Systems and Tools for Growth
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Ten numbers tell an owner whether an independent HVAC or plumbing company is actually healthy, and most companies this size track two of them. Systems and Tools for Growth is the BGS Strategies work that installs all ten, along with the operating systems underneath them, for companies across the United States and Canada.
That is the whole argument for this service. You cannot fix what you do not measure, and you cannot measure what nobody has agreed to write down. These systems and tools put three things in place, a service call process that converts, pricing you actually hold to, and a daily plan for your capacity, and then put a scoreboard on top so everybody can see whether any of it is working. It sits inside the 90-Day Plan.
Live every Thursday, 11 AM to noon Central. Register and get the book free.
01 / What it installs
What This Service Installs, and What It Does Not
This service installs process and measurement: the conversion process, the pricing standard, the capacity plan, and the dashboards and scorecards a leadership team reviews every week. It does not replace your accounting package, it does not sell you software, and it does not include business valuations, which BGS Strategies refers out.
Everything here is built to run on what you already own. The point is not a new system to log into. The point is that the same ten numbers come out every week and somebody owns each one.
02 / Conversion and pricing
Service Call Conversion and Pricing Discipline
Most home-service companies do not have a lead problem. They have a conversion problem and a pricing problem, and both stay invisible until somebody measures them.
Conversion is the gap between a call coming in and a job going on the schedule, and then the gap between a quote going out and an order coming back. Those are two different failures with two different owners, and counting them together hides both.
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Pricing discipline is what stops the job being sold at a number that does not cover what it costs you to do it. Discounting is the one to watch, because a discount comes out of net profit and out of nothing else. We install the process for both, and the standard everybody runs to, so the price is a company decision rather than a mood.
Kerry WebbDiscounting is the one to watch, because a discount comes out of net profit and out of nothing else.
03 / Capacity
Daily Capacity Planning for Dispatch and Scheduling
Capacity is the number of productive hours you actually have tomorrow. Most companies do not know it, so they either leave money on the table or promise work they cannot do and pay for it twice, in overtime and again in callbacks.
Daily capacity planning gives dispatch a plan instead of a fire drill: what is available, what is committed, what is worth moving, and who goes where. It is one of the fastest changes in this work because nothing has to be bought and nobody has to be hired. What the national picture looks like for plumbers and pipefitters explains why this matters more every year: the hours are scarce, so the hours you have are the whole business.
04 / Scorecards
Leadership Dashboards and Scorecards
Simple, practical scorecards that show what is working, what is broken and where to focus. Not a report your bookkeeper reads next month. A number your managers see this week and can do something about on Thursday.
A scorecard is only worth building if somebody owns each line on it. That is why this work and Coaching for Results usually run together: the systems produce the number, and the coaching is where somebody gets asked about it.
05 / The ten numbers
The Ten Numbers an Owner Runs On
These ten are Kerry's own working list, and they are what BGS Strategies installs. Each one comes with a cadence, because a number reviewed at the wrong interval is worse than no number at all: too often and it is noise, too rarely and the quarter is already gone.
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The Money Measures
Gross profit dollars and margin by department, reviewed weekly and reconciled monthly, which answers whether each type of work earns enough after direct job costs to cover overhead and leave a profit. Operating profit margin, weekly, which is what is left after direct costs and overhead including reasonable pay for the owner's own work. A breakeven plus 10 percent revenue target, weekly, which tells you whether enough of the right type of work is booked and whether the team executed it. Overhead as a percent of income, monthly.
The Small Business Administration's guidance on managing your finances and the IRS small business pages cover the compliance side of all of this. These measures are about running the company, which is a separate job from filing for it.
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The Conversion Measures
Booking rate and estimate acceptance rate, weekly, with service calls and replacement estimates counted separately, because averaging them hides whichever one is broken. Active maintenance agreements and the renewal rate, monthly, which tells you whether the customer base is growing and staying. Customer acquisition cost by source, weekly, set against the gross profit those customers produce rather than against the revenue, which is the comparison that decides where next month's marketing money goes.
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The Capacity and Cash Measures
Labor hours estimated against actual, weekly, which is where estimating, scheduling and execution mistakes show up before they reach the profit and loss. Callback rate and cost, tracked continuously, because repeat work erodes margin and capacity at the same time. And a cash forecast with overdue invoices on a rolling 13 week forecast, which answers the only question that ever becomes urgent overnight: can you meet payroll, suppliers, taxes and debt.
The full write-up of every one of these numbers is on the site, written by Kerry, and it is free to read before you decide whether to hire anybody.
Kerry WebbMost home-service companies do not have a lead problem. They have a conversion problem and a pricing problem, and both stay invisible until somebody measures them.
06 / Kerry's standards
Two Standards Kerry Holds Clients To
Two of those measures come with a target attached. They are Kerry's own standards, and they are what he tells owners to aim at.
The first is overhead. Kerry's standard is overhead below 40 percent of total revenue. Above that and the company is carrying a structure its gross profit cannot feed, which is usually why the year looks busy and ends flat.
