Does a plumbing company’s dispatch software hold the customer history I need?

Customer history is one of the best assets a plumbing company can have. It tells you who calls back, what systems are installed in which homes and where repeat work comes from. A dispatch system is where much of it should sit, so check how complete it really is.

Ask the seller to show you the records for a few customers you pick yourself. Check whether you see the job address, the date, what was done, the technician, the invoice and any follow-up notes. Look for gaps: older jobs missing, notes that say little, or customers entered twice under slightly different names. Ask whether some history lives in paper files, a separate accounting tool or someone’s phone.

Then ask about ownership. Is the account in the company’s name or the owner’s? Can you receive a full export? What happens to the data if the subscription lapses? Your lawyer should check that customer information is transferred in line with privacy expectations, and that the licence for the software passes to you. Also test the export on a small group first. A report that looks fine on screen can lose notes or attachments when it is saved to a file, and that is better discovered before closing than after.

Key takeaways

• Pick several customers yourself and ask to see their full history.
• Look for gaps, duplicates and records kept outside the system.
• Confirm whose name the account is in and whether data can be exported.