Case Study: How RB’s Pool Service Management Software Has Helped B&B Pool and Spa Center
“We’re very happy about the ability of the RB system to manage our business. It’s leaps and bounds ahead of what we had before. Our relationship with the people at RB and support that we get is really good. When we get them on the line, there’s a faimiliary, the questions that we ask are never “dumb” and generally when talking to them, they’ll really show you how it works. Their knowledge of the industry is incredibly helpful in terms of the level of support they’re able to provide. They also offer a lot of training sessions that we take advantage of and that employees really enjoy.”
– Hugh Smith, Vice President of Operations, B&B Pool and Spa Center
What prompted you to invest in RB’s point of sale software? What were your goals in adopting this software?
The business was running off of an AS/400 homegrown system and the functionality was adequate but the ability to use it in the service department for scheduling and quoting, as well as job-estimating functionality on the construction end, was missing. We looked at a lot of systems and found that RB had exactly the functionality that we needed and were looking for.
What was your initial experience like with RB when you first launched the software?
B&B launched the software about 3 years ago, prior to my joining the company. When it was first adopted, they were using about 20% of what the system was capable of – adoption wasn’t aggressive. When I joined, I dove into the software and, after 2 years, we’re now using about 75-80% of the software capability. To fully understand the software, I learned the process and got involved with invoicing and billing, scheduling, and construction. I wanted to understand how it integrated with other software. I found it to be very manageable, especially with the online help/tech support. We’ve progressed quite rapidly in a short period of time; adoption has been great and we’ve come a long way since initial use of the software.
How has RB benefitted your business (think: employees, customers, bottom line, etc)?
Employees are able to be more efficient and productive. It’s helped with our customer base for example, when techs finish work at a pool they take before/after photos and share them with the client. It protects the company in a lot of ways.
The software is linked with QuickBooks which is helpful. Regarding inventory, it’s given us a much better and clearer picture of costs. The software has a more robust process when it comes to cost analysis that has really benefited the bottom line of business.
Have you tried other point of sale softwares in the past? What makes RB’s software unique?
The previous AS/400 software was old technology. With RB we’re in the 21st century. In terms of what the software offers, when we looked at others, we found they were geared to specifics; some were geared more toward service vs. construction for example, but none really well-served the overall business. RB had more of that type of functionality; it can cross across all segments of the business which was important to us.
What do your employees have to say about RB’s software?
There has been a cultural shift in the office because the data is readily available. We don’t have to poke around a lot to find it. The staff has embraced it because it’s fairly easy to manage and there’s more functionality so their jobs have become easier and they can help customers faster.
