Mowing Schedule

[Lawnboy85]

I have been mowing for 5 years now, and I have yet to find a schedule form that will help me schedule in my mowing jobs. I hate keeping my upcoming schedule written on post-it pads. I am looking for a schedule form that would allow me to have the month, days 1-31, and my clients' information - all of this in some type of graph form (possibly using Microsoft Excel 2003). I've seen an idea of having all of the information I just listed in a graph form, where I would have to line up the client's name on left side of page, with the day of the month, and shade in the box. Hopefully I have not confused anyone reading this! I would appreciate several ideas from anyone that is a lawn mowing expert.

Thanks,
Lawnboy85

[Ric3077]

I would just get gopher or something like that it will do everything you need.

[Lawntime Mowers]

This might help

[MarcSmith]

lawn.

I had my customer list (last names) in in excel spread sheet in one column I had one page for each day and by each client there were five boxes. At the top of the boxed column I would hand write in the date, and in the box, I would put in AM/PM/Skip

So at a glance I could tell if the lawn was cut on X day in the morning, after lunch or was skipped on that day....
Each dy got a peice of paper andit gave me enough space to write notes, so when I did my invoices I make comments, or I could call the customer as I noticed something wrong...

this information, along with a client list, and all serial number of all equipment, insurance, Biz Lic, Pestr Lic, WC ins, plant costa, labor rates, rental rates,ect was in a three ring binder in the truck. It was my BIBLE....It never left my sift. if I went somwere for lunch, it came with me.

[fiveoboy01]

I use google calendar. Simple to use, I can schedule stuff weekly, bi-weekly or whenever, all I have to do is bring it up and it shows me what I need to do for the day.

[Team-Green L&L]

If you are interested in growing as a company I wouldn't recommend anything short of a recurring accounting software ie, Groundskeeper Pro, QXpress, Gopher, or CLIP. All these softwares will provide you with the tools to grow as a business into a medium-capacity company. At that time you would more than likely have a database of some kind. We use a custom Sql database that stores all our clients, subs, and distributors. It also tracks all email addresses, physical addresses, and phone numbers of anyone who provides them. This info is great for direct marketing.

[Rons Rightway Lawncare]

I just take a sheet of paper and hand write the days of the week and then under that the date of the month, for a two week period. Then for each day I put down the name of each client I am to go service for the two week period.

As I go out on my route and do the jobs I just scratch a line through the name with a pen, which reminds me that this job was done. If I show up and yard doesn't need it the name gets a big X in pen over the name. If I don't get out to do it on the day scheduled I totally scratch off the name from that day and reassign it to a new day on the page.

At the end of the week I sit down and transfer the work done off the list into my customers files and then I am done.

Any side work or extra work I need to do I put at the bottom of the list as a reminder.... and if I am on the phone while out and need a place to write down a number or whatever I use the back of the list for this.

Works for me.

[DBL]

use a notebook each customer gets their own page and when they get cut put the time and date down

on the last page of the notebook put each customer down in a list on the far right then make it into a chart with week 1 - week ? and put a check in for each week when you cut them so you can quick glance and make sure no one got skipped

works for me

[Az Gardener]

This stuff just kills me, :dizzy: when did we begin to need software to schedule our days? Like someone above mentioned, pen, paper, write it down. If you want to get fancy draw some columns and put the budgeted times to the side of the clients name.

I controlled over 200 accounts that way for years with no problems. We would add two to three clients per month. Every 3-4 months I would have to rework the schedule. A computer and software would only have made the process more difficult.

I am all for technology if it actually simplifies things or speeds them up. But you should be looking at your ROI. I just don't see it for scheduling software. I would welcome some illustration of how this technology will simplify or speed things up. I am always open to new ideas possibly I am missing something.

[Grass Kickin]

I use a hardbound black date book. I mow each customer on the same day throughout the season. Despite having about 80 accounts I can pretty much do the route each day by memory. Unless you have ton of accounts, you could likely do it that way too. I keep everything organized on the computer as well.

[nysuz]

We do it the manual way. 110 cuts. Put the list down in the order of the mowing. Write in the mowing list for the days work and cross them off at the beginning of the list. That way you don't forget someone. Sometimes a lawn is sprayed or it pours like cats and dogs. Just use the old noggin to rearrange the schedule. We had lawns go 4-5 weeks without taking a cut in the summer. Does software work that in as well or does that customer show up every day as undone. Dunno. I prefer to do the routing and shifts the old fashioned way.

[Az Gardener]

Seriously if someone can explain to me how a scheduling program (software) benefits their company to save time or increase production I would love to hear about it. I don't know everything and may be way off the mark here, if so I would like to know how it saves time. Always looking for ways to improve.

