Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Window Lickers on August 01, 2014, 07:17:56 pm
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Hiya. I have been looking at CleanerPlanner. There are some elements I like about Aworka and have used it for a good while now, at least two years. However, is there a likelihood that Aworka will be incorporating some of the features that CP has, most specifically the ability to upload a specific company banner for invoices, text messaging integration, PayPal payment integration so payments are automatically acknowledged and the debt is adjusted accordingly in the software?
Thanks Matt.
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what do you reckon ?
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Hi Matt
Yes, Aworka will include most of the features you mention in the not too distant future (and more besides). Please always email me if there are features you would like to see and I'll add them to my list if they're not already there, and try and give an idea of when they might appear...
Thanks
Chris.
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Matt, if you've waited 2 years for these features already what's to say it won't be another 2 years before aworka gets around to these features
Rob is currently adding features all the time, those that customers ( us Windy's ) really want right now !
Darran
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I get your point Darren.
However I'm not going to jump ship straight away. I think Chris has something at aworka that is equal to CP. However I've emailed him about this too and am expecting some updates soon.
If they come along and they're what I'm looking for good news.
However I think there's always regular additional updates on a piece of software like this in its early days as there's always going to be elements that the designer has simply not included for one reason or another and they're keen to get it to market.
Time will tell. If the integration with paypal doesn't materialise or a text messaging g feature then I'll be looking to move on.
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I have sacked off PayPal completely due to charges , So i would welcome GoCardless intergration over PayPal , Aworka is the dogs dangelys for me and will continue to stick with Aworka as it works best for me and its sheer simplicity and ease of use wins me over . Mike
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I have sacked off PayPal completely due to charges , So i would welcome GoCardless intergration over PayPal , Aworka is the dogs dangelys for me and will continue to stick with Aworka as it works best for me and its sheer simplicity and ease of use wins me over . Mike
Have you used Cleaner Planner Mike? How do you know Aworka is easier to use.
I am also with Aworka
Tony
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I wouldn't be interested in Paypal integration and I fail to understand why asnyone would use it, but texting would be a huge benefit.
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I wouldn't be interested in Paypal integration and I fail to understand why asnyone would use it, but texting would be a huge benefit.
+1
I use PayPal for stuff I sell on eBay. I try to avoid using it wherever I can, it's terrible and 5% is a joke.
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I'm happy to text from my phone the evening before.
Grouped into days, 10 at a time to me it's no biggy and not worth the 4.9p for each sent. I'm not sure these texts can be replied to either.
PayPal is a pia just for its charges. I am looking to get the majority of mine onto D/D but not through Gocardless just an agreement with the custards.
George, Aworka, Cleaner Planner all do similar, but for the accounts, reports and scheduling, cleaning software is worth the cost.
Tony
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I have sacked off PayPal completely due to charges , So i would welcome GoCardless intergration over PayPal , Aworka is the dogs dangelys for me and will continue to stick with Aworka as it works best for me and its sheer simplicity and ease of use wins me over . Mike
Have you used Cleaner Planner Mike? How do you know Aworka is easier to use.
I am also with Aworka
Tony
Basically i attempted to trial Cleaner Planner but almost impossible to use without a manual of which their is not one , I like to get up and running with things almost instantly .
So straight comparision against the 2 click on a job in the planner on Aworka you have a box open up with the options to mark job done ,paid or not etc . Click save and the next job loads and so on
Click on a job with CP and you are redirected to another page to amend job details no clear instructions how to do the above mentioned on Aworka if i cant do the simple stuff then what hope have i running my business through it .
I have communicated this to Rob and have made the ultimate decision to stick with Aworka longterm as Chris has always been helpful and in the years i have used it i have no issues at all . Mike
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I have sacked off PayPal completely due to charges , So i would welcome GoCardless intergration over PayPal , Aworka is the dogs dangelys for me and will continue to stick with Aworka as it works best for me and its sheer simplicity and ease of use wins me over . Mike
Have you used Cleaner Planner Mike? How do you know Aworka is easier to use.
