The Complete IT Checklist
For Perth Tradie Businesses

Most Perth tradies are brilliant at what they do — and terrible at the business stuff around it. Phone calls get missed. Quotes sit in a notebook. Customer emails go to a Gmail account nobody checks. This checklist covers the 8 areas that make the biggest difference, in order of priority.

1. Never Miss a Phone Call

This is the single biggest revenue leak for tradie businesses. When you're on the tools, under a house, or driving between jobs — your phone can't be answered. Most callers won't leave a voicemail. They'll just call the next tradie on the list.

• Set up an AI receptionist that answers every call in under 2 seconds, 24/7
• Make sure it captures the caller's name, number, and what they need
• Get instant email or SMS notifications so you can call back between jobs
• Test your voicemail — does it have a professional greeting with your name and business?

2. Professional Business Email

If your email address ends in @gmail.com or @hotmail.com, you're leaving money on the table. Customers — especially commercial clients and property managers — judge professionalism by the small stuff.

• Get a domain name (e.g. yourname.com.au) — around $20/year
• Set up a business email: you@yourtrade.com.au
• Use Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($10/user/month) or Google Workspace ($8/user/month)
• Set up an email signature with your name, trade, phone number, and ABN

3. Quoting and Invoicing Software

Chasing payments from a spreadsheet or paper invoice book costs you hours every week. The right software sends professional quotes, follows up automatically, and gets you paid faster.

• Use purpose-built tradie software: Tradify, ServiceM8, or Fergus are all solid options
• Set up automated payment reminders so you're not chasing money manually
• Connect it to your bank account for easy reconciliation
• Make sure quotes and invoices include your ABN, licence number, and payment terms

4. Data Backup

If you lost your phone tomorrow, what would happen? Customer contacts, job photos, quotes, invoices — all gone. This takes 30 minutes to sort and costs almost nothing.

• Enable automatic iCloud or Google Photos backup on your phone
• Back up your computer to an external drive AND a cloud service (OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive)
• Store any important business documents in cloud storage — not just on a local drive
• Test your backup by trying to restore a file — many people only discover it wasn't working when it's too late

5. Google Business Profile

When someone searches "electrician near me" or "plumber Morley", Google shows a map with local businesses. If you're not on it, you're invisible. Setting it up is free and takes about an hour.

• Claim and verify your Google Business Profile at business.google.com
• Add your correct phone number, address (or service area), and hours
• Upload at least 5 photos of your work, van, or team
• Ask every happy customer to leave a Google review — reviews directly impact how high you rank

6. Cybersecurity Basics

Tradies get targeted by scammers too — fake invoice emails, phishing texts, and phone scams are increasingly common. These basics take minutes to set up.

• Use a different password for every account — use a password manager like Bitwarden (free)
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on email, banking, and any software you use
• Never click links in unexpected texts or emails — go directly to the website instead
• Keep your phone and computer operating system updated — most attacks exploit outdated software

7. A Basic Business Website

You don't need anything fancy. But you do need something. A simple 1–3 page website with your services, service area, phone number, and a contact form will outperform no website every single time.

• List your services clearly — people want to know if you do what they need
• Show your service area — "serving all Perth northern suburbs" is enough
• Include your phone number in large text on every page
• Add your Google reviews or a link to them — social proof wins jobs

8. A Helpdesk or Job Tracking System

Once you're getting regular enquiries, things start falling through the cracks. A simple helpdesk system turns every call and email into a trackable job — so nothing gets forgotten.

• Connect your email to a helpdesk tool like Zendesk (free tier available)
• Every customer enquiry becomes a ticket with a status — open, in progress, closed
• Follow-ups and callbacks are tracked so you never forget a lead
• Combine with your AI receptionist for a complete end-to-end system