How to organize/keep track of multiple Handymen

Luke CarlPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

@Scott Kunz

I have them all saved with first name/market/handyman in my phone so I search for handyman and there they all are.

I’ve got dozens of them saved but I really use two of them. Pretty easy.

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Scott K.

OP

Member since 2020 · 223 posts · 233 votes

5y

Originally posted by @Luke Carl:

@Scott Kunz

I have them all saved with first name/market/handyman in my phone so I search for handyman and there they all are.

I’ve got dozens of them saved but I really use two of them. Pretty easy.

My problem isn't finding them on my phone... my problem is when I need a repair done, I first have to check when my STR's are empty. I then memorize those dates. I then reach out to all 3 handymen, who may, or may not have time for those dates to stop by and fix problems. The problem then gets kicked to next week. I have to repeat the process of finding new availability, reaching out to all 3. Then I'm lucky, one is available, they tell me they'll stop by!

The following week I check in, problem isn't solved, they got distracted. I then have to re-check all availabilities, reach out to all 3 handymen again. The process is maddening and a waste of my time. The market is overloaded with houses, and not enough handymen to fix the problems. And yes, I have tried finding more handymen, this is why I now have 3 I work with.

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Paul Sandhu

Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

I know this guy with 23 STRs in a refinery town. He does most of the work himself. He will not do anything that involves a sewer snake. He doesn't want other peoples ship on his hands.

He posts on here occasionally, he's got dark hair and is wearing a white muscle shirt in his avatar.

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Scott K.

OP

Member since 2020 · 223 posts · 233 votes

5y

Originally posted by @Paul Sandhu:

I know this guy with 23 STRs in a refinery town. He does most of the work himself. He will not do anything that involves a sewer snake. He doesn't want other peoples ship on his hands.

He posts on here occasionally, he's got dark hair and is wearing a white muscle shirt in his avatar.

Fair enough! I do work myself when I can. But I live 2 hours away and work on my other businesses. Not interested in living the rest of my life doing handyman jobs, tied to one location.

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Paul Sandhu

Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Scott K.:

Originally posted by @Paul Sandhu:

I know this guy with 23 STRs in a refinery town. He does most of the work himself. He will not do anything that involves a sewer snake. He doesn't want other peoples ship on his hands.

He posts on here occasionally, he's got dark hair and is wearing a white muscle shirt in his avatar.

Fair enough! I do work myself when I can. But I live 2 hours away and work on my other businesses. Not interested in living the rest of my life doing handyman jobs, tied to one location.

This guys furthest house is 7 minutes away from his own house.

1 Reply

Luke CarlPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Scott K.:

Originally posted by @Luke Carl:

@Scott Kunz

I have them all saved with first name/market/handyman in my phone so I search for handyman and there they all are.

I’ve got dozens of them saved but I really use two of them. Pretty easy.

My problem isn't finding them on my phone... my problem is when I need a repair done, I first have to check when my STR's are empty. I then memorize those dates. I then reach out to all 3 handymen, who may, or may not have time for those dates to stop by and fix problems. The problem then gets kicked to next week. I have to repeat the process of finding new availability, reaching out to all 3. Then I'm lucky, one is available, they tell me they'll stop by!

The following week I check in, problem isn't solved, they got distracted. I then have to re-check all availabilities, reach out to all 3 handymen again. The process is maddening and a waste of my time. The market is overloaded with houses, and not enough handymen to fix the problems. And yes, I have tried finding more handymen, this is why I now have 3 I work with.

That's the gig though. If you want this off your plate hire a property manager or a really bad *** assistant.

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Scott K.

OP

Member since 2020 · 223 posts · 233 votes

5y

Originally posted by @Luke Carl:

Originally posted by @Scott K.:

Originally posted by @Luke Carl:

@Scott Kunz

I have them all saved with first name/market/handyman in my phone so I search for handyman and there they all are.

I’ve got dozens of them saved but I really use two of them. Pretty easy.

