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With 20 branches to manage across South Florida, not to mention multiple HOAs and 22 golf courses to maintain, Down to Earth Landscape & Irrigation needed a software solution to streamline operations and get their 1,500-plus employees on the same page.
“We were looking for an all-in-one package to do scheduling, sales tracking, and CRM, reporting,” says Tye Ahee, Down to Earth’s Aspire system administrator and trainer. “We wanted to find one warehouse for all of it, where everybody could easily go into the system, and we wouldn't have multiple solutions throughout the company.”
Since onboarding with Aspire business management software in 2020, Ahee has been responsible for implementing process improvements and training new employees to use the software.
As a former crew member, Ahee brings an important perspective to how Aspire affects Down to Earth’s portfolio of companies, and understands how the business management software helps technicians, branches, and departments define success.
“Whenever a new employee, branch manager, or account manager joins, I go to their locations or set up Zoom calls to train them to use Aspire,” Ahee says. “It has been perfect for us.”
As the lead Aspire trainer, Ahee says staff members quickly realize the importance of field management software and often experience an “Aha!” moment when they see the performance data behind their sales and maintenance accounts.
“The cool training moments occur when we look at the reports, and they get a bird's-eye view of their performance for the branch and where they need to improve. They get to see all their revenue. They get to look in the reporting systems, and they’re like, ‘Oh wow, here's all my labor hours for the month on what was estimated versus our actuals,’” Ahee says.
“I spend a lot of time teaching and training account managers on how to write estimates and opportunities,” Ahee adds. “Our account managers like opportunities in Aspire because it allows them to craft what they want to sell.”
Aspire’s all-in-one business management software also makes it easy for Down to Earth to quickly onboard companies they acquire.
“Aspire allows us to roll new acquisitions into the same platform, get them on the same page, and view their books compared to ours,” Ahee says.
Improved labor management and timekeeping
With multiple crews across Florida, accurately tracking time with paper and pen was a recurring issue for Down to Earth. Ahee says Aspire’s mobile time reporting and GPS-enabled vehicle monitoring allow the organization to integrate time tracking with payroll to ensure accuracy and visibility, keep teams accountable, and bid for profitability.
“Aspire allows better time tracking,” Ahee says. “We can see how we compare on similar properties in different parts of the region, view our gross margin, and we know if we're hitting the hours for it. It also allows our field operations team to have visibility that wasn't previously there in the accounting software.”
Ahee says Aspire’s real-time data also allows Down to Earth to standardize their contracts.
“We just went through a whole exercise this past year to make sure the hours line up, that we have a baseline we can follow, and have different budgets we can leverage to see how they perform with different contracts.”
Real-time data drives key decisions
Ahee says it’s not just field techs and account managers who experience “Aha!” moments after using Aspire. Down to Earth’s CEO and CFO regularly analyze real-time accounting and performance metrics in Aspire to make data-driven decisions to move the business forward.
“It allows us to see processes that are broken and where to fix them,” Ahee says. “Those are the cool ‘Aha!’ moments where you're like, ‘Hey, we have an issue here.’ For example, Aspire allowed us to see we had a purchasing issue in the regional catalog. We were able to fix it and revamp our catalog system.
“But my favorite thing in Aspire is looking at the work tickets and seeing how the performance numbers stack up against the job, then talking to the rest of the team about how they can improve and make a difference on their sales.”
Ready to leverage real-time business performance data just like Down to Earth to optimize all aspects of running your service business?
Aspire helps field service companies of all sizes, from lawn care and landscaping to janitorial and snow removal, simplify their day-to-day challenges, operate efficiently, and boost revenue. Reach out today for a personalized demo.
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