Software is Coming to Run Your Plumbing Business: 5 Things you Need to Know

You might not think you “do” software. But you do. As old school as you think you are, if you use app on your phone, you’re using software. Software is your Facebook, your email, your accounting package, your job card system. Think about how it’s changed your life. Today, as the cliche goes, there is an app for everything. The good news is that it also includes running and growing your plumbing business. And it can be used to grow the whole South African plumbing industry.

In the USA,

93%

of SMEs use at least one type of technology platform to help run their business, with the average owner using three different platforms. Whilst

South African software adoption

has risen from 13% of SMEs using it in 2017, to 61% in 2020, there is still a long way to go before we catch up with the rest of the world. When it comes to plumbers it’s a different story. Whilst the data is scarce, a quick show of hands at a Plumbing Expo or IOPSA evening paints a picture of even lower adoption rates - and that means a huge opportunity for the industry.

Software exists to solve problems. The best software takes something you’re already doing and makes it more efficient (doing more with less effort) and more effective (getting a higher quality result). In a plumber's world that could look like generating your leads, managing your operations, buying stock from suppliers, implementing projects more consistently across your teams and processing your financial information. In the USA 94% of SMEs using software say it helps them run their business more efficiently and 87% say it has helped them grow in challenging conditions.

In South Africa there are plenty of software options for plumbers to help you run and grow your business. From lead generation software like Kandua and Snupit to job management software like ServCraft to accounting software like Xero, Sage and Quickbooks. There’s Canva to help generate marketing content, Mailchimp to send emails to your customers and Facebook and Google to help promote your business and generate leads. Whilst it can be overwhelming, these things are just like any other tools in your bakkie. Like those tools you didn’t know how to use them when you started - but now they play an important role in solving your customers' problems. Learning how to get the most out of software gives you the tools to build a bigger and more profitable business.

: Plumbers in South Africa face unique challenges that can make it harder to use software. From load shedding to language barriers, technology literacy to actual literacy, experiencing the benefits of software across your business isn’t necessarily easy. It doesn’t help that technical training as a plumber doesn’t include business or technology training. It might not be easy. But it doesn’t mean the juice isn’t worth the squeeze for you or your business.

The solutions to accelerate growth across South African plumbing businesses and the industry as a whole exist today. Whilst it’s not easy to hear, the biggest barrier to plumbers experiencing the benefits of software is often you - business owners. There are plenty of South African solutions designed and built for South African plumbers supported by South Africans who get it. There might be unique challenges - but there are also unique solutions.

So if software is another tool to grow your business - the next question is how are you going to train yourself how to use it?