Using Custom Measuring Groups For Snow Removal Proposals
Snow season is just around the corner. Do you have all your snow removal and ice management proposals ready to go?
You may already know that Go iLawn and Go iPave provide great tools for creating snow removal proposals, but did you know you can customize our measurement grouping features to make your snow proposals more meaningful and easier to interpret?
Here are a few tips and tricks for getting the most out of your property measurements and images for winning those snow management jobs this winter.
Tip #1 – Create Custom Groups for Snow Removal Services
It’s easy to differentiate parking lots and driveways from sidewalks and walkways using the default “Asphalt” and “Concrete” groups, but you can customize your groups to give more detail. For example, you can create groups to help you separate drive lanes from parking areas in parking lots, or mark primary access walkways differently than secondary walks.
Some of our clients will also set up custom groups for the types of equipment they’ll use on a property to help facilitate their snow operations. For example, you can create groups for areas that you plan to service with a 10′ snowplow, a skid loader, hand shovel, and a snow blower.
Each group will be a different color, so in this scenario you’re using your groups to do more than calculate measurements and produce your estimate. You’re also creating a nice property diagram you can hand off to operations to demonstrate your strategy for servicing the property… without any extra effort.
Plus, when you measure a property with custom groups, your spreadsheet with your Go iLawn or Go iPave measurement results automatically becomes more comprehensive and easier to interpret. Each group’s measurement results will be sub totaled for you, so you know exactly how many square feet you will service with your 10′ plow, your skid loader etc.
See the example below of a Go iLawn spreadsheet that was produced by using the custom grouping feature, and check out this short video on how to set up custom groups.
Tip #2 – Save and Re-Use a Custom Group File
Once you’ve decided how to format your perfect snow and ice management proposal, you can save your custom groups as a template you can use next time. Simply take that perfect set of snow proposal groups and save them as custom group file.
In Go iLawn and Go iPave, you can save as many custom groups as you would like. You can also have several sets of custom group templates that you can use for different types of proposals or properties.
For example, if you use different pieces of equipment to service residential properties than you do when servicing commercial properties, you can set up a custom group file to use when measuring each property type.
Here’s a Great Video that shows you exactly how to set these up.
Tip #3- Start Measuring Properties for Snow Now
Even if your customer isn’t ready to receive a snow removal proposal from you, measure the property now- especially if you’re already measuring it for landscaping or pavement maintenance. By using the grouping feature you can keep your measurements for each type of bid separate, and when it comes time to deliver your snow removal proposal, you’ll already have your measuring out of the way.
Have Questions?
If you have questions or want to see how a custom groups setup can save you time and help you win jobs this snow season, stop by and see us at the Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA) Symposium next week.
Look for us under the Go iLawn banner in booth #715, and we’ll be happy to show you how to use our tools to win more snow removal business this season.
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