The second is maintenance. Kerry's standard is to present maintenance on 100 percent of calls and to sign up 50 percent of them. Presenting it every time is a training problem and a script problem. Signing half is the outcome of doing the first part properly, and it is the number that decides how much of next year is already sold.
Both are the bar the work is aimed at.
07 / Playbooks
The Playbooks That Go With the Systems
A system only holds if the people running it have the words. Three playbooks go in alongside the systems, and each one also stands on its own for an owner who wants to start this week without hiring anybody.
The CSR Master Playbook is twenty-four lessons for the person answering your phone, from call control to objections and memberships, with weekly scorecards. The CHOICE Service Call Playbook gives your technicians six steps for the service call, each with a checklist and a progress tracker, plus scripts and ride-along forms. The CHOOSE2 Replacement Sales Playbook is a seven-step replacement process, from the service call to the install being scheduled, for the people who ask for the order.
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Two more sit alongside them. The Home-Service Profit and Performance Toolkit is the owner's set behind the numbers above: the Business Growth Playbook with its growth scorecard and ninety-day action plan, a Growth Roadmap from $1 million to $3 million, a Daily Huddle Guide that opens on yesterday's scoreboard, and planning pages for the day and the week. The Elite HVAC Service Manager System is the premium training for the person who has to run the service department when you stop doing it.
All five are described on the Products page. Start where your problem is. If the phone rings and does not book, start at the front desk. If you are not sure the work is profitable, start with the numbers. Most owners do not need all five at once, and the ones who try to install everything in a month usually install nothing.
08 / Who it helps
Who This Service Helps
This is for owners of independent HVAC and plumbing companies doing $3 million to $20 million a year who can feel that something is leaking and cannot point at it. Repeatable systems work whether you are running 30 calls a week or 300, which is the whole reason they are worth building before the next growth step rather than after it.
It also helps the leadership team directly, because a manager without a number is being judged on a feeling. Owners who have read how to get more consistent, profitable jobs usually arrive at this page already knowing which of the ten they are missing.
Across the plumbing companies Kerry has coached, revenue grew 24% on average and the average service invoice rose $361 per call. Across the HVAC companies, revenue grew 21% on average, the average service invoice rose $174 per call and the average equipment sale rose $3,552.
10 / Questions
Frequently Asked Questions: Systems and Tools for Growth
What does Systems and Tools for Growth install?
It installs four things: a service call process that converts, pricing discipline the company holds to, daily capacity planning for dispatch and scheduling, and leadership dashboards and scorecards. Underneath those sit the ten measures an owner runs the company on, each with a review cadence and each owned by a named person.
Which numbers should an owner be watching?
Ten of them: gross profit dollars and margin by department, operating profit margin, a breakeven plus 10 percent revenue target, booking and estimate acceptance rates, overhead as a percent of income, active maintenance agreements and renewal rate, cash forecast and overdue invoices, labor hours estimated against actual, callback rate and cost, and customer acquisition cost by source.
How often should each number be reviewed?
Most of them weekly. Gross profit by department is reviewed weekly and reconciled monthly, overhead and maintenance agreements are monthly, cash runs on a rolling 13 week forecast, and callbacks are tracked continuously. A number reviewed at the wrong interval is worse than no number: too often and it is noise, too rarely and the quarter is gone.
What overhead percentage does Kerry tell owners to aim at?
Kerry's standard is overhead below 40 percent of total revenue. Above that, the company is usually carrying a structure its gross profit cannot feed, which is why the year feels busy and finishes flat.
How many customers should be on a maintenance agreement?
Kerry's standard is to present maintenance on 100 percent of calls and to sign up 50 percent of them. Presenting it every time is a training and script problem. Signing half of those is what follows from doing the first part properly, and it decides how much of next year is already sold.
Do I need new software for any of this?
No. Everything here is built to run on what you already own, and this service does not sell or resell software. The work is agreeing what gets counted, who owns each number and when it gets reviewed. Most companies already have the data and have never had it arranged so anybody can act on it.
What is daily capacity planning?
Capacity is the number of productive hours you actually have tomorrow. Daily capacity planning gives dispatch a plan instead of a fire drill: what is available, what is committed, what is worth moving, and who goes where. Companies that skip it either leave money on the table or promise work they cannot deliver.
Can I start on this myself before hiring anyone?
Yes, and most owners should. The playbooks and the Home-Service Profit and Performance Toolkit are described on the Products page, and an owner can be using one of them this week. Start where the problem is loudest rather than trying to install everything at once.
Put a Number on It
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Book the $100K Conversation.
Live every Thursday, 11 AM to noon Central. Bring whichever of the ten numbers you cannot answer.
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Take the Business Assessment.
If you would rather find out which number is costing you the most before you talk to anybody, start there.
You can also call BGS Strategies on 940-441-3231 or email support@bgsstrategies.com, or send the shape of your problem through the contact page. The phone is answered Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 4 PM Central, and calls before 10 AM usually reach voicemail because Kerry is coaching.
Or send us a note
Tell us what is going on in the business, and Kerry will call you back.