I am also with Aworka
Tony
Basically i attempted to trial Cleaner Planner but almost impossible to use without a manual of which their is not one , I like to get up and running with things almost instantly .
So straight comparision against the 2 click on a job in the planner on Aworka you have a box open up with the options to mark job done ,paid or not etc . Click save and the next job loads and so on
Click on a job with CP and you are redirected to another page to amend job details no clear instructions how to do the above mentioned on Aworka if i cant do the simple stuff then what hope have i running my business through it .
I have communicated this to Rob and have made the ultimate decision to stick with Aworka longterm as Chris has always been helpful and in the years i have used it i have no issues at all . Mike
Ok thanks
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Cleaner Planner works differently to Aworka, if it didn't there would be no point in it existing.
In CP you don't mark jobs as done directly from the planner. You use the planner (and other tools) to decide what work needs doing and add it to a worksheet. That's where you mark jobs as done, missed, paid etc.
(Mike - just to give the full picture here, I think it's only fair to add that I did explain all this in the step by step tutorial I emailed to you and offered my personal assistance via phone and email)
For some this will be a better way of working, for others Aworka will be a better fit.
However, as with any new software you need to invest some time upfront (manual or no manual) to get your head round it and trial it for a few weeks to decide if it's for you.
As I mentioned, I'm prioritising feature development and helping users personally for now over producing a manual which will be out of date in a few months (most people email or call me if they're stuck anyway :))
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I have sacked off PayPal completely due to charges , So i would welcome GoCardless intergration over PayPal , Aworka is the dogs dangelys for me and will continue to stick with Aworka as it works best for me and its sheer simplicity and ease of use wins me over . Mike
Have you used Cleaner Planner Mike? How do you know Aworka is easier to use.
I am also with Aworka
Tony
Basically i attempted to trial Cleaner Planner but almost impossible to use without a manual of which their is not one , I like to get up and running with things almost instantly .
So straight comparision against the 2 click on a job in the planner on Aworka you have a box open up with the options to mark job done ,paid or not etc . Click save and the next job loads and so on
Click on a job with CP and you are redirected to another page to amend job details no clear instructions how to do the above mentioned on Aworka if i cant do the simple stuff then what hope have i running my business through it .
I have communicated this to Rob and have made the ultimate decision to stick with Aworka longterm as Chris has always been helpful and in the years i have used it i have no issues at all . Mike
I trialled CP but couldn't get my head around it - just didn't make any sense to me. CP though had a clearer layout but the odd pricing put me off in the end. Aworka seems ok but still throws me now and again. George on the other hand was simply brilliant but didn't have the mobile option.
The problem I have with Aworka is clicking on the + button and adding a job for the day only to find the original date due stays on the planner which makes me think I forgot to do the job. The search function is not as sharp as George and the mobile version leaves a lot to be desired if I'm totally honest. Quite tempted to go back to George.
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George was/is still the best. I just couldn't go back to a windows based comp.
Tony
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for me im not bothered about paypal etc as its a rip off, but the only thing i'd like to see on aworka which ive been waiting a while for is a weekly or monthly view on the mobile app, its so frustrating not being able to see any further than today or tomorrow unless i go online and log in.
also the adding new jobs in the mobile app thats been coming soon for a long time!
sort those out and it will be spot on for me.
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The problem I have with Aworka is clicking on the + button and adding a job for the day only to find the original date due stays on the planner.
Dave have you got the 'PLAN NEXT JOB' tab in the job details set to 'ON'?
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Not sure. I have plan next 'from job date' in planner settings.
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Hi Dave
You can add a job to any day on the planner, whether it is due or not, but Aworka gives you hints about which jobs you should be doing next, e.g. the jobs are listed in next due order, so if a job is already planned, it will be further down the list. The jobs are also coloured in the list to indicate how late or early they are.
If a job is already planned, but you want to do it earlier, you can drag it to an earlier date rather than adding it again.
