Okappy is an online communications and workforce management platform which helps you manage your work, whether done by employees or subcontractors. Not only does it provide transparency and control, it can also be used to improve the cash flow of your business. Here’s 5 reasons how:

With traditional paperwork systems, companies are often left waiting for certain details from a particular individual, such as a signature on a job sheet before the invoice can be processed and sent. Often this paperwork can go missing along the chain – meaning that the process has to start all over again! With Okappy, invoices can be sent straight away from the job desktop dashboard upon confirmation of the completion of a job. This helps you get your invoice paid faster, ensuring no payments are forgotten.

“The turnaround time from accepting a job to invoicing it is now a lot quicker. Before Okappy, raising an invoice could take weeks. Now we invoice minutes after the job has been completed. Since the job details complete with signature are instantly available, any invoice queries can be instantly answered by anyone with system access, levels of access can be set as required.” – Clare, Accounts at RPS.

With late payments endemic and the risk of company bankruptcies looming large. You don’t want to do work for companies that might never pay. With Okappy you’re alerted if you add a job for a customer with unpaid invoices.

• Adding a Job

As you add a New Job for a customer you can quickly see the outstanding balance for that customer. This means you will be more aware of when payments are behind, so you can decide whether you want to do the job before the customer has settled the balance.

• Reports

You can run a report for outstanding invoices for particular customers over a period of time. This way you can make better decisions about whether you want to continue to add jobs for customers with outstanding payments; allowing you to plan ahead and budget accordingly.

Okappy works with a number of other system including popular accounting software.

You can easily export your invoices into your accounting software saving you from duplicating your data from one system to another; thus saving you time. You can run various reports from your accounting software for example a cash flow statement, P&L report and aged debtors report etc. This allows you to get a comprehensive view of the financial position of the company. Looking at the data can help you analyse your expenditure and make better budgeting decisions for the months ahead. With some accounting software, such as Xero, you can even view financial information on-the-go on your smartphone.

One of the main benefits of using Okappy to improve cash flow is that all the data for jobs, invoices and payments are logged into one secure system. This can be accessed anywhere and anytime to yourself and your customers. This reduces job sheets getting misplaced or lost, and also means no more missed invoices! With everything being logged onto the system there is more accountability surrounding payments and cash.

The job scheduler allows you to allocate reactive work to your engineers more efficiently. The location tracking software means you can see what engineers are closest to a job in order to allocate in the most cost-effective way – saving you more money on travel expenses.

For more tips on how Okappy can be used to improve cash flow check out our blog posts:

• 6 Top Tips For Getting Paid On Time
• Invoicing On Okappy
• Effective Cash Management For Firms Operating In The Construction Sector
  

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It’s official. We’re in a recession. UK economic growth has been in the negative, dropping by 20.4% between April and June 2020. It’s worth remembering that most of the damage was done in April, during peak lockdown. GDP growth has been creeping up since May and if you have a look at the Okappy business activity index page it shows that work has been bouncing back. 

⁠⁣⁣But, in these uncertain times, there are things you can do to help your workplace get in the best possible position to ride it through. Here are our 3 steps: ⁠⁣⁣

1. Revise your plan

Chances are, the plan you had at the start of 2020 for your company or department has gone out of the window. In the chaos of lockdown, you may not have had a chance to properly revisit it. Have a look at some of the key targets you set at the beginning of the year and see how they can fit in now. If they’re no longer applicable, scrap them and work out what they should be for the rest of Q3 and Q4, moving into 2021. 

The most important things to consider are the key risks to your area of the business. Work out whether the risk is too high for certain aspects and respond by spreading the risk. This could include taking steps to reducing debt or moving some of your business operations to a different location.

Following on from assessing risk, scenario analysis can be a helpful way to test different models to help mitigate future loss. Start by defining the objective and gathering data. Identify the key factors, trends, and uncertainties that may affect your plan when it comes to operations and finances.

It might be helpful to do a PEST analysis to help you analyse the political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological changes in your business environment. You can develop potential scenarios by separating certainties from uncertainties to understand the risks to your workplace in the short, medium and long term.

