PlumbingBossPro Blog — Plumbing Software

Plumbing Software FAQ: Straight Answers for Plumbing Company Owners

These are the questions plumbing company owners ask most often about PlumbingBossPro, answered plainly. If your question is not here, the live demo and the free trial are the fastest way to find out for yourself.

Choosing and Getting Started

Before reading the answers below, it is worth reading Mistakes Plumbing Companies Make When Choosing Software, which covers what to watch for in any software, ours included.

Who is PlumbingBossPro for? Small plumbing companies with one to several vans that do residential service calls and repairs, drain cleaning, water heater installs and yearly flushes, plus work for property managers, landlords and restaurants with many locations.

How long does setup take? Most small shops can set up their service list, import customers and run real jobs within the first week. A day-by-day plan is in Setting Up Plumbing Software in the First Week: A Day-by-Day Plan.

Can I bring in my existing customers? Yes. CSV import brings in your customer list, and the addresses are placed on the map automatically.

Where does it work? The US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Customers are billed in their own currency. Texting is available for customers in the US and Canada.

Houses, Equipment and Inspections

What equipment can I save on a house? Water heaters (tank or tankless, gas or electric), water softener, whole-house filtration, sump pump, sewage ejector, well pump, garbage disposal, main water shut-off, sewer cleanout and backflow preventer. Each can have brand, model, serial, year installed, size, fuel or power, location and access notes.

Do I have to retype equipment on every job? No. The “From House” picker fills new jobs from the saved equipment, and changes made on a job flow back to the house.

Is there an inspection checklist? Yes. The tech app has a plumbing checklist covering the main shut-off, water pressure, the water heater (temperature, flush, anode rod, T&P valve, venting), leaks, toilets, faucets and supply lines, drains, disposal, hose bibs, sump pump and softener, with readings, a condition and recommendations. The office can print a Plumbing Inspection Report for the homeowner.

Does it track parts inventory or include a price book? No. There is no parts inventory and no flat-rate price book. You build your own service list with your own prices.

Scheduling and the Tech App

How does recurring work come due? Each recurring service has a minimum number of days between visits, such as 365 for a yearly flush or 14 or 30 for restaurant grease-line jetting. When that time passes, the visit shows up on the Waiting List on its own.

What is the Waiting List? A live map and list of every visit that came due, service calls and recurring work together, with pins colored not due yet, due now and overdue past a 7-day grace.

How are routes built? On the dispatch board, by day and van. Auto-route Closest First or Furthest First from the shop, or set the order by hand. Saved views and printed route sheets are included.

Do techs need to download an app? No app store. The tech app runs in the browser on iPhone and Android and installs to the home screen. Techs sign in with the company login and a personal PIN.

Customers and Texting

What do customers get? A customer app where they see the day's route on a live map, request service, sign up for services such as a yearly flush plan, update their card, see invoices, pay, rate and refer.

Which alerts can customers get? Night before, when they are next, and when the tech arrives. Customers choose which ones they want. The on-the-way and arrived texts are sent automatically from the tech app.

Is two-way texting included? The office can text back and forth with customers. Replying to customers comes with Pro and Crew. Plans include 500, 1,000 or 2,000 text segments a month, sent and received, on Start, Pro and Crew.

Can customers approve estimates online? Yes. The approved estimate becomes the scheduled job, and equipment details on the estimate carry onto it.

Billing

How do I get paid? The invoice is created when the tech taps Complete, with line items and sales tax. A card on file can be charged on completion or on a schedule, customers can pay online from the customer app, and past-due invoices get follow-up.

Can a property manager get one bill? Yes. A client set to Monthly gets one statement each month covering every address, with each line labeled by address. Restaurant groups work the same way.

Can homeowners and commercial clients be billed differently? Yes. Billing is set on the client, so a homeowner can pay per job by card on file while a property manager down the street gets one monthly statement.

Price and Trial

How much does it cost? Start is $59 a month, Pro is $89 a month and Crew is $199 a month. Customers, addresses and employees are unlimited on every plan. Start covers 2 office users and 1 van, Pro covers 3 users and 2 vans, and Crew has unlimited users and vans. Details are on the pricing page.

Is there a free trial? Yes, 14 days with no credit card. You can also click through the live demo first.

For a full overview of every piece covered here, visit the PlumbingBossPro plumbing software page.