Verdict: Jobber hit its limit. We found software that aligns with how the business actually operates.
Context: Why "Good Enough" Stops Working
The client—a growing Canadian pool and spa service company—wasn’t failing. They were scaling. And their field service management (FSM) platform, Jobber, wasn’t keeping up.
Jobber had served them well in the early days. But as services evolved from basic maintenance to include complex work like chemical balancing and multi-body water tracking, the cracks showed:
Costs ballooned: Tiered, per-user pricing penalized team growth.
Currency pain: USD billing + fluctuating FX rates = unpredictable monthly costs.
No pool-specific features: Workarounds became standard. Accuracy and time both suffered.
What looked like a tech issue was actually a business model mismatch. So we treated it like one.
Symptoms: Friction Hidden in the Margins
Two problems brought them to us:
Escalating costs that didn't track with business value.
Manual workarounds for routine tasks that should have been automated.
Jobber offered generalist tools: scheduling, route optimization, invoicing. But it wasn’t built for businesses that service dozens or hundreds of residential clients with recurring needs and chemical compliance.
This misfit compounded as the team scaled up, especially during peak seasons. The software they once praised had become the constraint.
Diagnosis: Not Features, but Fit
We rejected a checklist comparison. Instead, we asked: What software pricing model scales with this specific business?
We focused on:
Business model alignment: Does the pricing match how they earn?
Feature relevance: Are core workflows supported without custom hacks?
Currency stability: Are costs predictable in CAD?
This ruled out several options immediately:
Generalist FSMs: Nice dashboards, wrong economics.
Freemium tools: Incomplete and insecure for regulated tasks.
Custom builds: Too slow and costly to deliver ROI under 12 months.
One request from the client: Can we find a Canadian-built tool? We tried. No local solution had the pool-specific features needed. Geographic loyalty couldn’t trump operational fit.
Treatment: Realignment, Not Replacement
After screening over a dozen platforms, two contenders emerged:
1. Skimmer
Model: Per-location pricing, not per-user. Aligns with client’s revenue logic.
Features: Chemical tracking, dosage calculators, service checklists.
Scalability: Supports high-volume residential service with minimal marginal cost.
Drawback: US-based. Still billed in USD, but lower volume of billing fluctuations due to simpler tiers.
2. Pool Brain
Model: Per-technician pricing. Good for low-headcount teams.
Features: Strong automation, great for high-end service providers.
Drawback: More expensive if you have seasonal or part-time staff.
Skimmer fit better. It reflected how the business makes money and operates. It saved cost without requiring a process overhaul.
Outcome: Strategic Clarity, Not Just Software
We didn't push a product. We built a decision framework:
Clear cost comparisons, annualized.
Operational fit scoring (workflow coverage, admin load, scalability).
Risk factors flagged (vendor lock-in, currency volatility).
Result:
Projected first-year savings: $3,305.70 CAD.
Eliminated multiple manual tasks, freeing up service manager time.
Enabled faster onboarding for seasonal techs with purpose-built tools.
Client quote (paraphrased):
"We assumed we just needed to negotiate Jobber better. Turns out, we needed to rethink what we pay for."
Bottom Line
They came in asking for a cheaper Jobber. What they needed was software aligned with how they actually operate.
If your FSM costs scale faster than your revenue, the tool is wrong.
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