2. Finesse your finances 

Having a large volume of jobs doesn’t necessarily mean your workplace will come out top – the real defining factor is cash. A review of your business finances will be a big part of recession-proofing your organisation. Take a long hard look at the state of your cash flow within your department. What you have coming in and out – and when – will have a knock on effect on whether your workplace is in a fit state to ride this out. 

Work out if there are any unnecessary expenditures that your team can permanently or temporarily cut. Have a look at what sorts of clientele are bringing in cash and paying invoices on time. Can you focus efforts on helping to secure more of the same?

If you’ve done all of this, but capital is holding your department back or you’re not able to cover the costs to pay the suppliers and team – a business loan could be a backup option. For businesses affected by Covid-19, many banks are offering special rates and application criteria, so it’s worth looking around at what is on offer for your organisation. Have a look at what government support is on offer too, as there may be a particular grant or scheme that you’re eligible for that will give your workplace the boost it needs. 

3. Keep connected

Staying connected with industry stakeholders is paramount for business longevity. This relies on healthy channels of communication between departments, employees, managers, customers and subcontractors.

Having one platform where communication takes place and is documented means that key details involving all aspects of the work are readily available and can be tracked if required. If your current channels of communication are fragmented and broken, it’s worth considering changing your methods. This way you will have all your information at your fingertips and your business will be ready to jump into action, instead of being caught up trying to trace what happened in the past.

Okappy can help. It saves you time, minimises mistakes, streamlines jobs and invoicing, and by integrating with Xero and other accounting packages, it offers tidy balance sheets you can show to your bank when you need a loan.

Ready to make your life easier with Okappy? Check out our free trial or request a demo to see Okappy in action!

You may also be interested in:

• Interview With Kale Grieve: Managing The Workforce
• How Are The Okappy Community Adapting to COVID-19?
• How to Handle Your Cashflow Amidst COVID-19
• How You Can Use Okappy to Improve Cash Flow

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The construction and FM industry is crying out for change. Ever since the 2008 financial crisis, productivity in the UK has flatlined – and the construction industry has been one of the worst affected sectors. With the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 and the UK in recession once more, the industry will have to adapt or face the consequences. 

The problem with trust

Trust is paramount if companies are going to work together successfully. Construction projects are the backbone of economic growth for many countries. Each year a magnitude of funds is funnelled into infrastructure projects – think HS2 and Crossrail in the UK. 

But often because of the sheer scale and complexity of these construction projects (the number of phases and contractual links, and the government involvement), scope for corruption in the industry is high. 

According to data from the Insolvency Service, the construction sector remains the second-highest ranking sector for insolvencies in 2017. This lack of trust and transparency, is not only detrimental to the future of the industry, but it is costing lives.

It comes as no surprise that the investigation into the Grenfell fire found out that the main contractor behind the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower offered cheaper, more combustible cladding while misrepresenting the savings the switch would lead to in a bid to “pocket the difference.” 

Dealing with large contractors like Rydon, in particular construction, facilities management or housing association organisations can pose big challenges for industry stakeholders. Often, it becomes all about pushing the costs down to the next person in the chain.

Feedback from an anonymous stakeholder working in construction reported how “there’s just no trust there, we have to hide our costs and add in extra costs because we know they’ll come up with any excuse to discount, delay or not pay our invoice.”

Now, with the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 and the UK in recession, having a solid foundation of trust is more critical than ever – not only for the survival of the industry, but for the health and safety of ordinary people living in the UK. 

A new way forward with Market Networks

Market Networks connect businesses with their customers and subcontractors. In this respect, they are similar to on-demand smartphone apps such as Uber and Deliveroo that connect their gig workers with customers – except that the users of Market Networks are not anonymous, nor are they particularly disposable to one another either. In fact, Market Networks are used to improve transparency and build long-term relationships.

Market Networks are typically created within a specific industry or around a particular area of expertise. Examples of Market Networks already operating within the UK include Houzz for home designers, Eventerprise for event planners, and for those in the trade industries – Okappy.

