Proper reporting and client communications in the commercial landscape maintenance arena are lacking, says Mike Martinez, and it’s costing companies business.
The owner of Newtex Landscape, based in Henderson, Nev., shares an anecdote about a dead tree on a client’s property that sat there for six weeks before the property manager noticed it and fired his firm.
Was Martinez mad? Yes. But he also learned an important lesson.
“I realized my team needed better tools to capture and share these situations when they occur,” he says.
The incident, among others like it, triggered Martinez to work with a tech industry colleague to develop a mechanism for landscape field employees to easily communicate with their superiors and clients. It’s a mobile app called Cappsure It, which is available for both Android and iOS devices. Newtex has been using it internally for about two and a half years, and a growing list of other landscape companies also use the software today. There are currently 192 users in the Southwest U.S.
The app’s features include maintenance service reports, irrigation parts and service reports, enhancement proposals and asset mapping. It costs $15.99 per property, per month.
The most popular feature, Martinez says, is the landscape maintenance reporting capability, which allows crews to demonstrate what services they complete during a visit. Users can send the report directly to clients or have it approved through the office or their supervisors first. The report, which only takes a few minutes to generate through the app, is typically the foreman’s responsibility.
The alternative for many landscape companies is no reporting or perhaps a hand-written checklist that’s sent to an account manager, who spends hours entering data and photos into emails for clients.
“(The report) builds so much confidence, which really can help you grow your business within a property manager’s portfolio,” Martinez says. “This easily communicates to clients that we’re accountable for the services provided.”
Another feature Newtex has leveraged internally is the irrigation parts report, which tells clients and the company’s accounting department which parts were used for a repair so they can be correctly invoiced.
“Irrigation parts accounting can be a nightmare,” Martinez says, noting his company previously used handwritten checklists that were submitted monthly. Prior to implementing Cappsure It’s irrigation reporting feature, Newtex billed about $2,000 per month in irrigation parts. Now, it bills about $15,000 per month on average. Record-keeping alone accounts for the disparity, he says.
Martinez rejects the idea that some employees, such as non-native English speakers, can’t or won’t use app-based technology. Most of them have smartphones and use apps daily for a variety of purposes.
“I really believe the industry needs to move forward with technology and empower our teams,” he says. “It’s the right time.”
Updated 6/8/17 to correct the pricing and number of users.
