Anyone running the back office knows these problems well
Paper job reports
Notes only one person can read eventually end up in a filing folder instead of the invoice. What isn't recorded doesn't get billed.
Invoices and reminders tracked by hand
Who has paid, who hasn't, who gets the first reminder? Without a fixed process it all falls on one person, and incoming payments get overlooked.
Orders scattered across three different places
Email, WhatsApp, sticky notes on the monitor. The current status of an order is often only stored in one person's head.
Supplier invoices pile up on the side
Goods receipt, payment advice, early payment discount deadlines: when this gets handled on the side, deadlines slip through and discounts go unused.
KfW funding applications cost days every time
Documents that aren't within reach cost time on every application - time that's missing from the daily business.
Service appointments booked by shouting across the office
Without a shared calendar, double bookings and forgotten appointments are only a matter of time.
That's exactly what SmartOffice is for.
Why SmartOffice for trade businesses
I worked for several years in the back office of a plumbing, heating & air conditioning (HVAC) company: job reports, invoicing and payment reminders, supplier invoices and payment advice, service appointment scheduling, master data maintenance in the inventory management system, KfW funding processes. I know these workflows from daily practice, not from theory.
That means for you: no explanations needed about what a job report or a progress invoice is. I set up systems that fit a trade business, technically clean and without detours.
I work with
What I set up for your business
Automating order processing
A new order comes in, and three people enter it into three different lists. I build Power Automate workflows that route orders automatically, make status visible and sync service appointments with the team.
After: One order, one status, visible at any time.
Templates for quotes, invoices and job reports
Every employee fills out job reports differently, and quotes and order confirmations look different from one colleague to the next. I build standardized templates in Word and as digital forms, stored directly in SharePoint.
After: The same structure, no matter who writes the report.
Structuring invoice and payment documentation
Tracking outgoing invoices, incoming payments and reminder levels in an Excel sheet or list quickly becomes confusing, especially when several people enter data at the same time. I set up structured templates for payment advice and reminder letters, and build a filing system where the payment status of every invoice is visible at a glance.
After: One glance is enough to see what's open and what's done.
Microsoft 365 as a central filing system
Orders, photos from the job site, invoices and customer data scattered across email inboxes and local folders. I set up Teams and SharePoint so every order has a fixed place, including access rights by role.
After: One place for everything, no more searching across multiple inboxes.
Keeping customer data and appointments clean
New customers get noted on paper, service appointments get booked from memory, master data gets maintained multiple times. I set up digital intake forms and a shared calendar the whole team can access.
After: One look at the calendar shows what's coming up and when, no follow-up questions needed.
Remote IT support for the back office
The printer stops working, Outlook won't sync, a new employee needs access. I handle the technical troubleshooting remotely, without anyone needing to set aside extra time for it.
After: One fixed point of contact for IT issues in the office.