How to Start & Grow an Irrigation Business in 2024

1. Get Certified & Licenced

Government authorities require irrigation contractors to have specific licenses and certifications to operate legally, prevent closure, and avoid hefty fines. 

Getting certified and licensed also helps you appear more credible and proves you know how to handle modern and older irrigation systems—sprinkler systems, drip irrigation, etc. This gives you a competitive edge and fosters customer trust that can translate into revenue.

Here are some examples of irrigation company certifications you’ll need to get from the Irrigation Association.

• Certified Irrigation Technician (CIT)

• Certified Irrigation Contractor (CIC)

• Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor (CLIA)

Irrigation company license requirements vary from state to state, with some having sole irrigation contracting or subcategory licenses. To learn your state's license requirements, visit your region’s business authority or consult the Irrigation Association’s website.

2. Create an Irrigation Business Plan

Before you begin your irrigation start-up, you must create a business plan to grasp the basics of running an irrigation business. 

As you write your business plan, it’s easy to determine the demand for your services, validate your business idea, and identify your target market and service area to ensure your investment pays off.

The benefits of a business plan don’t stop at the startup stage. It’s also a valuable document you can consult as you grow your business to gauge progress and, as Chris Hunter, principal industry advisor for ServiceTitan, says, to identify growth opportunities.

Chris Hunter also has firsthand experience with the risk of running a business without a business plan as a service business owner and founder of Hunter Super Techs.

Paraphrasing his favorite Yogi Berra quote, Chris says, “If you don't have any vision of what you want to accomplish, the [chances] of you getting there are very slim.”

“We didn't have a plan, it was just, ‘Let's just keep doing what we're doing and hope we get better.’ It was just a bunch of hope.”

However, that changed after he created a business plan after discussing it with his mentor, Ben Stark.

“The first year after we did it, we went from single-digit to double-digit profitability, just because we had a plan.”

Writing a business plan starts with determining your start-up costs. Although the costs will vary by location and size, experts estimate that starting an irrigation business costs $10,000 to $50,000. Calculate costs by determining one-time and long-term expenses like the following:

• Employee salaries

• Office space and utilities

• Liability insurance

• Equipment and supplies

• Licenses and permits

• Taxes

Once you know your estimated expenses and revenue streams—and establish a cash flow plan—you’ll be better prepared to seek funding and lending sources.

Here are other sections to include in your business plan:

• Executive summary

• Company description

• Market research (potential customer, industry, and competitive analysis)

• Marketing plan

• Operations plan

• Financial projections

3. Determine How You’ll Get Financed

Launching a new business requires capital to cover equipment purchases, licensing, marketing campaigns to acquire new customers, irrigation certifications, employee salaries, etc.

Before choosing a financing method, list everything you need to start your irrigation company and their respective prices. Ensure the prices are as accurate as possible and include a markup to accommodate potential price hikes and contingencies. This is useful for securing funding and creating a budget.

Small business owners often explore these six types of funding sources:

• Savings and personal assets: This is the first funding source you should consider, as it helps you avoid interest rates and ceding a portion of your business’s control and profits.

• Bank loans: Banks usually offer small business loans, albeit with collateral requirements and unfavorable terms like high interest rates and short repayment terms.

• Small Business Administration (SBA) loans and grants: The SBA offers loans with more favorable terms than banks. 

• Investors: You can use your business plan and track record to pitch your business idea to investors. However, expect to share some of the company’s profit and control.

• Friends and family members: Approach friends and family members willing to invest in your business. Get a lawyer to draw up an agreement and ensure they understand it’s an investment.

• Crowdfunding: You can raise funds using crowdfunding platforms like Patreon, GoFundMe, and Kickstarter. Use a compelling story to attract potential backers.

4. Register Your Irrigation Business 

Registering your irrigation business gives your business a legal identity and grants you access to government funding. It also ensures you comply with legal requirements.

The business registration process starts with picking a business name, which should be short, catchy, memorable, and descriptive of your services. Then, consult a legal expert to help you choose an appropriate legal entity—sole proprietorship, partnership, or limited liability company (LLC).

Once that’s done, register your business with the relevant authority and trademark your business name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office so no other entity can use it. You should expect to pay at most $300.

Finally, obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a state tax number from your region’s tax authority. You’ll need them to file taxes, open a business bank account, and prevent theft.