While the use of Market Networks is not yet widespread within the Construction industry, there are nevertheless several success stories of companies and individuals implementing Market Network systems already. 

Convert Water Ltd offer an all-round service to their customers, providing all elements of treatment and pumping of wastewater and sewage. They provide services as installers, subcontractors or main contractors, offering a total service package. They started using the Okappy Market Network to manage their workforce. 

Following implementation, Convert Water Ltd and their customers have a lot more visibility and control over the work they do. Information is updated in real-time and instantly available to all stakeholders, resulting in fewer calls from customers wondering about the status of a job and less chasing for information from their technicians. This extra time enabled Convert Water Ltd to focus on the areas of the business that really needed attention; resulting in growing the company approximately 40% year-on-year.

“It frees up our time and allows me to spend more of it visiting sites and bringing in more work. This wouldn’t have been possible without Okappy! My engineers can add jobs for themselves so, if additional work needs to be done while on site, they can quickly add it on. Alternatively, if they need to go back to do further work, they can schedule it straight away without having to chase me.” – Anthony, Director of Convert Water. 

Time for change 

“Covid-19 was the tipping point for us going fully digital. If Covid-19 hadn’t happened, we would have eventually gone down this route, but probably would have introduced it on a smaller scale with one contract at a time.” – Ewen Maclean, Facilities Maintenance Manager at Lewis Builders Ltd.

Covid-19 is causing us to rethink how we work and restructure industries across the board. If the FM and Construction sectors don’t make changes now, it could be too late. 

How Okappy can help

Okappy is designed to streamline your communications and workforce management processes, and is one solution that could help reduce disruption to your business. With Okappy you can communicate with your network, send and receive jobs, manage your workforce remotely, run reports, and raise invoices – all on one platform. You can receive updates to job details as they happen and view all important documents needed for the work in one secure place. To learn more, request a call here.

You may also be interested in:

• Interview With Kale Grieve: Managing The Workforce
• How Are The Okappy Community Adapting to COVID-19?
• How to Handle Your Cashflow Amidst COVID-19
• How You Can Use Okappy to Improve Cash Flow

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Use the split view for Okappy on your iPad and do two things at once! If you use the iPad version of the app, read on to find out how you can use Okappy to multitask and streamline your work!

What does the split view do? 

You can now choose to split the view on your iPad screen so you can use Okappy alongside other applications. You can have the two apps side by side or one hovering over the other. The split screen feature on iPad allows you to open Okappy while another application is open or vice versa.

The split and popover view on iPad (can look at our app, email and or safari at the same time to make working a breeze).

What does this look like in practice? 

This means that while you are using another application you can open Okappy on one side briefly to check something, or leave it open to follow the status of a job.

When you get an alert for a new job that’s just come in, you can open Okappy to check the job details without closing what you were already doing.

This also means that you can keep Okappy open while quickly checking something else, such as an email, messaging service or chat app.

So for example you could…

• Look up some prices on one side, while referencing the job requirements in Okappy on the other side
• Check your calendar while considering accepting a job 
• Or, check your Okappy schedule while considering an invitation from a friend

How does it actually work?

We made the Okappy interface more dynamic so it works in almost any size or shape your device needs it in.

This means it can fill the screen when you need to focus on your job schedule or sit beside another application, such as your customers web page, an email from your office or a map giving you directions to the site. 

Any other cool tips or tricks?

This change means that Okappy works in any orientation on any iOS device.

iPhones don’t support split screen, but you can now use Okappy in landscape on your iPhone or portrait on your iPad.

How can you use this feature to make your working life easier?

It’s a way of doing 2 things at once – like magic (but, not quite)! Have a read of this article on apple to find out more about how to use it. 

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Lewis Builders Ltd are located in the Western Isles of Scotland and provide Building services, Civils,  Plumbing ( gas and oil services) for both commercial and domestic contexts as well as Electrical and Refrigeration. 

