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We’re rolling out some enhancements to Skimmer Billing to help you get paid faster, reduce admin work, and improve cash flow. See what’s new below:Introducing AutoPay for work orders: Say goodbye to late payments and better cash flow What is AutoPay?AutoPay automatically charges your customer’s stored payment method for invoices, making payments seamless and reliable.What’s new?Now, AutoPay extends to work orders, so invoices tied to work order types determined by you can be paid automatically—just like regular routine service.How does this work?With AutoPay for work orders, you can now specify which work order types are eligible for automatic payment. Simply visit the settings page and edit your work order types.How does AutoPay for work orders help you?This feature is a win-win for your business and your customers as it:✅ Improves cash flow: Automatically collect payments for work orders, reducing the risk of late or missed payments.✅ Prevents service disruptions: Keep your services
Watch the video or scroll down for step-by-step instructions. Tiers: All Step-by-step instructions . . . This feature is always enabled for your customers. When any payment fails, they'll receive an email with the amount due, due date, and a link to submit payment again. This applies to both payments you process on their behalf and failed AutoPay transactions.Email notification to your customer If customers submit payment manually for an invoice and that payment fails, they won't receive an email notification since they've already seen the failure message on the payment screen. Manual failed payment notification For pool professionals, here's how to get payment failure notifications: On the website, go to Settings and then Payments. You'll find a toggle option to email your office daily reports of failed customer payments. These reports will be sent to your alert email address (configured in General Settings). When payments fail, you'll receive an email the next day with a summary. C
Considering using Pool Monopoly. Does anyone here use them? What’s been your experience?
Hello and a warm welcome to The Pool Deck 🤗 My name is Justine, and I am your go-to for all things community 🙌 I am super pumped to get to know more members and see the co-creation, sharing of knowledge, and learning from one another take root across all our forums, groups, and events!This Life on the road forum is about getting to know each other better and sharing stories from our day. Plus, we’ll have some contests and other posts to make you smile 😀I started building communities working in the beer business and knew I had found my calling. I love bringing together people and watching the magic unfold—whether it’s new ideas, learning, or even just a bit of fun and laughter to brighten each others’ day! I have worked in software for a while now, and when @Travis told me about Skimmer’s mission, and I learned more about the pool service industry, it was an easy YES to join this team!Meeting with Skimmer customers over the past few months has only reinforced my decision -- we have
We’ve rolled out a lot over the past ~13 months, so we figured it was about time to do a little recap.In the post below, you’ll find a list of all the new features and significant improvements that we made to the Skimmer mobile and web app throughout 2024 and the start of 2025. We’ve tried to include help center links and how-to videos whenever possible. If you haven’t had a chance to really dive into these features yet, take a moment and see how they could help your business! This post is long (as we said, Skimmer released A LOT in the past year) so we’ve clustered features into the following categories:Billing & invoicing features and improvements Quotes improvements Work order improvements Customer communication & management improvements Mobile app improvements Non-product updates Billing & invoicing features and improvements: Better billing = healthier cash flow AND happier customers QBO Integration + Payout SyncThe seamless integration with QuickBooks Online (QBO) aut
We launched Groups in The Pool Deck to connect members with other entrepreneurs in their surrounding community to discuss topics related to owning a pool service business specific to their region. So, it's time to gather our group members, make introductions, and start having discussions to share learnings, collaborate on new ideas, and solve some challenges. If you have already joined your regional group, respond to the meet-up post in your group forum to save your seat and join this industry brain trust's initial gathering. If you haven’t joined your regional group yet, connect now so you don’t miss this opportunity to expand your local network – click here to check out the current groups. Virtual Meet-Up Dates Arizona on Monday, February 3rd @ 2 - 3:15 PM MST Northeast on Tuesday, February 4th @ 2 - 3:15 EST Florida on Wednesday, February 5th @ 3 - 4:15 EST Nevada on Thursday, February 6th @ @ - 3:15 PST Midwest on Friday, February 7th @ 2 - 3:15 CST Northern California o
I hosted our first collections workshop this week with @BriannaL, and we had an intriguing question: How do you collect from someone who has passed on?I did a little research, and we've learned this. Reminder: we are NOT lawyers.Context: Estates are handled by the probate process, which is handled at the county level.Contact the Probate Court/Clerk of Court:Reach out to the Probate Court or the Clerk of the Circuit Court in that county. You can request information about the probate case associated with the deceased. Many counties offer online case lookup tools that allow you to search for probate records using the deceased person's name. The case file should list the executor or personal representative in charge of the estate. Example: Here is a link to Lee County's case lookup Review Public Probate Records:Once you locate the probate case, review the publicly available documents. These records typically include the name and contact information (or at least the registered attorney's c
Pool marketing season is coming in hot 🔥 The 2025 State of Pool Service report indicates that pool service companies plan to increase their marketing spend this year and are adopting more advanced techniques. So, to help you plan and refine your strategy, we’re hosting a LIVE workshop you don’t want to miss with our resident marketing expert and Pool Deck contributor @Ryan from Pool Monopoly on Thursday, February 20.The trends show that in today’s competitive market, simply running basic ads isn’t enough—you need the right strategy to turn clicks into real pool accounts. Whether you’re using Facebook Ads, Google Ads, or Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) for your pool service business, understanding how to optimize these platforms can make all the difference in how many new pool accounts you acquire in 2025.What You’ll Learn: Facebook Ads – How to create campaigns that drive actual customer inquiries, not just engagement. Google Ads – Best practices for targeting, bidding, and keyword
Hey guys, I’m very new to the business with 40 pools and just finished my pool operater license. I am wondering if you could share with me the best ways and examples of documents to get bids for large commercial pools. Its a small town and want to do this well. Thanks.
