“This software is amazing!” exclaims Jude as she walks into Paul’s office. “Which software?” replies Paul, unphased. “QuickBooks!” immediately says Jude. “You can do so many things! I can even see the sales per month for as long as we […]

Gurjit bursts into Malia’s office and cheerfully shouts “Plumworks went bankrupt!” Malia quickly grabs her seat’s armrests, pushes herself back and says “whoa, Gur! Relax! What’s going on?” “They’re closing!” adds Gurjit. “Can you believe it? The largest plumbing service […]

“So, boss,” says Ramonda as she opens Kurt’s door. “Are we getting those logos or not?” “Hey Ra,” he replies. “I was thinking. Since, you know, the business ain’t doin’ so good, maybe we should hold off on expenses for […]

Ming has been with Pipexperts for more than ten years now. As a highly qualified immigrant whose diplomas were not recognized, Ming had no issue becoming a skilled journeyman plumber and quickly brough high value to the business. But with […]

“Bea, how do I add a customer address?” asks Justine, the administrative assistant, to Bea, the project manager, via company chat. “I showed you last week,” responds Bea. “I know,” writes Justine. “But I forgot. I’m sorry.” “Did you check […]

“Misty, would you mind sending an invoice reminder to Joblite Construction?” asks Gordon, Leaky Plumbing’s president. “They’ve been overdue for like two months.” Misty rolls her eyes and replies “it’s going to be like the fifth reminder I send them. […]

“Riopel Properties needs to change a light switch,” randomly texts Harry to Lira, the dispatcher. Lira reads the text and immediately responds “when? And which address?” “Tomorrow,” responds Harry. “We can’t tomorrow. We’re completely booked.” “I spoke with Vic,” texts […]

“Alright, Bart,” says Kimi. “Time for our yearly discussion.” Bart looks at Kimi, rolls his eyes and replies “we’re gonna talk about the weather again?” “You did have some goals for this year, no?” “Maybe,” adds Bart, crossing his arms. […]

“James, Samantha from Highrize management is calling again,” chats Berny to James. “She wants to know what the status of the main breaker repair is.” “What main breaker?” replies James. “She hasn’t called me for like a week.” “The one […]

“Hey Brad,” started Riella, “do you have the invoice for Starnol Construction?” “Hold up,” says Brad, as he starts shuffling through the chaos on his desk. Papers get tossed left and right, some of them join their long-lost brothers on […]

“Morning, Nori,” says Bruno, the project coordinator, after Nori picks up her teleconference call. “Everything all right?” “Hey Bruno,” answers Nori. “I’m swamped. I just can’t seem to get on top of everything…” “Speaking of which,” says Bruno. “Did you […]

“What do you mean, you’re double-booked?” asks James, the dispatcher, to Sam, the service technician. “I mean, I’m already at Rockard,” replies Sam. “I can’t just leave and go to your emergency…” “This doesn’t make any sense,” says James, puzzled. […]

As Jenny steps through her office door, she notices that her interview candidate is already sitting across her desk, back straight and hands on his laps. She passes beside him, stops at his right side and says “Hi! Shi—Shi-a-oley? Did […]

As Jenny steps through her office door, she notices that her interview candidate is already sitting across her desk, back straight and hands on his laps. She passes beside him, stops at his right side and says “Hi! Shi—Shi-a-oley? Did […]

“I hate this app!” randomly shouts Jennifer, the president, to Rio, her dispatcher, on the phone. “It always bugs, I always have to copy paste everything, and the information isn’t even filled half the time. So stupid.” “Breathe,” replies Rio. […]

On a beautiful Tuesday morning, shortly after arriving into the Wet Plumbers’ parking, Rosie steps out of her car and heads towards her office. As she crosses the door, she bumps into Mike, a newly hired plumber, hastily walking out […]

“Okay,” says Malik. “So, we know what we want. But there’s still a truckload of things.” “There’s quite a few ideas, yeah,” replies Bjorn. “And that’s why we’ll have to prioritize and decide what we do first.” “Honestly, if we […]

