"We've had several snow events as well this year and each has proven to be a dream, because of the scanners. Being able to 'recreate the storm' afterwards to bill out, has never been easier."
- Dan Bachmeier: Production Manager and Master Gardener for H&M Landscaping

H&M Landscaping of Battle Creek, MI has been using TimeScape since May of 2007.

In December of 2006, they finally got to a point where they realized they could not continue operating their business in the best possible manner with paper timesheets. It was clear to them that they were spending too much unnecessary overhead on tracking down information that was inaccurate and using this questionable data to run their business. They realized payroll and billing were being compromised and bids were not as accurate as they could, or should, be.

After a thorough evaluation and comparison versus other time tracking systems, H&M ultimately chose TimeScape based on its functionality, ease of use, detailed and accurate time tracking, comprehensive reporting package, and overall resolution to their challenges.

Their first snow season using TimeScape recently started. As is the case for many organizations that provide snow services, a major challenge after a snow event is to get accurate information in a timely manner from employees that have been working under extreme conditions. These challenges no longer exist for H&M as is evident by the quote from Dan.

H&M Landscaping is a full service landscape organization and the President, Founding Member of the Genesee Area Landscape & Nursery Association of MI. Their goal is to provide the finest services the industry has to offer and it is apparent through their customer satisfaction that they are doing just that.

To learn more about H&M Landscaping, please visit them at www.handmlandscaping.com
To learn more about how you can accomplish the same things H&M has with the use of TimeScape, please contact Modeco Systems at 866 677-8184.

Are You Prepared For Spring?

Spring season is almost here...even though in the Northern part of the country it might be hard to believe. Before you know it though, the annual rebirth will be upon us and you will be back into your busy season.

Clean ups, pruning, seeding, mulching, etc. will all be ready to be performed.  You have cleaned your shops, fixed up your equipment, perhaps purchased some new equipment, sent out and received contracts, and put together your team...but what about operational and process improvements on your business to help make 2008 more profitable then 2007 was?  Like the season, can your business be reborn?

So far in 2008, 10+ landscape organizations have already joined the TimeScape team of organizations that know there is no better time then now to make the upgrade from inaccurate and inefficient paper tracking to our automated, electronic, and accurate time, task, and material tracking process.  What's holding you back?

With so many elements you can't control such as fuel costs, government regulations, insurance costs, etc. it is hard to see how you are going to grow profits.  However, you need to look at what about your business you can control.  The most impactful thing you can control is the way you track your most important data.  The information from the field generates your largest expense in terms of payroll and is the means in which you generate your revenue through billing and job costing.  Any concerns or known gaps in this data, is a specific spot for profits to ellude you and be lost. 

With every challenge, there is an opportunity though.  What does it mean to your business if you can plug the gap?

Examples of things that can happen if you move to a more accurate and efficient process are:

- 3% to 9% reduction in payroll

- 10% reduction of overhead

- $1000 annual savings for every minute saved per day per employee

- 1 or more less paper work headache per executive and administrative person per week

Give us a call at 866-677-8184 to learn how we are helping other organizations accomplish this and what we can do to get you on board our rapidly growing successful network.

#56 of Lawn and Landscape's Top 100 commits to business improvements for 2008

Modeco Systems is proud to announce that Scott Byron & Company of Lake Bluff, IL has committed to improving their business critical process of collecting time, task, and material information for the 2008 season with the use of TimeScape.

By March 1st, the unofficial start of the spring season here in the Midwest, Scott Byron & Company plans to have a full installation of TimeScape to track the time, task, and material information for all 180 of their team members in the field and feed the information directly into Timberline.  This installation will allow them to eliminate the inaccuracies and inefficiencies they were experiencing with their paper based timesheets and feel confident in the data that runs their business.

Prior to meeting Modeco Systems at the GIE show in Louisville, Scott Byron & Company clearly saw the challenges they were experiencing with their paper-based system.  It was something they had categorized as a necessary evil until they learned about TimeScape and how this solution is helping other landscape organizations eliminate that profit drain and close up the gaps created my manual time tracking.  Now that they have partnered with Modeco Systems, they will implement a project plan that will consist of the development of a specific database for them, the documentation and transfer to a parallel process of tracking information without the use of paper, and integration to their Timberline business management system so that the data starts accurate, clean, and electronic and flows throughout the process electronically, eliminating inefficient use of resources and minimizing errors.

Scott Byron & Company was rated 56th in the latest Lawn and Landscape Top 100 issue and can be found at www.scottbyron.com .  They are an award winning landscape architectural company servicing the greater Chicago area.  They are driven by detail and exceeding their customers' expectations...if you ever have the chance to see their work and/or speak to anyone of their customers you will clearly see why they have been so successful and why the majority of their work comes from word of mouth and referrals.

Largest Landscape Contractor in Bermuda Expands use of TimeScape

In February of 2007, Sousa's Landscape Management of Southampton, Bermuda chose to invest in improving their business critical process of capturing information from the field.  Through an extensive evaluation, they selected Modeco Systems's TimeScape as the solution that fit their comprehensive needs.

