Software for Pressure Washers

[ServiceMntn]

Hey Guys,

*** Please note that the software is now completetly free, we used to have a trial, but now have the software at no cost. We very much appreciate our user base and look forward to helping more small businesses ***

I have recently created a software package that will allow you to manage your service business online, through the internet.

I want to extend an offer to members of this forum to use this software for free. I would like to help make your business easier to manage and think that this software will give a small company all of the benefits of a large company’s powerful software (send invoices to your customers via email, manage employee schedules and many other tools).

You can learn more about this free tool at http://www.servicemountain.com and view a listing of features at http://www.servicemountain.com/products.aspx.

Best of luck with your businesses!

Warm regards,
John

Founder of ServiceMountain

[jdmartin]

Well John, I sent you a message so we will see if this is the real deal.

[squirtgun]

It looks promising but I have a few questions.

How secure is my customers info? Who will have access beside me?
Will the trial accounts be able to handle as many customer as someone would like to put in the system?
If servicemountain were to go belly-up,would I be able to retrieve my info?If not what would happen to it?

[john orr]

Will the info sync with a PDA?

[ServiceMntn]

Hey Guys,

Please accept my apologies for the delay, I did not have my email notification enabled for this thread. I really enjoy hearing what you guys need and if I can help.

How secure is it?
Great question. No customers can see each other’s information. All information is passed between your web browser and the program using encrypted keys (this means that nobody can modify your information and you cannot modify theirs).

Can I use this with a PDA?
We are currently working on and will release early next week the ability for our users to access their schedules and customer information via their cell phones or internet enabled PDAs.

We are also changing the way our current "pricing" works (I put pricing in quotes because there really isn't any unless a company is very large). Basically if you are a small company we do not want to you to have to pay to use the system, so we have completely free "small business offer" now.

I hope everyone’s business is doing well and I look forward to talking with more people on this board.

Best wishes,
John

[ServiceMntn]

Well John, I sent you a message so we will see if this is the real deal.

Hey JDMartin,

Did you get a chance to check it out? Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you to learn about any of the features.

Thanks,
John

[ServiceMntn]

It looks promising but I have a few questions.

How secure is my customers info? Who will have access beside me?
Will the trial accounts be able to handle as many customer as someone would like to put in the system?
If servicemountain were to go belly-up,would I be able to retrieve my info?If not what would happen to it?

Hey SquirtGun,

Great questions.

How much can a trial account handle?
We now offer the software completely free to charge. There is no fee, regarldess of your business size.

What happens if ServiceMountain goes under?
I have included a feature in the application to let backup your data at any time. This way you can even choose to go to another software application. I want what is best for you and won't try to lock anyone in. I would also give the application code to users so they could keep using the system.

Since we have spent 2 years making ServiceMountain with long nights and lots of coffee I guarantee that we will not be packing up shop for the next few years. It is such a huge reward for the ServiceMountain team to see small businesses getting value out of our work.

Best wishes,
John

[jdmartin]

Hi John, yes I did get the email I plan on getting it done this weekend. I have been just slamed with work then once I get home I go to my second job at night. I will follow up by Sunday and thanks for the quick response.

[Navigator7]

It looks promising but I have a few questions.

How secure is my customers info? Who will have access beside me?
Will the trial accounts be able to handle as many customer as someone would like to put in the system?
If servicemountain were to go belly-up,would I be able to retrieve my info?If not what would happen to it?

I have a concrete pumping business. Several manufacturers of pumps also sell pump software to manage a concrete pump business.
Guess what?
The information can readily be viewed by the pump manufacturer!
So....let's say your business in Anytown, USA, is looking really good and the pickings are getting pretty hefty after you have done all the right things and developed the market.....the pump manufacture you brought this
"great" software from can "suggest" to one of his big time concrete pump buyers....."Hey why don't you send a few pumps to Anytown, USA?"

And they do!

I am not accusing the thread starter of this. But rather, if you are smart enough and tough enough to run your own business, then why can't you either do it all yourself or hire an accountant?

Really...how many jobs can you do in a day where you need a computer?
These software programs can cost 4000-10000 bucks.
Geeez spend a few hundred and take an Excel and Photoshop class and make your own billing forms.

My quarterly cost for an accountant bookkeeper is about $300.

