Plumbing · HVAC · Electrical · Pest Control · Pool Service

Service Trades Operations Self-Audit

The 12 operational areas that separate high-margin field service businesses from the rest — scored with specific steps to fix what is costing you.

20–25 minutes · 12 sections · Scored findings with action steps
What this audit covers
  • Job & Schedule Management
  • Accounting & Visibility
  • Payment Collection
  • Service Agreements
  • Customer Communication
  • Reviews & Reputation
  • Lead Generation
  • Technician Payroll
  • GPS & Fleet
  • Compliance
  • Hiring & HR
  • Business Continuity
What you get
  • On-screen score the moment you submit
  • Gaps ranked by priority and revenue impact
  • Specific action steps you can implement yourself
  • Tool and platform recommendations with context
  • Full report emailed within 72 hours
Get Started — $197 →
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Plumbing · HVAC · Electrical · Pest Control · Pool Service

How Much Is Your Field Service Business Leaving on the Table?

This audit covers the 12 operational areas that drive profit and growth in a service trades business. Answer honestly. Your results are specific to your answers.

⏱ 20-25 minutes📋 12 areas covered✓ Detailed results at the end
0% complete
Job & Schedule Management
Section 1 of 12
Florida SB 1718 -- if you have 25 or more employees, is E-Verify running for every new hire within 3 business days?
E-Verify runs for every hire within 3 days -- results kept 3 years
Under 25 employees -- not required, but I monitor headcount
25+ employees and E-Verify is not consistently being used
Not sure of headcount relative to the 25-employee threshold
What software manages your jobs, scheduling, and dispatch?
ServiceTitan
Enterprise FSM
Jobber
Housecall Pro
FieldEdge
Service Fusion
Workiz
Google Calendar / spreadsheet
Whiteboard / phone / memory
How automated is your job-to-invoice workflow right now?
Job closes, invoice sends, books update automatically
Mostly automated, a few manual steps
Partially automated, still lots of manual work
Fully manual from job to invoice
Can you see all open jobs, technician locations, and job status from your phone right now?
Yes, full real-time view from anywhere
Partially, some information only at the office
No, have to be at the office or call techs
Accounting & Financial Visibility
Section 2 of 12
What accounting software are you using?
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Desktop
Xero
Spreadsheets only
How does your field service software connect to your accounting system?
Live sync, closes automatically
Manual export/import periodically
Someone re-enters data by hand
No connection, fully separate
Can you see job-level profitability (revenue minus parts, labor, and overhead per job) right now?
Yes, by job and job type
Revenue only, not margins
No job-level visibility
Payment Collection
Section 3 of 12
How do most customers pay you?
Card collected at job close
Same-day cash flow
Invoice by email after job
Paper invoice mailed
Check mailed by customer
What is your average time from completing a job to receiving payment?
Same day or next day
Within a week
2 to 4 weeks
30 days or more
Service Agreements & Recurring Revenue
Section 4 of 12
Do you offer maintenance plans or service agreements?
Agreement customers call more, cancel less, and refer more than one-time customers.
Yes, active and growing
Yes, small base, not actively selling
No, but want to start
No, not currently offered
How do you track and renew service agreements?
ServiceTitan data: manual agreement tracking produces a 37% renewal rate. Automated renewal outreach consistently exceeds 70%.
Automated renewal via FSM platform
Reminders and billing auto-triggered
Tracked in a spreadsheet
In FSM but manually followed up
No formal tracking system
Customer Communication & Follow-Up
Section 5 of 12
What does a customer experience after a completed job?
Automated invoice/receipt via text or email
Automated review request (Google, etc.)
Follow-up call or text from a person
Nothing, job closes and that's it
How do technicians update customers about arrival time or job status?
Automated ETA and status texts via platform
Tech calls or texts manually
Office calls the customer
No proactive updates, customer waits
Reviews & Online Reputation
Section 6 of 12
How do you request reviews after a completed job?
Automated request after every job close
Via FSM or NiceJob, Podium, etc.
Tech asks manually, sometimes
No process, hope they leave one
How many Google reviews did your business receive in the last 30 days?
10 or more
3 to 9
1 to 2
None
Not tracking
Lead Generation & Tracking
Section 7 of 12
Where do most new customers come from?
Google organic / GBP
Google Local Services Ads
Angi / HomeAdvisor / Thumbtack
Referrals from past customers
Word of mouth only
Do you know which lead source produces your most profitable customers?
Yes, tracked by source in our FSM
Roughly, gut feel
No, not tracked
Payroll & Technician Compensation
Section 8 of 12
How is technician pay calculated each week?
Automatically via FSM platform
ServiceTitan, Jobber, HCP
Manual spreadsheet weekly
Gusto or payroll platform, auto-calculated
Mix of manual and automated
Do technicians clock in and out digitally on every job?
Yes, digitally on every job via FSM or app
Sometimes, not consistently
Paper timesheets
Honor system
GPS & Fleet Tracking
Section 9 of 12
Do you have GPS tracking on your service vehicles?
Yes, integrated with FSM dispatch
Samsara, Verizon Connect, Fleet Complete
Yes, standalone GPS app (separate from FSM)
Tech phone location only, no dedicated GPS
No GPS tracking
How do you dispatch the nearest available technician to a new job?
GPS map in FSM shows locations, dispatcher assigns
Call techs to find who is nearest
Dispatcher knows where everyone is from memory
No real-time dispatch process
Compliance & Background Checks
Section 10 of 12
Do you run background checks on all technicians who enter customer homes?
Yes, all technicians, at hire
Some, not consistently
No background checks
How do you track license, certification, and insurance renewal deadlines for your business and techs?
Documented calendar with automated reminders
Spreadsheet, reviewed manually
Owner memory and paper files
No formal tracking
Hiring, Onboarding & HR
Section 11 of 12
When you hire a new technician, what does the onboarding process look like?
Digital onboarding via Gusto or Rippling
All paperwork done before first day
Paper forms, handled during first week
Informal, done as-needed
Current staffing situation
Fully staffed, not actively hiring
1 to 2 positions open
3 or more positions open
Constant turnover, always recruiting
Business Continuity & Storm Readiness
About Your Operation When You Can't Be There
If a storm watch went up tomorrow and you had to evacuate by Thursday -- which of these would your business still have running on Friday?
Select all that apply. This matters in coastal Florida -- three named storms hit Tampa Bay in 65 days in 2024.
Automated customer emails going out on schedule (sequences, notifications, follow-ups)
New customer inquiries or leads still being captured via online form or booking system
A pre-built closure notification ready to send to my customer list in one click
All vendor and supplier contacts documented somewhere other than my personal phone
None of these -- my operation requires me to be present to keep running Gap
Is your equipment, tools, and vehicle fleet documented with current values for insurance purposes?
Yes -- current photos and a digital inventory log exist in cloud storage Good
Partially -- some documentation exists but it has not been updated recently Partial
No -- if the location were damaged tomorrow, the insurance claim would be based on memory High Gap
After a major storm, demand for your services will spike. Do you have a way to capture leads when your team is already on jobs and the phone cannot be answered?
Yes -- automated email or text to the customer list, works whether or not I am at the location Good
Manual but fast -- I have a template and the list, I can send in a few minutes from anywhere Manageable
Social media post -- customers who follow us will see it Gap
No plan -- I would figure it out when it happened High Gap
About Your Business
Section 12 of 12
What is the single biggest operational problem you are dealing with right now?
If you took a full week off with no calls, what would break first?
Everything — nothing runs without me
Major decisions would stall, operations continue
Minor things fall through, mostly fine
Runs fine, I have done it

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