A thriving family business
White Bros Custom
PLUMBING | WESTCLIFFE, CO
Like many others in the trades, Nathaniel realized that being a master plumber alone wasn’t enough to build a successful plumbing business.
With endless complexities in bidding, estimating, job costing, and labor tracking, he found himself looking for a tool that would organize his workflow.
Knowify didn’t just save him time and money; it revolutionized the way White Bros Custom operates.
At glance:
- 8 employees
- 17 years in operation
- Plumbing, radiant/hydronic heating, new construction, renovation
- $1.2M/year in revenue
- Service Westcliffe, CO
MORE TIME SAVED
Able to create accurate estimates in minutes
MORE PROFITABLE
Cost control through real-time cost tracking
MORE ORGANIZED
Eliminated the hassle of paper time cards for accurate labor tracking
Knowify’s impact
By drastically improving estimating, job costing, project management, and payroll, Knowify became the foundation upon which Nathaniel built a thriving family-operated business.
A humble beginning
Nathaniel’s journey into the plumbing industry began at a ranch set against the snow-capped mountains of Colorado.
As children, Nathaniel and his brother lent a hand to a plumber working on their family residence. This early glimpse into the trades instilled a dream that one day, they’d start a business where they could make a living by working with their hands.
But the path toward owning a thriving business is a winding one. Nathaniel recounted the early days when his business was just getting started:
My brother and I started with $1700 in cash and a 1974 F-100 pickup that we built a pipe rack for…it’s still on the pickup, but it’s retired.
Nathaniel White
Owner, White Bros Custom
Nathaniel also ran into the inevitable bump in the road that many young tradespeople struggle to contend with. The realization that you have to be just as much of a business person as a tradesperson.
“We knew very little about the business side of it. But we were really good plumbers,” he said.
For Nathaniel, hard work is a given. The missing piece to propelling him and his family’s business was bringing it all together with pragmatic solutions and a sound business IQ.
“The ins and outs of bidding jobs, estimating, job costing, all that…we learned it on the fly,” he said.
Consistently completing projects to a high standard is a prerequisite for staying in business. But it’s only through efficiency, organization, and financial mastery that you’ll be able to build a sustainable business.
To do this, you’ll need construction management software that enables you to steer your business where you want it to go.
Why software is essential for running a successful plumbing business
“Up until probably ten years ago, I wasn’t even using Excel. I was writing out my estimates line by line by line by line.”
Having the right software has the potential to drastically change every aspect of your process for the better. To highlight this, Nathaniel recounted one of his first-ever projects,
One of our first projects was a $4 million house. It was actually our third project that we did, and I did every line of the estimate by hand, with a calculator; it was still a good week on the job, but it was a pain in the butt to estimate.
Nathaniel White
Owner, White Bros Custom
Knowify gave White Bros Custom the ability to handle many multi-day contract jobs in addition to the occasional small service job. With the tools to seamlessly handle both simultaneously, they can capitalize on both more work and a greater diversity of jobs.
“We knew years ago that we needed some sort of business software because I need to be able to run one day service jobs, and projects that take up to a year. No one had the list of features I needed, except Knowify.”
Nathaniel White
Knowify also allows Nathaniel and his business partners to take control of costs and make decisions with confidence, regardless of how complex a project’s scope of work might be.
“A large part of our business is larger projects, right? So, the original software that we ended up with, that we used for years, we had a ton of workarounds inside of it to be able to do a project that took more than one day, my biggest thing was these other software, they would not allow me to invoice, multiple stages of the project on a single invoice. I thought, “How stupid is that?!””
Knowify’s impact on White Bros Custom
With no suitable business software in sight, Nathaniel resorted to manual estimates, spending hours calculating costs for projects.
Frustrated with existing software options that lacked flexibility and essential features, they felt trapped in a system designed for service companies, not contractors like them.
“I was courted over the years by a bunch of different software companies. And so I had my list [of software features]. Everyone called me and said, ‘Hey, how would you like to try our software?’ I sent them my list. And there was nobody that said, “Oh yeah, we have all that.” Nobody, except Knowify.
“I love that our payroll is tied up in it. Job costing. I mean, all the things that I asked for, I got from you guys.” he said.
Their search for the perfect software led them to Knowify, a solution tailored to their needs as a growing plumbing and heating company.
What Nathaniel loves about Knowify:
- Accurate payroll in minutes
- Ability to generate estimates faster than ever before
- Eliminated the hassle of paper time cards
- Automated material, labor, and cost tracking
- Ability to see if he’s estimating correctly and generating a profit on every job
- Generate multiple POs to different suppliers in minutes
With Knowify, they found the flexibility to handle projects of any scale, with the ability to invoice multiple project stages on a single invoice and track costs seamlessly transformed their operations.
Transitioning from manual estimates to Knowify’s platform streamlined their workflow, allowing them to focus more on delivering quality service and less on administrative tasks.
From estimating to project management, payroll, and job costing, Knowify empowered Nathaniel to run his business more efficiently and, ultimately, more profitably.
Nathaniel’s advice for up-and-coming plumbers
“Always be a student.” Nathaniel said, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, highlighting a common pitfall among other business owners:
“There’s a lot of guys out there that will start their own business [and] stop learning.”
Nathaniel stressed the significance of staying updated on technological advancements, both in terms of tools for business management and innovations within the plumbing field itself.
“Always be a student of technology,” he asserts, underscoring the need to embrace new methodologies and equipment to remain competitive in the evolving market.
He acknowledges the value of traditional techniques but warns against complacency, urging professionals to adapt to the changing landscape and explore more efficient and sustainable practices.
Reflecting on emerging trends like heat pumps and radiant cooling, Nathaniel underscores the importance of staying ahead of the curve. While some may resist venturing into unfamiliar territory, he sees it as an opportunity for growth and differentiation.
“It’s being a student of the different technologies out there [that matters most],” he concludes, emphasizing the power of continual learning to set oneself apart in the industry. This no doubt includes utilizing construction management software.
Nathaniel put it best:
“When you get into a major project, software is essential.”
There’s an easier way to grow your business
Take control of your remodeling business and optimize your workflow with Knowify. Book a demo today and see how our all-in-one construction management software can streamline your business, increase productivity, and maximize profits.