Stucco Surgeon and the Journey to Digitize

Karl Completing stucco project

Image Credit: Stucco Surgeon

October 29, 2023 - 9:00 AM

Stucco Surgeon is a team of 11, with local technicians serving Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops, and Abbotsford. Technicians are experienced in old-world stuccos as well as today’s new materials. Technology is starting to show up even in some of the oldest trades because of new building material developments, digital tools, and how customers prefer to do business.

The Digital Push

By 2015 most commercial and residential customers were demanding digital quotes and invoices. If Stucco Surgeon wanted to keep their quality clientele, they had to digitize.

As business grew, so did the stack of programs Stucco Surgeon was using and the amount of time required to both record and find project information. Techs were sitting in their trucks waiting for updates from the office. Work orders still had to be printed and distributed. Stucco Surgeon realized they needed one software application that would replace all that, reduce office time, and improve overall efficiency.

The Challenge

Traditionally, the world of mud has never required the use of computers. Stucco Surgeon had both literacy and tech challenges across their team. Like many other small trades businesses, they needed software that the whole team could use. It had to replace clipboards, the whiteboard, hold photos and notes, make everything easy to find, and be easy to use.

Stucco Surgeon looked at many field management products and found them to be:

hard to learn,
not intended for small trades workflows,
expensive,
too complicated,
required higher levels of tech-literacy
Overall, very frustrating

Tradesflow QR Code

Image Credit: Stucco Surgeon

The Solution

In 2017, Stucco Surgeon was introduced to Csek Creative. The Csek team worked with Stucco Surgeon to build the first version of Tradesflow. Drilling down to the core pieces of managing both techs and customers, they put together a simple program that everyone could use.

When Stucco Surgeon went live with their new software, the team loved it.
The first season Stucco Surgeon saw overall productivity jump by an average of 30%!! Morale increased as everyone’s jobs became easier: time management improved, profits went up, overhead and worker stress went way down! Technicians were earning 25-30% more commissions by being more organized. They got more done in a week than ever before. Administration went from having one person manage the operations in one city to running 3 cities. Staff retention was 100% for the first time. This translated into other businesses from around the Okanagan asking if they could use the software.

And Tradesflow was born

Stucco Surgeon realized that they were not the only trades business to experience challenges getting their team to digitize. 2.5 million small trades business across Canada are in need of easy software created with their unique needs and workflows in mind. Tradesflow is now its own company, headquartered in Kelowna BC. It sells online software that is customizable for anyone who must go to a home or property to install, do, or deliver their work. Tradesflow Gets. Stuff. Done.

To schedule a free estimate for stucco repair or application, call (250) 862-4787 or learn more here. Read more about Tradesflow here.