.

Most of the time I don't keep good note or any notes. Sometimes I'll fill something in in the notes section of Tsheets when I'm on a call. Recently I've started taking more notes in Notes on my Mac laptop or in Evernote. I like this better than the text only notes field in Tsheets, but it's not linked to the job.

So when it's time to invoice I often get "deer in headlights" look when I see some of the blank fields: why was I there for 3 hours? Or I may have put "setup new printer" in the notes of Tsheets when I start, but I was there a long time doing other things too. "setup new printer" is not enough detail for an invoice line-item. However, all the notes and sometimes screenshots that I put in Notes or Evernote doesn't translate well to a QuickBooks Invoice line item, too much detail.

Any suggestions?

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

Check out RepairShopr.

 

[timeshifter]

Check out RepairShopr.

I know it's popular here, but I thought it was more focused on shops with storefronts rather than a work-out-of-your-home-on-site-tech like myself.

 

[Mike McCall]

An inexpensive option might be something like ServiceM8. It includes QuickBooks integration at no extra charge.

 

[cypress]

I know it's popular here, but I thought it was more focused on shops with storefronts rather than a work-out-of-your-home-on-site-tech like myself.

Nope, not at all. I actually thought that for the longest time as well. I finally started using it May 2015 and I have seen a huge difference since. Prior I was just using an invoicing program and I wasn't able to keep track of things like I can now.

Repairshopr is gonna give you great features like ticketing, invoicing, inventory tracking, assets and worksheets. Really is amazing the amount of stuff you can keep track of.

I also suggest you start getting into the habit of putting together good notes, not just for the client but mostly for yourself. You have the ability to put in notes that the client will see on the invoice but also Private notes in the ticket section for your future reference. You can then always go back and look at what you did and there was an issue you solved you have the documented steps you took.

Better to start off now that you are small before things begin to expand.

 

[timeshifter]

Better to start off now that you are small before things begin to expand.

Too late! I've been in business over 10 years. Old dog, new tricks.

It is a little embarrassing to admit some of my sloppy ways of operating. I am confident that I'm not overcharging or under-charging because I use Tsheets religiously.

 

[cypress]

Oh sorry lol, I had no idea. Still not an issue as you can import stuff over. In my case I like to start fresh so I entered clients info into Repairshopr.

I would look into though. No strings attached. You can start with the Free version and if needed go to the next option up.

 

[timeshifter]

Oh sorry lol, I had no idea.

No worries, at all. I appreciate any feedback.

Do they have an app that I can easily clock in and clock out on my iPhone? This is what I love about Tsheets. Minimal fuss. Accurate records.

 

[Kitten Kong]

There are a number of programs out there which will do the same job.

I personally use PCRT. Have been using it for so many years now, it has everything I need, and more besides.

 

[timeshifter]

RepairShopr's SMS stuff is cool. Wonder if it can serve as my main SMS number, instead of having customers texting me on my cell phone (which is my business number).

 

[Archon Prime]

I used RepairShopr for like a week. It's a nice app. But not practical for what I do. I do the exact same as you. On-site 90% of the time. I don't need tickets. just notes per client as to what was done, when, etc.
Update: Just played with Servicem8. Looks great!

 

[Computer Bloke]

Any suggestions?

You don't need to change your software. You need to change your process.

When you're taking technical notes on site just keep a separate section for the details that will go into your invoice, and write these up exactly as you'd want the client to see them. By doing this you're effectively creating the invoice as you work, which has a lot of advantages - the information is fresh and accurate, you can squeeze it in during the odd moments while you're waiting for something else to happen, and you're doing your paperwork during billable time. How great is that? When you get back to the office you just copy and paste the invoice notes straight into QuickBooks, send the invoice off and you're finished. You'll probably find that the invoice gets paid faster because the client receives it while they're still grateful.

Very few of us got into this business because we love doing paperwork, but unfortunately it's the paperwork that keeps the lights on. Making it painless means it gets done.

 

[ajm]

I usually track time for various clients ( most of them in the same office building ) using the Hours Keeper app on the iphone. Then export it to CSV and input on Fanurio Time Keeping App or use Fanurio at client office. I usually invoice end of the month for all clients along with any recurring services like O365, Exchange, Backups which I keep track on a spreadheet that gives me each months total foreach client and then produce one invoice for each client using MS Accounting software and email to them. This has served me well over the years.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I know it's popular here, but I thought it was more focused on shops with storefronts rather than a work-out-of-your-home-on-site-tech like myself.

We started in our home office with RepairShopr, then moved to a retail office and back to our home office and still use RepairShopr. It's great for Tickets, history, invoicing, marketing and more. It integrates with Quickbooks as well.

