Question
Do I need new software when I hire my first employee?
Not if the app you use already has crew roles. In Business Manager 4Home Pros the free plan includes you plus 1 teammate, and Pro is $34.99 a month for any number of people, so your first hire changes a setting, not your software.
Steps
What changes on the day you hire
- Decide what they should see. Their stops, the notes and the checklists. Not your prices, and not what each customer owes.
- Invite them. Send a join code or link. They sign in on their own phone, iPhone or Android, as a Crew Member.
- Share their route. They see only the routes you share, or every site if you turn that on.
- Agree on Done. Their Done bills the visit, the same as yours, so finishing the lawn is the whole job for them.
- Decide how you'll know where they are. Crew GPS on the free plan keeps each crew day for 7 days, with 3 location requests a day. The crew phone shows that tracking is on.
- Check the first weeks. Turn on the house photo check so they photograph the house number before they finish, and read their job notes.
Checklist
5 things to check in any app before you hire
- Can crew see money? Prices, balances and payments should be off by default.
- Does the price go up per person? Find the cost with 2, 5 and 10 people, not just 1.
- Does it run on their phone? Your helper may have Android while you have an iPhone.
- Does their Done bill the visit? If not, you type their work up at night.
- Can you see their day? Where they went, and what is still left.
In Business Manager 4Home Pros
All five, on the free plan
- Crew Members never see prices, balances or payments, and get no customer pages.
- Free for you plus 1 teammate. Pro is $34.99 a month for 2 people or 20.
- iPhone, Android and the web, on one account.
- A crew member's Done bills the visit to the customer's balance.
- Each crew day on the map for the last 7 days. Pro adds live moving pins, Follow and the full history.
Hiring for the office instead? Make them an Admin or a Manager. See someone in the office.
Honest note
When a first hire does mean a new plan
Some apps price by the user. With them, hiring means a plan change, not a software change, and the price jumps:
- Jobber: Core is $49 a month for 1 user. With 2 people, the cheapest fit is Connect at $168 a month[1].
- Housecall Pro: Basic is $79 a month for 1 user. With 2 people, the cheapest fit is Essentials at $189 a month[2].
Those are monthly list prices, billed monthly. Both suites do more than we do in some areas, such as card payments or QuickBooks. If you need those, the higher price can be worth it. Compare on the pricing page or in our lawn care software roundup.
For every stage after the first hire, read software that grows with you.
FAQ
Questions
Can my employee use the app on their own phone?
Yes. They join with a code or link and sign in on their own iPhone or Android phone, as a Crew Member.
Will my employee see what my customers pay?
No. Crew Members see their stops, notes and checklists, never prices, balances or payments. How it works.
How much does it cost to add an employee?
Nothing on the free plan, which covers you plus 1 teammate. After that, Pro is $34.99 a month for any number of people.
Can I see where my employee is?
Yes. The free plan keeps each crew day for the last 7 days, with 3 location requests a day. Pro shows live moving pins and lets you follow one person. You control tracking for each person and each phone.
Do I need a separate app for my crew?
No. It is the same app. A Crew Member sees the crew view: stops, notes, checklists and Done.
Add your first crew member today, free.
Free for your first 50 job sites. No card. Same account on iPhone, Android and the web.