You’ve already reached a point where you know landscaping business software is necessary. You’re dealing with too many different systems that require multiple data entry and you’re just not operating as efficiently as you could be. There are simply too many sources of wasted time when it comes to running your landscape business. Having more than one system with none of them communicating with one another has made life challenging. You know things could be going much better but right now it’s all starting to feel like one big mess.

At this point you know you want an all-in-one system but you’re overwhelmed by the options out there. Beginning the process of researching companies feels like an enormous task and you don’t even know where to start.

Let’s start with the idea of finding a product that meets most of your needs. While you obviously want to find the most comprehensive solution out there, it’s important to recognize that no tool will solve all your problems. If a software company tells you they can solve more than 85 percent of the problems you’re facing in business management, that should raise a red flag. Starting the process with a realistic perspective will help you weed out the false claims from those that hold validity. 

We know that when it comes to choosing green industry software that your choices are quite varied. At the end of the day, you want to end up with the solution that is best-suited to your business. Most companies start their search online and that’s a great starting point to begin researching what’s out there. We have a good sense of some of the companies that you may land on.

Let’s take a look at some of the options we know you might be considering.

Green Industry Software Options

We’ve been working with landscaping companies long enough to have a good sense of what some of the other software vendors in the marketplace are offering. Here are some of the choices that we know our potential clients are weighing while also considering Include Software’s solution, Asset .

Real Green Systems Service Assistant

Real Green Systems is known to cater to lawn care companies and pest control companies making applications since its founder (Joe Kucick) has his roots in the lawn care service industry. He had developed a lawn care software program to aide in growing his business and then began marketing it to others. Today they also cater outside of the landscape industry to services like HVAC, carpet cleaning, and septic cleaning.

LMNPro

LMN was designed as landscape estimating and timesheet software. Now with the introduction of LMNPro (the next generation of LMN software), the product has some more capabilities such as photo storage, including site maps and project details. LMNPro also offers CRM and other tools to assist with the sales process.

Jobber

This cloud-based software solution appears best-suited for small to mid-sized businesses. It is considered a fit for service industries like landscaping, lawn care, painting, residential cleaning, and general contracting. The product offers features such as invoicing, scheduling, and CRM.

Aspire

Developed in 2014, Aspire is a scalable landscaping business management system. This cloud-based software system includes CRM, estimating, routing, and payroll, among other features. With access to Aspire’s app, the system also has mobile capabilities.

Yardbook

Developed by Enercloud LLC, a team of software developers based in the Silicon Valley, Yardbook is a cloud-based software system designed for landscapers. Yardbook is the newest of these choices and also quite different in the fact that instead of costing anything, Yardbook is free to users who in turn must view ads (similar to what you’d see in mobile apps) as part of their subscription.

What to Look for in Landscaping Business Software

As you begin the process of exploring different landscape business software options, you should have a good understanding of what it is that you want the software to be able to do for your business. The only way you can really evaluate a product is to understand what it is that you want it to do. 

Some of the features and capabilities that would be beneficial in green industry software include the following:

• Expense tracking
• Bill payment
• Scheduling and routing
• Job costing
• Purchasing and inventory management
• Tracking hours
• Sales estimating and proposal building
• Document storage for maps, images, etc.
• Invoicing and statements
• Payroll and human resources records
• Reporting for all departments 

These are some of the features and capabilities that will be beneficial to most landscape companies, however you must sort out what it is that you want and need. What will help you and your team improve business operations? 

Having a good grip on your actual needs will also help prevent you from being oversold on the “new and shiny.” It’s always enticing when a brand new product comes to the marketplace. But with something as complex as software, you want “tried and true” not “new and shiny.” You want a system that has a history of users who can tell you how that landscaping business software has worked for them over the years. Ideally you want a product that has been around long enough to have worked out the “kinks” and to have become the best possible version of itself by making improvements over the years. 

Beyond features and capabilities, it is also beneficial to find a software vendor that has good technical support. If you have questions, how quickly will they be answered? It’s important to get a sense of what kind of support is available, including the training that will be offered during the implementation phase. 

As you explore your options you should plan to narrow the playing field to your top choices. Request a free demo of your top picks to get a real feel for what they’re like. Plan to demo the product not only by yourself but with several of your department heads in order to get their take on how it will work for them. Finding a comprehensive solution means choosing a green industry software product that is a good fit for everyone. Therefore getting leaders on your team to weigh-in is important.

Is Asset the Best Green Industry Software Solution for You?

We’re going to be honest. We’re not the best fit for everyone—and we’re not trying to be. Perhaps that comes as a surprise that we would say that but it’s simply not feasible to be the right fit for companies of all sizes. We want to partner with clients that we can really help. We’re not doing anybody any good by trying to partner with landscape businesses that we know are not going to be a good fit. There will be frustration on both sides and that’s not what we want. Typically, Asset is best-suited to mid-sized and larger companies that are growing and want to take their business to the next level. 

Some of the other software products on the market are more simplistic. They don’t tie into everything and because of that aren’t necessarily a comprehensive solution. But some folks might be looking for a software that is a bit more basic and a simpler program would be the right fit for them. 

Asset is not a simple green industry software program. It’s a complex system that connects with multiple departments allowing total communication. In fact, where Asset stands out from the rest of these software products is in its completeness. The communication of the system both internally and externally is at a level like none other. Once everything is entered into the system and it’s set up for your company, you’ll find that the automation of so many of your processes will streamline operations.  

Another differentiator for Include Software’s products is the fact that we design exclusively for landscape businesses. We’re not trying to take a program and adapt it to multiple industries. It’s always been for the landscaping industry. That also means we have a long history of dealing extensively with landscape businesses. We know and understand your needs and have worked with companies just like yours. 

While Asset is certainly a complex and comprehensive system, it comes with unprecedented support both during the training phase as well as down the road. It’s not like we’re going to get you set up and then disappear. We are not the new and shiny option on the market. We’re the tried and true option and we believe in building a partnership with each and every client. It’s an ongoing relationship and we’ll be there for you every step of the way. 

If you’re ready to find out more about Asset, contact us for a free demo or give us a call at 800-475-0311.

Watch This Video to See Why Landscape Companies Love Asset

Image Courtesy of T.Lake Environmental Design