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In 2021, Aspire Software announced its intention to begin serving the janitorial industry with its best-in-class business management software. How was this decision reached? Why is Aspire a good fit for landscape and janitorial contractors? And what updates are in the works?
To answer some of these questions, we sat down with product manager Jason Pyne.
Jason spent six years in the janitorial software space before joining Aspire earlier this year. Since coming on board, he has led internal efforts to prepare and introduce the Aspire platform to new janitorial customers.
In the conversation below, find out why Aspire got into the janitorial market—and how its flagship software product is uniquely equipped to offer janitorial contractors unprecedented levels of insight and control over their businesses.
Q: Why did Aspire decide to enter the janitorial space?
A: To understand that, we’ve got to go back to the beginning—long before I was hired! Mark Tipton and Kevin Kehoe founded Aspire Software in 2013 because they wanted to create an exceptional business management software solution for landscapers. They had firsthand experience with what was already available, and they knew it wasn’t enough. Aspire’s founders didn’t just want to solve a problem or two—they wanted to rewrite the book on what software could do for landscape companies. With support from other industry experts, they developed a platform that allows users to manage virtually all their operations in a single, centralized location.
A few years later, the executive team at Aspire became curious about whether the software that had been so meticulously developed could serve other types of businesses as well. To start, they asked how existing customers were using the product and found several were already managing janitorial divisions within Aspire. With the help of outside consultants who conducted months of research, they eventually discovered countless similarities between landscape and janitorial contractors—enough to make introducing the platform to an entirely new market a priority for 2021.
Q: How does one product work for two different industries?
A: The lightbulb moment for me happened when I first saw the wheel diagram on Aspire’s website. It shows how the software allows users to manage everything in one place, and I was instantly struck by how the functionality it highlighted was exactly what janitorial companies needed too.
One of the reasons for the extensive overlap in how contractors for both industries run their businesses is that landscape and janitorial are both labor-driven remote field service operations. That’s a mouthful, but it basically means their overall processes follow an almost identical model. Both bid on projects, schedule teams when they win a bid, review work completed onsite, track expenses, and send invoices. Labor is far and away the largest expense for both, and both struggle with disconnected systems and manual processes.
Even though the team didn’t realize it at the time, the care that went into preparing Aspire to meet the needs of landscape contractors actually prepared the software to serve an entirely different group of businesses as well.
Q: How is Aspire different from other janitorial software solutions?
A: The most significant difference is the sheer scope of what the platform can do. There are other solutions out there that offer a handful of functionalities, but nothing I’ve seen lets companies bring all their operations under one roof and gain real-time visibility like Aspire. It’s not just easier (and faster) to manage this way—it leads to better, more accurate data.
Q: Who was involved in the “making” of Aspire Janitorial?
A: One of the keys to Aspire’s success in the landscaping world has been its commitment to hiring people with industry experience from the very beginning. That’s a pattern we want to repeat, and are repeating, in the janitorial space.
A number of our existing clients were actually using Aspire to run janitorial businesses before we ever considered getting into the market, and they’ve been instrumental in helping us think about the platform from a different perspective. We’ve done quite a bit of research, including ongoing focus groups, and instituted a “seat at the table” program that brings together experts from the field to provide key support and guidance.
Q: Is Aspire available for janitorial clients now?
A: Absolutely! The platform is fully functional and ready to be implemented immediately for janitorial clients. Our sales team offers free, personalized demos for anyone who’s interested in learning more.
Q: Who’s a good fit for Aspire Janitorial?
A: Aspire is perfect for any growing janitorial company interested in increasing its topline revenue and profitability. We’ve found it to be an especially good fit for those at or above the $3-5 million mark in sales, all the way up to customers in the double and triple digits.
Q: What janitorial updates are in the works?
A: I’m excited about our October 2021 release, which is bringing a number of really cool updates for janitorial customers. We’ll finally be able to share the work we’ve been doing to mature Aspire’s site audit tool, allowing for even greater flexibility so users can decide exactly how they want to implement their quality control program.
Just like Aspire’s been doing in the landscape space for years, we’re constantly looking for ways to improve the experience for our janitorial users. Thankfully, major updates that were made to the platform last year have put us in an excellent position to build quickly, easily, and comprehensively. I’m really excited about what this platform has to offer janitorial contractors—bringing everything under one roof and eliminating gaps in data collection and analysis—and my team doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon!
Interested in learning more about what Aspire can do for your janitorial business? Request a free, personalized demo below.
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