PlumbingBossPro Blog — Plumbing Software

Plumbing Software: The Complete Guide for Small Plumbing Companies

Most plumbing companies do not go looking for software because they love computers. They go looking because the phone rang while a tech was under a sink, the call got written on the back of a receipt, and the receipt went through the wash. Or because a customer asked when their water heater was installed and nobody could find the invoice. Or because the owner spent Sunday night typing invoices that should have gone out on Tuesday.

This guide walks through what plumbing software does, piece by piece, for a shop with a few vans. It is written for owners, not IT departments.

What Plumbing Software Is For

This guide is the starting point for the topics covered on the PlumbingBossPro plumbing software page. Each section below has its own deeper article.

Plumbing software keeps four things in one place: the customer, the house, the job and the money. A customer can have more than one address. Each address has its own plumbing: a water heater, maybe a softener, a sump pump in the basement, a shut-off in the meter box. Each job happens at one of those addresses, and each job ends with an invoice that either gets paid or does not.

When those four things live in separate places, such as a phone contact list, a whiteboard, a pad of carbon-copy tickets and a spreadsheet, every question takes a phone call. When they live in one record, the answer is on the screen. For a plain explanation of the category, see What Is Plumbing Software? A Plain Answer for Plumbing Company Owners.

The House and Its Equipment

This is where plumbing differs from most trades. A lawn company cares about square feet. A plumber cares about what is installed at the house. In PlumbingBossPro, every property keeps a list of its equipment:

• Water heaters, tank or tankless, gas or electric
• Water softener and whole-house filtration
• Sump pump, sewage ejector and well pump
• Garbage disposal
• Main water shut-off, sewer cleanout and backflow preventer

Each piece can hold brand, model number, serial number, year installed, size in gallons or horsepower, fuel or power type, location and access notes. When the office books a new job at that house, the “From House” picker fills in the equipment. When a tech replaces a water heater, the change flows back to the house, so the next visit shows the new unit.

On the tech's phone, that looks like “Water Heater - Tank (Gas) · Rheem XG50T06 · 50 gal · Natural Gas · installed 2014,” with the serial on the next line and “Garage · Shut-off is in the meter box at the curb” underneath. The tech knows what they are walking into before they ring the bell.

Service Calls and Recurring Work

Plumbing shops run two kinds of work. Service calls come in today: a slow drain, a running toilet, no hot water. Recurring work comes due on a schedule: a yearly water heater flush, softener service, an annual backflow test, grease-line jetting at a restaurant every 14 or 30 days.

In PlumbingBossPro, recurring work is set by minimum days between visits. A yearly flush is 365 days. A restaurant's grease line might be 30. When the time passes, the visit comes due on its own. Nobody has to remember to call Mrs. Alvarez about her flush. One-time calls and repairs are booked directly and go on the same list.

The Waiting List and the Dispatch Board

The Waiting List is a live map and list of every visit that has come due, service calls and recurring work together. Pins are colored by status: not due yet, due now, and overdue once a visit is past a 7-day grace period. The office can look at the map and see that three flushes and a service call are all on the same side of town.

From there, jobs go onto the Scheduled List, the dispatch board. It shows jobs by day, filters by van, and auto-routes each van Closest First or Furthest First from the shop. The office can also set the route order by hand, save views it uses often, and print route sheets. A typical small-shop setup is one van on repairs and drains and one van on water heaters and maintenance.

The Tech App

Techs use a phone app that runs in the browser on iPhone and Android and installs to the home screen. There is no app store download. Each tech signs in with the company login and a personal PIN, then sees the day's calls in route order.

Every card has a navigation button, the equipment and access notes for that house, and past notes from earlier visits. The tech taps Start, Skip or Complete, takes before-and-after photos, and works the inspection checklist when the job calls for one. Customers get automatic “on the way” and “arrived” texts. When the tech completes the job, the invoice is created and the card on file can be charged. Techs clock in and out on the same phone, and crew GPS shows on the office map.

Inspections, Estimates and the Customer App

The inspection checklist covers the main shut-off, water pressure, water heater temperature, flush, anode rod, T&P valve, venting, visible leaks, toilets, faucets and supply lines, drains, disposal, hose bibs, sump pump and softener. The tech records readings like water pressure in psi, the water heater setting and hot water at the tap, picks a condition (Good, Needs attention or Repair recommended) and writes recommendations. The office can print a Plumbing Inspection Report for the homeowner.

Estimates are built from your own service list. The customer approves online, and the approved estimate becomes the scheduled job. In the customer app, homeowners see today's route on a live map (“You're stop 12 of 20 — the crew is 5 stops away”), request service, sign up for services such as a yearly flush plan, update their card, see invoices and pay.

Texting, Billing and Monthly Statements

The office can text customers back and forth, and automated reminders and alerts go out by text and email. Customers choose their alerts: the night before, when they are next, and when the tech arrives.

Invoices carry line items and sales tax. A card on file can be charged on completion or on a schedule, customers can pay online, and past-due invoices get follow-up. For property managers, landlords and restaurant groups, a client set to Monthly gets one statement each month covering every address, each line labeled with its address. That is a big deal for anyone billing a management company with thirty rentals. More on that in Monthly Statements for Property Managers and Restaurants: One Plumbing Bill for Every Address.

Setup, Price and Choosing

Getting started means bringing in your customers by CSV import (addresses are placed on the map automatically), adding employees with PINs and van assignments, setting up office user roles, and building your service list. Reports pull from the same jobs, clients and invoices.

PlumbingBossPro costs $59, $89 or $199 a month for Start, Pro and Crew, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. It works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and bills customers in their own currency.

When you compare options, judge them on whether they know what a plumber needs to know at the house, not on the length of the feature list. Read Mistakes Plumbing Companies Make When Choosing Software before you sign anything. To see every piece in one place, go back to the PlumbingBossPro plumbing software overview.