Growing your business

This week, Skimmer’s own @nikiacosta @jcmedrano @sarahrd  hosted a discussion about how Skimmer can optimize every aspect of your pool service business:Simplify scheduling and route planning so you can focus on servicing more pools. Improve communication with your customers to build trust and loyalty. Get paid faster with automated invoicing and online payments. Boost efficiency with new features and resources.Watch the on-demand recording to learn from Skimmer experts who know the platform inside and out!The best part is if you have any questions or want more information, ask our presenters in the thread below👇 

​The year is flying by as we get ready to head into the long weekend, and it's full-on right now to keep up with everything to ensure your customers, your team, and the day-to-day operations are running smoothly. But it's also important to take a moment to stop working IN the business and start working ON the business as part of a 2024 midpoint check-in! This interactive workshop design is precisely for that, to help you understand how you are tracking against your FY24 goals so you can either stay the course with renewed confidence, revise your goals based on insights and trends, or even set new goals—which it's never too late to do!The session will be hands-on, with worksheets, activities, and live discussion. Its purpose is to help you create clear, actionable goals for the remainder of 2024 and set yourself up for heading into 2025 with aligned business objectives. Even if you didn't start the year with a plan, this is your chance to map out what you want to achieve before the end

Are you struggling with reconciling Skimmer payouts in QuickBooks? Would you be interested in a live demo with Q&A to ask your questions?  I understand how QuickBooks can be overwhelming and confusing to set up and use, especially in a business like pool cleaning.No worries, I’m here to help. So take some time to get out of the heat and join me on Zoom by selecting YES in the poll below! Date: Thursday, July 11, 2024Time: 3:30 - 4:15 PM EDT / 12:30 - 1:15 PM PDTLocation: Zoom Select YES to register, and we will email you the Zoom link 👇 

As a pool service professional, managing multiple projects, client requests, and team members can be a daunting task. Skimmer is great for managing your customers, work orders, and keeping track of your pool service pros, but, how are you managing internal projects, human resources, and administrative tasks.Effective project management is essential to ensure that everything runs smoothly, deadlines are met, and team members are happy. By addressing these areas, you can enhance your workflow, boost productivity, and provide exceptional service to your clients.Team Synchronization: Keeping Everyone on the Same PageOne of the biggest challenges in project management is ensuring that all team members are synchronized. Miscommunication and lack of coordination can lead to delays, errors, and frustrated team members, which can impact your clients in a negative way with absences, turnover, or lackluster performance.Here are some tips to improve team synchronization: Regular Team Meetings: Sch

Hey there! Wanting to run Google Ads to get more pool accounts this summer? Here’s a quick overview of what you can expect and how we see them perform for our clients! Google AdWords search campaigns are the top way to get in front of potential clients that are in need of weekly pool service. You can skip the years of SEO and essentially buy your way to the top of Google at a good price. (If It’s Done Correctly) There are many different types of Google campaigns but the most popular are “Search” campaigns and “Smart” campaigns.  Custom Search CampaignsThis type of campaign is usually the most effective campaign if you know what you’re doing. This Is the type of campaign that we run for our clients. It makes sense when you know what you’re doing as google doesn’t give you any training wheels and you’re 100% in full control of your strategy. Smart CampaignsThese campaigns are usually what Google pushes when you first start your new google ad account. They are very easy to setup as google

Hello!My name is Ryan, and I will be a regular contributor to The Pool Deck, sharing marketing ideas that I've had success with and learned from running my own pool service business.I hope I can inspire you to use new tactics to promote your business, attract new customers, and build your brand!I've been seeing shifts in the pool marketing space, and it's more important than ever to start diversifying your marketing strategy. Relying on only one marketing channel can deliver inconsistent results, especially when the pool business is so seasonal. My company, Pool Monopoly, has also seen a change in the last year or two with how much competition has entered the pool business, especially with private equity firms getting into the space. One of the most significant impacts is the cost per lead, and I think it will continue to rise. So, I am constantly finding new ways to keep lead costs low with unique strategies to acquire new customers throughout the year. Here are some ideas to get you

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Join us for a webinar featuring renowned business strategist and Yummy Pools Co-founder Casey Graham. He'll share his insights on how to increase pool service revenue without adding more pools.  

