Free setup kit · 30 days
A 30-day software rollout for home-service shops
Four weeks to stand up a phone path, one place where jobs live, and review requests. Each block names the page to open and the decision to make before you buy the next tool.
Updated (America/New_York). A checklist, not a price check and not a call result.
Week 1 writes down how the phone works today and uses your own call counts. Week 2 stands up answering on a trial line. Week 3 picks one job record. Week 4 turns on review requests, then anything else only if it is this month's bottleneck.
Week 1, days 1–7: see the work you already have
- Step 1
Days 1–2: write who answers today
On one page, write the hours, what happens after hours, and who carries the on-call phone. Then open your trade's page in this kit and mark which situations are same-day and which can wait for a calendar slot. The situation names match the call scripts.
- Step 2
Days 3–4: use your own call numbers
Enter your figures in the missed-call cost calculator, the ROI calculator, and, if nights matter, the after-hours calculator. The defaults are placeholders. The result is only as good as the counts from your phone log.
- Step 3
Days 5–7: pick the first system, not five
If calls die before anyone writes them down, week 2 is answering. If someone already answers and jobs fall off the schedule, week 3 is the job record. Do not buy a CRM, a review tool, and a fleet tracker in the same week.
Week 2, days 8–14: answering on a trial line
- Step 1
Days 8–11: configure the trial
Follow the answering checklist: greeting, hours, service area, the services you sell, the prices you are willing to say, and the urgent transfer. Read the category page for published prices or quote-only labels before you pick a plan.
- Step 2
Days 12–14: read the scripts into the trial
Call the trial number and use your trade's scripts. Leave the main business number where it is until an urgent practice call and an ordinary practice call land in different places. This directory has not call-tested the product.
Week 3, days 15–21: one job record
- Step 1
Days 15–18: field service or CRM, not both by default
If the technician needs today's jobs, quotes, and invoices, use the field service checklist. If the gap is follow-up before a visit exists, use the CRM checklist. Write which app is the system of record.
- Step 2
Days 19–21: quotes or crew hours, only if that is the bottleneck
Estimating tools are listed under estimating software. Time your own quotes in the quote-time calculator. Crew hours go in the utilization calculator. Skip this block if the phone is still the leak.
Week 4, days 22–30: reviews, then everything else
- Step 1
Days 22–26: review requests
Follow the review checklist. Ask people you served, paste one profile link, and read the message before automatic sending is on.
- Step 2
Days 27–29: payments, financing, the site, GPS, or leads
Open one of these only if it is this month's bottleneck: payments, customer financing, websites, GPS and fleet, or lead sources. Confirm any fee on the vendor's page. The directory dates its price checks.
- Step 3
Day 30: write three numbers from your own accounts
Calls captured, jobs booked, and review requests sent. Use the phone log and the software's own report. This kit does not give you a target to hit.
Trade pages
Week 1 points at your trade. The setup kit home lists every trade this directory publishes.
Some directory pages linked from this kit include affiliate links. Those pages say so next to the link, and the link uses rel="sponsored". Vendors can also pay for a labeled placement or a faster listing check. Neither one changes list order. Disclosures · Advertise
FAQ
What should a contractor set up in the first 30 days?
Answering on a trial line, one job record, and review requests. Payments, financing, a website, GPS, and paid leads wait unless that item is the bottleneck this month.
Do I forward my main number in week 1?
No. Week 1 is the written path and your own call counts. Forward the number in week 2 only after an urgent practice call and an ordinary practice call land in different places.
Where do the prices live?
On the category pages and tool pages, with the check date next to the figure. This plan does not repeat them.
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