how i actually figured out our appliance repair business software setup

i spent my first year running my appliance repair shop using google sheets and paper invoices, and it was a total disaster trying to keep up with parts and customer follow-ups.

1. Don't pay for features you won't use. When I started looking at appliance repair business software, some companies wanted $300 a month for inventory tracking when I only carry about $2,000 worth of common parts on my truck. I chose a basic tier for $49 a month instead.

2. Make sure it has a solid mobile app. If you are crawling behind a greasy fridge to find a model number, you need to be able to type it in and look up the part on your phone right there. It needs to work. If the app is laggy or doesn't work offline in basement laundry rooms, dump it immediately.

3. Automate the "on my way" texts. Customers hate waiting around during a four-hour window, so i set up the automatic texts through fixyflow.com. It automatically pings them when I'm 15 minutes out, which stopped people from leaving to run errands right before I arrived.

4. Keep your invoicing dead simple. I hate doing math. I used to spend 20 minutes after every job writing out descriptions, but now I just tap three buttons to send a bill for $180 for a dryer heating element swap. It gets paid on the spot via card reader.

5. Track your job sources. My software lets me tag every job as "local search" or "Word of mouth." I realized I was wasting $150 a month on local mailers that brought in zero calls.

Now I actually get home by 5 PM instead of doing paperwork until midnight.