We interviewed Ewen Maclean, Facilities Maintenance Manager at Lewis Builders Ltd, about how they’ve adapted to Covid-19 and how Okappy is working for them! Read on for more…

Tell us a bit more about Lewis Builders Limited and what you guys do. 

We started as a construction company in 1989. Since then we’ve progressed into being a multi-trade organisation. We are involved with plumbing, gas and oil, for both commercial and domestic contexts. We also work in areas of electrical and refrigeration. 

Within the building sector we pretty much cover all trades, ranging from scaffolding and joinery, to painting and decorating. We’ve grown quite substantially  over the last 10 years or so, and it’s much easier to have everything underneath the one roof! We cover the whole of the Western Isles from the Isle of  Barra all the way up to the Isle of Lewis. There are about 70-80 people in the company with about 15 office and management staff, and around 60 engineers. 

We use Okappy for managing smaller jobs that we used to use job cards for. Now we’ve got about 20 different people using tablets to manage these types of jobs.

What made you get Okappy?

I started with the company just over 7 years ago and I have always  been  involved with looking after reactive/facilities maintenance. We started getting quite a lot of work from FM companies looking after the supermarkets up here. That then went to looking after the post and sorting office and various other commercial properties. Then about 2 years ago, we got a substantial size contact with the local council looking after all the council properties on the island.

Often the islands can be slower to uptake to technology, but we knew that on the mainland most of the management was being done digitally with handheld devices. A lot of the FM companies now want to have access to a system that gives them reference points for information around job timings and location, e.g. for when you’re going on-site and sign onto the job etc.

We knew that digital was the way things were going, but we were a bit hesitant to start with because of what the cost may be. In order to keep all the operatives working on facilities maintenance jobs, going fully digital would require us to buy an individual tablet or iPad for each person, on top of buying the software and training program. So we thought it was going to be quite a costly thing. 

Then obviously with everything that’s happened with Covid-19, we felt that now was the time to go as paperless as possible. Covid-19 pushed us to make the jump to digital a bit sooner, but it seems to be working pretty well for us so far!

Before Okappy, were you paper-based, or did you have another kind of digital management software that you used?

We essentially used paper job cards with an excel-spreadsheet-based system. We logged all the job information that way and did monthly reviews on the system to see what jobs went out, what ones we hadn’t billed for yet, and what ones were on hold etc. It was straightforward, but very time-consuming and there was a lot of paper involved!

A job card would be sent out and when it came back, it would come back with other bits of paper from the different companies who had their own job sheets they wanted signed as well. You were coming back with four sheets of paper! Then there was the invoice to go on top of that! A paperless system seemed to be the best way to avoid this kind of excess movement of paperwork between people. It’s worked out really well for us so far!

How much time has it saved?

We’re still in the very early stages, as we’ve only had the system for 5 or 6 weeks so far [July 2020]. During the first couple of weeks, we were still running a skeleton crew back from reopening after COVID. I’d say we’ve been using it in full swing now for about 4 weeks.

In terms of raising a job, and sending job information out – it’s been a massive time saver. We’re still learning different things and we’ve been really lucky that any question we’ve posed has been answered by the Okappy team pretty quickly as well! I can’t say that there’s anything I’ve asked that we haven’t been able to come to some sort of agreeable solution with. It’s worked very well for us.

 We do have some people who are not so used to technology that are slower on the uptake, but even they’ve noticed that there’s a massive difference in the time it takes to set up a job and send them out. It’s definitely for the greater benefit long-term for us – without a doubt! I can only see it getting better and better for us, as soon as we get used to it.

Are you planning on using it to collaborate with subcontractors and other people in your industry? 

Every different company we work for uses their own system for monitoring jobs, but it’s something that we’re going to possibly think about later.  I think getting it working for us first, before we start introducing any of our subcontractors is the best way forward.

How has Covid-19 impacted your business? Could you talk more about how it was a tipping point for thinking about going digital?

Covid-19 was the tipping point for us going fully digital. If Covid-19 hadn’t happened, we would have eventually gone down this route, but probably would have introduced it on a smaller scale with one contract at a time. 

