It’s no secret that the tradie industry is competitive. There are plenty of tradie businesses out there and it’s never been easier for customers to connect with the help of online platforms and apps.
That’s why it’s important to stay ahead of your competitors by practicing good productivity habits to support the success of your tradie business. Get inspired with our top 7 ways to help improve productivity within your tradie business.
1. Safety is vital
Whether it is on site or in your office, as an owner of a tradie business it is your responsibility to create a safe environment for yourself, staff and any third parties (like customers or suppliers).
Following protocol and ensuring that safety guidelines are being followed, helps your business stay safe.
The last thing you want to be doing is cutting corners when it comes to safety. Not only could you be potentially creating a dangerous situation for a serious injury to occur, but it makes your business lack professionalism, damaging your reputation.
If your workers feel like they are being looked after and safe, they are going to feel motivated and safe working for your business. Having access to the right tools and systems to get the job done properly will also help increase with your business’ productivity.
2. Time management- timesheets/ apps
Productivity and time management go hand in hand, and that’s where having good systems in place can help you have better control of your business for the long run. Yes, it may seem tedious at times having to track the admin details of projects, timesheets for your staff and travel expenses but it’s worth it.
Having this data will provide valuable insights into areas of your business. Data over time will start to show patterns and habits which helpful to understanding your business better. It can highlight where some resources may be wasting time and could be changed to become productive.
Timesheets are a great way to keep your staff accountable and to ensure they are doing the right thing when they are out on a job. There are many apps and programs on the market to help make your life easier when it comes to staff time management.
3. Make apps your friend
If there’s something you need a hand with chances are there’s an app for that! There’s something for all kinds of trades looking after different aspects of your business from managing customer job requests, invoicing, to ordering lunch for your crew.
Spend some time looking at the areas of your business that could be streamlined and invest in connecting with apps to help save you time. As your business grows you will need more hands on deck to help look after the increased work load.
4. Prepare to outsource
Juggling all areas of the business and attending to multiple jobs can start to take its toll after a while. A key to being a productive tradie business is knowing your limits, and knowing when it’s time to call in for some back-up.
Consider outsourcing some of your tasks when you feel like you are being snowed under. This may be with physical labour on site, doing your taxes, managing your marketing activities or even payroll.
When your business grows, so does your workload across many aspects of the business. The last thing you want is for the quality of your work to be compromised because you’re too busy to keep up.
5. Have a good invoicing system
Invoicing is an essential part to any tradie business, and can sometimes feel like a bit of a monotonous task to do. Fortunately, there are apps and software available to help keep things simple and on track.
Having a well-structured invoicing system in place can help improve your business’ productivity by:
- Keeping your cash flow consistent
- Having all your details in a central place helps when it comes to tax time
- Makes your business look professional and organised
- Online systems help eliminate the need for paperwork
6. Communication is key
Whether you are a team of 5 or 50, communication is pivotal to your business’ overall productivity. Each business will have its own style that works best for them, but if you’re looking for some inspiration on how to improve communication in your team here’s some ideas:
- Have regular contact with your staff. Depending on how many staff you have and if there are individual teams within your tradie business, having a weekly catch up with everyone is a good opportunity to see how everyone is tracking.
- Set up an online group chat. Programs like Skype, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams are great for when you have a lot of workers out on different jobs and need to communicate.
- Give your team the opportunity to provide feedback. Whether it’s positive or negative, being a business owner your staff are able to give some good insights into what is working well and what needs to be improved with the business, helping with overall productivity.
7. Have your business insurance sorted
To maintain productivity as a tradie, you need to stay in business for the long haul and that’s where business insurance comes into play. It’s one of the first things you should have sorted well before you step foot onto site and start picking up your tools.
These are some of the typical types of business insurances you may need to consider as a tradie:
- Public Liability insurance*
- Personal Accident and Illness insurance*
- Portable Equipment/ Tool Cover*
- Tax Audit insurance*
- Cyber Liability insurance*
Whether you are a landscaper or a builder, being a tradie means there are a variety of potential risks that could harm your business. Incidents like accidentally causing damage to a client’s property or getting your tools stolen are just some examples of the type of scenarios where a claim can happen.
Sorting out your business insurance means you can rest easy knowing that your back pocket and reputation have form of protection in place when things don’t go to plan.
Get a quote
Need to get your tradie business sorted? At BizCover we believe in hassle-free insurance with no paperwork or jargon. Jump online or give us a call to receive multiple quotes for you to click and compare from, getting you covered in minutes.
