You started your lawn care business because you want to be your own boss while you spend time outside and work with your hands. But between managing crews, scheduling jobs, invoicing clients, and marketing your business, you’re spending more time behind a computer screen than in a garden.

Thankfully, there’s software that can handle the business side of things, so you can get back to what you love – making lawns look their best. All-in-one lawn care business management software helps you maximize bookings, get paid faster, and grow your company.

Read on to learn how to use a business management platform to increase revenue and spend less time on paperwork.

What is lawn care business management software?

Lawn care business management software is an all-in-one solution that streamlines your operations. It handles everything, from booking and online scheduling to invoicing and payments. For a start, it includes an online booking system that makes it easy for customers to schedule services 24/7, and robust invoicing software that automatically generates professional invoices and accepts online payments.

You’ll also find a powerful CRM (customer relationship management) tool, which stores details on your customers and their properties so that everything is at your fingertips. Analytics give you data insights to make better business decisions, and integrated email and SMS marketing tools help you build and target ideal customer profiles with the right communications at the right time.

Last but not least, a cloud-based solution means you can access your CRM, schedules, and reports from any device, anywhere.

Boost bookings with an online booking system

An online booking system, including a booking widget embedded into your website, are the first features to look for in lawn care business management software. Here are the top 3 ways that they change the game for lawn care businesses.

  • More time to grow your business

With an online booking system handling the scheduling and billing side of things, you have time to focus on other areas of your business. Use smart email, sms, and social media marketing tactics to attract new customers, and work on cross-selling and up-selling additional services to existing clients. .

An online booking system and other integrated tools let you maximize bookings, get paid faster and gain insights to build a more profitable business.

Get paid faster with invoicing software

Another key way that a business management solution helps improve your business operations is invoicing software. You want to get paid quickly, without wasting too much time on invoicing and chasing late payments. Here’s how invoicing and credit card processing software can help you achieve that.

  • Accept payments anytime, anywhere

Built-in credit card processing software lets you securely accept credit card payments remotely through an online payment portal. This way, your customers can pay their bill from anywhere, anytime. They’ll appreciate the option of secure and convenient payments, and you’ll appreciate getting paid sooner.

  • Automate invoicing and reminders

As well as producing professional-looking invoices, invoicing software can also send them securely through email and SMS. Track the progress of your invoices through an intuitive dashboard, see when payment has been sent, and automate payment reminders and follow ups for customers who take longer to pay.

  • Get insights to boost your business

Cloud-based software also delivers reports on your revenue, expenses, customers, services, and more. Find your most profitable services and customers to focus your marketing efforts, track how quickly customers pay in order to spot possible problems, and tap into business insights to make better decisions.

Build customer relationships with CRM software marketing

One of the best ways to build lasting relationships with your customers is with CRM software together with built-in email marketing and SMS marketing tools. The CRM system helps you keep track of all your customer information and interactions in one place, and delivers insights into ideal customer profiles and client preferences. The marketing features let you use those insights to prepare and deliver valuable content and special offers to the right client at the right time.

With a CRM like vcita, you get features like:

  • Contact management tools, to log details for each customer
  • Email marketing to quickly generate attractive email newsletters and special offers
  • SMS messaging to send reminders, coupons, and updates at just the right time
  • Analytics that point out your most valuable customers and highlight clients that are overdue
  • Insights into your most popular services
  • Suggestions for upselling and cross-selling more services to your customers
  • Cloud-based tools that allow you to access insights and send marketing content from anywhere

Using the right CRM and marketing software, you can build lasting relationships with your customers, increase repeat business and referrals, and ultimately boost your bookings and revenue.

Increase sales with lead nurturing and cross-selling

To boost your bookings and get paid faster, you need to identify ideal customer profiles, tap into new lead sources, and use cross-selling to increase sales from those warm leads. Here’s a brief overview of how to generate and nurture leads for more sales.

  • Identify your ideal customers

Think about your most loyal and profitable customers. What do they have in common? Maybe they own large properties, care greatly about lawn maintenance, or value high-quality service.

Use your business management software to track details about current customers, like property size, service frequency, and lifetime spend, and apply analytics to determine common attributes. Now you can create ideal profiles for your best customer types, so you can target more people who match them.

  • Tap into new lead sources

Don’t rely only on word-of-mouth and your website for new leads. Actively generate new leads from sources like:

  • Online directories like Yelp, HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List. Claim your business profiles and ask happy customers to leave reviews.
  • Facebook advertising. Run targeted ads for your ideal customer profiles.
  • Email newsletters. Start an email list to share lawn care tips and promotions.
  • Local sponsorships. Sponsor a neighborhood event or sports team to raise brand awareness.
  • Referral programs. Offer a reward or discount for any referrals. When someone refers a friend, you win a new lead and customer.

  • Use cross-selling to boost sales

Once you have converted leads into customers, use cross-selling to encourage them to buy more services and increase their lifetime value. For example, if someone books a trim for their lawn, offer related services like fertilization or weed control. You could suggest hedge trimming or power washing along with spring cleanup, and premium services like bi-weekly mowing for large properties

Track which cross-sells and upgrades your customers purchase the most, to improve your targeting. The more you know about your customers and their needs, the more you can tailor your cross-selling efforts to boost sales and revenue.

Streamline operations with lawn care business management software

It’s time to stop struggling with messy spreadsheets and time-consuming paperwork, and start automating your operations to free up time to focus on growing your business. The right software with features like a cloud CRM, booking, invoicing, and payment processing, and marketing tools handles the administrative details, so you can think of the big picture of increasing your bottom line.