[Total.Lawn.Care]

Like some other posts I have read, use MS Outlook for scheduling. You can print your schedule out by day, week, or even month is you want. You can set appointments as Re-occuring and they will automatically pop up again on the next scheduled service day. I used it when I first started, but due to my regular job work schedule, my mowing was erradic and did not work for me at the time. I have more customers now and have steamlined a bit in the last 6 months with my growth and I will be able to use it when the season starts back up.

I also have to get back into the habit of taking my laptop in the truck with me, that way I have all my tools for estimates, job notes, bill collecting, etc.

[Total.Lawn.Care]

I think you are looking for something like this. This was a quick throw together and needs a little refining. I can also figure out a way to write formulas into it that will automatically place a number or an X in the box on the proper mowing day for the customer. It will take a little expereimenting, but it can be done. I would not be able to automatically shade it, but an X would do the same thing. See what you think. It is not full-proof, but I think I can see your idea.

[Tim Wright]

I think that if you are maintaining a small amount of lawns, then the software just is not necessary for scheduling. However, it would be wise to have a detailed way of knowing what jobs are costing you more or less, and where your most profits are coming from.

If and when you want to go crazy in growing to a huge number of lawns, and also systemetize your business, software is I THINK the easiest way to plug others into the system, and also THE EASIEST to JOB COST huge quantities of accounts.

I also believe in starting when you can handle it so changes and learning are as painless as possible.

Tim

[Az Gardener]

I think that if you are maintaining a small amount of lawns, then the software just is not necessary for scheduling. However, it would be wise to have a detailed way of knowing what jobs are costing you more or less, and where your most profits are coming from.

If and when you want to go crazy in growing to a huge number of lawns, and also systemetize your business, software is I THINK the easiest way to plug others into the system, and also THE EASIEST to JOB COST huge quantities of accounts.

I also believe in starting when you can handle it so changes and learning are as painless as possible.

Tim
No disrespect but I am a stickler for the English language. So please explain to me how tracking job costs falls under the category of scheduling?

The most important aspect to getting a handle on job costs is getting information from the field. The most cost effective way to accomplish this is with paper and pen. beyond that it should not take software to look at a months worth of worksheets and see did we make or loose money. Buying PDA's or lap tops for the everyday field use is a misuse of your company money, bad ROI.

[MarcSmith]

No disrespect but I am a stickler for the English language. So please explain to me how tracking job costs falls under the category of scheduling?

If you have poor abilities to keep track of your schedule, then everytyhing else is lost.

If you have a crew doing 30 lawns a day a PDA might be easier, in that you only have to enter data once. The less times you have to handle data, the less likely hood of getting it mixed up or incorrect.

I had the pen and paper approach, and every nite or at least once a week when I got home I had plug that data into the quickbooks.

Man if could have used a PDA and just plugged that into the computer and had the data transfer, life would have been easier.

Look at electric and gas companies, rememebr how they used to walk door to door reading the meters....Heck now they drive up and down the street and don't even have to stop, the computers download the info on the fly...same Idea.

[Beau Rivage]

My trusty Daytimer hasn't let me down yet:weightlifter: ...but I'm solo.

[Tim Wright]

No disrespect but I am a stickler for the English language. So please explain to me how tracking job costs falls under the category of scheduling?

The most important aspect to getting a handle on job costs is getting information from the field. The most cost effective way to accomplish this is with paper and pen. beyond that it should not take software to look at a months worth of worksheets and see did we make or loose money. Buying PDA's or lap tops for the everyday field use is a misuse of your company money, bad ROI.

No Problem AZ.

As far as I am concerned it ties in because time is money, and a well laid out schedule is time, and if you have a program that does all of it, then it equals or should equal ease of figuring cost.

So perhaps I am off base, but volume and schedule & routing to me equals money.

That is why I brought it up.

Hopefully I did not unwanted thought into the picture,

Tim

[Az Gardener]

I think this is a great debate. I'm glad to be able to talk to others in the industry about such things, it beats the hell out of which mower to buy.

How can a program do all of it? Do you just plug in the addresses and the program tells you who's home to go to first second thired and so on? I am guessing you have to program in all the variables. Unless I am missing something it sounds like a platform to install what is inyour head and my contension is you can do it faster and more econimicly with a paper and pen.

I will give you my system and let me know if you can see any way to streamline it with technoligy.