We are extremely proud to announce that Skimmer has been selected as the software vendor of choice for Poolwerx, the world’s largest pool service and retail brand. This partnership marks a significant step forward in pool service technology and cements Skimmer as the premier choice for large and enterprise-level businesses.“Ensuring we select the best possible technology for our network is a key part of our success. We assessed all of the leading software vendors globally to find the best solution. Skimmer was the clear winner as their platform is the easiest to use and incredibly robust, providing everything we need in one seamless solution. Beyond the technology, the Skimmer team is a group of professional individuals who truly understand our business needs,” said Shannon O’Brien, Chief Innovation & Technology Officer at Poolwerx of the partnership.Read more about this exciting new partnership here: https://www.getskimmer.com/blog/poolwerx-usa-selects-skimmer-as-official-pool-se
Our area is starting to have more lavish pool designs and I was wondering what are some tips and best practices to keep them clean - especially when you cannot reach all sides. The picture below is of a pool we were recently asked to quote for cleaning services.Is it normal to get in the pool to clean it - walk on the lounge shelf? Main Pool 7’ Deep EndOverflow 15 people Spa Equipment
In the beginning of my career, I was told to give the least amount of info to the customer, now I find myself giving too much to where the customer is a bit confused. (Thanks Google! ) I think there is a happy medium, giving enough then texting or emailing the full explanation with both sides (if there are both sides) and then having the customer decide. What's your experience or take?
I have been involved as an owner in many service companies over the years but I have never seen an industry race so fast to be the cheapest service. This race to the bottom is a deadly approach to doing business and will only invite pool customer service while damaging the reputation of the industry. Instead we should all be thinking about how we can stand out, being honest with customers, educating them so that they can make the best decisions on there own behalf. I have a very good friend that said this industry is very different from most and I challenged him and his thought process on how false that statement was. While there are differing issues that arise, the fact remains the same, We are all in the service business! There are many things that can set a company apart from the rest that do not involve money. Small things that customers really will appreciate. Small things like honesty, integrity, dependability and good communication. You can start there and discover what is dif
Hello, looking for suggestions for commercial auto insurance. Who do you use and are you happy with their rates, support and claims?
To preface, I usually base my pricing on either the overall going rate in my area or just feeling it out. This has worked pretty well for me so far with my residential accounts, but I’m feeling a bit out of my league when thinking about bidding on commercial accounts. For my sake and the industry, I really don’t want to underbid these jobs.Does anyone have any formula they use for bidding jobs? Residential and/or commercial?Much obliged for any feedback. Thanks!
What is some of the best knowledge or wisdom that you have learned related to the pool business? I would particularly love to hear from some folks who have been in the industry for a while.
Hey community, I do Liners, repairs and landscaping only. Would skimmer be a good solution for The liner and repair portion of this. Any insight would be helpful thank you everybody.
💧 Your earning potential in the Pool Service Industry is finite—but your financial freedom doesn’t have to be!🌟 Ready to Retire, but Not Ready to Stress About Money? 🌟You probably don’t want to work forever, right? But here’s the big question: how can you replace your current income with steady, reliable income when you retire?Join me as I break down concrete, practical strategies to help you build passive income that will sustain you during your Golden Years. 💰✨Retirement should be about freedom, not financial worry—let’s make it happen! 🎯Date & Time: Jan 28, 2025 01:00 PM PSThttps://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KxfTDdhpQfmCvwXtgdvkeQ#/registration
Skimmer continues to invest in new tools designed to help our customers grow their businesses and, in turn, deliver an exceptional experience for their customers. With this goal as our north star, we are thrilled to announce the release of our latest tool, the Customer Portal. This turn-key white label feature can be easily enabled in the platform and branded with each company’s logo to enhance its brand presence and professional offering. The Customer Portal lets you share service history details to reduce time-consuming customer calls. When paired with Skimmer Billing, the Customer Portal opens up access to additional features like invoices, payment history, and, most importantly, payment methods. It is a perfect way to encourage your customers to enable Autopay to ensure they get paid on time and spend less time chasing outstanding invoices. The best part is that this new feature is included in your Skimmer subscription—that’s right, there is no additional charge to launch it to yo
Hey, Pool Deck! We’re excited about the launch of our second annual State of Pool Service Report, a deep dive into the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping our industry. This report wouldn’t exist without your input (so thank you!), and it highlights the hard work and resilience of pool pros like you. Here are some key takeaways from this year’s report:Economic pressures like inflation and labor shortages were the top challenges in 2024 and will continue into 2025. Many of you are optimistic about 2025 and plan to use strategic price increases to offset rising costs. Pool pros are getting more sophisticated with growth strategies, from diversifying services to adopting new technology. The rise of private equity in the industry is stirring mixed feelings. Marketing has evolved—fewer lead buys, more customer engagement. Despite price volatility, the plus chems pricing model hasn’t gained widespread adoption. Get your copy of the report today! We’d love to hear your thought