Industry news, training & life on the road

We launched The Pool Deck for pool pros to connect, share, and help each other build stronger businesses. Together, we have grown this community into something genuinely powerful, and we are celebrating our 2nd birthday the way we know best: by bringing our members together in person 🎉 That's right, we are giving away two all-expenses-paid trips to the Skimmer Pro Summit in San Antonio, TX, on October 16 and 17, 2026 🤠 The Pro Summit is the annual gathering for Skimmer customers where everything that makes this community great gets amplified!! Two full days of world-class education, hands-on Skimmer training, and real conversations with pool pros from across the country who are building businesses just like yours. Past attendees have told us that connecting directly with other pool pros and the Skimmer team has been instrumental to their success. That energy is real, and we want you to experience it!!The prize pack includes:One free pass to the Skimmer Pro Summit  Round-trip economy

Our friends at Primate Pool Tools have a special offer for Skimmer customers! Primate Pool Tools makes professional-grade carbon fiber pool poles and extensions designed to make pool cleaning easier, safer, and more efficient. These adjustable poles connect to common pool tools like skimmer nets, brushes, vacuums, and leaf rakes — giving pool pros better reach, durability, and control on every job. Plus, amazing service and warranty!  Use promo code GETSKIMMER to get $15 off every Primate Pool Tools pole or extension you purchase on their website. Learn more about the benefits of Primate poles in our Between Two Stops episode with Joe Sr. and Joe Jr. here. Have questions about Primate? Ask ​@PrimateJr  below!  

Did you know that several members of the Skimmer team come directly from the Pool & Spa service industry?Not only have we built an amazing team with software know-how, but we have also built a team with real industry expertise.​@AriaNovak is one of those people, and we’re proud to share her latest article for the Northeast Spa and Pool Association Edge Magazine, which is a great example of her knowledge in action.In her article, “Stop the Scramble, Build the Structure,” on pages 16 & 17, Aria breaks down what it actually takes to run a pool service company that doesn’t fall apart under pressure, from operational structure to building scalable systems that support long-term growth!Share your thoughts in the comments, and feel free to ​@AriaNovak any questions👇

 We are excited to announce that we are officially at full capacity for theSkimmer Pro Summit!Over 250 customers from our community will be gathering in San Antonio in October for our largest event to date! You can still join the waitlist in case we get any cancellations. Add your name using the link below, and I’ll be in touch if a pass becomes available. BUT there’s still time to enter The Pool Deck’s birthday contest to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Skimmer Pro Summit… contest closes June 30! ENTER CONTEST     To everyone who joined us in Austin and Phoenix, you already know what this is about and we hope to see you again this year. To our Skimmer customers in The Pool Deck who haven't been yet, this post is for you 🫵  The Pro Summit is our annual live event (BONUS: PASSES ARE FREE!), and one of the most valuable time investments you can make all year to sharpen your skills and get inspired with ways to build a better business. If you’re already in, visit the website 👉 [Get

Starting today, every paying Skimmer customer can activate 24/7 AI call answering  directly in their account — no extra apps, no third-party tools, no scripts to write from scratch. Here's the short version of what it does:When you can't get to the phone, because you're mid-job, after hours, or slammed during peak season — AI phone picks up. It answers questions using your actual Skimmer data, automatically captures new leads, and logs everything back into your account before the caller hangs up. No voicemail dead ends. No missed revenue.You can also import your hours, service areas, and service types offered directly from your website, and set up rules to route calls to the right person. We built this specifically for pool pros — not a generic answering service, not a bolt-on integration. It lives inside Skimmer and already knows your customers, your services, and how your business works. Your first 30 days are free if you sign up before June 1st; after that, $99/month at our launch p

Mobile Quotes* is now available in Skimmer, allowing pool service companies to create and send quotes directly from the field.When technicians identify repairs or upgrade opportunities during service, they can now build a complete quote on-site—without waiting to return to the office. Quotes can include line items, discounts, deposits, and photo attachments, all created from the mobile app.NOTE: Quotes are included in the Scaling Up and Skimmer for Enterprise plans.  Businesses can maintain full control over how quotes are sent with two permission levels:View & Build – Technicians create quotes and submit them for office approval   Send to Customer – Authorized users with the right permissions can email quotes directly and capture customer signatures on-siteThis flexibility allows companies to move faster while maintaining pricing oversight.​​​​​ Mobile Quotes supports offline work, automatically syncing when a connection is restored. Approved quotes follow the same lifecycle as we

