Business automation for solo entrepreneurs who are also the whole office

What doing it all by hand costs

The work itself pays. The admin around it does not, and it competes with the work for the same hours. When you are tired, the follow up is what slips.

Example: a solo handyman finishes three jobs on a Wednesday. That evening there are two new web leads, one estimate to send, one reminder to text for tomorrow and an invoice from last month that is still unpaid. He gets to the estimate and the reminder. The leads wait until Friday, and one of them has hired someone else. Nothing about his skill changed. He simply ran out of evening.

A simple plan to automate small business admin

1. Reply to every lead automatically, then call when you can.
2. Confirm and remind every appointment without thinking about it.
3. Chase unpaid invoices on a fixed schedule.
4. Send receipts and review requests after the job or the payment.
5. Turn everything else into a task with a due date, so nothing lives only in your head.
6. Keep it all on one customer record, so your phone is the office.

How Dheed handles business automation for solo entrepreneurs

Automations come on every Dheed plan, including Free, so Dheed can be your solo contractor CRM and office in one. Ready made recipes start turned off, so you switch on only what you need.

• Instant lead reply texts a new lead within a minute, and New lead follow-up creates a task for you after a day if the lead is still new.
• Appointment confirmations and 24 hour reminders go out by email, and by text when business texting is on. Customers can reply C to confirm.
• Estimate follow-up emails a customer 2 days after an unsigned estimate, then gives you a call task 3 days later.
• Overdue invoice reminders email at 3, 7 and 14 days after the due date and stop when paid. Payment receipt thanks the customer when they pay.
• Review requests can go by text after a completed job or a paid invoice, with the texting add-on.

Every step checks again before it runs, so a lead who already booked or a customer who already paid is left alone. A daily cap limits automatic customer messages. See how the pieces connect in marketing automation and estimates and invoices.

Help when your hands are full

The calendar has a phone agenda view, and jobs hold your notes and photos. The Dheed AI assistant, an AI assistant for small business owners, lets you type "add a lead" or "prepare an invoice for this job" and it does it in your account. Invoices it prepares stay drafts until you send them. On Pro, the AI Receptionist can answer calls while you work and text you a summary after each one.

Setting it up in Dheed

1. Start on Free, which works as one person business software at $0, or Starter for unlimited contacts.
2. Connect your business email and Stripe.
3. Add your services and price book.
4. Turn on four recipes: Instant lead reply, Overdue invoice reminders, Payment receipt and Estimate follow-up.
5. Add business texting when you want text reminders. Carrier approval usually takes a few days to a few weeks.
6. Use test mode before switching each recipe on.

Tips and mistakes to avoid

• Automate the reminder, not the relationship. Calls and real replies still win jobs.
• Do not turn on everything on day one. Add one recipe a week and watch the history.
• Check your task list each morning. It is your to do list now.
• Solo handyman businesses and owner operated cleaning businesses often get the most from lead replies and invoice reminders first.

Business automation for solo entrepreneurs is easier when everything sits in one place, which is the idea behind the all-in-one business platform. See plans and pricing, or start free.

Frequently asked questions