JunkBossPro Blog — Running a Junk Removal Business

Your First Week on Junk Removal Business Software

Signing up is the easy part. The first week is where new software either becomes how the business runs or ends up as one more login nobody uses. The good news is that a small junk removal business can be fully up and running in a week without stopping work. It takes a plan, a little time each day and a crew that knows what is changing.

From Choosing to Using

Choosing Junk Removal Business Software: What to Check Before You Pay covered what to look for. Once you have picked, the first week is about getting the basics in and running real jobs through it. Here is a day-by-day plan using JunkBossPro as the example. Spread it out if you need to; the order matters more than the pace.

Day 1: Your Service List

Start with prices, because every quote and invoice comes from them. Add your services the way you sell them:

• Minimum load and single items.
• Quarter, half, three-quarter and full truck loads, plus multiple loads if you do them.
• Specific items like mattresses, appliances, hot tubs and pianos.
• Bigger jobs: estate and garage cleanouts, shed teardowns, apartment trash-outs.
• Add-ons like same-day service.

Decide on your included weight and per-ton rate for dump fee overage, for example “$70 a ton over the included weight” as an example of your own pricing. If you also leave dumpsters, set the dumpster drop days included and the daily rate after that.

Day 2: Trucks, Crew and Office

Add each truck. Add each crew member as an employee with a personal PIN and a truck assignment. If someone helps in the office, give them their own login and a role that fits what they do.

Set up your request form and sign-up form on your website, so new requests flow into Form Responses and the Waiting List from now on. Check your alert settings for night-before reminders, on-the-way texts and arrived texts.

Day 3: Bring In Customers

Import your customer list with CSV import. Imported addresses are placed on the map automatically. Spend a little time cleaning up after the import: merge any duplicates, add access notes for addresses you know well, and set up partners properly.

For realtors and property managers, make sure each is one client with all their addresses, and set them to Monthly billing if they want one statement each month. Add tags like “Realtor,” “Property manager” or “Landlord” so you can find them later.

Day 4: Build the First Real Schedule

Put this week's booked jobs and any open requests on the Waiting List. Quote any open requests from your service list and send them for online approval. Approved estimates become scheduled jobs.

Then build tomorrow on the dispatch board. Assign jobs to trucks, set the route order by hand or auto-route Closest First or Furthest First from the yard, and check that each job has its load size, items and what is going filled in. Print a route sheet as a backup if the crew wants one for the first day.

Day 5: The Crew's First Day

Before the trucks leave, take ten minutes with the crew. Have each person open the crew app in their phone's browser, install it to the home screen and log in with the company login and their PIN. Show them the job card, the navigation button, the Go button for the dump, and Start, Skip and Complete.

Make two things clear: take before and after photos on every job, and enter the dump ticket on the job before the end of the day. Those two habits do the most to protect the business.

Ride along or check in by text during the day. Expect a few questions. By afternoon, most crews have the hang of it.

Days 6 and 7: Invoices and a Look Back

As jobs are completed, invoices are created, dump overage is added from the ticket, and cards on file can be charged. Check the first batch of invoices carefully. Are the prices right? Did the overage calculate the way you expected? Fix the service list now if something is off.

At the end of the week, look back. What took longer than it should? What questions did the crew keep asking? Adjust and keep going. The guide on A Weekly Office Routine for a Junk Removal Business is a good next step for the office.

Week Two and Beyond

After the first week, the software should be the official record. Every request, quote, job, ticket and invoice goes through it. Within a few weeks, the notebook can stay home. For every topic in this series, from your first truck to your fleet, visit the running a junk removal business page.