The following article by The Australian outlines just how much work our Tradies are losing to admin tasks.
(Source: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/digital-solutions-to-dig-tradies-out-of-admin-hole-hipages-report/news-story/b698fc1337e94436227a3bc74e139fba)
Tradies are looking at digital solutions to time lost on administrative tasks as the so-called “on-demand tradie economy” takes shape in Australia.
According to studies by market research firm EY Sweeney and LEK Consulting, commissioned by tradie booking website hipages, tradies pass up about $120,000 worth of work a year because of the burden of paperwork.
An average of 14 hours a week is lost to quoting and general admin tasks, with almost 70 per cent of tradies participating in the study saying technology could help them get a better handle on schedule management and reduce travel time between jobs.
Managing payroll and timely payments for services delivered are also major pain points for tradies, according to the survey. Hipages co-founder and chief executive David Vitek said there was a clear opportunity for digital platforms to play a bigger role in solving these problems.
“The current inefficiencies are far too costly for tradies and offer an avenue for real disruption,” he said. With an estimated 70 million paid residential jobs completed in the past year by Australian tradies, platforms such as hipages are looking to evolve from just connecting homes with the right tradesperson to providing a more integrated service that also takes care of payments, invoicing and point-of-sales integration.
In June, hipages sealed a deal with Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings to offer customers an integrated fixed-price purchase and install service for toilets.
Under the terms of the deal, customers can book an installation when they purchase a toilet suite from Bunnings.
Mr Vitek said partnerships such as these are the way forward for online booking platforms that want to meet the needs of home owners and tradies.
“There is a huge business opportunity here and it’s an area we are looking into,” he said.
“Like the on-demand nature of food delivery and ride-sharing sectors, we’re seeing a similar movement in the tradie sector.”
News Corp, publisher of The Australian, holds a 30 per cent stake in hipages.
Next: Carpenters set to Earn $300,000 on Queens Wharf Project