You might also find the Highlight option at the top right of the planner useful, to show jobs which are planned in too early or late.
I have debated whether Aworka should do more to prevent you planning jobs too early, etc, but as one of my users said "Aworka let's me control my schedule, not the other way around."
As ever, I'm open to suggestions... maybe I could add an option that would allow Aworka to remove a future job from your planner if is added to an earler date...?
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Hi Chris I never do jobs early I'm always behind. What I meant was if I press the + on the day in planner and add an overdue job it remains in it's old due date position on the planner and so gives me a duplicate of the same job. If I drag and drop then all is fine.
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Cleaner Planner works differently to Aworka, if it didn't there would be no point in it existing.
In CP you don't mark jobs as done directly from the planner. You use the planner (and other tools) to decide what work needs doing and add it to a worksheet. That's where you mark jobs as done, missed, paid etc.
(Mike - just to give the full picture here, I think it's only fair to add that I did explain all this in the step by step tutorial I emailed to you and offered my personal assistance via phone and email)
For some this will be a better way of working, for others Aworka will be a better fit.
However, as with any new software you need to invest some time upfront (manual or no manual) to get your head round it and trial it for a few weeks to decide if it's for you.
As I mentioned, I'm prioritising feature development and helping users personally for now over producing a manual which will be out of date in a few months (most people email or call me if they're stuck anyway :))
With respect Rob I fully appreciate your point and i am not knocking you or CP just putting forward my experience , I dont use worksheets and i am not the brightest of people and like things to work for me quite easily .
I have a busy work and home life and like a lot of people and like other people the simplicity of Aworka is very easy to get your head around and crack on with , Which has great appeal to me and i fully appreciate that with CP and all its different features their is more to learn in order to get to grips with the program .
Although i may have missed it i am pretty sure i never received a step by step tutorial and yes you did offer assistance but i am not one to be spending time on the phone to go through a lot stuff ,
From my point of view Aworka works so well for me that i was not prepared to invest the time on an evening to work through new software when i have pretty hectic home life , Which is purely a personal thing for me and maybe other lads who are sole traders or employers may well be off the same view .
Best Regards Mike
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Some people love Iphone's some folk love Android i think it is simply one off those things . Regards Mike
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Cheers Mike - don't worry, no hard feelings or anything, I thrive on feedback ;)
Good analogy iPhone vs Android but as you know it can take a while to get used to a new phone! You may end up loving or hating it but you won't know till you've persevered with it for a while.
Just a closing thought! To be honest I agree you're probably in the right place for now (and this is supposed to be an Aworka thread so I'll put a sock in it!) Thanks for giving CP a look and all the best for now :)
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Loving the maturity of this thread. Had to check I was on clean it up :D
Tony
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Rob has much to learn. What he should do is ditch %Mike and replace with two more...
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My view is the complete opposite, i too have been a long term George user, and my business changed and with it i needed a cloud based software, i trailed aworka and couldnt make head nor tail of it , i trialled Cleaner Planner and it was straightforward , i picked it up and used it virtually straight away , this added to the fact thet CP provides all the cutting edge text and direct debit integration it was an easy choice. Its seems to me that there is 3 software choices for your business to use at the moment. George is Bronze , works well as an offline database. Aworka is silver, works well as an online database (though many have reported it can be very slow at times with no cutting edge advancements). Cleaner Planner is Gold , stand out from the pack dynamic, intelligent and always improving. For me the choice is simple i wanted the best for my business so Cleaner Planner was clearly the choice to make.
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Loving the maturity of this thread. Had to check I was on clean it up :D
Tony
+1 I would try Cleaner planner because apparently it is a great software and very important to me, Rob know how to talk to people.
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The problem I have with Aworka is clicking on the + button and adding a job for the day only to find the original date due stays on the planner which makes me think I forgot to do the job. The search function is not as sharp as George and the mobile version leaves a lot to be desired if I'm totally honest. Quite tempted to go back to George.
