PortaPottyBossPro Blog — Running a Porta Potty Business

Switching Your Porta Potty Business to New Software Without Losing a Week

Switching software scares owners for a good reason. The business cannot stop while you move. Weekly services still have to go out, trucks still have to roll, and invoices still have to be sent. Done in the right order, though, a switch takes a couple of weeks of extra attention, not a lost month.

Know Why You Are Switching

Before you move, be clear about what the new system has to fix. If you have weighed the price side already in What Porta Potty Business Software Costs, and What You Get for It, write down the two or three problems that pushed you to look. Missed weekly services? Extra days not billed? Contractors asking for one bill instead of ten? Those are the things to test first in the new system, and the things to measure after you switch.

Pick the Right Time

Do not switch in the middle of your busiest weeks. For a company that leans on events, that means avoiding the stretch of back-to-back weekend festivals. For a construction-heavy company, there is rarely a truly slow week, but a short holiday week or a rainy stretch can give the office breathing room. Start the trial a week or two before you plan to go live so you can set things up without pressure.

Pick a billing cycle boundary if you can. Finishing one month's invoices in the old system and starting the next month in the new one makes the books much easier to check.

Move the Customers First

Export your customer list from the old system or spreadsheet to a CSV file and import it. Then clean it up:

• Merge duplicate customers and fix misspelled names
• Put every job site under the right client, with site contacts and gate or access notes
• Add the units on each active site: type, quantity, unit numbers and placement notes
• Enter delivered dates and days included for active rentals
• Set up weekly service with the right minimum days between visits
• Tag customers, for example Contractor, Events or Homeowner, so you can filter later

Active rentals come first. Old one-time customers can be cleaned up later.

Run Both for One Week

For the first week, keep your old route sheets as a backup and run the day from the new system. Each morning, check that what is due on the Waiting List matches what you expected. If a site is missing, fix it in the new system right away instead of working around it. By the end of the week the Waiting List will be more accurate than the old sheets, and you can stop printing them.

Bring the Techs Along

Techs will make or break the switch. Set each of them up as an employee with a personal PIN and a truck assignment. Show them the driver app before their first day on it: how to log in with the company login and their PIN, how the jobs appear in route order, where the Map button is, where the unit details and placement notes are, and how to Start, Skip and Complete.

Ride along for the first morning if you can. Most questions come up in the first two hours. After that, the app is simple enough that a tech who can text can run it. Training a New Porta Potty Service Tech in the First Two Weeks covers training in more detail.

Tell Your Customers

Customers will start getting texts and emails from the new system, so give them a heads up. A short message saying you have new tools for scheduling and billing, that they will get on-the-way and arrived alerts, and that they can see invoices and pay online in the customer app goes a long way. Invite your best customers to put a card on file.

Keep the message plain and short. Customers do not care what software you use. They care that the units get serviced on time and that the bill is right. Tell them what changes for them and leave it there.

Check the First Billing Cycle

The first month's invoices are the real test. Compare them against what you would have billed the old way. Most owners find a few extra rental days that were never billed before. If a contractor is set to monthly account billing, check that their statement covers every site with each line labeled by address.

Once the switch is behind you, the system becomes the foundation for growing, starting with Adding a Second Service Truck to Your Porta Potty Business. For an overview of the tools, visit the Porta Potty Business Software page.