In part 1, most of the discussion was centered around preparing the project. It included the implementation of a project management software, as well as scoping, quoting, preparing the materials and scheduling the work. In part 2, the focus will […]

“How is this still happening?!” shouts Gerald as soon as Laurelyn picks up the phone. “Why is Conpro calling me again asking why Billy is still not on Main Street? It’s friggin noon!!” Shaken, Laurelyn stays silent a few seconds […]

“So, what should I do?” says Malik, after seeing the report from the discovery phase. “Well,” initiates Bjorn, “we can go through the recommendations section together and I can explain what we think should be done.” “I read the section. […]

Barely awake on a Tuesday morning, Shikon dials the phone number of the conference call and realizes he’s the only one on time. He starts making his coffee while waiting for the rest of the team. “Hey!” a voice suddenly […]

As Roland opens up Teams for an online management meeting several minutes late, he notices that Donald, his boss, as well as Mika, the dispatcher, are talking about their weekend. “Morning,” says Roland. “Sorry for being late.” Donald stays silent […]

After finally deciding to get some external help, Janice is waiting in her office for Brice, the advisor, to arrive. Just as she opens her drawer to put the stapler away, Brice knocks at the door. Janice closes the drawer, […]

Gina, a small construction company owner, is at the bank discussing with Morgan, the banker, a loan to finance the acquisition of a new backhoe. “So, we said that your budget for the equipment is one hundred and fifty thousand,” […]

“You think it’s worth it?” asks Malenia, Ripple Construction’s president, to her partner, Alina. “I mean, they’re saying it is, and they’re experts…” Alina immediately raises her eyebrow and answers “well, that’s exactly the problem. Since we’re not experts, how […]

Rachel barges in her boss’s office and starts a monologue without even a greeting. “Malik, we need a new truck. I’m tired of driving Bill around and the truck I have keeps breaking down. It’s at the garage at least […]

It’s the beginning of the year and Sasha is about to start working on the books for the previous year. As a small business owner who has been active for less than a year, Sasha has no prior training in […]

“So,” shoots Mika as soon as Chelsea, the integrator, walks in, “what do we do next?” “You’re asking me?” she immediately replies. “I thought you were supposed to manage this project.” “Well, yeah, but you know where you’re at,” he […]

The day is March 3rd and Ahmed walks into his admin Catherine’s office. “Good morning, Cath,” he says with a smile. “How are you today?” “Oh, hi, Ahmed,” she replies while shuffling papers and staring and her computer screen. “I’m […]

On a Monday morning, John walks into the morning meeting late as per his habit. Billy, Simon and Camilla are already seated and talking about the weekend. As soon as John sits down, Billy stops mid-sentence and says to John […]

As usual, Sophie goes through accounts payables on Fridays and sends payments to all subcontractors and suppliers. When she processes the payment for their biggest supplier, an error message occurs stating there are not enough funds in the bank account. […]

A few weeks after having received and paid her updated invoice with a new lower toilet, Shelly receives a new invoice. She opens it, looks at the prices, and calls Mark directly again. As soon as Mark picked up, and […]

In part 1 were provided all the non-financial influences for pricing in a small service business. In part 2, the financial aspect will be discussed starting with how to include costs in pricing. Account for Fixed/Indirect Costs Within a company large […]

Every once and a while at the Zion plumbing, a customer calls with a complaint on an invoice that was sent to them. This time, Mark, the president of Zion, is called directly. “Good morning, this is Mark,” he answers […]

On Tuesday morning, Billy receives a call from a client and, as is his habit, responds with a very informal “Hello?” “Uhm, good morning, Billy,” echoes a soft feminine voice through the smartphone’s speaker. “This is Melina from Milkyway properties.” […]

It’s Friday late afternoon and Richard, the dispatcher, is about to send Jake, a plumber, on a last-minute service call. He calls Jake, who immediately answers. “Hey Rick, what’s up?” “Jake,” replies Richard dryly, “I have a job for you. […]

Eclectricity is a company which provides electrician services to troubleshoot and repair electric issues throughout the city. Robert is an electrician and Mila is the company’s dispatcher, sending workers to the jobs the need to completed. A client calls Eclectricity […]