smart phones for lawn care operations

[ADVANTEC LAWNS]

just wondering is there really a need for a smartphone if you own a lawn service / landscaping company before i go out and invest in one.other than to check the weather and e mails. what else can you do with a smartphone in the green industry

[tonygreek]

You can run most any aspect of your business from them, including scheduling, invoicing, payment processing via Square/PayPal/Intuit, and decent resolution photography for your portfolio of work. Also, if you go with the iPhone, take a look at ServiceVines.com (lawnsite member and sponsor, ptjackson) freebie iPhone app or his website that offers a pretty slick lot measuring tool.

[HPI_Savage25]

I use an iPhone and love it. I use it for e-mails, pictures, gps, ect. Also can accept credit/debit cards with it.

I use a bluetooth headset so I get to listen to my music all day also.

[ADVANTEC LAWNS]

is it really worth spending 120 dollars a month?

[McFarland_Lawn_Care]

It depends on your business. For me Yes it is worth it. I bought my first one ever 3 months ago and use it to take pictures of jobs and email them to customers right from the site. We have a lot of seasonal vacation properties and customers like updates on work. Also when I get emails or leads off the website, they come directly to my phone and often I can address the problem or meet the customer or give the estimate right away or at least schedule it. Last, I do our scheduling on my phone, can enter payments on my phone, it all gets synced to our Quickbooks, also take pictures of all receipts for business, so cuts down on all the clutter, this ALSO gets uploaded to QB and automatically entered into the check register. Also tracks time on/off job sites, notes during jobs, you name it!! Just like you I was not sold on it from the beginning and loved the simpler phones, but after having it, the value cuts way down on my headaches and frees up more time for other stuff. Not to mention my calendar and other apps. Takes a bit of time to get used to , but it depends on your reception and your business.

[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by ADVANTEC LAWNS

is it really worth spending 120 dollars a month?

Go to sprint if you get good coverage in your area, unlimited EVERYTHING runs all of $79 a month or so, cheaper per phone if you have additional lines on your plan.

[ANA Proscapes]

I second the iPhone. Had a crackberry for a couple of yrs and thought it was great until I was introduced to the iPhone. Now I don't know how I lived with out it. Try it and you will be amazed.
Posted via Mobile Device

[newguy123]

I use an android...if you use Service Autopilot there's a lot of features to use on whatever smartphone you choose.

[gcbailey]

I've had a blackberry, Windows Phone (samsung) and now the Samsung Galaxy S III. Love the 1st and the current, hated the windows phone. I use it a ton for emailing, sending pics to clients who live out of state and own rental property, weather checking, GPS.... just about everything including a paper weight!

[recycledsole]

you can get simple mobile (tmobile towers) for $40/ month no contract. boost mobile (sprint) $50/month no contract for smart phones with unlimited text, talk, and 2gb data (if youre not using free unlimited wifi).