It's the first of the month. You open the Invoice Generator and immediately think, wait, what dates do I put in here again? You probably have a sticky note instruction somewhere. You don't have time to call Support, but now you're 10 minutes deep in an old email thread or help article, still looking for the answer.These moments are exactly what Skimmer Assistant is for.It lives right inside your Skimmer account and pulls from the same internal FAQs, enablement docs, and support guides our team has built over time. Not a generic chatbot, the actual Skimmer brain. Ask it anything, get the answer instantly, and yes, every response links directly to the source article if you want to go deeper.Since launching in November 2025, it's answered 2,500+ real customer questions and resolved 85% of them without our support team needing to step in. It handles the "how do I do that again" questions so we can stay focused on the complex stuff that actually needs a human. With Skimmer Assistant, you ca

We’re excited to partner with Heritage Pool Supply Group to bring tighter supplier connections into Skimmer.With this new integration, pool service professionals who buy from Heritage can keep product information and costs in sync directly inside Skimmer. That means fewer manual price checks, more accurate pricing, and less time spent managing catalogs across multiple systems.This partnership reflects a shared focus on helping pool pros run more efficient businesses. By connecting Skimmer with one of the industry’s leading suppliers, we’re making it easier to manage products where the work already happens. The first phase of this integration focuses on keeping product information accurate and cutting down manual catalog work while actively building toward deeper Heritage functionality which will include inventory visibility and ordering directly from Skimmer. Read more about the Skimmer- Heritage partnership → https://www.getskimmer.com/blog/skimmer-and-heritage-pool-supply-announce-st

As pool service businesses grow, coordination and access control become harder to manage. Larger crews, more complex jobs, and higher-value work all introduce risk and operational drag.Skimmer has introduced two new capabilities built to help teams stay organized, protected, and scalable as operations expand. Advanced roles and permissions   Advanced roles and permissions give businesses granular control over feature access across both desktop and mobile. Instead of relying on basic Admin and Tech roles, teams can define access by responsibility, from full technicians and office managers to account reps and executives.Sensitive information like billing, customer data, and system settings can be restricted, while access remains flexible as teams grow, roles evolve, or locations are added. Multi-tech work orders  Multi-tech work orders simplify coordination for equipment installs, major repairs, and other crew-based jobs. Multiple technicians can be assigned to a single work order, with

We’re excited to share a major milestone: Hal Denbar has joined Skimmer as a board member and advisor.Hal has spent more than 20 years building and scaling pool service businesses, starting as a solo operator and later leading multi-location operations. He understands what it takes to grow a pool company the right way—without losing control of the day-to-day, the customer experience, or the team behind the work.Why this matters for Skimmer customers: Hal’s involvement strengthens our ability to build Skimmer around what real operators need, especially as businesses grow more complex. He’ll work closely with our leadership team to help guide long-term strategy and shape our product roadmap, with a focus on the operational realities that determine whether a company can scale successfully.We’re proud to bring on leadership that’s deeply rooted in the pool industry—and we’re even more excited about what this means for the professionals who rely on Skimmer every day.Learn more about this ne

Hey Pool Deck,Thank you to the members who recently reported receiving unsolicited private messages about buying routes and consulting services. We take these reports seriously and have taken action to ban that individual from the community.The Pool Deck continues to be built on trust, mutual support, and sharing knowledge, and our community guidelines are in place to maintain this quality in our forums and ensure every member has a positive experience.Here’s what to do if you see any spam, inappropriate posts, or receive unwanted private messages:How to flag inappropriate posts and behavior Send me (​@Justine) a private message directly, and I'll take it from thereWe appreciate your vigilance in helping us keep the good vibes going!

The 2026 State of Pool Service Report is officially live (!!)—and it reflects the progress this industry continues to make.This year’s data shows a clear shift toward smarter, more disciplined operations. Pool service businesses are growing with intention, leaning into better systems, clearer pricing, and more consistent service—even as customer expectations and operating costs continue to rise.A few highlights from this year’s report:Most pool pros expect higher revenue in 2026, but are keeping price increases measured Growth strategies are shifting from adding pools to improving efficiency and expanding higher-value services Software has become standard infrastructure for scheduling, billing, and customer communication More companies are rethinking how they handle chemical pricing to protect margins[Download the full report] We’re grateful to everyone who participated in the survey and helped make this report possible. Your insights don’t only shape this data—they help move the entir

Skimmer is now the first pool service software to offer built-in Consumer Financing, giving pool pros a smarter way to help customers say “yes” to high-cost work—without delay or credit hassle.We’ve partnered with Sunbit, the leader in pay over time technology, to help pros close bigger jobs, get paid faster, and offer customers flexible monthly payment options right from Skimmer Quotes and Invoices. No third-party apps. No paperwork. Just approvals in ~30 seconds and next-day payments. Here’s how it helps your business:Close more high-value jobs without discounting Get paid up front—even if your customer pays over time Offer plans from 3 to 18 months, including a true 3-month 0% APR option* Stand out with modern, flexible payment options See who’s pre-approved (and for how much) before you start the job, so you can guide conversations with confidence Want to learn more about how Consumer Financing works and why it matters? Check out the  Pool Pros’ Guide to Financing: Close Faster, Up