“There’s an app for that™,” mentioned one of many world’s greatest tech firms. And garden care is not any exception.
Should you’re spending extra time managing employees than tending lawns then you definitely may need an issue.
And whereas apps can’t do garden look after you, they may help in some ways, from simplifying scheduling to calculating prices and sharing nice opinions.
Right here’s an inventory of our prime 10 really helpful apps on your garden care enterprise.
And, as a result of we all know small companies depend on nice individuals, we’ve began with our personal app, Homebase, which makes a speciality of scheduling, time monitoring, and workforce communication, even throughout a number of areas.
So you possibly can spend much less time worrying about logistics, and extra time really constructing what you are promoting.
7 methods apps may help you handle your garden care enterprise
Listed below are some nice ways in which apps may help what you are promoting run extra effectively and save hours of time and stress — so you will get on with the garden care.
- Schedule employees members — Create straightforward, quick, and correct schedules on your garden care employees with apps like Homebase, so everybody is aware of the place they should be and when.
- Simplify time monitoring — Simply document working hours, even for distant and distributed groups, to manage labor prices and keep away from time theft. Homebase and Harvest excel on this.
- Enhance buyer communication — Giving purchasers an excellent first impression is vital, and you must at all times reply helpfully and promptly from the primary inquiry to the ultimate assessment. Jobber is a superb possibility right here.
- Estimate materials prices — Guaranteeing your garden care enterprise is worthwhile means appropriately estimating which supplies you want. Apps like Space Quantity Calculator and Turf Remedy may help calculate house measurement, and purchase the correct quantity of product.
- Work out pricing and revenue — Worth your companies appropriately to make sure revenue with apps like Revenue Margin Calculator. Tweak labor prices, overheads, and bills for greatest outcomes.
- Determine various kinds of vegetation and their situation — Even specialists can use some assist generally, and apps like LeafSnap and FieldScout allow you to use your telephone to investigate the well being of lawns and vegetation, so you possibly can determine the following steps.
- Share nice opinions and drum up word-of-mouth enterprise — Don’t let your garden care enterprise be the neighborhood’s best-kept secret. Apps like CamCompany allow you to take and share pictures and movies of your work. Whereas NiceJob collects and shares optimistic opinions for word-of-mouth referrals and on-line bookings.
The shortlist: The ten greatest garden care enterprise apps
- Homebase: For scheduling, distant time monitoring, and workforce communication
- Jobber: For buyer communication
- Harvest: For time monitoring and invoicing
- Revenue Margin Calculator: For easy revenue calculations
- Space Quantity Calculator: For simple quantity calculations
- LeafSnap: For fast plant identification and care
- Turf Remedy: For easy fertilizer calculations
- FieldScout: For soil and plant diagnostics
- NiceJob: For buyer opinions and referrals
- CompanyCam: For subject job monitoring through pictures and video
Homebase: For scheduling, distant time monitoring, and workforce communication
Homebase is an all-in-one app designed for small enterprise house owners who handle a workforce of hourly-based employees. It makes individuals administration a lot simpler, so you possibly can schedule and observe your garden care jobs, pay your workforce members precisely, and management labor prices.
How does it profit garden care companies?
Homebase is a one-stop store for all workforce administration facets of your small garden care enterprise. Not like some, its cell app gives practically the entire identical performance as its desktop model, so you need to use it even when within the subject (or yard) on a job.
The stand-out options embody:
- Scheduling app for automated and simple shift creation, so you possibly can schedule employees with out clashes, on the go
- Time clock and timesheets for correct hourly monitoring, compliant working hours, much less employees burnout, much less time theft, and managed labor prices
- Payroll for fast and simple funds that take timesheets and create correct wages mechanically. There’s no want for a separate device, and it’s all accomplished on the identical platform.
- Hiring and onboarding together with pre-written job templates, jobs board posting, job promotion, and applicant monitoring.
- Crew communication to empower employees to share helpful job ideas and hand over notes between shifts, for a greater group, improved working situations, and better productiveness — even when employees aren’t working in the identical location
- Worker happiness together with shout-outs for a job nicely accomplished, which boosts motivation, and the choice for workers to money out wages early if wanted
- HR & compliance with federal, state, and native legal guidelines, and the flexibility to handle HR documentation and delicate information in a single place
- Integrations with main instruments like QuickBooks and Toast, so you possibly can stay productive along with your present enterprise instruments
How a lot is it?