[squirtgun]

I have a concrete pumping business. Several manufacturers of pumps also sell pump software to manage a concrete pump business.
Guess what?
The information can readily be viewed by the pump manufacturer!
So....let's say your business in Anytown, USA, is looking really good and the pickings are getting pretty hefty after you have done all the right things and developed the market.....the pump manufacture you brought this
"great" software from can "suggest" to one of his big time concrete pump buyers....."Hey why don't you send a few pumps to Anytown, USA?"

And they do!

I am not accusing the thread starter of this. But rather, if you are smart enough and tough enough to run your own business, then why can't you either do it all yourself or hire an accountant?

Really...how many jobs can you do in a day where you need a computer?
These software programs can cost 4000-10000 bucks.
Geeez spend a few hundred and take an Excel and Photoshop class and make your own billing forms.

My quarterly cost for an accountant bookkeeper is about $300.

I have an inhouse bookkeeper,as well as,several invoicing and speadsheet programs.I very leary of using any program that an outside source has easy access to.My customers trust me with their persoal information and I won't put it online to be exploited.
I also am not saying this is the intent of servicemountain. I just prefer keeping my company's and customer's business in a more secure private arena.

[ServiceMntn]

Hey Guys,

Great comments as always.

Navigator7 makes a great point about companies cross selling information. This is not something that we do.

As you guys well know managing a business can be done many ways. We enjoy offering the ability to manage a business online.

Some people really like the ability to get their scheduling information any time or place, as well as on their cell phones. They also enjoy having an easy to use rolodex and scheduling calendar that they can email worksheets to their employees from. People have found a few advantages to using an online system, but it is not for everyone.

To make sure that you can always get your information we also have an export feature to let you download an excel copy of your information at any time.

If anyone is curious and would like to check out some features we will be more than happy to setup an account for you.

I hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Warm regards,
John

[Navigator7]

I have an inhouse bookkeeper,as well as,several invoicing and speadsheet programs.I very leary of using any program that an outside source has easy access to.My customers trust me with their persoal information and I won't put it online to be exploited.
I also am not saying this is the intent of servicemountain. I just prefer keeping my company's and customer's business in a more secure private arena.

I think servicemountain fielded the questions very well but I missed the part about "who else" views the info.

The big time concrete pump biz is killer cutthroat and the only use I have for "their" software is at the trap range.

I don't know how big pressure washing businesses get. My guess is if you had about 10 crews then perhaps this starts to make sense if it means your crew can send and receive information without tying up the phone lines.

In my application I would doing my business a disservice and simply use nothing more than a pencil and big eraser.

[Navigator7]

Hey Guys,

Great comments as always.

Navigator7 makes a great point about companies cross selling information. This is not something that we do.


They don't sell the data..they ruin family businesses.
What I know of the deception of "Pumping software" in my craft....entirely different from PW....as I know very little about PW competition....

Manufacturers use (fictional) ABC Concrete pumping data to drive their software customers out of business by encouraging a high volume seller of concrete pumps, from another area, who also provide pump services....to move into an area that appears to be producing very well.

It's sick and twisted and unethical but it is happening today.

(Sorry...but the thread tweaked a raw nerve.)

[ServiceMntn]

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for the kind words about the other questions.

"who else" views the info

That is definitely a good question. Nobody else but you views your information in our system. We took a lot of time to make sure that people’s information would remain secure. We agree with you about how important this is.

They don't sell the data..they ruin family businesses.
What I know of the deception of "Pumping software" in my craft....entirely different from PW....as I know very little about PW competition....

Manufacturers use (fictional) ABC Concrete pumping data to drive their software customers out of business by encouraging a high volume seller of concrete pumps, from another area, who also provide pump services....to move into an area that appears to be producing very well.

It's sick and twisted and unethical but it is happening today.

It is terrible and horribly unethical that any company would do that. We are sorry to hear the way that you were treated by them.

[Bleemus]

What a great idea. An ASP hosted solution for the service industry. Hats off to you for doing this. I would love to have an account if at all possible to test it out. I wish you the best of luck.

[ServiceMntn]

What a great idea. An ASP hosted solution for the service industry. Hats off to you for doing this. I would love to have an account if at all possible to test it out. I wish you the best of luck.

Hey Bleemus,

Thank you very much for the kind words.

We very much enjoy providing this service and look forward to having you see if it might help your business. Please submit an application on our site www.servicemountain.com and I will make sure that it gets setup asap.

Good luck with your business as well!

