lawn service computer program

[TerraCare]

Above all else, I love working with computers. They fascinate me as to how much work they can accomplish in such little time. Well, that got me thinking. This year, my friend and I started a mowing company. When we started, I just happened to be taking a vocational class for computer programming/networking. One day in class I got this crazy idea that I would make a program that sets up nearly everything for my mowing business (had a lot of free time because I already knew what language we were working on). Well, after about 2 months of programming this program, I came up with a prototype version that has been very successful. My question is, how many people would actually be interested in purchasing something like this? The profit from something like this could really help to jumpstart my business and give me a little more capital to work with for next year. Here are some of the things that the program can do:

1. create a customer list
a) add/remove customers
b) hold customer information(such as address, phone, etc.)
c) edit customer information as well as notes to remember
important information.
d) classify account as res/comm
e) automatically write the monthly bill (explained later)
f) specify billing increments (ie weekly, monthly, 90-day, yearly)
g) mowing bid
h) plowing bid
2. Weekly checklist
a) as you check off customers on your "to do" list for the week,
the computer asks you if you would like the regular price
(the price you put under the bid category) or to specify.
b) keeps track yearly, monthly, weekly
c) has an "other" category which asks for a description of the
job and the price... just in case
d) asks whether the job was mowing or plowing
e) other (notes as a "to do" list or other uses)
3. billing
a) uses the checklist to automatically write bills to
customers
b) keeps records of bills for easy taxes
4. Equipment
a) lists types (trucks, mowers, trimmers, etc)
b) after you have specified which type, it asks to add/remove/edit
c) add
1) price
2) brand
3) other specific details (too many to list)
5. Expenses
a) gas
b) equipment
c) food
d) checkbook
e) other expenses
6. Employees
a) add/remove
b) wages/salaries
c) auto-paycheck
d) vacation dates (checkbox for paid or non-paid)
e) personal information (name, address, phone, etc)
e) other (section for notes)

more will be added to this I am sure. I may even add something to figure taxes and post updates on the net that can be downloaded. I am in no way trying to sell this right now, but would like to know if it would be worth my time to actually market this. Any suggestions would be very appreciated! thanks!

Todd Taylor
co-owner, Terra-Care Lawn and Landscaping

[dancom]

reply

I use quick books, your program sounds very similar. The only thing that neither quick books nor your program offer is scheduling. I would like to print out schedules on a daily basic to give each crew. These would come off my customer list. This might be something you want to think about adding to your program. Just a thought

[TerraCare]

reply

great idea! thanks! I have also been working out a few other things like user log-in and password protection for more secure information. I have used quickbooks for some other things and I have found that this program is a bit better in the respect that it is specifically tailored for a mowing business. The thing that I love about it is the fact that all my crew has to do is click a checkbox and the program automatically adds the job to the bill for the customer. Then, at the end of the month, the bill is all ready to print out. Quickbooks does a good job for a business in general, but I dont know if you can beat something that is actually made for the business. Is there anything you like from quickbooks that isnt mentioned in my program? More features I have been thinking of:

1. a "quick bid" where you just need to fill out a few fields and the bid is printed out with your company's letterhead and other information.

2. the new suggestion of a list that the crews need to complete.

3. automatic paychecks (owner needs to sign, but all filled out by computer).

always open for ideas, and thanks for the input!

todd

[GrassBustersLawn]

reply

DANCOM

I am using QuickBooks PRO 2002. I upgraded from the prior version. Only advantage is you can email STATEMENTS to clients. I have some commercial, out-of-state clients, so I needed to do this (to send bills to company headquarters). QCLIP can be bought from CLIP. It adds the SCHEDULING part that you were inquiring about. It is pricey, $495, but just consider it like another mower or piece of equipment. If it can get you out of the office 15 minutes earlier every day it will pay for itself!

[BergLawnCare]

reply

Are the printed invoices in a special form that the address and return address will show through a window in specific envelopes or will the envelopes need to be addressed? Also will this be able to track employees hrs for each day and give you a total at the end of the pay period and when doing payroll will it have the tax deductions already programmed in that it automatically deducts the appropriate taxes from the gross pay? i really think you have a good chance to market this being that it is designed for this profession only. Another way of marketing this would be to customize it for each individual owner....but i am not knowledgeable on the extent of computer programming so i don't know how intensified that would get, just a thought.

[dancom]

reply

Grassbuster
have you used that qclip. is it user friendly. i downloaded something to try that was suppose to work with quickbooks but it was very confusing i never did figure it out and i am pretty good on a computer.

[indmowing]

reply

One of our contractors daughters is a programmer and as she said to him it is like everyone has a wish list and everyone's wishlist is different!

I am not into programming but did a simply excel based thing for our members (actually we have two - one is for keeping track of customers only - which some of you have seen as was given to us by a member) and the other is like a mixture of things, accounts receivable/payable, cash receipts/payments, tax owed to the govnt, profit and loss, customer database & diary and auto calculated customer stats. The list of things that I could have added would have been endless!

I think you have covered a great deal of what is needed in such a program! It sound great. The only program we have of this type that I know of here in Australia is MowIt http://www.qualtech.webcentral.com.au/mow.html Might help with the ideas.

Take care all

Ebony