Homebase’s app, and scheduling and timesheet device, are utterly free to make use of. Nonetheless, if you wish to maximize effectivity and get essentially the most out of all the software program, we provide the next value choices.
- Fundamental: Free for one location and as much as 20 staff. It consists of fundamental scheduling and time monitoring, worker administration instruments like Messaging, point-of-sale integrations, and entry to e mail assist.
- Necessities: $24.95 per 30 days per location. All the pieces in Fundamental, plus payroll integrations, workforce communication, efficiency monitoring, superior time monitoring and scheduling, and entry to dwell assist.
- Plus: $59.95 per 30 days per location. All the pieces in Necessities, plus hiring instruments, retention and efficiency monitoring, day off controls, and departments and permissions.
- All-in-one: $99.95 per 30 days per location. All the pieces in Plus, with HR and compliance, new rent onboarding, labor value controls, and enterprise insights.
Customers may save 20% on their total value once they join an annual plan.
Accessible on iOS and Android.
2. Jobber: For buyer communication
Jobber goals to enhance customer support and communication, from preliminary inquiry to remaining cost. You’ll be able to ship quotes by textual content and e mail, comply with up simply, and save hours on invoicing.
How does it profit garden care companies?
Jobber has all kinds of options throughout shopper messaging, invoicing, and communication.
- Cell app designed to work on the go when within the subject
- On-line quote requests and jobs bookings for purchasers
- Automated garden care job scheduling to assist plan your day and embody breaks
- Job reminders and appointment notifications for workers and clients
- Skilled quotes despatched by textual content message and emails
- Job monitoring to watch bills and ongoing notes
- Card reader and on-line cost system
- Shopper information storage and full shopper historical past
- Automated follow-ups to shut jobs or remind purchasers to pay
- Batch invoicing for quick billing
How a lot is it?
Jobber has 4 ranges of paid plan.
- Lite: $19 per 30 days for one consumer. Limitless shopper messaging, quotes and invoices, and on-line funds.
- Core: $56 per 30 days for one consumer. All the pieces in Lite, plus job scheduling and administration, reporting, and on-line request type.
- Join: $19 per 30 days for one to 5 customers. All the pieces in Core, plus automated reminders and funds, customized kinds and schedules, and integration with accounting and automation instruments.
- Develop: $280 per 30 days for one to fifteen customers. All the pieces in Join, plus quote add-ons, automated quote follow-ups, two-way textual content message, and lead administration.
You may also strive it free for 14 days. Accessible on iOS and Android.
3. Harvest: For time monitoring and invoicing
Launched in NYC in 2006, Harvest was one of many first mobile-friendly time trackers. It nonetheless makes a speciality of time monitoring (and says it leads to 80% much less admin), however now it additionally allows you to ship invoices, create studies, and monitor budgets. Harvest additionally has a rising vary of integrations and a forever-free plan.
How does it profit garden care companies?
Harvest’s options are break up throughout three important classes: time monitoring, studies, and invoicing.
- Cell, desktop, and browser time monitoring wherever you and your workforce are
- Device integration for seamless time clocking and integration
- Automated reminders for workers to assist guarantee correct monitoring and breaks
- Finances updates and value monitoring to maintain initiatives on observe
- Crew capability monitoring to make sure no-one’s over- or under-worked
- Time evaluation to see which initiatives are impacting prices essentially the most
- Detailed filters that can assist you make data-driven choices
- Invoices created precisely with time monitoring
- On-line funds and easy accounting with integrations like PayPal, Stripe, and QuickBooks
How a lot is it?
There are two choices.
- Free: $0. Contains “one seat” (or consumer), and two initiatives. All options.
- Professional: $12. Contains limitless “seats” and limitless initiatives. All options.
Harvest additionally gives a 30-day free trial. Accessible on iOS and Android.
4. Revenue Margin Calculator: For easy revenue calculations
Revenue Margin Calculator helps service companies with hourly employees to calculate their internet revenue margin. Not strictly an app, however a web based device from communication platform Jobber, it really works on telephones, tablets, and desktops.
How does it profit garden care companies?
Revenue Margin Calculator allows you to enter 4 totally different figures after which provides you your revenue and markup. This implies you possibly can add up prices, labor, and overheads, and see the place you’re overspending or not charging sufficient. Relying in your business, your internet revenue margin is probably going about 10-20%.