5. Handle Financials and Accounting

You must manage and track your finances and accounts efficiently for your business venture to succeed. This empowers you to allocate resources correctly, monitor profitability, and make informed business decisions.

Furthermore, having a streamlined financial and accounting system helps you create comprehensive financial reports, which you’ll need to secure funding from financial institutions.

First, open a business bank account to separate your business and personal expenses, simplifying tax filing. Then, apply for a credit card to cover minor expenses and build your credit score to qualify for business loans.

Finally, get a system to record all transactions and manage financial processes like vendor payments and invoice creation. You can use an Excel spreadsheet or dedicated accounting software like Intacct and QuickBooks.

However, the major drawback of those two options is that they don’t integrate with other key business aspects like field service management. This means you can’t track financial performance in real time and will have to enter data manually, increasing the odds of accounting errors.

Furthermore, using manual data entry means you must hire more employees as your business grows and the volume of transactions increases.

A better alternative is to use irrigation software like ServiceTitan, which has an Accounting Platform that integrates with several other tools for streamlining essential business processes like scheduling and inventory management.

The platform streamlines front-office accounting tasks like invoicing and financial analysis, eliminating the need to hire extra employees and increasing wage bills.

Furthermore, you can track your financial state in real time, as every transaction and invoice is immediately updated to the cloud-based platform once a technician completes a job before they arrive at the office. 

ServiceTitan uses such automatically updated transaction records to prepare Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable reports, which provide an overview of outstanding invoices and overdue vendor payments.

Both reports make it easy to track your overdue income, avoid high fees imposed by suppliers for late payments, and maintain a stable cash flow.

Finally, ServiceTitan’s Accounting Platform automatically creates different financial reports, which you can schedule to be delivered directly to your inbox.

Together, these different accounting functions empower irrigation companies to track their finances better and protect their bottom line to ensure profitability.

6. Purchase Irrigation Equipment

Having budgeted for irrigation tools and equipment in previous sections, now’s the time to purchase them.

If you’re starting your business, prioritize the following essential irrigation tools and ensure they are high-quality to limit downtime and avoid hefty repair costs:

• Mattocks

• Wrenches

• PVC pipe cutter

• Hacksaw

• Water flow meters

Check out other essential irrigation tools and equipment

A crucial part of purchasing high-quality tools and equipment is choosing the right supplier with a stellar track record. You can ask fellow business owners about suppliers or consult directories, trade associations, and business advisers. Then, use the following criteria to pick the best one:

• Commitment to customer service: Any supplier you pick should reply quickly to customer queries.

• Creditworthiness: Ensure the supplier has sufficient cash flow so they don’t run out of stock before delivering your order.

• Location: It’s advisable to pick suppliers close to you to reduce lead times.

After you’ve chosen a supplier, draw up a service-level agreement and enter negotiations to enjoy fair prices and delivery terms.

Beyond purchasing the necessary tools and equipment, you must monitor their quality and quantity to ensure they are always in top shape and in the right amounts. You should also create a system to track the items you’ve installed for each customer to keep accurate records for billing purposes.

Clipboards and Excel spreadsheets are free and cheap. However, they have limited functionality and can quickly become cumbersome. That’s why ServiceTitan created its Inventory Management software.

A significant advantage of the software is that it integrates with ServiceTitan’s CRM and other applications for creating invoices, managing your pricebook, etc. This simplifies keeping accurate customer service records, including the items you’ve installed for each customer. Technicians can access these same records from the Field Service App.

Accurate customer service records ensure you price your services correctly for maximum profitability.

Other useful features in ServiceTitan’s Inventory Management software include the following:

Equipment and materials tracking: This feature lets you track each tool and piece of material from one central location. You can see its unit costs, available quantities, usage history, etc. This makes it easy to maintain healthy stock levels.

Automated replenishment: Your replenishment schedule will automatically be updated to account for any item a technician adds to a customer’s invoice. This ensures technicians always have each project's tools, materials, and equipment to hand.

Purchase order management: Anytime a replenishment order is triggered, ServiceTitan automatically notifies you to create a purchase order, which can be exported or sent directly to the vendor. Using the purchase order report, you can also track the state of each purchase order, whether it’s pending or received.

Irrigation companies using ServiceTitan’s Inventory Management platform reduce downtime, improving customer satisfaction and generating more revenue.

7. Determine Pricing Model

Picking a pricing model involves finding an amount and billing method that aligns with current market conditions and the potential customer’s perception of your service’s value.