Best wishes,
John

[Larry L.]

John we're pleased to offer this board free to the to powerwashing trade but do take donations to help improve the board.

Now it seems to me your using it to make money off the members,did you read our rules?????? Please forgive me if you have already talked to the owner or make a donation but it would seem a will caring busines would..........anyway to me its the same thing as stealing and not trust worthly.I deleted one thread a few days ago hoping you would take a hint but no it was overlooked..I would not deal with a company that has its own rules but believes in breaking other poeples rules.

We have anywhere from 50 to over 100 online pretty will at all times and trying to keep a eye on that many plus companys like yours breaking the rules keeps both hands full.Take this as a warning b/c they want be another one.

[ServiceMntn]

John we're pleased to offer this board free to the to powerwashing trade but do take donations to help improve the board.

Now it seems to me your using it to make money off the members,did you read our rules?????? Please forgive me if you have already talked to the owner or make a donation but it would seem a will caring busines would..........anyway to me its the same thing as stealing and not trust worthly.I deleted one thread a few days ago hoping you would take a hint but no it was overlooked..I would not deal with a company that has its own rules but believes in breaking other poeples rules.

We have anywhere from 50 to over 100 online pretty will at all times and trying to keep a eye on that many plus companys like yours breaking the rules keeps both hands full.Take this as a warning b/c they want be another one.

Hey Larry,

Apologies for any misunderstanding.

I know that it sounds strange, but we do not make any money from our customers are ServiceMountain and offer the service completely free to users. There is no advertising or spam, we just want to try to get the word out so people can easily find us.

Please advise me on the best way to continue or not and I will definitely respect your wishes. Once again we make absolutely no profit from our users, we just offer the service for free because we enjoy seeing people run their businesses with the product we have worked very hard to provide.

Thanks,
John

[Larry L.]

Our free trail offer sounds strange to me like charging on down the road,atleast it does to me.

If you want to continue get ahold of Mark or the owner of the board.

[ServiceMntn]

Our free trail offer sounds strange to me like charging on down the road,atleast it does to me.

If you want to continue get ahold of Mark or the owner of the board.

Hey Larry,

Thanks. I will edit that post.

The software is now completely free. We have really enjoyed working with small companies and did not want to make it hard for them to enjoy the product se we ended up making it free of charge.

Thanks,
John

[Bleemus]

Ok, I sent in a request to apply using my name of Keth.

A few pointers from a person who has worked for an profitable, nationally recognized internet company for 11 years.

You need to show an address of where you are on your website. Having only a web-based contact form does not inspire confidence. People want to know where you are and an address and phone number is a good way to do it.

Include bios of the founders. If you are a guy doing this in your spare time as a dream that is fine but not having anything regarding who or where you are is going to keep people from entering personal data. Are you a member of the BBB or Trust-E? If so it should be indicated on your site.

Add a press section showing your latest press releases and coverage by the media.

If it is free for everyone how do you make your money? You are paying hosting and what possibly could be some very large, if successful, database fees. It says FREE but at some point you have to charge money unless you are fabulously wealthy and are doing this for charity. If you goal is to only charge those with more than X number of employees or X number of accounts you need to indicate it on the site. I am hesitant to pursue this as how it works and how you make your money is not clear. It doesn't appear to be ad supported. What's the secret and why should there be one?

Best of luck.

Keth

[ServiceMntn]

Hey Keith,

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with your questions 100%. We are actually building a page that basically answers your questions that will be online in a few days.

You need to show an address of where you are on your website. Having only a web-based contact form does not inspire confidence. People want to know where you are and an address and phone number is a good way to do it.

We are located in Boston and will update the site with more details soon.


Include bios of the founders. If you are a guy doing this in your spare time as a dream that is fine but not having anything regarding who or where you are is going to keep people from entering personal data. Are you a member of the BBB or Trust-E? If so it should be indicated on your site.

Agreed 100%. This will be on the site in a few days. To make a long story short ServiceMountain is run by a group of guys who just wanted to give back. We all work with large Fortune 100 – Fortune 500 companies developing technology solutions to meet business needs.

With regard to security we use the same security that Amex, City Bank, Amazon.com and others use to secure transactions. We are never going to compromise anyone’s information and make sure that we measure up to industry standards on this.