I agree on this - this is a silly stupid problem that should not exist.. most cleaners work behind schedule specially in winter and when you use the mobile app (aworka) and you do jobs late it still shows jobs on the main planner when they where supposed to be done.. so when you log and look you think the job hasn't been done and it all gets very confusing in the end!!
At least make it change colour if you can't make the job remove itself from when it was supposed to be done from there! it makes your planner a complete mess and its the only reason i wont use the mobile app anymore
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With the text function in Cleaner Planner-is it possible to make the text 1) look as if it's come from your phone? 2) use inclusive texts on your contract? 3) text to a landline?
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With the text function in Cleaner Planner-is it possible to make the text 1) look as if it's come from your phone? 2) use inclusive texts on your contract? 3) text to a landline?
1, not sure what you mean, but you get a certain amount of characters to give your text a title eg mine says impact (as i'm called impact cleaning)
2, No, the texting service is provided by a third party (text local) about 4.9p per text
3, yes you can
also cleaner planner lets you set the date and time that the text gets sent, so say you were away for a few days and people needed texting for your staff etc you could pre organise in cleaner planner for people to be texted whenever you wanted, you can also of course have them sent immediately.
paul
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Rob has much to learn. What he should do is ditch %Mike and replace with two more...
;D ;D ;D
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Thanks Paul - couldn't have answered the SMS questions better myself! Poleking let me know if you have any further Q's on this.
The problem I have with Aworka is clicking on the + button and adding a job for the day only to find the original date due stays on the planner which makes me think I forgot to do the job. The search function is not as sharp as George and the mobile version leaves a lot to be desired if I'm totally honest. Quite tempted to go back to George.
I agree on this - this is a silly stupid problem that should not exist.. most cleaners work behind schedule specially in winter and when you use the mobile app (aworka) and you do jobs late it still shows jobs on the main planner when they where supposed to be done.. so when you log and look you think the job hasn't been done and it all gets very confusing in the end!!
At least make it change colour if you can't make the job remove itself from when it was supposed to be done from there! it makes your planner a complete mess and its the only reason i wont use the mobile app anymore
Bang on Dave, that's what I've found, most window cleaners I've spoken to (sole trader and multi) work behind schedule because they're constantly adding jobs to their rounds, dealing with weather and staff issues etc.
CP accommodates this by giving you the option to treat the due date as an indication of when the work should be done by (i.e. it's priority) rather than the specific day on which you're going to do the work (which most people don't know in advance).
That means you can keep things flexible. You can go to the Jobs tab, pull up a list of jobs in due date order and simply add the first £300 worth to a worksheet. Churn and burn :)
You don't need to keep bumping the due dates around on the planner (hence why drag and drop is less necessary), they will update automatically (e.g. due date +4/8 weeks) when you put them through a worksheet based on when you actually do the work.
Might be that Aworka lets you do this too?
Not to say you can't plan your workload out down to the day in CP if you want to (you can, and a few super naturally organised users do!) but I've found most window cleaners don't work like that.
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You don't need to move jobs on Aworka though. Looking at my planner, today I did the work scheduled for 28th July. Tomorrow I will do the work originally scheduled for 27th July as it made more sense to combine it with some jobs not due until Friday this week. It would be nice though if when I marked it complete, it was marked by today's date rather than 28th so that I knew when I actually did the job rather than when I ought to have done the job.
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You don't need to move jobs on Aworka though. Looking at my planner, today I did the work scheduled for 28th July. Tomorrow I will do the work originally scheduled for 27th July as it made more sense to combine it with some jobs not due until Friday this week. It would be nice though if when I marked it complete, it was marked by today's date rather than 28th so that I knew when I actually did the job rather than when I ought to have done the job.
Why don't you just drag them to the day that you want to do them?
Simple! ;)
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I like the drag and drop option on Aworka because I'll often juggle work about to suit my day - I might plan the first job three miles away then follow a route of work home.
