busybusy Improves StoneTree Landscape Profit by 30% in One Year
StoneTree wanted to improve how they were gathering time and collecting data, so they decided to eliminate the paper time cards they were using. The busybusy platform provided the clearest solution to improve both. It had all the features StoneTree was looking for—from organizing information to improving jobsite intelligence. StoneTree grew by 30% their first year of using busybusy’s mobile time tracking solutions.
30%
Profit Increase
70%
Payroll Process Time Reduction
110%
Business Growth
About StoneTree Landscape
StoneTree has been in business for 10 years. For the first 7 years, the only company was StoneTree Landscaping. In the last 3 years, they have been able to add additional companies under the StoneTree umbrella, including StoneTree Excavation, StoneTree Masonry, StoneTree Pool & Spa, and StoneTree Maintenance. Josh, the owner of StoneTree, says that it is only because of busybusy that they have been able to grow into a much more profitable company allowing them to expand into four other trades so quickly. The company’s “all-in-one” approach has set them apart as a regional leader.
Why StoneTree’s Improved Field Data Collection Mattered
As his business was growing and expanding in services, Josh realized paper time cards were more prone to human error—which was becoming a serious hassle in his business. Time cards were regularly miscalculated and not assigned to the correct projects. These miscalculations caused challenges getting correct job cost reports, while also creating tension between employees and management, because they weren’t sure if they were being paid fairly.
However, using busybusy, Josh was able to get everyone on the same page, ensuring that the time collected was both accurate and assigned to the correct jobsite. busybusy also made the office staff more efficient time-wise. Staff members no longer had to waste human resources reading time cards and tracking down those who did and did not turn in their time cards.
Because busybusy made the entire payroll process automated and transparent for both employees and office staff everyone felt confident knowing they were being paid accurate wages. busybusy helped reduce contention with the StoneTree team and increase trust between the office and field employees. In fact, even though construction workers are difficult to find right now, StoneTree only hires by referral from current employees, because employees feel so secure with the culture of trust that has been cultivated within.
“Our employees appreciate that we wanted to implement something that was user-friendly and easy to understand for everyone.”
-Mindy, Office Manager
Improving Customer Relationships With busybusy Reports
One of the challenges Josh faced was showing his customers the scope of the work involved with quoted projects and how long they would take.
Since using busybusy, StoneTree has been able to use similar project data from past jobs to show customers how long each type of project takes. busybusy has improved their ability to manage customer expectations with a clear timeline for job completion.
Another added benefit has been StoneTree’s ability to win bids by showing how other contractors bids are sometimes lower because they might not be considering the full scope of work. Josh used busybusy Jobsite Intelligence to win against these lower bids because he has accurate historical project data from the local neighborhood.
“We are pickier about which jobs we bid on because using busybusy to show customers our past data on similar projects instills confidence with them. The result is that we win most of the bids we submit.”
-Mindy, Office Manager
Payment Collection Headache Reduced
Billing used to be a game of “he said, she said” that usually resulted in lost profit due to inability to prove what work was done and who did it. Now, invoicing has become clear-cut and simple because of busybusy’s GPS location time stamping and simple labor reports. StoneTree is able to provide proof of what work was done and how long it took. This has removed questions of how much money is owed and has helped get rid of customer doubts, which has helped bring in payments a lot faster.
“This system not only allows us to know where our guys are, but it also gives us the visibility that we can show the homeowner. If any customers ever question their invoice, we’re able to use busybusy to show them which crew was there, and for how long.”
-Mindy, Office Manager
Growth & Expansion Using busybusy Insight
StoneTree office staff was managing two businesses and twenty-two employees. Sometimes it would take office staff an entire day and a half to do payroll. StoneTree staff knew they had to figure out how to reduce time spent collecting, verifying, and entering their employee’s time from the previous week.
“Now we have over forty employees and have grown to five separate entities. I’m able to process payroll for all five companies in about three hours—start to finish.”
When StoneTree started using busybusy, Mindy was finally able to reduce the headache of payday, which freed her up to spend time doing other things that made the company more money.
One of the primary reasons StoneTree has been able to grow effectively, is because of their ability to set goals and measure how well the team is hitting them. They know exactly which jobs they are profitable on, while the job is happening and after it is over, without having to spend excess time looking for needed information. It is all organized and stored by busybusy with the data that is already being given by their employees.
By comparing jobsite data, StoneTree has been able to identify which types of jobs each of their teams execute most effectively. In addition, because of busybusy Jobsite Intelligence, the management team has also been able to identify which jobs won’t be a good fit for their company.
“Busybusy helps us know what jobs we really want, and what jobs we were trying to get that we really don’t want.”
-Josh, Owner