Streamlined business systems lead to significant savings for Queenstown scaffolding company, Fallproof

• Immediate $30-40k tax saving
• Materials spend reduced by 20%
• Suite of procedures and policies implemented
• Streamlined accounting and job management software implemented
• Comprehensive review of operational terms and conditions
• Significant reduction in owners’ time spent ‘in the business’ as a result of operational efficiencies

In 2013 Kris and Brent Jarvis decided it was time to escape the corporate world and headed south to set up life in Queenstown. Part of this meant also embracing career changes and looking for a business opportunity that would work for them and their young family. Recognising the potential in a scaffolding company, Kris and Brent started Fallproof as a two-man-band, acquired scaffolding and then they began expanding their client base.

Getting into business right before Queenstown’s construction boom meant that Fallproof grew rapidly – right up until the point where it began to encounter some roadblocks. To continue to grow and scale, Fallproof needed better business systems in place. With at least 40-50 jobs in any given month, Kris and Brent were juggling projects, a team of around 14, and a lot of gear.

Around this time, Kris began researching job management software, and was given Paul’s name as a reference when inquiring about a particular platform. Having owned his own scaffolding business, Paul was familiar with the challenges Kris and Brent were facing. He quickly identified that while better software was one piece of the solution, Kris and Brent needed some more guidance and better business systems to get their business to the next level. He spent two days looking closely into the business and how Kris and Brent were operating.

“Paul demonstrated very quickly to me what he could do for our business. We felt very confident with him and trusted him quickly. He came across as highly intelligent, skilled in dealing with business and had experience from a global level also. He was quick to see our roadblocks within the business and put a proposal together for where he could help. His proposal was very clear, concise and gave direct costs and time frames. All of which was measurable for us”, says Kris.

“Our biggest challenge in the business was systemisation, both business systems and day-to-day sytems. But without someone giving us some clarity and help in how to implement it, this was difficult. We have engaged business coaches in the past, but few can actually show you the ‘how’ and give you the tools. Paul identified our bottlenecks but then actually went about implementing business systems to fix them. In doing so, he instantly saved us money. It’s the first time in six years that we’re actually getting money back from the IRD”, Kris explains.

In fact, thanks to his accounting background, Paul was able to immediately identify $30-40,000 in tax savings.

“Paul understands the operating model of our business as he’s been in our shoes. Other advisors had not considered Paul’s idea because they didn’t have the same level of understanding”, Kris explains.

As a scaffold business, Kris and Brent own a huge quantity of fixed assets but to date, they hadn’t had a reliable way of tracking all their gear or ensuring it was being depreciated correctly.

“Paul was able to efficiently build an accurate and easy to manage Asset Register that will allow us to have a better handle on all our assets. Now we can accurately depreciate our gear. In the click of a button now I have an accurate depreciation rate and a much clearer picture of our financial position”, says Kris.

Kris also adds that Paul’s global perspective on business helped them change their thinking around how and where they sourced their supplies, and encouraged them to seek out more competitive quotes.

“Through Paul’s connections in business, he has managed to source our materials at 20% cheaper than we had in the past.”

The significant changes did not stop there.

“Paul helped us deliver procedures and policies that otherwise would have taken us months to produce and implement. With the help of Sheree, they reviewed our terms and conditions and found and fixed holes.

“Most recently Paul has put together for me a 13-week cashflow forecasting tool with budgets vs variances so I’m able to manage our cashflow on a week to week basis rather than month to month. I know exactly how much we need to break even, how much profit we want to make, debt repayments and tax at a weekly level. We can now plan our work accordingly and know if we are going to make budget or need to increase workflow well in advance.”

Aside from the financial impact of the new business systems – what else has Paul been able to achieve for Kris and Brent?

“It’s given us hope that this will be a successful business, instead of just a really stressful job! We are wanting to take a three-month sabbatical; before we met Paul, there was just no way that we could have left our business for that time. Now, for the first time ever, we feel that our business will be able to run without us while we are away.”

“We also now believe that we can have a healthy net profit – and have a clear understanding of how we’re going to do it.”

Kris says that Paul is more than a business coach. Instead of piling them with more work, he actually made things happen – but he also kept them accountable. They say his proactive, passionate and business-savvy approach has been a game-changer for their business.

“In those three short months, we have already got back 10-fold what we invested in working with Paul.”

Find out more about how working with 5th Green could be a gamechanger for your business too – see our services, or contact us for more info.