The call: no hot water at 2am
Plumbing calls do not wait for office hours. A water heater lets go at 2am, a toilet overflows on a Sunday, a homeowner hears water running under the slab. If nobody picks up, that customer calls the next shop on the list.
The SWITCHBOARD AI receptionist answers in your shop's name, day or night. You choose when it picks up: after hours, when the line is busy, or every call. It asks what a good CSR would ask: is water still running, do you know where the shutoff is, gas or electric heater, how old is it. A phone menu can route the real emergencies (press 1 for a burst pipe or active leak) straight to your on-call tech. You teach it your answers, like your service area, your trip charge and the jobs you do not take. When it does not know something, it takes the name, number and problem for a callback instead of guessing. Every call is transcribed. More on this in how to stop losing after-hours calls. If you want to see what missed calls cost you, run your numbers through the missed-call revenue calculator.
The booking and the board
A routine no-hot-water call gets booked while the caller is still on the line, into a real slot on your board. It lands in one inbox with your texts, email, Facebook messages, web chat and lead forms, so the office sees everything in one place in the morning.
On the dispatch board (day, week, month, map or list) the office drags the job to a tech and the customer is told who is coming. Need someone for a slab leak across town? "Who's free" ranks the nearest tech by time and skills. "Plan the day" rebuilds tomorrow's routes to cut driving, and nothing moves until you press Apply. For more on running the board, see how to dispatch techs efficiently.
The tech's phone
Your tech opens today's jobs and sees what the customer said on the call before knocking. One "I'm here" button marks arrival. Photos are time-stamped, which matters when a drain or sewer job turns into a warranty question later. Safety checks come first and cannot be skipped. Truck mode gives big buttons and voice for when hands are wet. Key parts keep working with weak or no signal, which is most crawlspaces.
The estimate: water heater options with Job Walk
A failed 50-gallon gas tank is the classic options job. With Job Walk the tech walks the job on the phone: photos, video, a voice note, the venting, the gas line, the expansion tank. Lines come from your own Price Book as they walk. At the end, Good, Better and Best are ready. As an example, Good could be a like-for-like tank, Better a longer-warranty tank with a new expansion tank and shutoff, and Best a tankless unit with the venting and gas work it needs.
Each option shows pictures for the customer and live profit margin against your target for you. If a cost is missing, it is flagged, never guessed. The customer picks one, signs and pays the deposit on the tech's phone. For pricing the job itself, read how to price a water heater install.
Drain, sewer and slab leak work
Bigger jobs need more paper. A sewer line replacement or slab leak reroute can use a deposit and staged invoices on one job number, signed change orders when the scope moves, and contracts with e-sign. Supplier price changes are drafted into your Price Book on your OK, so a copper jump does not quietly eat your margin.
Getting paid and getting the next call
The invoice comes from the job. The customer can pay by card online, Tap to Pay on the tech's phone, bank, cash or check with a photo, or pay over time when you turn financing on. Invoices and payments sync to QuickBooks Online. Late reminders get firmer as the balance ages.
Every finished job gets a Google review ask, and new reviews land in SWITCHBOARD with a reply drafted. Maintenance plans renew and book their own visits, like an annual water heater flush.
Switching from your current tool
The import takes exports from ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, QuickBooks, Hearth or any spreadsheet, with a dry run and Undo. Forward your number first and port it later. Comparing options? See the best field service software for plumbers guide and SWITCHBOARD vs Housecall Pro or SWITCHBOARD vs ServiceTitan. Pricing is quoted per shop on a 30-minute walkthrough.
The tools plumbing shops use most
The AI receptionist answers the burst-pipe call at 2am, and on-call dispatch rings the tech on call, then a backup, and connects the caller to whoever accepts. On site, Job Walk builds water heater and repipe options, Live Job handles the service call that grows once the wall is open, and the Collect screen takes payment before the truck leaves. Pricing help: how to quote a repipe and how to price after-hours calls.
Plumbing shops in California
What running a shop looks like city by city: climate, utilities, permit offices and the local license count.
- Anaheim
- Bakersfield
- Chula Vista
- Fremont
- Fresno
- Irvine
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles
- Modesto
- Oakland
- Oxnard
- Riverside
- Sacramento
- Salinas
- San Bernardino
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- San Luis Obispo
- Santa Ana
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Maria
- Santa Rosa
- Stockton
- Ventura
Questions people ask
Can the AI receptionist handle a plumbing emergency at night?
Yes. It answers in your shop's name, and a phone menu can send true emergencies like an active leak to your on-call tech. Routine calls are booked while the caller is on the line.
Can my techs give water heater options on site?
Yes. Job Walk builds Good, Better and Best from your own Price Book as the tech walks the job, and the customer can pick, sign and pay the deposit on the tech's phone.
Does it work in a crawlspace with no signal?
Key parts of the tech app, including Job Walk, keep working with weak or no signal.
Do I pay per tech?
No. SWITCHBOARD has unlimited users and no seat fees, so the whole crew gets a login. Pricing is quoted per shop on a 30-minute walkthrough.
Was it really built for plumbers?
It was built in and with a working plumbing shop in the Santa Maria area of California, the first SWITCHBOARD shop.