A limb on a roof bumps the pruning.
After a windy night, the scheduled pruning can wait and the oak on the Garveys' garage can't. Redline pulls a crew, moves the bumped job, warns you about the crane day you've already paid for, and puts the hazards on the foreman's phone.
Dispatching a tree crew
Foreman on the app
Each person in the app uses a seat, so most tree companies give it to the foreman and the climber. The rest of the crew rides with them.
Notes that keep people safe
Lines over the driveway, the drop zone, the septic tank under the lawn, which cars need moving. Office notes ride with every job, next to the app's checklist.
Book the crane as its own event
The crane isn't tracked as equipment, so book the rental as its own calendar event next to the job. When something moves, you see it.
Storm calls jump the line
Log the emergency, then tell Redline which crew to pull and where their scheduled job goes. The board and both calendars update.
Call the bumped customer
Redline doesn't text. Calling is one tap from the contact, or have Redline draft a short email, sent from your Gmail.
7:10am after a blow
The Dan Garvey job is ready to confirm. Once it's in, it goes on Tom's crew. Keough pruning moved to Monday 7:30.
Tom's crew is also booked with the crane for Delaney Thursday. That's unchanged. Want an email drafted to Mrs. Keough about Monday?
Garvey is on Tom's crew and on his phone. Logged the power line on the Garvey file; put it in the job's office notes too, since that's what Tom reads in the app. The Keough email is drafted for you to check.
The crew board, tech app and assigning by chat are on Team ($129 a month) and Team+. New jobs wait for your OK.
What the board does for a tree company
Climber and groundie as one
Group two people into one truck for the day so a small removal shows as one crew. Larger crews ride under the foreman's row.
The job notes
Cars moved, drop zone coned, line clearance confirmed, wood left in rounds by the shed, chips raked, stump marked for the grinder. It all goes in the office notes the foreman reads.
Status without radio chatter
Foremen tap En route and On job, and mark the job done. You see who's free for the next call.
Saw shop and fuel receipts
Bar oil, a new chain, fuel for the chipper: snapped in the tech app and filed against the job.
The crane day is the one that can't slide
A storm week makes everything urgent, and the temptation is to pull every crew onto emergency work. The job you can't move without losing money is the crane day you've already booked. Before you pull a crew, ask Redline what else they have this week. The crane job shows up in the answer, so it doesn't get quietly stripped of its people.
Scheduled pruning and stump grinding are the jobs that flex. Moving them is one message. Telling the customer is the part to not skip, and Redline either drafts the email or you call with one tap and log it.
Straight answers on tree crew dispatch
Redline does
- Pull a crew onto emergency work and move what it bumps
- List what else a crew has booked before you pull it
- Put hazards, drop zones and wood plans on the foreman's phone
- Show tapped status for each crew
- Keep prices off crew phones
Redline doesn't
- Book cranes or bucket trucks as equipment
- Track crews by GPS
- Check certifications or insurance
- Track climber hours or payroll
- Text customers about the change
Questions contractors ask
Can I run a stump grinding crew separately?
Yes. Give the grinder operator the app and put stump jobs on them. Grinding usually follows the removal by a few days, so book it as its own visit.
How many seats do I need?
One per person in the app, owner included. Team is 3 seats for $129 a month. Team+ is 10 for $299, with extra seats at $29.
Does it work without signal in the woods?
Only logged notes and calls queue offline and sync later. The rest of the app needs a connection.
More for tree services
Keep reading
- Tree service softwareQuote removals and stumps from photos, write down what you promised and collect on site.
- Tree service estimate appEach tree its own line, stumps and haul-away spelled out, from your walk photos.
- Tree service invoicing softwareStorm work spelled out for the homeowner's records, balances paid on site, stumps billed later.
- Crew dispatch and tech appA board for every tech's day and a simple app for the crew. Team plan and up.
Run your business by chat.
Redline is free to start. Tell it about the job and it handles the quote, the schedule, the invoice and the follow-up.