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You don't need to move jobs on Aworka though. Looking at my planner, today I did the work scheduled for 28th July. Tomorrow I will do the work originally scheduled for 27th July as it made more sense to combine it with some jobs not due until Friday this week. It would be nice though if when I marked it complete, it was marked by today's date rather than 28th so that I knew when I actually did the job rather than when I ought to have done the job.
Why don't you just drag them to the day that you want to do them?
Simple! ;)
Because if they are 8 weekly & I am a week late this month, I would deny myself the potential to catch up as the job will have moved a week or two weeks forward.
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No you wont. The planner will still tell you that you're behind if you ARE behind regardless. You therefore know you can do extra until you have caught up.
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No you wont. The planner will still tell you that you're behind if you ARE behind regardless. You therefore know you can do extra until you have caught up.
I see what you mean, but as the round develops, you move jobs and they then show as early/late when they aren't. If when I did the job and marked it as done it just marked that date somewhere, I would find that helpful when I get the odd "when did you do them?" question and I can't be precise.
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I was a George user with the mobile option of a pda......Couldnt fault it. I uploaded a weeks worth of jobs at a time at the weekend onto the pda. Then when each job was done just ticked it off on the pda, on friday did a sync and the jobs a good un, all the ticked off jobs were were uploaded on to the laptop and a new weekly batch of jobs were downloaded onto the pda with the not done jobs on top of the list so they were done first.
This is my point, ive been using aworka now for about 4 months as my business changed but say if you have scheduled 15 jobs in for that day and for what ever reason you do only 10 it doesnt automatically carry the overdue jobs onto the next day.
Its only a little moan but if this was fixed it would be perfect for me.......
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No you wont. The planner will still tell you that you're behind if you ARE behind regardless. You therefore know you can do extra until you have caught up.
I see what you mean, but as the round develops, you move jobs and they then show as early/late when they aren't. If when I did the job and marked it as done it just marked that date somewhere, I would find that helpful when I get the odd "when did you do them?" question and I can't be precise.
That depends on what your settings you are using on The Planner.
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I was a George user with the mobile option of a pda......Couldnt fault it. I uploaded a weeks worth of jobs at a time at the weekend onto the pda. Then when each job was done just ticked it off on the pda, on friday did a sync and the jobs a good un, all the ticked off jobs were were uploaded on to the laptop and a new weekly batch of jobs were downloaded onto the pda with the not done jobs on top of the list so they were done first.
This is my point, ive been using aworka now for about 4 months as my business changed but say if you have scheduled 15 jobs in for that day and for what ever reason you do only 10 it doesnt automatically carry the overdue jobs onto the next day.
Its only a little moan but if this was fixed it would be perfect for me.......
In CP you add your day's work to a worksheet. If you don't finish all the work it will still be there for you to finish tomorrow (in main CP and on the mobile app).
You can set the planner to show "Done" jobs and it will show them (crossed out) when you actually did them now when they were due.
You can also download a whole week's worth of work to the mobile app and go offline for the whole week if that suits (just like George + PDA).
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There are a couple of things I'd like to mention about the scheduling in Aworka, which may help those having problems...
Firstly, you can set up the auto scheduling to plan from when a job was due rather than when it was done. In this mode, if you do a job a couple of days late and drag it forward on the planner, it will stay on the original schedule for next time allowing you to catch up, rather than remaining two days ahead.
Secondly, you don't have to plan any work in advance if you use the mobile app, which might be a better approach if you find you are constantly having to move planned work around. With nothing planned and auto planning turned off, you can click on the More Jobs button on the mobile app and pick any job from the list to do next. The list of jobs is shown in next due date order and colour coded so that you can see which jobs you should be doing. You can also filter the list by round if you want to choose jobs from a particular area.
Hope this helps, but please send me an email if you need more info about the above...
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So... you asked, I listened - Cleaner Planner now has drag & drop :)
www.cleanerplanner.com/demos/planner/drag-and-drop
You can select multiple jobs and even move a whole round at a time.
