Every plumbing company owner would like to lower costs, however, not at the expense of quality, safety, and professionalism. The most skilled plumbers are aware that cost-cutting does not mean cutting corners. It’s about creating more efficient processes that still provide top-quality service.
If you’re in a small group of two or managing several teams, here’s how the leading plumbing companies can save money while maintaining their image or trustworthiness.
Track Time Like a Boss
Plumbing is chaos enough without inaccurate tracking of hours. The top companies go for time-tracking software to track technician hours in real-time. There’s no more rounding up, scribbling notes on paper slips, or fighting over who clocked in when.
Let’s examine the actual scenario. Gary, who is the owner of a plumbing business, mid-size in Ohio, keeps track of the hours of his workers manually. “I thought we were doing okay,” Gary admits, “but once we started using digital tools to monitor hours by the minute, I realized we were losing nearly 9 hours in a week due to inefficiencies.” This is more than a whole day of work lost every week, and not even realizing that it was happening.
Time tracking is more than simply managing payroll. It uncovers subtle leaks. If one tech completes five calls per day, while another tries to complete three, there’s a problem. It’s what you’re looking for and now you can pinpoint the source.
The timesheet allows you to measure hours worked against completed jobs. It’s how smarter companies get better by analyzing numbers and not just relying on instincts.
Route Smarter, Not Longer
Costs of fuel are also a major money leak. Traveling longer distances between jobs is more than damaging. The most successful companies are investing in routing optimization tools which assign jobs based on the location of the job and its availability.
Carlos, a dispatcher from Phoenix was able to assign tasks using Google Maps and good intentions. “We experienced this issue, once a week when our tech traveled forty miles on a zigzag to attend three appointments. It was a total loss of time.” They now make use of automated routing. The travel time decreased by 22 percent during the first month. This meant three additional service calls for each tech.
A well-planned routing system doesn’t only conserve gas, it also provides more time on the clock. In plumbing time is inventory.
Say Goodbye to Paper
Still, dealing with coffee-stained clipboards and work orders? Paper can slow your work, cause data loss, and increase administrative costs. The top plumbing companies are moving to entirely digital.
Work orders that are digital, notes on the cloud, and mobile invoicing all make for an easier, faster process.
Field techs can:
- Access real-time job details on mobile
- Upload photos directly to job tickets.
- Send invoices before leaving the site.
One business located in Denver decreased admin overhead by 18 hours per week, by eliminating paper. It’s two days of recovery without the need to hire anyone who is new.
Cut the Admin Chaos
Employing a different administrator isn’t always the right choice. Most of the time, the solution is to lessen the administrative burden by automating the tasks you’re performing manually.
Companies that have been successful:
- Automate recurring invoices
- Utilize dashboards to monitor job status instead of spreadsheets.
- Schedule recurring maintenance with one click.
In a Toronto-based plumbing company, the owner realized that his office assistant was working almost four hours per week chasing invoices that were not paid. When he set up automatic reminders and electronic payment links, phone calls dropped.
There is no need for more personnel. You require better methods.
Get Ruthless with Deadweight Expenses
Review every aspect. That program you’re still paying for but you never use? Take it off. The old vehicle that is breaking down every 2 weeks? Sell it. The ad campaign that has no calls? Turn it off and reroute the budget.
Leading plumbing firms don’t only make money, but they also safeguard their margins. This means analyzing every expense including water bottles on the truck to old software that you’re emotionally attached to.
Ask:
- Does this earn us money?
- Can this help us save time?
- If we cut it, does quality suffer?
If not, you know what to do.
Train to Retain
Training is expensive. So is high turnover. The top plumbing companies view training as an investment, not a cost.
Shorter onboarding means faster productivity. Training in-house builds the loyalty of employees. Refresher courses reduce job site errors.
Additionally, when the tech experts are aware of what is expected and how to fulfill it, you’ll get:
- A lower number of callbacks
- Better customer reviews
- Reducing the amount of time wasted by errors or redos
Set up job-specific checklists and provide performance feedback. This will help identify training needs before they occur.
Rethink Your Pricing Strategy
The cutting of costs is only one component. But how do you maximize every dollar made? This is where smart companies reach the highest levels of profit.
The issue is not just about boosting prices, but it’s about making sure you’re charging more:
- Flat-rate pricing eliminates any delays and can speed up the process of approval
- Service bundles boost the cost of tickets.
- Maintenance memberships bring in steady revenue even during the slowest times of the year.
Customers will pay an extra fee if you can solve issues quickly and take care of them. Make the value clear.
Invisible Cost Traps in Customer Service
Customer service can be a loss-making opportunity when handled poorly. Inadequate follow-ups, no job descriptions, and the slow response time, all compromise the trust of customers and their margins.
Take Megan, She manages the plumbing team in Tampa. They received a steady stream of calls from customers stating, “Your guy was just here, and now the leak’s back.” The problem? Communication lag between techs in the field and office personnel. Techs left handwritten notes. The office staff could not decipher the notes. What did they get? Multiple callbacks, refunded service charges, and angry customers.
They changed to a digital job history system where each detail, and the pieces of evidence of the work that was completed or found to be fixed as well as the pending work is recorded and distributed in real-time. Now guess the callback rates fell by 40 percent.
Each callback represents a double cost: the labor is quoted twice and the reputation gets damaged at least once. Customer service excellence is not an easy talent. It’s an investment.
Final Thoughts
The plumbing industry isn’t all about making money, it’s about safeguarding the profits of your business without sacrificing professionalism. The plumbing companies that are ahead of the curve aren’t enhancing quality. They’re slicing the waste like a fruit ninja.
Start with what you currently do: assign tasks, invoices, handle techs, and reorder supplies. Consider: what’s slowing me down? What’s leaking money behind the scenes?
The company can’t continue to grow if the growth is in chaos. The winners bring calm into their storms not with magic but with the right tools.