 

[mraikes]

Servicem8 looks interesting, but it's only for Apple products. Fuggetaboutit if you use Android.

 

[Mike McCall]

Servicem8 looks interesting, but it's only for Apple products. Fuggetaboutit if you use Android.

Ah, good catch. I do most things from my desktop so I seldom look at mobile features. I've got an Android phone myself.

I couldn't tell much about the OP's business when I posted. I didn't know he's been in business for 10-years already. Repairshopr is a good option. I use PCRT and can access via mobile or desktop.

 

[dee001]

I recommend mHelpdesk been using it for some time but if I am lazy I open up Google keep and document while I am working, Google keep also has labels that you can assign to all of your customers to make it a bit organized, then you can access it from your workstation on your paper work day.

Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk

 

[fencepost]

This sounds like you're just like me.

I see a lot of people recommending a bunch of software for tracking what you do, but if you're having problems with keeping track of what you're doing while on-site at customers then software isn't going to help - it's just going to add a need to fiddle with your phone or a laptop to the confusion of "Hey, while you're here...." and you still won't track things.

For tracking things like that, paper is hard to beat. You can go "high tech" and do your equivalent of a paper-process doctor's office superbill (remember the sheets with 3-5 columns of fine print and checkboxes?) though probably with less clutter, or you can go low-tech and the first thing you do is ask the customer to write down a list of the things you're there to address "so you can both make sure everything gets taken care of during the visit." If something more comes up while you're there, add it to the list. As you address things, check them off on the list. If there's something that you're going to have to address later, add it to the list but don't check it off. Finally, right before you leave take a picture of the list with your phone. Combined with your arrival time (written at the top perhaps, or pulled from a mileage tracker like TripLog) that photo is your record of arrival, departure, tasks requested by the customer (sometimes in the customer's own handwriting) and future tasks to be added to your ticketing system (e.g. RepairShopr). You can leave the sheet with the customer or bring it along.

The other thing that is really important if you can get yourself into the habit is to record all of that either from the car before you leave, from the car somewhere nearby but not in the customer's driveway/parking lot, or at least that evening. I know I suck at doing that and end up poring through calendar entries, text messages, email, voicemail and location history tracking down what I was doing where for who and for how long, but if you can track it ASAP it'll help and you can add any additional notes while they're fresh.

One approach that I've used in the past and need to get back to is simply taking advantage of voice recognition - years ago I'd use a Google Voice number that I'd call as I was driving away and just rattle off a summary of the visit; these days you could do something like that or just dictate into something. One plus of the Google Voice option is that you get both the recording and the transcription, whereas voice recognition into a calendar entry may not work as well (only do that while stopped so you can look and correct). If you really dislike dealing with the billing and invoicing, you could even combine the superbill photo, recorded note and a "virtual assistant" and have someone else enter everything for you.

It's not directly relevant, but David Seah's Emergent Task Planner (and less so the Emergent Task Timer) may be worth looking at. The planner is more geared towards tracking 2-5 projects you may work on plus a few "emergent" things that pop up during the day, but depending on how you're working it may be worth looking at.

And regarding TripLog, there are 20% discounts but the only way I know of to get them is with affiliate links, so I'm not sure of the best protocol to use here. It's similar to MileIQ, but half the price and a little less polished I believe. If you can get into the habit of plugging your phone in every time you get into the car (or playing with NFC tags, etc.) it may be a good solution - mine starts looking for movement when plugged in and starts tracking when speed > 5mph, so I don't have the phone always checking GPS.

 

[Computer Bloke]

I see a lot of people recommending a bunch of software for tracking what you do, but if you're having problems with keeping track of what you're doing while on-site at customers then software isn't going to help - it's just going to add a need to fiddle with your phone or a laptop to the confusion of "Hey, while you're here...." and you still won't track things.

YES!

We see this a lot with clients - it's either "What can I buy to do this?" or "How can I use my X to do Y?". It's almost as if the entire first half of the problem solving process has been skipped and they're just doing the fun part.

The first question should always be "What are you trying to achieve?" followed very closely by "Why?", and it's very common for the client to have no clear answer to either of these.

 

[allstarit]

im a WHMCS fan - been using it for a few years now and integrated it with my WordPress site now.

i put all my reoccurring items in as products - Max Focus, Office 365, Managed Services, Web Hosting, Domain Renewals, SSL Renewals, Backups.
It has a ticketing system where i can convert to billable hours.
I then goto the Xero Addon for WHMCS and it integrates with Xero and automates all my incoming revenue. So all my reoccurring items runs on autopilot.

you want to aim to automate alot of this stuff to give you more time for other stuff.
I also automate my marketing/sales funnels as well - Do it good once and automate it.