Also note how the job gets crossed out when it was actually done.
Any questions or feedback give me a shout.
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There are a couple of things I'd like to mention about the scheduling in Aworka, which may help those having problems...
Firstly, you can set up the auto scheduling to plan from when a job was due rather than when it was done. In this mode, if you do a job a couple of days late and drag it forward on the planner, it will stay on the original schedule for next time allowing you to catch up, rather than remaining two days ahead.
Secondly, you don't have to plan any work in advance if you use the mobile app, which might be a better approach if you find you are constantly having to move planned work around. With nothing planned and auto planning turned off, you can click on the More Jobs button on the mobile app and pick any job from the list to do next. The list of jobs is shown in next due date order and colour coded so that you can see which jobs you should be doing. You can also filter the list by round if you want to choose jobs from a particular area.
Hope this helps, but please send me an email if you need more info about the above...
When using the mobile app.. say a job is due on the 1st of the month but you don't get round to doing it until 20th of the month and you tick it off done on the mobile app... completed... it shows on the planner on the 20th it was done, but it also shows on the 1st of the month as "un completed" and when you are working behind a big schedule for any reason usually bad weather or holiday this becomes very confusing because you may have 30-40 jobs overdue at once.
It would be nice if it was to at least change colour on the 1st of the month so we know to ignore it or something like that after its been completed on the 20th. Otherwise it just ends up being a complete mess and you don't no where you are in the end.
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Rob, have you changed the pricing structure - don't remember seeing the mobile app in the starter version before?
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Rob, have you changed the pricing structure - don't remember seeing the mobile app in the starter version before?
Hi Dave, yep, in the end I came to agree that the whole point of something like this is to enable you to go paperless, whether you're a one man band or a multi.
That's why you've also got the email invoicing in the Starter now as well. You can send emails with your logo and footer, from your business email address, directly from CP :)
GoCardless and SMS are big time savers which I and everyone who uses them firmly believe are well worth the slight premium.
I've also added a "Quick add job" feature recently so you can enter new jobs for new customers without having to flip between tabs and windows (which I know you weren't too keen on :))
You still get the tabs when you're editing records though as they give you access to the customer's transactions, invoices, notes etc.
And I added drag and drop to the planner today... phew!
https://www.cleanerplanner.com/demos/planner/drag-and-drop
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P.S. Email me if you'd like another trial as I know you didn't really get going last time. Happy to walk you through things again :)
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Any chance of a screen shot of the mobile version on here?
Aworka seems to be getting better - bit of competition seems to be a good thing.
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Cleaner Planner looks uncompetitive when you add SMS. 150% more than Aworka.
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Cleaner Planner looks uncompetitive when you add SMS. 150% more than Aworka.
Price isn't the only way to compete, nor the only factor in value.
Sure - I'll post a screenshot of the mobile app in a bit :)
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P.S. The Pro package now includes Dropbox integration so you can backup your entire CP account to your Dropbox with one click (backs up to the cloud and your PC or Mac).
So hot off the press that one I haven't put it on the website yet, I think I'll do that now ;) This is in addition to GoCardless, SMS, Mailchimp, and multi-user (up to 5 users at no extra cost)
With the Starter you can still download your entire account as a ZIP of Excel files (e.g. to save to a USB stick) with a single click without having to click into each tab and export manually.
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When using the mobile app.. say a job is due on the 1st of the month but you don't get round to doing it until 20th of the month and you tick it off done on the mobile app... completed... it shows on the planner on the 20th it was done, but it also shows on the 1st of the month as "un completed" and when you are working behind a big schedule for any reason usually bad weather or holiday this becomes very confusing because you may have 30-40 jobs overdue at once.
It would be nice if it was to at least change colour on the 1st of the month so we know to ignore it or something like that after its been completed on the 20th. Otherwise it just ends up being a complete mess and you don't no where you are in the end.
Hi Dave, could you email me directly about this? I've got some ideas to discuss with you...
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This thread is about Aworka - thanks guys ;)