Company Name: Fireside Construction Inc.
Trade: Residential renovations, remodels and design
Instagram: @fireside.construction
James Masson (aka "Jamie") started Fireside Construction with his friend, Andrew, in July, 2020. Having been in the industry for 18 years, James has had every position from on-site worker to the president of a $20M+ retail maintenance and renovations company.
“Starting Fireside came out of circumstance. I’d always wanted to start my own business, and since I lost my job to COVID, I had the opportunity to do my own thing.” said James.
The Challenge
James is obsessed with the customer experience. Having worked in small and large contracting companies, he’s seen first-hand how business owners and employees waste hours chasing down timesheets, receipts and emails/texts from clients.
James knew the best way to quickly grow Fireside Construction and build a competitive advantage was to optimize his and his team’s time to best serve the customer.
“We needed a tool that would allow us to best serve our customers and not have to worry about administrative tracking.” explained James.
The Solution
When evaluating options for automating the back-office, James put a strong emphasis on tools that would be easy-to-use and have a great mobile experience.
“People are so used to communicating on Facebook or Instagram, and having things at their fingertips. I wanted the same experience for my employees, and clients.” said James.
Level has led to multiple benefits related to managing job costs and streamlining communication with the homeowner. With Level, Fireside is able to track the hours worked on any project, export data to Excel, never lose receipts, and interact with homeowners through the mobile app.
“In a week, Level saves me 15 - 20 hours as the business owner. I fully expect this number to grow as we take on more projects.” said James
It’s not uncommon for business owners, like James, to have a charge-out rate of $50/hour. This means Level is saving Fireside $39,000 - $52,000 a year.
Not all benefits translate to dollars and cents. With his new-born on the way, James is due to become a first-time father soon. Level is letting him better manage his time, so he can spend quality time with his family.
How Fireside Uses Level
“I create a Level project from the moment someone calls me.” said James
James creates a Level project as soon as a lead comes in. From here, he creates a sub-project called Estimate, where he uploads the notes and photos required to create the estimate. The benefits of doing so include:
All the information is stored in the cloud, so it’s accessible from anywhere and it’s easy to go back to see how the estimate was created.
More than 1 user can be given access to the Estimate sub-project, making collaborating on it effortless.
Full gut and flip of a Hamilton, ON, home by Fireside
What is a sub-project?
Like a folder within a folder on your computer, a sub-project is a “sub-folder” within the main project. The creator of the sub-project gets to choose who can access it through the sub-project settings.
Core benefit of sub-projects
Sub-projects are a great way to control who has access to what information about the project. The 2 most common Level sub-projects builders create are: Estimate and Client Portal.
“A client found a vanity she wanted installed in her bathroom. So she uploaded her request with a link, picture and price of the vanity to the client portal on Level. It was so easy.” explained James
Once the client has agreed to the estimate, James adds his employees to the main/parent project, and they can start tracking their time, submit daily logs, and upload any receipts.
Conclusion
Thanks to Level, James now spends 95% of his time on sales. During his sales calls he showcases his projects through Level so homeowners can get a sense of the Fireside experience.
Do you want to give your clients an amazing experience, while saving $39,000 - $52,000 a year? Get started on your Level free trial today!