Matt McMichen, CEO and Co-founder of Margin CFO, joins Skimmer to discuss what good accounting can do for your business. When accounting is done right, it can be a powerful tool to help you make informed business decisions.  

In this webinar, Bryce Sirrine and Niki Acosta discuss the why, when, and how of raising prices, as well as debut the Skimmer Price Increase & Profit Calculator.  

The best pool & spa pros know strong cash flow is the key to growth. Hiring techs, buying new trucks and equipment, and even keeping up with chemical prices all require a healthy bottom line.Join Skimmer and special guest, Professor of Accounting Eric Hirst, as we discuss how to fund growth (or pad your retirement) by making simple changes that accelerate your ability to generate cash. You’ll learn:How to measure the health and speed of your cash flow How to create a payment experience that helps customers pay faster The financial metrics you need to know (and lenders or acquirers want to see) The 3 simple rules to maximize cash flow (spoiler: don’t take cash)  

Do you have customers who refuse preventative service? Do you find yourself chasing down payments for customers who consistently pay late?In this webinar, Beyond Pool Cleaning owner Bryce Sirrine and Skimmer's Niki Acosta share strategies to protect your business and delight your customers. You’ll learnHow to create service contracts with clauses that protect you and your customer Welcome packets that define success and create long-term partnerships Setting healthy boundaries and parting ways with customers who aren’t right for your business  

Buying and selling pool routes is integral to owning a successful pool service business. In this webinar, Owner of Beyond Pool Cleaning, Bryce Sirrine and GM at National Pool Route Sales, Chris Webb discuss considerations and best practices for buying and selling routes.  

 The key is customizing your Chart of Accounts and Product Income and Expense accounts to align with your business and the reports you want to see. In order to generate reports in QuickBooks that show you the information you want to see, customize your chart of accounts tailored to your pool service business.For example, if you clean pools and charge labor plus chemical, I would suggest creating the following income accounts: Sales of Pool Cleaning Labor Income Sales of Chemical IncomeIn addition, I’d recommend creating a custom cost of goods sold account:Cost of Chemical SoldFor each chemical product you create, designate the income and expense account in QuickBooks accordingly: Examples: Non-Inventory Product: Granular Shock Income Account: Sales of Chemical Income Expense Account: Cost of Chemical SoldIf you charge customers for repair labor separately from the parts needed, I would suggest creating the following accounts: Sales of Repair Labor Income Sales of Parts IncomeIn additio

In case you’re struggling with QuickBooks changing the sales tax rate on invoices, this post may help resolve the issue. Without actually seeing your QuickBooks account, I'm guessing what I think may be the issue.My guess is that you may have each customer's tax rate in QuickBooks set to "based on location," therefore, QuickBooks is "correcting" your invoices with the tax rate based on the physical address of the customer and not using the custom sales tax rate you created and assigned in Skimmer.In order to stop the autocorrection, try the following steps:Set up custom Sales Tax rates that are identical to what you set up in Skimmer. Edit each customer's sales tax rate in QuickBooks to the tax rate that you assigned to the customer in Skimmer.Here’s a video to show you how to make the changes. I demonstrate how to use three tax rates, but if choosing to only use one or two, you would only create the custom sales tax rates needed and manually apply it to each customer as shown in the v

In talking with pool pros, I noticed there can be some eye rolling when it comes to Quickbooks and bookkeeping in general. Is this true for you? If yes, I’d love to learn what your biggest frustrations are when it comes to using QuickBooks. Would you mind taking a minute to respond to the poll below?I’ll use your feedback to share the top three challenges in a future post, along with specific resources to address those challenges directly, once several people have taken the poll.Thanks in advance! What’s your biggest challenges when it comes to using QuickBooks?