Background

Nick L., founder of NIR Plumbing, has been in business for over 18 years, servicing Riverside, California and its surrounding areas. He runs a lean team of 5 full-time employees, along with dozens of others that are paid hourly or commissioned. The business is a full service shop, offering leak detection, line tracing, stoppage clearing, and more. And on top of that, if your air conditioning unit needs repair, they can help with that too. 

Impact

Nick and his techs always let their customers know upfront that they offer financing, often leading with how simple and fast it is to apply.  

“Offering financing to your customer is essential. We used to use another provider which was very cumbersome. It was just a pain, and nowhere near as efficient as the way [Wisetack] operates.”

As the business grows and they start pushing bigger ticket items, especially those that are emergency-related, Nick is confident financing will become even more critical for his customers.

“On the bigger ticket items, I just had a gut feeling. Wisetack opens up doors that would have been closed otherwise.”

In response to the growing number of jobs, Nick hired an office admin to keep the business organized and get them set up with the proposal tool in Housecall Pro. 

“We’re going to start using the proposal tool. I expect a ton of momentum when we can offer good, better, best options with financing to our customers.” 

Nick reflected on what Housecall Pro in combination with Wisetack has done for his business over the past year. He told us:

“We’re newer to Housecall Pro. But since joining, we’re up 20%. Everything’s been better because of that software. And you’re a part of it, Wisetack is a part of it." 

Advice for others 

Over the years, Nick has diversified the services that he offers and learned how to price effectively. He’s attuned to what leaders in the trades are doing and remains competitive as a result. 

“Don’t undercharge. Diversify what you can do for your customers. And look to industry leaders, like Mike Diamond, to learn what to charge and how to sell.”

While he recognizes that Wisetack isn’t the best fit for every business, he’d “be surprised if someone that uses Housecall Pro wouldn’t have Wisetack as a payment option. I’d  group those people in with those who don’t take American Express because they don’t want to pay the 1% - 2% fee. If your margins are so tight that you can’t afford to cover a 3.9% fee, then there are other issues with your business.” And to those business owners, he’d say:

“Know your worth. Know the market and charge accordingly...it’s that simple.”