Method:Classic General Q&A

Re: Several Quick Questions

John M — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:43:03 GMT

Almost forogt

When planning my routes, I use the activity group screen rout function. On that list i will have things like Landscaping, Irrigation, Pest/Fert etc.

I then use the sort field and enter a number. That number is a area thati do work in. So if sort field has 10 that means San Jose, 20 would be Monterey and 30 would be Santa Cruz.

Then i go to the work order list screen look at my work orders for the week and now i can see all my irriation jobs, landscape jobs etc. By using the sort field this tells me what i need to do in that area. For me it works great.

John M

Re: Several Quick Questions

John M — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:30:22 GMT

Todd

May name is John M, I own GTMLandscaping here in california. My whole business pretty much resoves around Method. Some of the things i have created is listed below

1. Created a estimate with phases. So phase 1 would be lawn install, Phase two would be lighting. Created this becasue clients in my area want choices so they can pick and choose.

2. Created a app for keeping track of my pesticides. This app keeps track of the wind speed, wind direction, code, time of day etc. All this information then gets printed on the use report the county wants. Me or a employee has a smartphone and enters all that data on the phone.

3. Just created a irrigation tracking app. What i do is do a inventory of all the valves, sprinklers, zone numbers and if its working or not. Once a month I review the systems to see if they are working, and if they are not i simply mark this as not working on my smart phone. Then i have a report of all the zones for all my clients that have issues. I then created the estimates for the clients of the issues we found.

4. Method has made us totaly paperless. The ability to use a smart phone and send a client a estimate has increased my business revinue 40% this year alone. For us its all about speed in geting a estimate to the customer and method makes this possible.

Good Luck

John M

Re: Several Quick Questions

Method_Ashur — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:09:09 GMT

Hi Todd,

Todd:
Is there a way to set up some basic packages then assign them to clients or do you copy similar clients.

Please correct me if I'm not understanding you correctly but from what it sounds like you want to setup different types of packages/services and be able to assign them to clients/jobs. If so then yes you can, this can be done either as a one time occurrence or as a series of jobs(recurring).

Todd:
What happens to stuff on the calendar if I make a client inactive?

If you set a client as inactive all activities/work orders/etc will still show up on the calendar as this option will not change the status of any tasks. Setting a client as inactive will remove them from being selectable options in fields such as dropdown lists for a new job/activity.

Todd:
Does the priority work when sorting uncompleted Orders or is it just window dressing?

Yes you can sort by priority from the stock Work Order List screen; ascending/descending.

Todd:
Also does anyone have a sample of item list they have used for our industry to keep QB and Method orderly?

Not sure how much this will help as I haven't done much customization in relation to Landscaping needs, but I have a few line items (services) which are used for testing purposes, e.g. Lawn Treatment & Feeding Plan, Lawn Mowing, etc. I then created a one time occurrence as well as a job series for separate customers. With a small amount of customization I'm sure you'll get what you're looking for.

Hopefully some Users from our community can help out by posting some examples for you

- Ashur

Several Quick Questions

Todd — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:47:27 GMT

Just getting started reviewing Method, watched a few webinars.

I like several others run a landscape program and have used and or reviewed other programs like Desco ESM and QXpress.

Is there a way to set up some basic packages then assign them to clients or do you copy similar clients.

What happens to stuff on the calender if I make a client inactive?

Does the priority work when sorting uncompleted Orders or is it just window dressing?

Also does anyone have a sample of item list they have used for our industry to keep QB and Method orderly?

I am sure I will have more and I do plan on watching more webinars but at some point you want to dig in.