The calculator:
- Enables you to add labor, materials, and overhead prices
- Elements within the service value you cost your purchasers
- Reveals you the way a lot revenue you’re incomes on accomplished jobs
How a lot is it?
It’s free. Jobber additionally gives a free bill template that you may full and ship to purchasers, when you’ve labored out your prices and the way a lot revenue you wish to make.
5. Space Quantity Calculator: For simple quantity calculations
With one other clear title, this app works on smartphones and tablets, and helps you calculate the realm quantity of a 3D form. That is good in case your newest garden care or landscaping job requires you to clear or fill an area. It additionally calculates by space (2D) or quantity (3D), utilizing presets. And it’s free.
How does it profit garden care companies?
The device is straightforward to make use of and works like a calculator. You kind in your dimensions, and it provides you the end result.
Options embody:
- The power to enter depth, peak, and width dimensions
- 170+ preset shapes like cylinder or dice, plus subshapes like parallelepiped (3D parallelogram)
- Swipe by classes and shapes to pick out or kind to look instantly
- Calculation strategies for partial measurements, e.g. should you solely have the radius measurement
- Materials selector that features 1,500 supplies, equivalent to metals, wooden, soil, or liquids
- Calculations in metric and inches, from millimeters to miles
- Illustrations of the shapes and clearly labels dimensions to assist understanding
How a lot is it?
Free to obtain and use. Accessible on iOS and Android.
6. LeafSnap: For fast plant identification and care
Leafsnap is an intuitive app that turns your smartphone digicam into an analytical lens. Snap a photograph of a plant and the app identifies it, and provides you a step-by-step information on the way to maintain it. Plus, LeafSnap is aesthetically pleasing and addresses its customers as “plant lovers,” which is a pleasant contact.
How does it profit garden care companies?
LeafSnap is an easy however highly effective solution to establish vegetation and know what you’re coping with in a backyard. Options embody:
- A database of 32,000 sorts of vegetation from the world over
- Reminders on your day by day plant-care duties
- Recommendation on one of the best ways to {photograph} your vegetation
- Step-by-step care guides for every plant
How a lot is it?
There are two methods to make use of LeafSnap.
- Professional: Free to obtain and use. Contains adverts and limits on plant identification and care guides.
- Premium: $5 per 30 days or $26 per 12 months. Removes adverts. No limits on plant identification or step-by-step care guides. Entry to the total plant database, and superior identification.
Accessible on iOS and Android.
7. Turf Remedy: For easy fertilizer calculations
Determining fertilizer is essential for a garden care specialist, since getting it flawed could be costly and harmful. This app lets you calculate the granular and liquid fertilizer software charges of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (Okay), and goals to assist garden care companies practice employees and calculate quotes. Because the app’s creator says: “Say goodbye to lengthy, drawn out, mind-numbing math!”
How does it profit garden care companies?
The app has a number of highly-focused options, together with:
- Granular or liquid calculation charge choices
- A “remedy journal” to watch the merchandise utilized
- A price calculator to maintain initiatives on observe
How a lot is it?
The app prices $0.99 to obtain, for all options. Accessible on iOS and Android.
8. FieldScout: For soil and plant diagnostics
FieldScout, or FieldScout GreenIndex+ Turf to provide it its full identify, could sound difficult however its purpose is straightforward. It gauges turf well being by measuring its relative “greenness” (or chlorophyll content material.) The app makes use of what it calls the DGCI (Darkish Inexperienced Colour Index) and, by your telephone’s digicam, helps you identify your turf’s well being, so you possibly can determine your subsequent steps when caring for a turf garden.
How does it profit garden care companies?
The app is comparatively easy to make use of, with options together with:
- A white stability lock on your telephone’s digicam, to assist create the proper colour reference
- Timestamp and GPS log data (if Location Companies are enabled), to be used with different packages if you want
- The power to mix a number of samples right into a single computation
- Picture pairing for comparability of various sections of turf
How a lot is it?
The app prices $49.99 to obtain and use, for all options. Accessible on iOS.
9. NiceJob: For buyer opinions and referrals
What’s higher than a cheerful garden care buyer? A contented garden care buyer that tells everybody how nice your work is and will get you numerous new enterprise! And this app makes getting and sharing nice opinions even simpler. Designed for native companies that depend on word-of-mouth, it helps you get extra opinions, extra referrals, extra net presence, and extra gross sales.
