Field notes
The trade, the paperwork and the bit in between
Short pieces about running a services business — written for the person who is on a ladder at eight and doing the invoicing at nine. No growth hacks. Things that change what happens on Monday.
Why a small business needs a CRM
Not because it is big enough to need software — because the money leaks out between the notebook, the diary and the inbox, and it does that whatever size you are.
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Why quotes go quiet, and what to do on day three
Most quotes are not turned down. They are never answered at all — and the difference between a job and silence is usually one short message, sent before the customer has spoken to anybody else.
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Getting paid without chasing
Late payment is usually a paperwork problem before it is a customer problem. Six things to fix on the invoice itself, before you pick up the phone.
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Turning one-off jobs into a round
A round is worth more than the same work sold twice: it is booked, priced and routed already. How to ask for the next visit, and when.
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The first hour after an enquiry
Nobody sends one enquiry. They send three, and the first business to reply is usually the one that gets to quote. Here is a first hour you can actually keep to.
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Run the whole round on one board
Enquiries become quotes, quotes become scheduled jobs, jobs become invoices — and repeat work books its own next visit.
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