The post How Can You Use Okappy to Improve Cash Flow? appeared first on Okappy.
]]>Okappy is an online communications and workforce management platform which helps you manage your work, whether done by employees or subcontractors. Not only does it provide transparency and control, it can also be used to improve the cash flow of your business. Here’s 5 reasons how:
1. Improved invoice turnaround
With traditional paperwork systems, companies are often left waiting for certain details from a particular individual, such as a signature on a job sheet before the invoice can be processed and sent. Often this paperwork can go missing along the chain – meaning that the process has to start all over again! With Okappy, invoices can be sent straight away from the job desktop dashboard upon confirmation of the completion of a job. This helps you get your invoice paid faster, ensuring no payments are forgotten.
“The turnaround time from accepting a job to invoicing it is now a lot quicker. Before Okappy, raising an invoice could take weeks. Now we invoice minutes after the job has been completed. Since the job details complete with signature are instantly available, any invoice queries can be instantly answered by anyone with system access, levels of access can be set as required.” – Clare, Accounts at RPS.
2. Only do work for those companies that have paid their bills
With late payments endemic and the risk of company bankruptcies looming large. You don’t want to do work for companies that might never pay. With Okappy you’re alerted if you add a job for a customer with unpaid invoices.
- Adding a Job
As you add a New Job for a customer you can quickly see the outstanding balance for that customer. This means you will be more aware of when payments are behind, so you can decide whether you want to do the job before the customer has settled the balance.
- Reports
You can run a report for outstanding invoices for particular customers over a period of time. This way you can make better decisions about whether you want to continue to add jobs for customers with outstanding payments; allowing you to plan ahead and budget accordingly.
3. Integrations with other systems
Okappy works with a number of other system including popular accounting software.
You can easily export your invoices into your accounting software saving you from duplicating your data from one system to another; thus saving you time. You can run various reports from your accounting software for example a cash flow statement, P&L report and aged debtors report etc. This allows you to get a comprehensive view of the financial position of the company. Looking at the data can help you analyse your expenditure and make better budgeting decisions for the months ahead. With some accounting software, such as Xero, you can even view financial information on-the-go on your smartphone.
4. Increased transparency
One of the main benefits of using Okappy to improve cash flow is that all the data for jobs, invoices and payments are logged into one secure system. This can be accessed anywhere and anytime to yourself and your customers. This reduces job sheets getting misplaced or lost, and also means no more missed invoices! With everything being logged onto the system there is more accountability surrounding payments and cash.
5. Improved efficiency around job scheduling
The job scheduler allows you to allocate reactive work to your engineers more efficiently. The location tracking software means you can see what engineers are closest to a job in order to allocate in the most cost-effective way – saving you more money on travel expenses.
For more tips on how Okappy can be used to improve cash flow check out our blog posts:
Leave your email below to stay up to date with our latest tips, tricks and trends on all things business?
The post How Can You Use Okappy to Improve Cash Flow? appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post 2018 Highlights From Okappy appeared first on Okappy.
]]>This was a big year for Okappy and we couldn’t be more proud of the product we’ve been working hard on over the last 3 ½ years! Reflecting upon our journey, we thought we’d share a review of how far we’ve come this year.
Improved Performance
On the technology side, 2018 has seen improvements to the reliability and performance of the system as usage has grown dramatically. Part of improving performance is understanding where the bottlenecks are.
Over the year we’ve implemented better monitoring so we can improve our understanding of the performance and reliability of the platform. This has allowed us to dramatically speed up certain aspects of the system and better handle large spikes in traffic. We’ve also implemented automated testing across the platform with over 1,000 tests now running each night!
New Developments
Highlights of the features and improvements we’ve rolled out this year include:
- The ability to link jobs
- A more in-depth auditing to the system
- Improvements to reporting functionality
- Enhancements to search throughout the platform
- Improvements to the calendar and scheduling
- Improvements to the performance of the iOS app when in poor network conditions
- Enhancements to Android app for more consistency with the iOS app
Over the next quarter we’re planning to work on the following:
- Optimising our onboarding through the website and apps
- Allowing customers to add/edit their own templates
- Enhancing invoicing, calendar and scheduler
- Improving location functionality within our apps
- Improving performance across the platform
- Automating and promoting referrals
Thought Leaders
This year we’ve been invited to give over 8 seminars to industry leaders on how companies can adapt to the changing world of work. This included speaking at UK Construction Week and being shortlisted to speak at the Mayor of London’s TechInvest event for smart city technologies. We were also selected to be on the innovation trail at UK Construction Week. This year we’ve more than doubled our social media following and continue to generate interest across the Trades media.
Out and About
This year we attended 4 trade shows including the Facilities Management show at Excel, Construction Week at the NEC, Drain Trader show in Glasgow and HVAC show at Excel. These shows were a great opportunity to meet with industry leading companies and raise awareness of how Okappy is helping businesses to better collaborate.