If it is free for everyone how do you make your money? You are paying hosting and what possibly could be some very large, if successful, database fees. It says FREE but at some point you have to charge money unless you are fabulously wealthy and are doing this for charity. If you goal is to only charge those with more than X number of employees or X number of accounts you need to indicate it on the site. I am hesitant to pursue this as how it works and how you make your money is not clear. It doesn't appear to be ad supported. What's the secret and why should there be one?

Very valid question. We are not fabulously wealthy (that would be nice though). We do own all of the hardware that ServiceMountain runs on so regardless of database size or traffic we are not really paying anything per month. We will not charge if a large company decides to use the product and has 1000 customer accounts, big or small we welcome everyone.

What do we get out of this? A great feeling building our own solution to help small businesses. We now have over a hundred regular users and they are all wonderful. Getting emails saying how it has helped their business is outstanding, there are very few feelings which compare. It is our baby and we are very pleased to see people getting great value from it.

Sites that do not make money can end up doing very well and gaining a lot of press. I am sure that at this point almost everyone has heard of MySpace (http://www.myspace.com) or YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) (great video site). These are great examples of well done public services that don’t charge a dime.

We have some more ideas in our pipeline for other free services around GPS. Imagine GPS integration with ServiceMountain! :)

I will post here once our “What is our deal?” page goes online.

I really appreciate and respect your open dialog and look forward to your comments on our system!

Best wishes,
John

[Bleemus]

John,
Just wanted to add that I surfed around your site and find it to be well designed, intuitive and just downright nice. You have created something that will be well received. Kudos to you.

If you had the ability to Export data in the TurboTax Online format I think it would really fly. I use TurboTax online and find getting 1099 and Schedule C stuff into it to be very time consuming and a pain in the a$$. With this feature users wouldn't have to go anywhere but to their browser to manage their business and keep federal, state and local govs happy.

Best of luck.

Regards,
Bleemus

[ServiceMntn]

John,
Just wanted to add that I surfed around your site and find it to be well designed, intuitive and just downright nice. You have created something that will be well received. Kudos to you.

If you had the ability to Export data in the TurboTax Online format I think it would really fly. I use TurboTax online and find getting 1099 and Schedule C stuff into it to be very time consuming and a pain in the a$$. With this feature users wouldn't have to go anywhere but to their browser to manage their business and keep federal, state and local govs happy.

Best of luck.

Regards,
Bleemus

Hey Bleemus,

Thank you for the kind words. We have tried very hard to make everything very easy to use.

Also, we have just placed a new section online with answers to Frequent Asked Questions
http://www.servicemountain.com/faqs.aspx

We hope that everyone finds it useful.

Best wishes,
John

[Bleemus]

Just noticed the changes to the site. Very nice. I will be using ServiceMountain when I am up and running with insurance and a license. Have been tinkering with it a bit and like a lot of the features. Best of luck.

[Ghost Rider]

Call me skeptical, but, nothing in life is for free. There is a catch or there will be one I promise you. I design websites now and in the past and it's no small endeavor by any stretch of the imagination so to think that anyone has spent the required amount of time to make a website for nothing is, well, hard to swallow.

I 110% agree that with a previous post that I would be leary of sending ANY of my customer's information to anyone that across the internet especially if there is no CONCRETE (no pun intended) contact information unless you do your own research. Even then, it shows as an apartment listing for contact information on both owner and tech support of the site, making me even more skeptical.

Excell takes about a day to learn the basics and Microsoft.com has many many templates for small business located within. The address is http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx and simply hit the templates button and do a search on what you need. It's free (after you buy Office if you haven't) and is SAFE because it's on YOUR computer.

Truly, it's a nice story, but I don't buy it. With identity theft so prevalant it hurts and with business making a mint on selling lists, I just can't see doing anything that would put my customers, my business and my reputation at risk.

Sorry, you couldn't have expected all the posts to be positive. There has to be a negative and I truly wish it wasn't my first post.

[McMoo]

If it sounds to good to be true, it usually is! Sorry but I have seen to many scams (ex-cop). I'm having trouble with this "Free" offer. Hope I'm wrong, but this smells.

[DIRTBUSTER]

If it sounds to good to be true, it usually is! Sorry but I have seen to many scams (ex-cop). I'm having trouble with this "Free" offer. Hope I'm wrong, but this smells.
yea your right i tried it out nice program but after 14 days they cut you off and want 19.95 a month for there service now that suxs :burn: [puke] [puke] [puke]