My problem isn't finding them on my phone... my problem is when I need a repair done, I first have to check when my STR's are empty. I then memorize those dates. I then reach out to all 3 handymen, who may, or may not have time for those dates to stop by and fix problems. The problem then gets kicked to next week. I have to repeat the process of finding new availability, reaching out to all 3. Then I'm lucky, one is available, they tell me they'll stop by!

The following week I check in, problem isn't solved, they got distracted. I then have to re-check all availabilities, reach out to all 3 handymen again. The process is maddening and a waste of my time. The market is overloaded with houses, and not enough handymen to fix the problems. And yes, I have tried finding more handymen, this is why I now have 3 I work with.

That's the gig though. If you want this off your plate hire a property manager or a really bad *** assistant.

Or I could develop a web app to more intelligently tackle this task? This would help me regardless of whether I switch to an assistant in the future or not. No reason not to automate or organize things using coding and the powers of the internet. You might as well argue that airbnb is useless and we should be using a pen and paper to take down bookings...

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Jon Crosby

Investor · Roseville, CA · Member since 2016 · 893 posts · 1k+ votes

5y

@Scott K.

I would just caution to not over-engineer a solution to this problem. If you had 30 properties, maybe it would be worth the exercise but if you are like me, you tend to want to use your technical superpowers and end up trying to kill and ant with a hammer. One of the problems with creating a web app, is that your vendors will have to conform to using it (which some may simply not want to), or worse, they will say they are going to, but do not and your have even worse communication loop than you had before. Additionally, I'm not seeing much more in your feature set that you can't do with a simple Google Shared Calendar (maybe throw in a Zapier flow if needed)?

Totally possible I'm missing something there, so apologies if so, just want to save you the pain I have gone through in the past with over engineering fairly simple procedures.

Best of luck!

4 Reply

Scott K.

OP

Member since 2020 · 223 posts · 233 votes

5y

Originally posted by @Jon Crosby:

@Scott K.

I would just caution to not over-engineer a solution to this problem. If you had 30 properties, maybe it would be worth the exercise but if you are like me, you tend to want to use your technical superpowers and end up trying to kill and ant with a hammer. One of the problems with creating a web app, is that your vendors will have to conform to using it (which some may simply not want to), or worse, they will say they are going to, but do not and your have even worse communication loop than you had before. Additionally, I'm not seeing much more in your feature set that you can't do with a simple Google Shared Calendar (maybe throw in a Zapier flow if needed)?

Totally possible I'm missing something there, so apologies if so, just want to save you the pain I have gone through in the past with over engineering fairly simple procedures.

Best of luck!

Yeah good points. I've used zapier and gcal before for this sort of thing. I think my problem with that, is that even using gcal is too much to ask of some Handyman. Having a website they just type in, and use without any login, seems a simpler UI. But perhaps I could have them just enter the gcal link? Not a bad idea.

Sure 3 properties isn't much but I plan on buying 2 per year. I also like to solve problems before they happen. Kind of a fun diversion to me with potential to sell the tool later. Thanks for the input

1 Reply

John UnderwoodPro Member

Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes

5y

You can use a calander such as Google Calendar to keep up with scheduled repairs. I only have a couple of main guys that I use.

2 Reply

Paul Sandhu

Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Scott K.:

I've rented about 1800 people, and I can count the number of bookings that came from Airbnb on one hand. And yes, I do it with pen and paper.

2 Reply

Leona Chan

Homeowner · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 3 votes

5y

You could probably implement this system with existing project management systems like Trello or Asana.

2 Reply

Scott K.

OP

Member since 2020 · 223 posts · 233 votes

5y

Originally posted by @Paul Sandhu:

Originally posted by @Scott K.:

I've rented about 1800 people, and I can count the number of bookings that came from Airbnb on one hand. And yes, I do it with pen and paper.

That's pretty impressive! Can't say I envy that type of work, but whatever works for you

1 Reply

Jonathan Tavarez

Flipper/Rehabber · Laurel, MD · Member since 2016 · 139 posts · 109 votes

5y

Hi @Scott K.,

I have a background in IT so I totally relate to the fact that you want a software solution but I'm going to actually head in a different direction with my answer because the solution for me when I had a similar problem came down to "time management". After trying several different IT solutions (google calendar, quickbooks, reminders, alarms, etc.) my answer came from a mix of these 3 books "Miracle Morning", "The 4 hour week" and "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. So long story short I put a general timeline for my projects (excel), check status in the morning from my notes and get updates from my guys on a daily basis (typically afternoon) so I can work things out for the next 2-3 days. When you get used to the process it only takes 30 minutes a day to keep me on track.

