Ben Dyer, CEO and Co-founder of Powered Now, looks at some of the hacks available through the business management software that can make it easier to run your business.
Powered Now is regularly used by lots of electricians, and with significant success. Sometimes it can be the case, however, that users don’t always know or understand some of the easy-to-use features that can make it an even more powerful tool for their business.
We have to accept that not everyone wants to spend their time playing around with software and exploring all of the options. But sometimes the investment of a little time can pay serious dividends.
In this article I hope to point out a few of the things that can be opened up in Powered Now to make running your business just that little bit easier.
If you’re an exisiting Powered Now user and would like to take advantage of some of these hacks, feel free to contact our support team to get further help.
Think through your job or project stages and use the reminder date
It’s always hard to keep track of everything and to remember what’s been promised to different customers. Hidden away in Powered Now’s General Settings | Project tab is a mysterious switch called “Project next action date”.
When this is enabled, you can set a “Next action date” against your project and this will appear on the project summary. You can also sort by the date and at the same time select project status. You can define all of your own statuses, allowing you to dictate how your workflow is used, with an inbuilt reminder of when things need to be done.
Note: if you can’t set the “Next action date”, you need to view the project instead and then click “Convert project”.
Highlight your appointment status
Another great feature is the ability to set up your own statuses for appointments, though some users find them hard to see in the diary. If this is the case, go to the “Diary & Schedule” settings, then scroll down and set “Appointment colour” to “Colour used as background.” That will make the status much clearer to see.
Set your appointment time using drag
Most people know that when you click in the diary you can set the start time. What fewer realise is that if you then drag the end of the appointment, you can set the total time. It’s a small point, but it’s another thing that’s easier to do.
Get your customers to sign documents when you visit
Imagine a scenario where you’re on-site with only your mobile phone to hand, and you require a customer to sign an important document. Thanks to Powered Now, you can open any document – simply press “+” and then click “Sign”. This then allows your customer to sign the document there and then on your mobile. Simple!
Let’s talk tax The final point I’d like to make isn’t really about Powered Now, but is simply some advice for trade professionals in general. If you’re a sole trader, you should know about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT).
It will be introduced over the next three years and is a new law that applies to sole traders with total sales (including any interest, property income etc.) of over £50k from April 2026, over £30k from April 2027 and over £20k from April 2028.
To comply, it requires three things from business owners:
1. That you keep digital records of sales and costs in a system like Powered Now or an accounting system like Xero.
2. That you submit a digital quarterly return.
3. That you submit your annual return based on the same.
It’s useful to know that these new requirements are coming and, of course, Powered Now will be developing a system to meet this need.
Less hassle, more time
If you’ve made the investment in business management software, it’s important that you know how to get the best from it. I hope I’ve managed to touch on a couple of points here that you find helpful, so you have less hassle and more time to spend on important jobs or with your friends and family.
Get more details about the Powered Now business management software solution here
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