A CRM migration is the move from scattered paper and spreadsheets to one system where every customer, job, quote and invoice has a record. We plan it, clean the data, set the system up for your trade, and train your people. We don't install or service anything for your customers; our work stays in the office and on your crew's phones.
What it is, in plain terms
A CRM for a trades business is a shared address book with a memory. Search a name or a street, and you see every visit, the equipment or materials involved, what was quoted, what was paid and what the customer said last time.
Field-service CRMs add scheduling, dispatch, mobile job notes and photos. Some also handle quotes and invoices. We describe them by function, not brand, because the right one depends on your trade, crew size and accounting setup, and we'd rather you compare a short list than take a vendor's demo at face value.
Who it's for
This service suits owners who recognize at least two of these:
- the customer list is in a spreadsheet only one person understands
- job history lives in carbon-copy books in the trucks
- leads arrive by phone, text, email, Facebook and a website and land in five different places
- you can't answer "how many quotes did we send last month and how many closed?"
- a returning customer had to explain their history all over again
It suits a two-person shop as well as a 30-person company. The smaller the business, the simpler the setup should be. HVAC companies who want a deeper, trade-specific treatment can also read HVACCRM.ca, our sister site on CRM setup and training for heating and cooling firms.
What's included
- Workflow mapping. We sit down (by phone or screen share) with the owner, the office and one or two techs and trace how a job moves from first contact to payment.
- Field design. We decide what each record must hold for your trade. A roofer needs roof type and pitch; a plumber needs fixture and water heater details; an electrician needs panel information. Everything else is optional.
- Data cleanup. We merge duplicates, standardize addresses and phone numbers, and flag records missing consent to receive marketing messages.
- Import and checks. We import a test batch, check it with your office, then import the rest.
- Mobile setup. Job screens are trimmed to what a tech needs on site.
- Training. Short sessions for the office and the crew, plus a one-page cheat sheet for the truck.
- Lead capture. Calls, texts and website enquiries are routed into the CRM so new leads start a record automatically. If missed calls are your biggest leak, our sister service CallText.chat focuses on missed-call text-back.
Timeline
For most shops, four to eight weeks from first call to everyone using it daily:
| Week | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Workflow mapping and vendor short list |
| 2 | You choose and open the account; field design |
| 3–4 | Data cleanup and import |
| 5 | Mobile setup and crew training |
| 6–8 | Daily use with weekly check-ins; fix whatever annoys people |
Larger teams or messy data add time. The bottleneck is almost always how many hours someone on your side can give each week.
How results are measured
We agree on three or four numbers before we start and check them monthly:
- share of new leads logged within one business day
- quotes sent and quote-to-job conversion rate
- time from job completion to invoice sent
- share of jobs with complete notes and photos
These are your numbers, visible in your own system. We don't promise a set number of extra jobs; we show you where leads were leaking and whether the leak closed.
Mistakes to avoid
- Importing everything. Twenty years of paper typed into a new system just moves the mess. Bring active records and archive the rest.
- Choosing on features. The platform with the longest feature list often has the most screens for a tech to ignore. Choose on what your crew will actually tap.
- Skipping consent. Canada's anti-spam law, CASL, requires consent for commercial texts and emails. Keep track of who agreed to hear from you and how.
- Ignoring privacy. Customer addresses and phone numbers are personal information under PIPEDA, and Alberta, BC and Quebec have their own private-sector privacy laws. Use role-based logins and remove ex-employees promptly. Ask your own adviser about compliance.
- No owner inside the business. Someone on your team has to own the system after we step back.
Next steps: read our step-by-step migration guide, see how this fits with online booking, or check the pricing.
Frequently asked questions
How much of our old paperwork do we need to move?
Less than you think. Active customers from the last two or three years, open quotes, equipment or property details and anything under warranty are usually enough. Older boxes can be scanned and stored rather than typed in.
What if my techs won't use it?
That's the most common failure, and it usually means the system asks for too much. We set up the mobile view so a tech only touches three or four fields per job, and we train on real jobs, not slides.
Who owns the data?
You do. The CRM account is opened in your company's name, on your payment method, and you hold the administrator login. We work as a user you can remove at any time.
Can the CRM connect to our accounting software?
Most field-service CRMs connect to the common small-business accounting packages. We confirm the connection works with your actual setup before you commit to a vendor.