"The most crucial part of my last 12 months has probably been Spruce. It's had the biggest impact on my business." - Damon, Owner - Blakemore Plumbing & Heating
About
Blakemore Plumbing & Heating is a Sheffield-based heat pump installer run by founder Damon. The company offers a wide range of services from boiler to bathroom installations, and Damon has built a strong reputation in the heat pump industry - recently awarded runner-up in the National Heating Installer Of The Year Awards.
Damon's high standards meant long evenings finishing admin after a full day on site. Since switching to Spruce, he's cut admin time per job from 22 hours to just 6, and has started winning more work in the process.
The Challenge
Damon found himself working late into every evening just to keep up with admin from that day. Heat losses were done with pen and paper onsite, then entered into separate software at home. Quotes were written in a different tool; DNO applications created out on a PDF; and handover packs assembled by dragging documents into folders one-by-one.
22 hours of admin per job
A full job would take around 22 hours of admin from start to finish. Four hours onsite measuring and noting everything down, followed by a full day entering the heat loss details. Pricing meant sending specs off to suppliers and waiting for quotes back, then assembling everything into a handover pack - manuals, warranties, documents, all pulled together manually.
"Everything was just in its own little compartment. But these compartments were all separate to each other. It was like going on holiday, but having 20 suitcases each with a different item in and trying to carry them all at once. It just didn't work well."
Working until 2am
Because Damon was onsite all day, the admin could only happen in the evening, often working until 2am and still not finishing. That late night rolled into the next day, which made the next evening's admin feel even worse.
"I hated it. It just put so much strain on everything - I spent so much time working overnight when I'd been on site all day."
The Solution
Damon now uses Spruce for his full heat pump workflow - from initial survey through to post-sale paperwork.
Before going onsite, Damon has a basic heat loss already done. He draws over a pre-existing floor plan for the property and preloads the EPC data, so when he arrives he just needs to check measurements and capture a few more details.
From there, the heat loss calculations happen automatically in the background. The data flows through to the system design, then populates the proposal with his preloaded pricing. If a customer asks to change the design, like different radiators or flow temps, Damon makes the change in Spruce in a few minutes and a new proposal is created automatically.
What used to take multiple working days now can be done in hours.
"Before, the full process took about 22 hours of admin time. Now, if I have a plan preloaded, I can get a heat loss and proposal done in about four hours. And from start to finish in three quarters of a day."
It's not just the time savings. Damon says he actually enjoys doing heat losses now, with Spruce fully integrated into his whole routine.
"It's saved me so much time and I actually enjoy doing a lot on Spruce. Once you get into that routine, it's simple. You know what you're doing."
The Results
Key outcomes:
Admin time saving: 3 days → 3/4 of a day
Reclaiming time: No longer working until 2am on paperwork
Increasing win rate: Damon cites Spruce proposals as a key reason for winning work
Damon keeps on top of everything in manageable chunks rather than working late into the evening. He's got time back for his family and can focus on running the business.
His proposals have become a competitive advantage. Customers regularly comment on how professional they look, how easy they are to read, and that everything they need is in one place.
"I think one of the main reasons I win work is because of the proposal. It helps me win work. There are jobs I wouldn't have won if I wasn’t using Spruce."
Damon's View
"I look at things, if you didn't have it, what would your life be like? And my life would be hell without Spruce. Customers love it, I love it and I recommend it. I think that says it all really."
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