CarpetBossPro Blog — Scheduling & Dispatch

Moving Carpet Cleaning Scheduling Off the Paper Calendar: What to Check Before You Switch

Plenty of carpet cleaning companies still run on a paper calendar by the phone, a spreadsheet of past customers, and a group text with the techs. It works, more or less, until the second van, the second person answering the phone, or the busy season makes it break. Then the question is not whether to switch, but what to switch to.

Here is what to check before you move your schedule into software.

Start Where the Owner-Operator Is

The previous guide, Scheduling a One-Van Carpet Cleaning Business: The Owner-Operator Week, covered running the schedule with one van. Most companies that switch off paper are at that stage or just past it. The checklist below applies whether you have one van or several.

Does It Know What a Carpet Job Is?

Generic field-service software and calendar apps give each appointment a time and a notes box. A carpet cleaning job needs more:

• Which rooms, plus stairs, hallways, upholstery, rugs, mattresses and tile.
• Square feet and number of rooms.
• Add-ons like pet odor treatment, stain protector and deodorizer.
• Carpet type and cleaning method.
• Access notes: pets, gate codes, where to park, where to run the hose.

CarpetBossPro has these as carpet job details on every job and estimate, and a new job at a home fills in from that home's last job. If the software you are looking at only has a notes box, you will end up with half the job on paper anyway.

Does It Handle Repeat Customers?

Your yearly and six-month customers are the heart of the business. Check how the software brings them back. A fixed recurring appointment is fragile. CarpetBossPro sets repeat plans by minimum days between visits, counted from the last completed cleaning, and due homes appear on the Waiting List map colored not due yet, due now or overdue past a 7-day grace. The map is covered in The Waiting List Map: Every Yearly and Six-Month Carpet Cleaning That Has Come Due.

Can You See the Day by Van?

Check that the schedule works the way a carpet cleaning day works: by van, in order. CarpetBossPro has a dispatch board by day that filters by van, auto-routing Closest First or Furthest First from the shop, route order by hand, saved views and printed route sheets. Techs see the same order on their phones.

Does It Talk to Customers for You?

Much of the work paper does not do is communication. Check for automatic reminders and texts. CarpetBossPro sends automated reminders by text and email, on-the-way and arrived texts from the tech app, and offers a live route map in the customer app. Customers choose their alerts. Two-way texting keeps replies in the office.

Can You Get Your Customers In?

Re-typing a customer list is the biggest barrier to switching. CarpetBossPro takes a CSV import, and imported addresses are placed on the map automatically. Export your spreadsheet, import it, and your customers show up on the map. Add their plans and you are close to running from the Waiting List.

A good order for the switch:

• Import customers and addresses by CSV.
• Set up your service list and prices.
• Put repeat customers on their plans.
• Add vans and techs with personal PINs.
• Run one week in software alongside paper, then drop the paper.

Does It Work for the Techs?

If the techs will not use it, the switch fails. CarpetBossPro's tech app runs in the browser on iPhone and Android and installs to the home screen, with no app store. Techs log in with the company login and a personal PIN and see their jobs in route order with navigation, job details and access notes, plus Start / Skip / Complete, the carpet checklist, photos and the time clock.

What Does It Cost?

CarpetBossPro plans are Start at $59, Pro at $89 and Crew at $199 per month, with scheduling, the tech app and the customer app on every plan. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with no credit card. There is also a live demo, a fully stocked sample carpet cleaning company you can click around without signing up, at my.carpetbosspro.com/demo.html.

Make the Switch Before Busy Season

The worst time to switch is the week before the holiday rush. The best time is a quieter month, when you can run a week alongside paper and learn the board without pressure. To see every piece of the scheduling side in one place, visit the CarpetBossPro carpet cleaning scheduling software page.