IndustriesIrrigation
Irrigation business software
Business Genie is irrigation business software for service calls and installs. Each tech’s repairs and startups are put in the order that drives least, installs go out as proposals with a deposit, and you get paid by card, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo or Cash App.
Plans from $50 a month · One month free · No credit card
One tech’s day, in booked order and as routed. A sample irrigation day, simulated, beside this.
Late
A irrigation day, as booked
In the fall every sprinkler system on the books has to be blown out before the ground freezes, so for a few weeks an irrigation tech’s day is a long list of short stops. The list fills in the order customers sign up, not the order of the streets, so the truck and its compressor cross the suburb again and again, and a customer who stayed home in the morning to open a basement shutoff is still waiting after lunch.
- 18 zones, one of them dripWinterization blowout · Willow Dr36 min
- 25 zones, garage code in the notesWinterization blowout · Cottonwood St27 min
- 36 zones, shutoff in the basementWinterization blowout · Aspen Ct30 min9 am–11 am
- 4HOA entrance and common areas, 14 zonesWinterization blowout · Meadow Ridge Rd54 min
- 54 zonesWinterization blowout · Larkspur Ln24 min
- 66 zonesWinterization blowout · Sage Ct30 min
- 77 zones, gate lockedWinterization blowout · Birch Hollow33 min12 pm–2 pm
- 86 zones, shutoff in the basementWinterization blowout · Juniper Pl30 min8 am–10 am
- 94 zonesWinterization blowout · Primrose Way24 min
- 105 zones, dogs in the yardWinterization blowout · Hawthorn Ave27 min
As booked: 1 h 31 min of driving, 1 time window missed, the last job done at 2:16 pm.
The same day, routed
Business Genie puts the day’s stops in the order that drives least, and keeps the time windows you promised and the length of every job.
In this sample the same 10 jobs take 42 min of driving instead of 1 h 31 min, with every time window kept instead of 1 missed, and the last one is finished at 1:27 pm instead of 2:16 pm.
11:20 am, a backflow split by the freeze
A customer who was on next week’s list calls: last night’s hard freeze split the backflow preventer, and water is spraying against the side of the house.
Business Genie orders each tech’s stops to drive the least and splits the day’s jobs across techs. The tech gets turn-by-turn directions to the next stop.
In this sample the call is fitted in at 11:58 am and the day is done at 2:33 pm. Taken straight after the job in hand, with the rest driven as booked, the day runs to 3:25 pm.
At a blowout
Stop 4 · Aspen Ct · 30 min
6 zones, shutoff in the basement.
A blowout is timed by its zones. In this sample it is 12 minutes for the parts every system has, plus 3 a zone, which is why the day’s stops run from 24 minutes to nearly an hour. Blowouts are often priced the same way: a charge for the visit that covers the first few zones, and so much for each zone past them. Draining the backflow preventer matters most: it is the part a freeze splits first, as the 11:20 call found.
Run it, or drag its clock.
- Every zone is full of water. The shutoff is in the basement, so the customer stays home for the visit: this stop has a 9 am–11 am window, and the routed day gets the tech there at 9:39 am.
- The water is shut off in the basement, the backflow preventer’s valves are closed so no air goes through it, and the compressor’s hose goes on the port after it.
- Zone by zone, the air pushes the water out through the heads until they give only mist: in this sample, a minute and a half a zone. The valve schedule, as the plan lists it:Z1Six spray heads on the front lawn9:44 amZ2Four strip sprays between the sidewalk and the curb9:45 amZ3The drip line in the bed along the front of the house9:47 amZ4The drip line in the bed along the side of the house9:48 amZ5Four rotors on the back lawn, the half by the house9:50 amZ6Three rotors on the back lawn, the half by the fence9:51 am
- Every zone again, a short blast each for the water that ran back to the low spots. The passes stay short because air moving through a dry pipe heats it.
- The backflow preventer is drained through its test cocks and its valves are left half open, so no water is trapped in the part a freeze splits first.
- The controller in the garage is set to off for the winter, and the hose comes off the port. Done at 10:09 am: six zones blown dry twice, and nothing left in the pipes for a freeze to split.
- 1Cottonwood St5 · 27
- 2Juniper Pl6 · 30
- 3Meadow Ridge Rd14 · 54
- 4Aspen Ct6 · 30
- 5Sage Ct6 · 30
- 6Hawthorn Ave5 · 27
- 7Willow Dr8 · 36
- 9Primrose Way4 · 24
- 10Birch Hollow7 · 33
- 11Larkspur Ln4 · 24
Sample yard and sample day, simulated. Stops in the order the tech drives them once routed; stop 8, backflow split by the freeze, is a repair. Dark: the part every system has. Each cell after it: a zone, blown twice. Every yard, and every tech’s order, will differ.
Route your own irrigation day
Put in your own jobs, how long each takes and the windows you promise, and Business Genie puts them in the order that drives least, and re-orders it when a call comes in.
The first month is free. The team sets up your account and moves your customer data over at no charge, and route optimization is on every plan.
Irrigation jobs, and how long they take
The work an irrigation business books, and how long each job takes once the tech is there. Business Genie keeps the length you set for each job when it routes the day.
- Backflow testing20–40 minBackflow testing–
- Winterization blowout20–60 minWinterization blowout×10
- Spring startup30–60 minSpring startup–
- Sprinkler repair30–90 minSprinkler repair–
- Controller setup30–90 minController setup–
- Backflow repair45–90 minBackflow repair×1
- Valve and wire troubleshooting45–180 minValve and wire troubleshooting–
- Drip system installation2–6 hDrip system installation–
- Sprinkler system installation6–8 hSprinkler system installation–
Backflow testing
The yearly test many water providers require: a certified tester puts a gauge on the backflow preventer’s test cocks, checks each valve holds, and files the report.
Winterization blowout
The backflow preventer is isolated and the compressor hooked up after it. Each zone is run on air until only mist comes out of the heads, twice over, then the backflow is drained, its valves are left half open, and the controller is set to off.
Spring startup
The water is turned on slowly so the pipes don’t hammer, the backflow is closed up, and every zone is run: broken heads replaced, sprays turned back onto the lawn, leaks from the winter found, and the controller’s schedule set.
Sprinkler repair
A broken head, a pipe cut by an edger or a leak that leaves a soggy patch: the zone is run to find it, the ground dug, the head or fitting replaced, and the zone run again.
Controller setup
A new controller is mounted and each zone’s wire landed on it, the zones are named, and each gets its own run time and days for its plants, sun and soil.
Backflow repair
Most often a backflow preventer split by a freeze. The water is shut off, the cracked bonnet or the whole preventer is replaced, and the system is tested before the water goes back on.
Valve and wire troubleshooting
A zone that won’t come on, or won’t shut off. The solenoid is tested from the controller with a meter, the valve is opened up for a torn diaphragm or grit, and a broken wire is traced underground with a locator and spliced.
Drip system installation
A spray zone turned into drip, or a new bed piped in: a filter and a pressure regulator at the valve, tubing run through the bed, and an emitter at every plant.
Sprinkler system installation
A crew’s full day, and more than one for a large yard: the lines trenched or pulled in, the backflow and valves set, the heads placed so their sprays meet, the controller wired, and every zone run and adjusted.
Questions about irrigation business software
- Does Business Genie route irrigation techs?
- Yes. Route optimization is on every plan: it orders each tech’s day, splits jobs across techs, keeps time windows and job durations, and re-routes when a job is added.
- Can customers book a startup or repair online?
- Yes. Business Genie includes online booking.
- Is there a free trial?
- Yes. The first month is free, with no credit card to start.