Contractor work requires many resources to keep the train moving. Once upon a time, we did everything via notebooks, yellow paper, and pencils, but nowadays we have vastly more advanced tools at our disposal.
If you don’t want to stay behind, it’s crucial to learn how to use these tools and unlock their full potential. Below are some of the best and most important resources a contractor could need – and most of them are free.
Google Docs
I can’t sing the praises of Google Docs enough.
Not long ago, Microsoft Office used to be the go-to word processor for the masses, but Docs has since surpassed it in usefulness. It lacks some of the most advanced editing features offered by Word, but it makes up for it by making itself more accessible and perfect for collaboration.
You can share and edit documents in real-time with your team, and the collaboration part is seamless. It’s easy to create contracts, invoices, as well as export them to PDF to email your clients.
And of course, it’s all saved in the cloud. Meaning that if for some reason you don’t have access to your personal computer, you can still find and share your documents with your phone or by logging in to any other PC.
You can also create templates for contracts, estimates and whatever else you may need, so that you can make new documents much faster by just copying the template and changing whatever information you need.
And of course, it’s totally free. All you need is a Google account and you’re free to use it.
WhatsApp Business
The most popular messaging app in the world has gotten a few new features since it was bought by Facebook.
One of the most recent of interest to contractors is the Business profile. It differentiates your account from other personal contacts with a special name tag, allows you to display prices for products or services, and charge clients directly from the app.
Obviously, you should always have a contract before charging for services, but having this feature makes it incredibly easy to keep track of small transactions.
Reviews
Reviews are a powerful tool for generating more sales. You should make a case for displaying good reviews on your website, Facebook page, and any other contractor aggregator you’re registered in. If you haven’t claimed your business in those yet, do it right away.
This will allow you to manage the page and reply to reviews, which is crucial for success. You can reply to good reviews with an honest “thank you”, and negative reviews should also be dealt with by trying to make amends with the client.
Learn how to deal with negative reviews!
Facebook Profile
Facebook is the most popular social network in the world by far and other platforms don’t even get close. As a business, you have to be there.
The business page for Facebook offers a number of powerful tools for free:
- You’re incredibly easy to find in the region you service
- Clients can leave reviews
- You have a dedicated messenger app specifically for business
- You can promote your page with paid ads (starting as low as $5)
- Generate engagement with likes and comments
Toggl Track
Knowing how much your time is worth is crucial for contractors. Quite often, services are charged based on time, so you should know how much your hour costs – as well as how long you take to perform certain tasks.
There are many options for tracking time out there, but Toggl stands out for being free and accessible. It can be used on desktops, phones, and even in combination with other apps for automatic time tracking.
Here are other apps that will help your contractor business!
Homeyou app
An easy way to increase sales is to use a lead generation app like homeyou.
Registering is fast and easy, and you can keep track of your leads with your smartphone wherever you are. You can set up exactly the budget and service area you’re working with to make sure you only receive leads that are valuable to you.
Take the first step towards growing your business today and start receiving leads that will make you money — Sign up with homeyou!
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