Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for tree service companies.
A checklist built from how tree service companies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Tree survey and quote
- Permits and approvals
- Crew and equipment scheduling
- Emergency call dispatch
- Equipment hours and servicing
- Job costing and invoices
- Recurring and contract work
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For arborists and estimators
- For the office
- For crew leaders
- For equipment managers
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Tree quotations accepted, declined or awaiting an answer
- Jobs by crew and status
- Equipment hours and services due
- Permit requests by status
- Job cost against quoted price
- Money owed per client, longest overdue first
- Contract visits due this month
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Online payment gateway
- Accounting software export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can I quote several trees on one site?
- How are emergency storm calls handled?
- Can it track permits and approvals?
- Does it record equipment hours?
- Will crews be able to work from a phone?
- Can it hold annual contracts for councils or estates?
- Can jobs in progress and money owed be brought across?
- Who owns the data?
- What does it cost?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Each tree is priced from memory
- Storm calls disrupt the plan
- Permits and approvals are tracked loosely
- Equipment hours are not logged
- Crew time and job cost are separate
Prefer to talk it through? See the tree service companies page.