2 Reply

Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

@Scott Kunz why not just use a property management software?

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Mark Miles

Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 543 posts · 716 votes

5y

Originally posted by @Scott K.:

With 3 STR's I'm trying to start organizing and automating processes for myself. It's become a chore to organize my different handymen who all have different schedules, and I have to not only remind them of every single repair that is pending for each house, I have to make sure they know which dates the houses are available/free of guests to head over. In addition to that, they often don't report precisely what they did to fix a problem, or which problems they forgot to work on.

This leads me to needing a centralized system to track/manage their tasks.

I suppose before I get to my ideas - does anyone have this problem, and have a ready-to-go app or service they use to organize handymen, that they've found useful, especially given that handymen are often not technologically adept, and have very little interest in downloading a new app or learning a new system?

I'm thinking of coding my own web app. Basically, all a handyman has to do is go to a bookmarked website, where it lists all my houses. Under each house they would see pending repair tasks, and see the next available dates those houses are free of guests. They would then have a button to click to say 'working on', and they could enter their name. Once it's done, they would click 'finish', and it would require them to upload a photo to confirm. Once finished, a task disappears from the list.

They, as well as my cleaners, would be able to also add new repair tasks as they see them. On the backend, I would be able to see the finished tasks, a photo of the task, and who completed it. I would also be able to upload my iCal links to sync my booking availability automatically. I would be notified every time a handyman clicks 'working on' and also when they click 'finish' by email.

I could probably get this done for $400 or so with my developer, so it's quite cheap and easy to do. Just wanted to double check with everyone if they already have a solution for this, or any suggestions for how to improve it.

Hey man, I had the exact same problem as you so I started using Todoist - AMAZING!! It is the king of task management apps. Including templates & checklists that you can save & clone for repeat jobs (eg, a post-stay check or a cleaning). It is free but I pay the $6/mon per person fee to get the added features. I created a business account & I pay the $6/mon per person for my entire team of handymen, cleaners, offshore assistants etc - it is WELL worth it

3 Reply

Gail W.

Investor · IL · Member since 2019 · 151 posts · 135 votes

5y

The last company I worked for as maintenance manager had the same problems when I came in. I found an app called "Hours Tracker." It is a very simple system where you can set up jobs and track time with a place to add comments. We also developed a work order system where a report is generated listing all the work orders. I would prioritize the work every morning then print work orders. I emailed the contractors a work order and in order to get the invoice paid they would have to write what they did on the work order and any parts or material they used and send it back with their invoice. I usually could schedule two employees and any contract work in less than an hour every morning.

2 Reply

Kevin Manz

HVAC Tech · Fort Wayne, IN · Member since 2015 · 423 posts · 223 votes

5y

@Paul Sandhu

Can I get his number?

0 Reply

Paul Sandhu

Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Kevin Manz:

@Paul Sandhu

Can I get his number?

His CL ad

1 Reply

Jim K.

Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Scott K.:

With 3 STR's I'm trying to start organizing and automating processes for myself. It's become a chore to organize my different handymen who all have different schedules, and I have to not only remind them of every single repair that is pending for each house, I have to make sure they know which dates the houses are available/free of guests to head over. In addition to that, they often don't report precisely what they did to fix a problem, or which problems they forgot to work on.

This leads me to needing a centralized system to track/manage their tasks.

I suppose before I get to my ideas - does anyone have this problem, and have a ready-to-go app or service they use to organize handymen, that they've found useful, especially given that handymen are often not technologically adept, and have very little interest in downloading a new app or learning a new system?

I'm thinking of coding my own web app. Basically, all a handyman has to do is go to a bookmarked website, where it lists all my houses. Under each house they would see pending repair tasks, and see the next available dates those houses are free of guests. They would then have a button to click to say 'working on', and they could enter their name. Once it's done, they would click 'finish', and it would require them to upload a photo to confirm. Once finished, a task disappears from the list.