We cover pretty much all the trades for the local council. That’s around 200 different sites between all the schools, care homes and places like that. We would have possibly been using it on those contracts first and reviewed how it would’ve worked, before introducing it across more and more of the stakeholders that we work for.  When Covid-19 came along it pushed us down the line of going as paperless as possible. 

We’ve introduced it across the whole company for every minor contract that we have. It’s probably been a good thing in a way because we’re pushing ourselves into just bringing it across the board, which I think is quite important.

Has the experience of Covid-19 and having to adapt, and then implementing Okappy, made you think about any other ways of growing the business?

We were at that crossroads  as a company anyway.  The company was set up by 2 people and one of them actually just retired a few weeks ago. Our company structure was changing and 2 new management people have come in. We had to change quite a lot of the systems and policies that we had. It’s definitely a growth stage for us.

We’re putting money into having new vans and new machinery that’s required. We’ve upgraded a lot of our welfare facilities. 

But we have to remember – it’s one step at a time. We’ve got operatives that are not so used to this kind of technology and it takes time to adapt. We’re changing a system that’s been in place for more than a decade and we’ve got to be careful. But, we’re definitely adapting and looking to grow in any way that we can!

What’s the best thing about Okappy?

I would say the best thing about Okappy is just being able to get instant updates on jobs. I used to get upwards of 15 calls a day asking me for an update on a job and what’s required, so being able to go in and just have all the information there, when they signed on, whenever the job’s complete, photos of any parts that are required and what was done on the job – it’s just brilliant! It’s such a massive, massive time-saver on my side of things.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?

I would just say that everyone we’ve dealt with within Okappy has been extremely helpful. It’s maybe a cliched thing to say, but we’ve dealt with Joe and there’ve been a couple of different people that have helped us with technical issues. Joe was especially fantastic, and did a lot at the start. I think it’s a great system. Like I said, we’re still learning and adapting to it, but I see it being very beneficial for us in the future.

~

You may also be interested in:

• Case Study: Discovery Fire Sprinklers Ltd
• Interview With Kale Grieve: Managing The Workforce
• How Are The Okappy Community Adapting to COVID-19?
• How to Handle Your Cashflow Amidst COVID-19
• How You Can Use Okappy to Improve Cash Flow

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The last few months have been challenging for many of us. It’s more important than ever to take care of your body and mind at this time. Here are some health and wellness tips for you and your workforce. 

Self isolating, social distancing and working from home may have left you bored, frustrated or lonely. You may have experienced periods of feeling low, worried or concerned about your finances, health or people you know – these are completely normal to feel under these circumstances. 

It’s important to accept that everyone reacts in their own way to the current situation, and, for most of us , these feelings will pass. Here are some health and wellness tips from us at Okappy for you and your workforce. 

Support your workforce 

Many people are worried about work and money as many businesses face a great deal of uncertainty. It’s important to take extra care of the people in your organisation during this time. 

The UK Government website has published it’s coronavirus guidance for employees,

including information on the details of Statutory Sick Pay and other things employers may be able to do to help. Acas (the Advisory, Conciliatory and Arbitration Service) also has information about coronavirus for employers and employees, including guidance on sick pay and taking time off to look after a child or other dependent.

If you are an employer or involved in running a business, you may find this coronavirus guidance helpful:

• UK Government coronavirus guidance for businesses and employers, in English. 
• Welsh Government coronavirus guidance for businesses and employers, in English and Welsh. 

There is also information about what support is available for businesses:

• UK Government information on what support is available for businesses, in English.
• Welsh Government information on what support is available for businesses, in English and Welsh.

Stick to a routine

It’s highly likely that the normal routines of people in your workforce have been disrupted and it’s probably not going to look how it did for some time. It’s important to think about how you can adapt, create positive new routines and set yourself goals. Writing things down can be a good place to start planning for your day or week.  

