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Pool Assist

Why we chose Pinch

With more than 100 years of collective experience in the pool and spa industry, Pool Assist delivers high-quality service, advice and equipment to customers across Perth. The company has established a strong legacy in the industry thanks to its top-notch support and commitment to customer satisfaction. However, Pool Assist’s team was still spending countless hours issuing invoices and chasing payments, which meant more time spent on admin and less time delivering outstanding service to its clients. Pool Assist was already using Xero to digitise its accounting processes, but Managing Director Stuart Moran wanted to take it one step further. He believed there was a better way to manage payments: a way that was flexible, automated and easy to use.

Stuart had tried a number of different local and global payment providers, but none of them fit the bill — that is, until Pinch. When he stumbled upon Pinch through Xero, Stuart knew he had found a breath of fresh air.

 

pool truck

Image via poolassist.com.au

Challenges they faced

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    Wanted a flexible, all in one payment platform. Unlike other businesses like gyms that have set payment terms and direct debit dates, Pool Assist bills indeterminate amounts at variable times throughout the year. Stuart wanted a solution that was as flexible as their billing schedule. However, most providers only offered automated payment solutions for fixed dates and amounts. Offering popular payment options like direct debit or credit card was also a juggle and had to be done across two different systems.

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    More autonomy for technicians. Having a team of technicians out on the road enables Pool Assist to service more clients across Perth, but it also means additional paperwork. The company generates upwards of 50 to 100 invoices on any given day, and manually approving these payments was taking out a huge chunk of Stuart’s time. Stuart trusted his team to issue the correct invoices, and he wanted his payment platform to as well.

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    Too many hours spent on admin. Like many other locally owned and operated businesses, Pool Assist doesn’t have a bookkeeper or a finance team. Before Pinch, Stuart had to take on the role of sending invoices and chasing up payments, which was taking up valuable time — so much so that he was even considering hiring an additional administrator to keep on top of these tasks.

[What Pinch offers] — it’s fundamental. We don't have to hire somebody who does that type of admin. I do it because it's actually not that cumbersome. Therefore, it frees up my time, but it also frees up the other people in the business to do more quotes, to be on the phone, talking to more people, that sort of stuff. And the fact that it's seamless into Xero means that the reconciliation processes are fantastic.

Stuart Moran, Pool Assist

How Pinch helped

Thanks to Pinch, Pool Assist has taken a weight off Stuart’s workload and enhanced the company’s relationships, both with customers and technicians.

Pinch made it possible for technicians to generate an invoice that’s directly populated into Xero and sent off to the client. For customers who choose to have payments automatically deducted via credit card or direct debit, Pinch takes care of the entire process — all without Stuart or his team needing to lift a finger. What’s more, Pinch reconciles payments in a snap for those clients who prefer to use electronic funds transfer (EFT). No matter how a customer chooses to pay, Pinch makes it easy for everyone involved.

Billing is also more simple and straightforward than ever. After a technician finishes a job, they tick the tasks they’ve completed within their job management software (PoolTrackr) and hit send. Customers then receive a work report with before and after photos from the job and an invoice from Xero. This automated process doesn’t just shave hours off billing — it provides Pool Assist’s customers with added transparency, which is essential to building trust and retaining clients.

The best part? Pinch, coupled with Pool Assist’s job management software and Xero, enables a truly paperless, digital-first environment. After a technician finishes a job, they tick the tasks they’ve completed in PoolTrackr and hit send. Customers then receive a work report with before and after photos from the job and an invoice from Xero. Billing is also more simple and straightforward than ever. Pinch has given Stuart and his team even more fluidity and mobility which, as a mobile service business, has been a game-changer for productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction, and revenue wins.

This automated process doesn’t just shave hours off billing — it provides Pool Assist’s customers with added transparency, which is essential to building trust and retaining clients.

  1. Streamlined payments.

    With Pinch, Pool Assist is able to support multiple forms of payment, from credit card and direct debit to EFT. This flexibility has translated to a better customer experience and improved cash flow, as a greater number of customers were choosing automated direct debit payments with pre-approvals — making it a win for customers, a win for the team and a win for the business.

  2. Less paperwork, more real work.

    Less paperwork, more real work. Pinch acts as Pool Assist’s accounts payable department, which gives more time back to Stuart and his technicians. Stuart knows he can trust Pinch to take care of the payments and, more importantly, customers benefit from complete transparency on the work that’s been completed.

  3. Greater mobility and fluidity. Pool Assist’s previous manual payment processes meant that the team had to be in the office to manage the books. Now, the only tool Stuart and his team needs is a mobile. Pinch puts all of Pool Assist’s invoices and payment information at the team’s fingertips — literally!

 

Outcome

After testing countless payment solutions on the market, the verdict is in: Pinch is undoubtedly the platform of choice for Stuart and his team. Pinch solved all of the challenges that Pool Assist was facing: it gave them greater flexibility with automated payments, slashed admin work, and empowered technicians with the autonomy to send invoices from a customer’s home. Moreover, Pinch has built upon the team’s already-strong relationship with its existing customers by offering greater transparency and a seamless billing and payment experience. And that’s just the beginning. With tons of capabilities and features to explore, Stuart knows he’s only scratched the surface of what Pinch has to offer for his business.

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