In the Press
We’ve received a lot of coverage in the Trades press over the past year and have also taken part in a number of marketing collaborations with other businesses. We’d like to thank FM World, FMJ, Drain Trader, ThisWeekinFM, iOffice, Elevation Magazine and UK Construction Week for their support and promotion of our core work.
Seeing Our Customers Thrive
It has been very heartwarming to see our efforts reap benefits for customers. We have received a number of reviews from customers who have really benefited from the system. Here is a selection of our favourites…
“This app is superb, it’s changed the way my business operates. I run a building and maintenance firm. It has saved us a lot of time and money in the past 9 months. I can’t rate it highly enough. The support is also very good.” – Leo, Director LA Rosser Ltd.
“Okappy has reduced the amount of paperwork by about 90% and, on an even better note, it has reduced my workload by about 80% as a Service Manager who manages multiple engineers… The Okappy system has improved the service we provide whilst helping to make us super efficient and provide the best service for our customers.” – Lee, Services Manager at BEC Security Perimeter.
“With Okappy, we now collaborate in a whole new way! We get the job done far more efficiently than we’ve ever been able to, which has had a real positive impact.” – Anthony, Director of Convert Water Ltd.
“We can always see what is going on with each job at a glance. We get job information back straight away but I always have the option to change it if I need to.” – Mark, Managing Director, Maclin Pumps.
“Okappy helps us build better relationships in the industry. It’s not just job management, but a network to connect with our employees, customers and subcontractors!” – Kris, Director of MW Lifts Services Ltd.
The A-Team
And, of course, none of this would be possible without the hard work of team Okappy behind the scenes! This year the team has really grown. Earlier in the year we welcomed Joe who has been leading on the Sales front and Zeeshan whose wealth of expertise on frontend development has helped us accelerate building a software we are truly proud of. We’ve also had a number of interns and short term employees including Noah who helped us work on our API and Ren who worked across testing.
Not only do we feel we have the right balance of creativity, technical know-how and fine-tuned business acumen, but a group of people who share the common goal of creating a product that really helps improve people’s working lives. We believe we have an opportunity to help millions of companies around the world collaborate and communicate in a better way. So on that note, we wish you all a happy new year and look forward to what 2019 has in store!
To end, here is a selection of some of our personal highlights and lowlights from the year…
Robin, iOS Guru
“My low points involved
unnecessary anger
upsetting people
My highest point was
getting a sneaky haiku
onto the app store”
Joe, Chatty Sales Guy
“My lowest point was when I gave myself whiplash whilst I flung my bag over my shoulder running for the train in my excitement to get to work. But the high point was that I found a good Osteopath…”
Naomi, Artsy Fartsy Person
“My highlight involved working closely with Joe to work out the perfect coffee blend for our coffee breaks. My lowest moment was one day when the office manager announced there was no more coffee… we really lost the plot that day (a bit like this).”
Zeeshan, Frontend Dude
“My highlight was speaking at a Raspberry Pi Conference about importance of AI and presenting a Raspberry based solution for loading bays at busy industrial units. My lowlight was sticking my car’s wing mirrors with scotch tape after motorcyclists broke both of them and I did not have time to go get replacements. Mind you, this could easily be a highlight as three months on, the scotch tape is holding strong.”
Richard, Everyone’s Boss
“My low point was getting Robin angry when I noticed he posted a haiku onto the app store. My high point was seeing the look on Naomi and Gerry’s faces when they realised that Joe spent more time doing his hair in the morning than they did.”
Be the first to hear
Leave your email below to stay up to date with our latest tips, tricks and trends on all things business!
The post 2018 Highlights From Okappy appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post 4 Reasons Why You Need to Focus on Connecting Employees – Featured in Drain Trader appeared first on Okappy.
]]>We wrote an article that was published in Drain Trader exploring the reasons why you should focus on connecting employees!
Leave your email below to stay up to date with our latest tips, tricks and trends on all things business?
The post 4 Reasons Why You Need to Focus on Connecting Employees – Featured in Drain Trader appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post What’s The Future Of Job Management In A Connected Age? – Featured in ThisWeekinFM appeared first on Okappy.
]]>Richard wrote an article, featured in ThisWeekinFM, where he shares insights about the evolution of job management in a connected age.
The evolution of job management in the facilities management sector – from piles of paper to market networks.
The World Economic Forum says we’re on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (or Industry 4.0). Self-driving cars and Artificial Intelligence are no longer just sci-fi fantasies. As our world and the workforce continue to rapidly evolve, it’s clear that we all need to be using efficient job management systems if we’re going to keep up with any of these changes.
Job management can often be a headache. Traditionally it involved endless amounts of paperwork and spending hours on the phone chasing up clients and engineers. In an increasingly digitised world, and with many Facilities Management companies now integrating IoT systems into the workplace, there is no need to continue managing jobs with these old and inefficient processes.