I produce a schedule for the ongoing accounts it looks like this

Milroy 3
[*Levatter 3
Ellegard 5
Herman 3
Yard 6


That is one day there are 5 days in the column. The crew has this schedule it rarely changes maybe the budgeted time changes from one month to another but it is pretty basic. I can do it by hand or on the Excel spreadshhet so it looks pretty.

When the guys get to a job the foreman fills out a wortksheet.
Total hrs._____
The Gardener

Client_________________________ Client # __________ Day________ Date_--___-_____-______
Budgeted hours_________ Who completed worksheet_______ Conditions _______________
Services provided by
Name time in time out total time ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Duties *Final Walk through all piles picked up, gates closed and latched ____________________________
____

[Az Gardener]

An example of my reluctance to expand my dependence on technology. That was a garbled mess. I was hitting my space bar to get some things on my worksheet to line up and it went ahead and submitted my incomplete post. I will try and compose my thoughts and finish.

[Az Gardener]

The worksheet has a bunch of Items the crew checks off that they completed. They actually initial who did what, it takes about 1-3 min tops to fill out. My guys who are more computer literate than myself agree with me that PDA's or laptops would just be a waste of money.

I get the worksheets from the day, I review them then I file them under each clients name and at the end of the month I make sure they are in order and I staple them together. I put a sticky on the front with the extra billable items and my wife enters them into the computer to produce the bill. I keep a yearly blank spreadsheet in the clients file and I write the total monthly hours on it month by month so I can review if I think the hours are out of line.

Can this be streamlined, yes but at what cost and to what benefit?

Well now you all know I can't spell worth a damn and I use spell check extensively. My cover is blown.

[Dunn's]

There is no way I can spend the amount of time it will take to explain how software made for this industry can speed up scheduling and take a little bit of the load of your mind by not having to worry if you remembered to cut everyone that day since you can print it out by date our route. As well as printing drop off notes for the customers to let them know you where there. as well as help you figure out if you are making money or losing it. Not to be mean but just because you are progressed in your years and have trouble with the computer and the software does not mean that it is not a better system. Just check out the sample version of Groundskeeper Pro. Even though it does not do the software justice and yes it would be great if the software had the ability to upload or download to a pda, but hey maybe on the next update it will!

[Az Gardener]

A business is in business to make money and possibly provide some enjoyment to the owner if done correctly. I guess if you enjoy technology and would bring you pleasure to do it all and know where every dime was lost then it would have value to you.

On the other hand you need to save enough to pay for the technology you have implemented to make financial sense.

So the software cost I'm guessing 300 bucks and the PDA cost another 300 bucks and you have to install the software learn to operate it train your employees to operate it. Your value has to be near 100 bucks per hour as the owner and the employees at least 20 per hour bare minimum cost but then you are also loosing the revenue they would generate if they were producing rather than learning the new system. Conservatively speaking I'm guessing you will have 1-K in costs just to get up and running. So how long will it take you to recoup that 1-K

So you want to write a note to a client letting them know you were there. What is faster pulling out a Lap top and typing it or maybe with PDA's you can hook up a printer (I didn't figure a printer into costs) or just writing a note on a 5X7 note pad with company letterhead very professional and personal and about a minute and .04 worth of materials. If they are going to be printed at the office why do you need anything but word to do that.

As far as figuring out if you are making or loosing money that is what your accounting software is for.

I don't want to pick on you and you don't have to explain all the reasons technology will save time and money just give me one way that scheduling or field operations software will save us money? Just one. I am getting up there so you may have to type slow so I understand but work with me here I'm trying to learn.

[Az Gardener]

I really wish some more people would chime in on this subject.

I have some experience with this as a good friend and colleague of mine jumped in with both feet with the CLP program a few years ago. By coincidence he had a former employee of mine working for him in a supervisor capacity. I asked the former employee about the setup if it was cool how much better it was all that. His reply we do the same volume than you and have three girls in the office. What do you think.

My wife works 3 days a week in our office.

About a year later I asked the friend how he liked it. He was dumping it because it was too costly. You were forced to pay a monthly service and you had to buy the updates or your system would not work. The funny part was he said it just makes putting out the information take longer and cost more. That was 2 years ago maybe things have improved.

[JJLandscapes]

use a graph paper book makes it easy .. adress on left side then X in the next box everytime you cut

[topsites]

National® Brand Analysis Pads, 6 Columns, 8 1/2" x 11" (http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?prodCatType=0&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=10577&cmArea=SEARCH)

Please note the picture on that web site is of a 5-column pad.
Yes, the 6 column pad has the big space on the left PLUS SIX columns.
Be careful if you go to staples, make sure you get the right one, the 5 is very similar to the 6 in looks.