It’s also crucial to maintain boundaries between work and personal space.  If you’re working from home – keep the same hours you would normally work and stick to the same sleeping schedule. Make sure you’re taking time off as well. It’s easy to continue to work and never switch off when working and resting are in the same place. You could implement a marker to end the day, such as going for a walk or changing your outfit.

Do things you enjoy

Sometimes when we feel worried or low, we might stop doing the things we enjoy. Although some of those things are not possible to do anymore, think about how you could adapt them, or try something new! 

A whole host of restaurants have released recipes for their famous dishes for people to try at home – why not organise a meal “out” at home and invite friends to join in via a video call. If cooking isn’t your thing, there are a bunch of free tutorials and courses online for other options. How about hosting a pub quiz or music concert?

Look after your body

Building physical activity into your daily routine is also vital to keep both your mind and your body healthy. The majority of us don’t own exercise equipment like treadmills or heavy duty weights, but there are still a whole range of ways you can stay active. 

Many personal trainers and fitness bloggers are offering free classes online such as Joe Wick’s PE classes and Yoga with Adriene. You can also get the exercise in whilst cleaning your home, and going up and down stairs. It’s likely that many of us are finding ourselves sitting down for long – you can reduce this by setting alarms to get up and stretch, or even do a set of star jumps. These gentle seated exercises from the NHS will also help to improve your mobility and posture. 

People working in the Trades have a reputation for living off pies-on-the-go and energy drinks, but these options are probably doing you more harm than good. Fuel your body with nutrient-rich food and drink lots of water, so you can keep healthy and perform your best. 

Take care with news and information

Stick to the facts and get your information from credible sources you can trust like the GOV.uk, NHS and WHO – and fact-check any information you get from social media or Whatsapp group chats. Be mindful of what you share as inaccurate information can be harmful to others too. 

Consider limiting the time you spend consuming news stories and think about turning off alerts for breaking news on your phone to avoid getting overwhelmed. It might be helpful to set yourself a specific time to read updates or limit yourself to a couple checks a day.

Reduce stress with breathing and relaxation techniques

One way to relieve stress, anxiety and depression is through breathing exercises. This is a calming activity that takes just a few minutes and can be done anywhere. Have a read of this NHS article on breathing technique for stress, anxiety and panic. Also worth checking out, is this helpful article from Mind on relaxation tips and exercises to help you.

Stay connected

When we’re experiencing times of high stress, we cope better in company and with a support network. Try your best to keep in touch with your support network via phone calls, emails, social media and video calls. Lots of people are also finding the current situation difficult, so staying in touch could help them out too.

Get help if you need it

There are also lots of helplines you can call if you are in distress and need immediate help. You can call NHS urgent mental health helplines any time of day. Search ‘NHS mental health crisis’ to find local helplines and speak to a mental health professional. ⁣⁣

There are also many charities offering helplines, support and advice including:

• The Samaritans Helpline: Offer emotional support 24 hours a day – in full confidence. Call 116 123 – it’s FREE!
• ​⁣⁣The Mind Infoline: To answer questions about types of mental health problems, where to get help, drug and alternative treatments, and advocacy. Call the Mind infoline on 0300 123 3393 (UK landline calls are charged at local rates, and charges from mobile phones will vary considerably). Or email info@mind.org.uk.
• Shout Crisis Text Line: For support in a crisis, you can text Shout to 85258 if you’re experiencing a personal crisis, are unable to cope and need support.

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How Okappy can help

Okappy is designed to streamline your communications and workforce management processes, and is one solution that could help you reduce work-related stress and stay connected to the people in your business. With Okappy you can communicate with your network, send and receive jobs, manage your workforce remotely, run reports, and raise invoices – all on one platform. You can receive updates to job details as they happen and view all important documents needed for the work in one secure place. To learn more, request a call here.

You may also be interested in:

• 6 Ways to Deal With Uncertainty In Business
• Employee Mental Wellbeing in the Facilities Management Industry
• How Are The Okappy Community Adapting to COVID-19?
• How to Handle Your Cashflow Amidst COVID-19
• How You Can Use Okappy to Improve Cash Flow

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