PlumbingBossPro Blog — Running a Plumbing Business

Choosing Plumbing Business Software: What to Look For and What It Costs

There is no shortage of field-service software. Some of it is built for big companies with call centers and a dozen trucks. Some of it is generic, built for any trade that drives to a customer. A small plumbing company needs something in between: built for plumbing, priced for a few vans and simple enough that the whole crew actually uses it.

Start With How You Work

If you have not set up any system yet, Getting a New Plumbing Business Off Paper From Day One explains why starting early matters. This article is about picking the software itself.

Before you look at any product, write down how a call moves through your business today. Someone calls. Someone books it. A plumber drives there and does the work. Someone bills it. Someone collects it. Maybe a water heater gets flushed again next year. Every one of those steps is something the software should handle, and the one you pick should match how you work rather than force you into how a different trade works.

Plumbing-Specific Things to Check

Generic field-service software usually stores an address and a notes box. A plumbing company needs more than that:

• Equipment saved on the house. Water heaters (tank or tankless, gas or electric), softeners, filtration, sump pumps, sewage ejectors, well pumps, disposals, the main shut-off, the sewer cleanout and backflow preventers, each with brand, model, serial, year installed and location.
• Equipment on the job card. The tech should see “Water Heater - Tank (Gas) · 50 gal · installed 2014” and the shut-off location before getting out of the van.
• An inspection checklist. Water pressure, water heater temperature, T&P valve, anode rod, visible leaks, drains and fixtures, with a report the homeowner can keep.
• Recurring maintenance. Yearly flushes, softener service, backflow tests and restaurant grease-line jetting that come due on their own.
• Many addresses on one client. Property managers, landlords and restaurant owners with a single bill.

The Everyday Basics

Then check the pieces every service company needs:

• Dispatch. Jobs by day and van, route order, auto-routing from the shop, printed route sheets.
• A tech app. On the phones your plumbers already have, without an app store download if possible. Calls in order, navigation, photos and a Complete button that bills the job.
• Customer texts. Night-before reminders, on-the-way and arrived texts, and two-way texting from the office.
• Estimates. Built from your service list, approved online and turned into a scheduled job.
• Billing. Invoices with sales tax, card on file, auto-charge and past-due follow-up.
• Imports. A CSV import for the customer list you already have.

What It Costs

Software pricing in this space ranges widely. The big enterprise platforms often want long contracts, setup fees and a sales call before they will show you a number. Generic apps are cheaper but leave the plumbing details on paper.

PlumbingBossPro has three plans:

• Start — $59/month
• Pro — $89/month
• Crew — $199/month

Every plan includes the tech app and the customer app, and each comes with a monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 segments sent and received. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, and no credit card is needed to start it. The pricing page lays out what each plan includes.

When you compare, compare the whole monthly cost of running the business, not just the software line. One missed invoice a month or one water heater customer who drifted to another company often costs more than the plan.

Try It on Real Work

A demo shows you what the software can do. A trial shows you whether you will actually use it. During a free trial:

• Enter your real services and prices.
• Import or type in a few dozen real customers.
• Run a few days of real calls through the tech app.
• Send real invoices and see how customers respond.
• Hand the phone to one of your plumbers and watch where they get stuck.

If the crew will not use it in the first week, they will not use it in the first year. Simple wins.

Questions to Ask Before You Commit

• Can I leave without a long contract?
• Can I get my data back out?
• Does it work on the phones my plumbers already carry?
• Does it work in my country? PlumbingBossPro runs in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK and bills customers in their own currency.
• Will it handle a second and third van without a jump to a much bigger system?

If you are moving from something you already use, read Switching Plumbing Business Software Without Losing a Week of Calls.

Pick the One Your Crew Will Use

The best software for a plumbing company is the one that is still in use a year later. Look for plumbing details, plain pricing and a tech app your plumbers will open without being told. To see how PlumbingBossPro fits a small plumbing company, visit the PlumbingBossPro plumbing business software page.