Inside Reach, we work with tradies who want fewer surprises, faster turnarounds, and crews that know what’s happening without a hundred phone calls. The good news: tidier workflows aren’t complicated — you just need a simple structure everyone can follow.
1. No shared calendar
The mistake: Jobs live on scraps of paper, individual phones, or in someone’s head.
The fix: Move to a digital calendar like Google Calendar or Outlook and share it with everyone on site and in the office.
Why it matters: Double-booked jobs and missed appointments cost you fuel, labour, and trust. A colour-coded calendar (green for confirmed, yellow for pending, red for urgent) keeps the whole crew aligned in minutes.
2. Relying on paper job sheets
The mistake: Details are scribbled in notebooks that get wet, lost, or left behind.
The fix: Use a cloud-based job tracker. Even a single shared spreadsheet with job number, client, scope, and status beats loose paper.
Why it matters: When everything is digital, anyone can step in, update progress, and invoice without chasing missing notes.
3. No standard job naming
The mistake: Everyone labels files, quotes, and invoices differently.
The fix: Agree on a simple naming convention like ClientName_Project_Date and add it to your onboarding checklist for new staff.
Why it matters: Consistent naming makes searching faster, reduces rework, and builds a traceable history when you need it most.
4. Late invoices and payment reminders
The mistake: Invoices rely on memory. Reminders go out “when we get to it.”
The fix: Use batching. Schedule invoices at the same time each week and set up automated reminders seven days after the invoice date.
Why it matters: Cash flow is oxygen. Consistency keeps your pipeline healthy and saves awkward follow-up calls.
5. Skipping the weekly review
The mistake: You move from job to job without reviewing what went well (or didn’t).
The fix: Block 15 minutes every Friday for a team check-in. Capture wins, bottlenecks, and what needs to shift next week.
Why it matters: Small adjustments add up. When you review weekly, you catch the friction before it snowballs.
Workflow discipline isn’t about adding paperwork — it’s about making the important things visible. Once your team understands the rhythm, every project moves faster with fewer surprises.
Want help setting up these foundations or need the templates mentioned above? Book a koha session and we’ll map your next best step together.