As a tradesperson, you will already have a way of monitoring your workload. You’ll be keeping records of everything that you need to ensure that you get everything done that you need to. If you are working without a job sheet or without taking advantage of a job sheet template, then it is likely that you are duplicating tasks and making life a little harder than it needs to be.
At Labourless, we’re all about making life for tradespeople as easy as possible. Running your own business as a tradesperson can be tough and it is always useful to find ways that can improve how your business runs and ensure that you are being as efficient as possible. That is just what a job sheet will do for you.
We’re going to take a look at how job sheet templates can help your business. We’re also going to take a look at some alternatives and then explore how going digital could be the best option for you. Let’s take a look.
What to include on a job sheet template
The benefits of using a job sheet are many, but the most obvious is that it ensures that all of the information that you need is brought together and recorded in one place. Without a job sheet, there is always the possibility that scrap pieces of paper become the norm. It could be that one piece of paper is used for a quote, another for an update, and yet another when the job has been completed. This may be half okay in the early days, but as your business grows so does the number of pieces of scrap paper!
No matter how organised you may be, it becomes too easy to overlook, or even lose, that vital piece of paper. The best way to avoid this is by using a job sheet template that covers all of the information that you need and brings it together in one place. Ideally, a job sheet will include:
The details of your customer
This will cover your customers address, and the site you’ll be working at if that is different, as well as any contact details such as mobile numbers and an email address.
Information about the job
Details of what the job actually involves. It may be useful to include a job number for your reference as well as competition dates.
Materials used
To make sure that you are quoting and billing accurately you should be recording the materials that you have used. You can also include part numbers/references in case you need to reorder.
Any additional notes
An area for anything else that could be useful. This may include other works that are recommended.
Working times
A record of which team member has worked on each job is always useful. This means that when it comes to timesheets, you already have a record of the hours worked and on which job.
Any attachments
It may be useful to attach photos of any completed works or to keep a visual record of any issues that you have come across.
Potential issues with paper-based job sheets
If you have decided that a job sheet is the way to go, the next point to consider is how you are going to introduce these. The most basic job sheet template can be produced as a paper record and can be taken back and forth each time that you or your employees are working. Although a paper-based job sheet may appear the simplest solution, there are a couple of issues with this approach:
- Your employees may react badly to the need to manually complete additional records
- There is always the potential that paper records can get lost
Regardless of how you decide to use job sheets in your business, and we hope that you can see that you should be, you will need to take the time to involve your team. You will need their understanding and their buy-in to make the use of job sheets a success. Developing a job sheet template that is easy to follow and quick to complete is a vital part of this.
Are there any job sheet template alternatives?
It could be that you don’t believe that a job sheet template would be a great fit for your business, even though you recognise the need to keep track of all that is going on in your business. If that sounds like you then it may be worth taking a look at software such as Google Calendar. This is free to use (the basic version) and you can use it to schedule jobs that your team can see in real-time. There are additional features to this software but these require a monthly subscription.
Using software such as this has advantages over paper-based job sheets in that you cannot misplace your information or lose it! You can also allow all members of your team to view details at the same time via their mobile phones or tablets. If that sounds appealing, then there is another option that may suit your business even more.
Utilising job management software
By using job management software, you can keep track of all of the information that you need in a single place. What we offer at Labourless, is a tool that simplifies the records that you need to keep and ensures that you can share whatever you need to with your team in an instant. There is no need for paper-based records, that can get lost, and no need to wait for any updates to be submitted – everything updates in real-time as soon as you or your team make any changes.
If you are serious about seeing the benefits that job sheets can bring to your business, you will find that Labourless brings all of these features into one, easily accessible place:
- Diary and calendar
- Job management
- All of your contacts
- Receipts
- Photos of works
- Quotes
- Invoices
- Business reports
- A means to get paid
- Task management
- Gantt charts
- Timesheets
If you want to see how Labourless can work for you and your business, get in touch today and take advantage of our 30-day free trial.
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