FAQs
Straight answers, including the ones that cost us the sale
If a question is not here, ask it on the demo and we will answer it the same way.
About SkillBison
What is SkillBison?
One system that runs a trade service business end to end: taking the call, scheduling it, dispatching it, working it on the phone, quoting it, invoicing it, collecting it, and posting it to a real set of books.
Who is it for?
Owner-run HVAC, plumbing and electrical shops, roughly five to twenty-five trucks. Big enough that a whiteboard stopped working, small enough that an enterprise contract would hurt.
Is SkillBison available to buy today?
No. It is a development build running on made-up data. Everything you see in a demo is synthetic. We are not taking payment, not onboarding live customers and not making launch claims until our own readiness testing passes.
Does the accounting really work, or is it a QuickBooks sync?
It is a double-entry general ledger inside the product. Invoices, payments, vendor bills and payroll runs post to it directly. A sync to an outside accounting package is not built yet, in development.
Does the field app work without a signal?
Yes. Notes and captures queue on the device and sync on reconnect. This has been tested in our sandbox and on one phone, not across a fleet.
Can I take a credit card in the field?
Card payments run in test mode only right now. Cash and check are recorded against the invoice and post to the books. Live card processing is not enabled.
Will you import my current customer list?
Not yet. We do not accept real customer data at this stage. That is a deliberate rule, not a missing feature. Import is part of what we work out before a first real shop goes live.
What happens on the demo?
Thirty minutes, screen share. We walk one job from the phone call to the ledger entry, on made-up data, and you tell us where it does not match how your shop actually runs.
HVAC
Does SkillBison handle flat-rate pricing?
Yes. Estimates are assembled from your own price book, so the same task is priced the same way by every technician. You control the book; we do not ship a rate book of our own.
Can a technician build a replacement quote in the field?
Yes. Three options are drafted from your price book on the phone, a person reviews them before the customer sees them, and the customer signs on the screen. The approved option becomes the invoice.
Does it track equipment at a customer's address?
Yes. A technician photographs the data plate and the make, model and serial are read from the picture and saved to that address for the next visit.
Does it do maintenance agreements?
Not yet. Recurring service agreements are in development. We would rather tell you that now than in a demo.
Plumbing
Can I move jobs around during the day?
Yes. The dispatch board lets you reassign and reschedule, and it checks the roster, the required skill and existing bookings before it lets a change through. A dispatcher can override with a confirmation step.
Does the field app work in a basement with no signal?
Yes. Notes and captures are saved on the device and sync when the phone reconnects. This has been exercised in our sandbox against synthetic data; it has not yet been proven across a fleet of real phones.
Does it track permits or backflow certifications?
No. Those are not built yet, in development. Equipment records, job history and customer records are.
Electrical
Can I stop unqualified techs being assigned to a job?
Yes. Jobs can require a skill, and assignment checks the technician's roster and skills before allowing it. A dispatcher can still override with a confirmation step.
Does SkillBison track permits and inspections?
No. That is not built yet, in development. We will not describe it as available.
Is this for service work or project work?
Service work and small projects. It is not a construction estimating or project-management system, and it does not do progress billing.
Still got a question?
Ask it live. Thirty minutes, one job, made-up data, no slide deck.