The holiday season is a time for family, friends, and celebrations. For home service professionals, it can also be a time when work demands pull them away from what’s important. It’s harder to book jobs when you’re out in the field and strapped for time, especially when you’re juggling a family event on the same day that you’re working. You want to be where your customers are so you can book more jobs, but you don’t want to sacrifice family time for work.
With a little bit of organization and some clever planning, you can enjoy the holidays while your business keeps running smoothly. It may seem daunting, but it is possible to balance work and family by following a few simple tips.
Ways home service businesses can focus on themselves this holiday season
To make sure your business keeps running when you’re off the clock, you need software that will help you get the job done. Here are some resources to help you enjoy the holiday season while keeping your business running smoothly.
Keep up with every job opportunity
Imagine, it’s Christmas Eve, and you’re still tethered to your phone taking calls because you don’t want to miss out on business. Don’t choose between work and family. Get a solution that’s ready to answer the phone and book that appointment so you can spend quality time with your family, uninterrupted.
HCP Assist is a dedicated answering service that specializes in industries like HVAC and plumbing businesses. You won’t have to train our people and you’ll get appointments on your calendar immediately. We provide 24/7 support so you can answer every call and roll trucks to every job.
As a busy business owner, you know how important staying in control of your business is, even during the holidays. That’s why HCP Assist is the software that will do the heavy lifting for you: access all your call data without keeping your phone on you, receive a text message for urgent inquiries, and view your call notes when it’s time to check your phone again.
Especially during the holidays when emergencies happen, customer calls are answered while you take time for yourself. HCP Assist helps you make missed calls a thing of the past. Make your home service business the standard by answering every call while still spending time with your loved ones. Answer the calls your competitors couldn’t.
We know your client base and are trained in your specific processes so you don’t have to worry about missing a sale. Our virtual assistants are based in the US and are ready to answer your calls 24/7. And when you’re back from a holiday or away from the office, you’ll know you’re in good hands. Your appointments will be scheduled right into your Housecall Pro account. If it’s a true emergency, your virtual assistants will know and alert you.
Schedule more jobs with online booking
No business owner can answer every call. If you’re busy and can’t answer every incoming call, chances are that the customer goes right to your competitor. If you’re on the job, with your family, or in the bathroom, you need online booking with automated responses that keep you and your customers in the loop at every step.
If an appointment needs to be rescheduled, don’t waste time manually scheduling appointments or playing phone tag. Our software sends automated messages to you about schedule changes. And during the holidays, avoid the hassle and start with clear communication that’s up to date with your schedule.
Grow your business while you sleep
With HCP Assist, you can grow your business when you’re off the clock. While you’re sleeping or spending time with family and friends, our agents can be working to book more jobs on your calendar.
Your customers expect the best support, especially during the busy holidays. Whether you’re an HVAC technician handling an emergency heater replacement or a busy electrician fixing poor wiring practices, you can grow your business this holiday season and still make time with your family as your top priority.
With our flexible workforce, you can efficiently run your business around the clock, even when you don’t have your phone on you. During the holidays whether you’re traveling out of town or taking some time away from busy calls, HCP Assist will take your calls while you’re away.
We’ll keep jobs booked on your calendar without you having to play middleman. By being there for your customers when your hands are tied, HCP Assist can help you win more jobs and grow your business.
Put your phone on do not disturb
It can be scary to not have your phone on you, especially when you’re the owner/operator of your home service business. But if you want to grow your business and spend time with your family this holiday season, not having your phone around can help you for many reasons.
So stop looking at your phone and let your website pull in leads for you.
With online booking, you can spend more time with your family this holiday season through an automatic scheduling process.
Eliminate unnecessary back and forth communications. Customers can see your available appointment times and choose one that works best for them. Once the appointment is added to your calendar, you can focus on other tasks that require your attention.
Not only does online booking save you time, but you can be more flexible with your customer’s appointment times and free up your free time.
Software to automate your business
It may seem like not being out on a job or a call isn’t helpful to your business, but it’s the opposite. By not always being available, you’ll make sure your field service management software is working for you.
When you use tools like recurring service plans, your customers know in advance when you’re scheduled for a job or completing a maintenance request. You don’t have to have your phone on you because you’ve already scheduled urgent calls and requests.
For any other urgent needs, HCP Assist will keep you updated when you’re ready to jump back in.
Increase the quality of your mental health
18% of the US population struggle with an anxiety disorder, and during the holidays, many things need your attention.
When you place your phone on do not disturb, not only can you claim back time for your family, but you can also recharge and take care of your mental health.
Manage jobs on the go
Growing your business doesn’t have to take up all of your time or resources. If you stick to your current processes, you may miss out on money or clients when you can’t do everything yourself. Take back your busy days with software that works for your home service business and frees up your schedule.
Book jobs that fit your schedule
If you’re not careful, it’s easy for your business to take over your precious time with your family. That’s why Housecall Pro’s Pipeline software is important to help you free up time and automate scheduling.
Focus on spending more time with family this holiday season and automate your scheduling needs. Block off certain times and group together schedules that work for you and your technicians.
Dispatch vehicles in real-time
You don’t have to be in the field or the office to be productive. Track your vehicle’s location and prioritize your family with fleet management that lets you know in real time where your technicians are.
You’ll save time rushing back and forth to the office or having to monitor your technicians’ every move. And the best part? Save money while you book more jobs and increase your productivity and revenue.
Accurate estimating and immediate invoices
Improving the efficiency of your business should always be top of mind. If you’re like most home service businesses, you need tools that you can use to make those transitions seamless.
Our invoicing software can help you save time on billing and payments so you can work on what’s important, your family.
You can send invoices at your convenience, meaning while on the job or in the office. You won’t have to waste time sending reminders. Keep track of your finances and check out which invoices have been paid, making sure to avoid these common scheduling mistakes.
Stay on top of outbound invoicing and stop working about having to spend hours crunching numbers. You won’t have to worry about leaving money on the table and make sure the entire cost of a job goes straight to you.
Get your estimates matched with invoices without having to memorize past estimates or take guesses. You can use estimates from previous jobs or generate new ones with the click of a button. Save them both on your Housecall Pro dashboard.
You can even present multiple estimate options or add descriptions so your customer knows just what to expect.
With estimates made simple, you can generate invoices on the job or at home.
Use time tracking to know the status of every job
You can’t be everywhere all the time, right? With Housecall Pro Vehicle GPS, you can.
Keep an eye on where your employees and vehicles are with our GPS systems, get real-time tracking updates, and automatically turn your data into reports which are generated to help you improve your workforce hours.
With time tracking, you’ll know when each tech clocks in and they can log their time spent on every job.
This way, you can bill your customers accurately and optimize your schedule so you’re not overbooking yourself or your employees.
Automatically log all of your work hours and stop wasting time putting in data for yourself. You can also identify areas where you can save time in the future.
Plan your work schedule around your life and make it work for you.
Spend time with family this holiday season
It’s always worthwhile to take time for your mental health, but it’s more apparent during the holidays.
As a home service pro, you’re always on the go, juggling appointments, projects, and making sure your customers are satisfied. Finding a good work-life balance can be tough when your job requires you to be available 24/7.
And while you’re taking time for yourself all year, you can use these apps and software to help you manage your work and run your business for you.
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