Starting in March, Sousa's aggressively started the implementation of TimeScape into its unique environment.  With the assistance of Modeco Systems, the implementation was smooth and Sousa's had their 31-person work force up and running in no time.  Since March, Sousa's has been collecting information from the field in an automated manner, which has helped them increase the accuracy and efficiency of this process.  This has lead them to feel more confident in the data they use for billing and payroll, decreased overhead that was eaten up on manual data entry, and redeploy valuable resources for more business critical activities.

Most recently, based on impressive sales efforts and an increase in demand for unmatched services on the island, Sousa's has seen a significant influx in business, which has led them to bring on 15+ additional landscape professionals.  Given the results they have seen with their existing work force's use of TimeScape, they saw it mandatory to ensure the new hires would also use TimeScape to track their time, tasks, and materials in the field.  Over the next two to three weeks, Modeco Systems and Sousa's Landscape Management will work to bring these new employees up to speed so they too are adding to the company's return on investment.

Acres Group, 20th Largest Landscaper, Joins!

Modeco Systems is pleased to announce that Acres Group of Wauconda, IL has joined the network of landscape companies choosing TimeScape as their solution to collect business critical data from the field in an efficient and accurate manner.

In June of 2007, Acres and Modeco Systems met at the Snow Industry Expo in Indianapolis, IN. It was an immediate match. Acres, like so many other landscape organizations, had long been challenged with the manul process of collecting payroll, billing, and job costing information for over 300 employees. After learning about a solution that is simple for the employees in the field but comprehensive and integratable for the office, Acres did a thorough evaluation which included several presentations, reference checks, and an onsite visit to a TimeScape user. Ultimately, their confidence in Modeco Systems, and the value TimeScape would bring to their business, lead them to commit to the partnership.

Over the next 3 months, Modeco Systems will work with Acres to implement TimeScape to track their entire production for maintenance, construction, and snow for all 5 of their businesses. The process will include getting it in live use in the field as well as integrated to their back end accounting and payroll applications. Acres looks forward to seeing a reduction in paperwork, making everyone more efficient, and improved accuracy in the data coming back from the field making business critical things like payroll and invoicing more accurate.

Acres Group was rated as the 20th largest landscape company in Lawn and Landscape's Top 100 and can be found at: www.acresgroup.com. Acres Group was founded by Jim Schwantz in 1983 and through a strategic combination of impeccable services and acquisitions, has grown into the company it is today. Not only in the greater Chicagoland area, but nationwide, Acres is recognized as a leader in the industry and an organization many others aspire to model themselves after.

Sebert Landscaping, 60th Largest Landscape is ready to go!

Modeco Systems is proud to announce that Sebert Landscaping of Bartlett, IL has selected TimeScape as their solution to the inefficient and inaccurate paper timesheet challenge.

In February of 2008, Sebert Landscaping had industry consultant, Jim Paluch, onsite as apart of the Working Smarter Training Challenge program they were participating in. In a side discussion, Sebert Landscaping shared with Mr. Paluch the on-going challenge their business dealt with when it came to paper work. Every week they felt taxed to collect information from the field for over 250 employees in an efficient manner so it could be used for weekly payroll as well as critical job costing and invoicing.

Mr. Paluch was quick to connect Sebert Landscaping with one of his Smart Companies; Modeco Systems. Between March '08 and July '08 Sebert Landscaping and Modeco Systems worked together to gain a level of comfort between the business challenge and Modeco Systems/TimeScape ability to address it. Through an extensive sales process, Sebert Landscaping obtained that confidence and committed to the improvement in this business critical process through a partnership with Modeco Systems.

Starting in August, Sebert Landscaping and Modeco Systems will work together to fully install TimeScape in their Bartlett location. This location represents a significant portion of their business and the goal will be to have it working completely seamlessly, including integration to their accounting system, here, and then roll it out to the other four locations throughout the greater Chicagoland area. Sebert Landscaping looks forward to more accurate information being used to process payroll in a more efficient manner...as well as having information readily available for job costing and invoicing.

Sebert Landscaping was recently rated as the 60th largest landscape company in Lawn and Landscape's Top 100 and can be found at: www.sebert.com. Founded by Jeff Sebert 20 years ago, Sebert Landscaping has experienced significant growth through a dedication to customer satisfaction by going above and beyond their client's expectations. They truly run their business as a tight knit group with a dedication to team work. If you are looking for innovative ways to run your business within your four walls as well as in the field that have a positive impact on growth, Sebert Landscaping is a company you should consider modeling yourself after.

Modeco Systems is the provider of TimeScape software; an automated system of collecting time, task, and material information from the field. TimeScape helps landscape organizations of all size address the common challenges in a paper based process that often lead to inaccurate payroll, inaccurate billings, inaccurate job costing, increased overhead, and questionable business critical information used for making importance decisions. To learn more about Modeco Systems, please find them at: www.modecosystems.com or contact them at 866-677-8184. Please visit Modeco Systems at the TNLA show in Houston, TX at booth #911 August 14th - 17th.