How does it profit garden care companies?
The NiceJob platform splits its options throughout six classes: opinions, referrals, websites, social proof, insights, and items. These embody:
- The power to share opinions on-line and get excessive rankings on search engines like google
- Automated optimistic assessment sharing on social media to drive engagement
- Automated referral invitations for purchasers to share suggestions to others
- Overview and referral requests through textual content for simple communication
- Microsite net builder designed for small enterprise house owners to generate extra direct bookings
- Social Proof web site widget to embed optimistic opinions by yourself web site
- The power to supply items for purchasers, together with tokens and thank yous, to construct loyalty
- Workers leaderboards to encourage “pleasant competitors” amongst employees members
How a lot is it?
NiceJob costs its month-to-month packages relying on what number of clients you may have per 12 months. It additionally has a restricted free possibility, irrespective of what number of clients you may have.
- Free: $0. Overview and referral requests, and reveals opinions by yourself web site. Buyer administration.
- Develop: $75 per 30 days for as much as 2,500 clients. All the pieces included in Free, plus automated opinions and referral requests, automated social sharing, and employees leaderboards.
- Develop + Websites: $75 per 30 days for as much as 2,500 clients, plus $399 arrange price. All the pieces in Develop, plus an internet site, private web site coach, search engine marketing optimization, and advertising analytics.
NiceJob additionally gives a 14-day free trial. Accessible on iOS.
10. CompanyCam: For subject job monitoring through pictures and video
CompanyCam goals to make it simpler to handle and document progress in a subject job enterprise. As its identify suggests, it focuses on managing pictures, movies, chats, and initiatives underneath a single digital umbrella, so you possibly can share progress, scan paperwork, and enhance advertising.
How does it profit garden care companies?
CompanyCam makes use of cloud storage to handle each facet of its instruments. Options embody:
- Video seize, to point out particulars in 4K
- Picture annotation to take photographs and add textual content, drawings, and useful notes
- Doc scanning to seize PDFs and different useful papers
- Report templates to save lots of time on monitoring initiatives
- Offline mode, to maintain initiatives transferring even should you don’t have a sign
- Undertaking administration, together with maps, labels, contact particulars, and GPS stamps to remain targeted
- Customized checklists and to-do lists to share mission progress
- Integrations with instruments together with Jobber and Salesforce for a complete tech stack
- Excessive-res pictures and movies to point out off your outcomes and get extra bookings
How a lot is it?
CompanyCam gives three tiers of pricing.
- Professional: $24 per consumer per 30 days. Contains limitless initiatives and storage. Actual-time pictures, checklists, templates, web site mission widget, PDF picture studies.
- Premium: $34 per consumer per 30 days. All the pieces in Professional, plus emblem stickers, 4K movies and high-quality pictures, 10-minute movies, chat, e mail, and telephone assist, plus onboarding assist
- Enterprise: Worth on request. For 50+ customers. All the pieces in Premium, plus quarterly enterprise opinions, locked contract charges, onboarding coaching, success supervisor, and VIP chat, e mail, and telephone assist.
CompanyCam additionally gives a 14-day trial of its Premium plan. Accessible on iOS and Android.
From Harvest to Homebase: One of the best garden care enterprise apps
Once you use apps to automate your garden care enterprise, you possibly can spend extra time specializing in really caring for lawns (and fewer time on admin.)
Relying in your wants, an app like Jobber may help you enhance buyer communication, get on-line quotes, and ship invoices promptly. There’s Harvest for time monitoring and budgeting; LeafSnap for step-by-step guides to stunning vegetation; and Revenue Margin Calculator for, nicely, calculating revenue.
Then there’s NiceJob and CompanyCam, which allow you to doc and share your work in the absolute best mild, for efficient advertising and wonderful on-line opinions.
And for an all-in-one app, you possibly can select Homebase to handle priorities like scheduling, time monitoring, and workforce communication. It additionally provides you must-have instruments like payroll, hiring, HR administration, labor value controls, and compliance, all underneath the identical digital roof. So you possibly can handle your individuals, simply in addition to you handle your vegetation.
As a result of there could also be an app for just about all the pieces, however the fewer you must juggle, the higher.