10% business increase for LGB Vision

Please can you tell us a little about your business?

LGB Vision in its current form has been trading since 2011 and covers Bedfordshire. We are fast approaching 1000 customers, made up of 95% domestic and 5% commercial clients.

We offer all the services related to window cleaning including solar panel cleaning, conservatory roof cleaning, gutter cleaning and pressure washing amongst others.

What window cleaning software did you use before CleanerPlanner, and why did you move?

We used George window cleaning software, which I not only found slow and unreliable, it also tied us to a single computer and a paper-based system to track progress during the day that involved having to manually update the system at the end of the day. Moving to CleanerPlanner solved those problems – we can access it from anywhere and any device, and update the progress of our work on the move using the mobile app.

How easy was it to move over to CleanerPlanner and how long did it take you to get to grips with the system?

The process was simple – CleanerPlanner imported our customers for us from George. It took less than 20 minutes to get to grips with the standard features of the CleanerPlanner system.

Has CleanerPlanner saved you time, and if so, can you guesstimate how much time per week?

Most definitely – CleanerPlanner has saved a minimum of 5 hours a week in admin time. That’s a cost saving in time of over 20 hours a month; time I can now spend developing more business, carrying out my work and ultimately earning more money.

Has CleanerPlanner allowed you to take on more business?

Absolutely, yes – CleanerPlanner has allowed me to take on at least 10% more overall business. More importantly though, it’s allowed me to make my existing work more efficient and more profitable. CleanerPlanner’s clear, planner format allows you to see flaws in your round, from badly performing days to inefficiently laid out work – I’ve been able to cleanse my workload, optimise each and every day and make my business more profitable. That’s something I could never do with George, Excel or a paper-based system.

Has CleanerPlanner allowed you to provide a better service to your customers and if so, how?

Without a doubt – as a simple example, I have a customer that has to have their windows cleaned on a Friday. In the past, trying to schedule in my work so that that one job was always carried out on a Friday was complicated and time-consuming, and almost not worth it. CleanerPlanner has a simple feature that allows you to automatically schedule work in for a specific day, which means the job is scheduled perfectly 100% of the time with zero effort on my part!

Aside from that that I’m now able to offer convenient payment options to my customers like card and direct debit payments, which keeps my business up to speed with modern standards and what customers expect. I think window cleaning is being viewed as a more professional trade these days, and CleanerPlanner forms a key part of that for us.

Are there any CleanerPlanner features that you couldn’t live without?

Yes, several. Firstly the GoCardless integration has put me in control of when my customers pay – in fact it’s also massively convenient for them too, which is why more and more of my customers are signing up for it. Also, the ability to send text notifications has been a huge time saver – it’s given me personal time back that I don’t want to spend sending text messages. Customers get a professional-looking text message from ‘LGB Vision’ – not only does that look good, but they also can’t reply to it, meaning I no longer get text messages coming through at times of day that are not ideal!

Has your debt management improved since using CleanerPlanner?

It’s definitely reduced the the time I spend chasing and managing debts, but CleanerPlanner has helped with my customer’s accounts in other ways too. I recently had a client phone up regarding his bill and question if we carried out the work. Within minutes, I had emailed him a full statement of accounts for the past 2 years, including exactly when we had carried out the clean in question – we received his payment shortly afterwards. Again – that’s something that would have been impossible without CleanerPlanner, and we probably would have lost that money. CleanerPlanner gives you the ability to instill confidence in your customers that you are a professional, legitimate and trustworthy company.

To summarise, how would you say CleanerPlanner has changed your business?

Quite simply, it’s revolutionised the way we work. Since joining CleanerPlanner, LGB Vision has modernised, grown and become more profitable. CleanerPlanner just gives you more time, reduces your expenses, boosts your income and it does it quickly! I value my time, so I don’t see CleanerPlanner as a cost – to me CleanerPlanner is saving me money.

What advice would you give to window cleaners that may be considering using CleanerPlanner?

What have you got to lose? There’s a free trial so you get the chance to try it for yourself – I guarantee if you put the effort into getting to grips with the system, it will completly change the way you work and for the better. Also, it’s not as complicated as it might look at first, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you pick it up.