I believe there are some compelling reasons why the facilities industries should explore new and emerging digital possibilities for job management.
Read the full article here.
Check out our article: 10 Communication Tips For Facilities Managers
Leave your email below to stay up to date with our latest tips, tricks and trends on all things business?
The post What’s The Future Of Job Management In A Connected Age? – Featured in ThisWeekinFM appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post 4 Ways Convert Water Have Grown Their Business By 40 % – Featured in FMJ appeared first on Okappy.
]]>We wrote an article for FMJ taking a look at Convert Water Ltd and how they have used Okappy to streamline their jobs and grow their business!
The post 4 Ways Convert Water Have Grown Their Business By 40 % – Featured in FMJ appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post Managing Your Workforce When The Summer Season Hits – Featured in Insights For Professionals appeared first on Okappy.
]]>We wrote an article, featured in Insights For Professionals, where we talk about how you can best manage your workforce when the summer season hits.
Summer has officially begun, and just as quickly as temperatures are rising, workers are taking their annual leave. How do you effectively manage your workforce and ensure jobs get done without stressing out your employees?
It is the most popular season for employees to go on holidays, which also means productivity in your company can suffer. As staff become scarce, summer can come to be a time of increased stress where responsibility for ensuring clients receive quality service doubles.
The article talks about what happens when you have less staff and what’s the solution?
Read the full article here.
Check out our article: 10 Communication Tips For Facilities Managers
Leave your email below to stay up to date with our latest tips, tricks and trends on all things business?
The post Managing Your Workforce When The Summer Season Hits – Featured in Insights For Professionals appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post 9 Habits of a Customer Centric Organisation – Featured in iOffice appeared first on Okappy.
]]>We wrote an article, featured in iOffice, where we talk about what it means to be a customer centric organisation. Adopting a customer-centric mindset is, therefore, one of the most beneficial efforts you can invest in.
Adopting a steady customer-centric mindset can secure substantial business gain. It contributes to building trust, credibility and a solid reputation and will reduce customer dissatisfaction. Fostering customer engagement can lead to a higher chance of customers becoming brand loyal. The more that customers trust your business, the more likely they are to refer it.
When clients talk about your company positively, your brand can rise to a top-of-mind position, and automatically have an invaluable edge over the competition. Adopting a customer-centric mindset is, therefore, one of the most beneficial efforts you can invest in.
The 9 Habits include:
- Continuously Listening to Customers
- Acting Proactively to Anticipate Needs
- Building Customer Empathy Into Processes and Policies
- Respecting Customer Privacy
- Sharing Knowledge Internally and With Customers
- Motivating Employees to Stay Engaged
- Acting Systemically to Improve the Customer Experience
- Creating Accountability for Customer Experience Improvement
- Adapting to Customer Demands and Circumstances
Read the full article here.
Check out our article: 10 Communication Tips For Facilities Managers
Leave your email below to stay up to date with our latest tips, tricks and trends on all things business?
The post 9 Habits of a Customer Centric Organisation – Featured in iOffice appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post Networked Job Management: What it Means For the Workplace – Featured in Insights For Professionals appeared first on Okappy.
]]>We wrote an article, featured in Insights For Professionals, where we shared our insight on networked job management. What does this mean for the future workplace and how could it impact business?
Many employees and employers in the workplace are nervous of embracing technology. We now live in a society where two-thirds of small businesses would struggle to survive without wireless technology. Overall, business culture is changing as forward thinking businesses are adopting collaborative strategies.
Networked job management is now essential in our digital age and adopting new ways of working should be a focus.
The article covers the following:
- Improving digital strategies
- Exploring market networks
- Reducing admin and increasing results
- Moving forward with digital technology
Read the full article here.
Check out our article: 10 Communication Tips For Facilities Managers
Leave your email below to stay up to date with our latest tips, tricks and trends on all things business?
The post Networked Job Management: What it Means For the Workplace – Featured in Insights For Professionals appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post Empowering Our Industry – Featured in FMJ appeared first on Okappy.
]]>We wrote an article for FMJ exploring collaboration. Collaboration forms the building blocks of business, but many FM companies can admit that broken communication with both employees, customers and subcontractors is what is holding the industry back. We take a look at how Okappy can provide a solution; empowering the industry on a wider scale.
The post Empowering Our Industry – Featured in FMJ appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The post How Technology Can Improve Health & Safety For Trades Companies – Featured in QUBE magazine appeared first on Okappy.
]]>We wrote an article for QUBE magazine’s July 2018 issue. While emerging technologies might seem disconnected from the practical business of trade work, new advances are actually having a huge impact on the landscape. This is perhaps most important when it comes to health and safety. Indeed, some 80,000 workers are affected by work related ill-health in the UK every year, according to the Health and Safety Executive, so innovations that can reduce this clearly have the potential to provide huge benefits.
The post How Technology Can Improve Health & Safety For Trades Companies – Featured in QUBE magazine appeared first on Okappy.
]]>