They, as well as my cleaners, would be able to also add new repair tasks as they see them. On the backend, I would be able to see the finished tasks, a photo of the task, and who completed it. I would also be able to upload my iCal links to sync my booking availability automatically. I would be notified every time a handyman clicks 'working on' and also when they click 'finish' by email.

I could probably get this done for $400 or so with my developer, so it's quite cheap and easy to do. Just wanted to double check with everyone if they already have a solution for this, or any suggestions for how to improve it.

Here's the biggest problem I see, Scott, and I doubt it's what you think it is. I realize you want to limit and automate your personal interactions with handymen and contractors in order to maximize your time's value elsewhere, not because you can't stand dealing with these people. You will see an added benefit for them: they'll spend less time on the horn to you. The handymen and contractors you will be working with will probably tend to think about dealing with your systems and their time in a very different way.

They will likely see your online scheduling system as an outcome of your believing you are too good to work with them and too cheap to hire someone else. Very few people choose to become handyman or home improvement contractors because they want more soulless scheduling efficiency in their life: very, very few quality handyman or contractors are looking for that impersonal touch EVEN IF it will save them time. This job is lonely enough as it is, which is a big part of why so many contractors commit suicide. In short, I think you would be shortchanging your business relationships here and misunderstanding the people you're dealing with.

CDC: The jobs with the highest rates of suicide in the U.S.

It's the nature of the gig, Scott. They want a voice on the phone, they want hands-on, they want immediate problem resolution avenues, they want to be reminded they have value, many of them have a chip on their shoulder about the digital world. They can get a scheduling system and a virtual punch card working pretty much anywhere else doing stuff that is much less dangerous, nasty, and lonely.

1 Reply

Jim K.

Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Paul Sandhu:

Originally posted by @Kevin Manz:

@Paul Sandhu

Can I get his number?

His CL ad

Better Call Paul, LOL. Make deals for andouille...I can only imagine how effective this ad is with your target market. Great stuff.

0 Reply

Paul Sandhu

Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Jim K.:

Originally posted by @Paul Sandhu:

Originally posted by @Kevin Manz:

@Paul Sandhu

Can I get his number?

His CL ad

Better Call Paul, LOL. Make deals for andouille...I can only imagine how effective this ad is with your target market. Great stuff.

Sometimes I'll trade smoked Canada geese or mallards for Cajun food. The geese don't make it down to Louisiana, and there is no authentic Cajun food in Kansas.

1 Reply

Amy Davidson

Investor · Clearwater, FL · Member since 2013 · 69 posts · 38 votes

5y

The thing that caught my eye is that @Scott K. mentioned he might have a tool to sell after testing it and I think for the the cost of development that he mentioned, about $400, it's a great idea to develop what has the potential to produce as much income as another STR.

Scott -- I've heard people speak of HOMEE, which may be similar to what you're trying to build, except it's a marketplace for tradespeople and not an organisation system for your own people. But it has similar aspects where they have to submit photos of the completed work and I believe you're invoiced through the app (I'm afraid I've never used it because it's only app based and not available in my App store in Switzerland.) But perhaps you could design a hybrid, where people could could put their properties/tasks in there as well and indicate their prefer service providers. And if none of them took up the job within a timeframe you specify, others could then bid on the job.

This is the type of product I'd be interested in working with -- please make sure it's online and app based so it can be used by people "landlording" from abroad please. I'd love to be one of your Beta testers!! Good luck.

1 Reply

Scott Mac

Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

Hi Scott,

Trello will probably meet your needs.

Their main website looks childish (cartoons, etc...), but the actual interface is all business and easy to use.

Here's a link: https://trello.com/en-US

Good Luck!

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Account Closed

Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

5y

@Scott Kunz

You could manage this sort of thing easily enough inside of Asana. Free.

I would likely approach it as “when a task is assigned to you please reply within 1 business day if you CANNOT complete this. Otherwise I will assume you can”

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How to organize/keep track of multiple Handymen

How to organize/keep track of multiple Handymen

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