It involves balancing profitability with the desire to attract customers using competitive and fair prices. This process involves three key stages:

• Researching competitor pricing

• Calculating cost and profit margin

• Deciding on flat-rate or hourly pricing

Like any service business, irrigation businesses must remain profitable to survive. Find out what local competitors charge for irrigation services and maintenance packages. 

Once you calculate the service cost and add your profit margin, you can better determine what to charge for your services. Online benchmarking tools can help you determine how your irrigation services compare to others in your region.

Consider whether to charge using a flat rate or an hourly billing method. Flat-rate pricing charges customers a set cost for a specific job, no matter how many hours it takes to complete a project. This model includes direct and indirect costs for the services you provide. On the other hand, hourly pricing sets an hourly rate in addition to the cost of parts and materials.

Seek cost-saving solutions through professional discounts or rewards programs to keep costs minimal while providing your customers with top-quality work and dependable service.

8. Consider Insurance for Your Irrigation Business

Owning an irrigation company, like other service businesses, is fraught with risks of varying severity.

Equipment breakdowns may slow projects, leading to lost revenue and disgruntled customers. The company car may get into an accident, resulting in a life-threatening injury to the employee. You may also be sued for damaging a homeowner’s lawn sprinklers.

These risks can put your company in a precarious position financially or even lead to bankruptcy.

As a business owner, you must purchase the appropriate insurance policies to limit your exposure to such risks and liabilities and protect your profits.

Insurance policies are legal contracts that transfer the financial burden of specific business risks from you (the insured) to an insurance provider to the extent specified in the contract.

Aside from risk protection, purchasing insurance policies helps you comply with government regulations.

Although there are multiple types of insurance policies, there are key ones every irrigation company shouldn’t be without. They include the following:

• General liability insurance covers third-party bodily injuries and property damage caused by your business operations. It’s also called trips-and-falls insurance.

• Professional liability insurance pays for negligence claims arising from unintentional errors, such as a faulty installation that destroys a home’s foundation.

• Commercial property insurance protects rented or owned business assets, such as inventory and buildings, from unforeseen events such as fires, theft, and floods.

• Commercial vehicle insurance pays for repairs and medical fees from business vehicle accidents.

• Equipment insurance covers company equipment and tools from accidents, loss, or damage. Some equipment insurance policies also pay for any revenue loss or leasing costs incurred when the equipment is out of commission.

• Worker’s compensation pays benefits and payroll to workers who suffer work-related injuries. Some jurisdictions mandate all employers to have this insurance policy.

Before choosing an insurance policy or provider, consult an insurance agent well-versed in irrigation company risks. Also, read the fine print and guidelines before signing on the dotted line.

9. Prioritize Training

A well-trained workforce is critical to providing your customers with quality, full-service work—which keeps them happy and leads to more referrals.

Like every other service business, training your staff to interact with customers is vital. They’ll need customer service skills like active listening, empathy, and patience to retain current customers and attract new ones.

Furthermore, irrigation professionals need to know key details such as installation, how to diagnose and repair malfunctioning lawn sprinkler systems and lawn sprinkler heads, and winterization. They also need to know the best irrigation tools for the job.

To provide your employees and techs with high-quality training opportunities and certifications, start with leading national associations, such as the Irrigation Association or affiliate organizations. Top irrigation manufacturers like RainBird offer comprehensive irrigation installation training. Water conservation programs, such as WaterSense, offer additional professional certifications.

Certifications give your business credibility and show customers you’re serious about providing quality landscaping work and remaining at the forefront of irrigation innovations.

On the internal side, cultivating a well-trained, positive work culture in your business can help you retain skilled employees.

“Employees are your No. 1 asset,” says trades consultant Ben Stark, who advises keeping techs and other employees involved in the business planning and ensuring they know their role in the business. Let them own a piece of it, and you’ll likely get complete buy-in.

Beyond training, another way to help employees deliver quality customer service is to empower them with the right tools, like ServiceTitan’s Call Booking software and the Field Service App.

The Call Booking software automatically displays the name of an incoming call if it’s a returning customer. Customer service representatives (CSRs) can also view the caller’s complete service history and property details from the platform.

This enables the CSR to greet the customer by name and promote relevant upsells, which builds a connection that boosts customer satisfaction.

CSRs can use multiple drop-down menus during calls to collect relevant details and access sales scripts to navigate multiple customer scenarios efficiently. They can also listen to the call recording to acquaint themselves with customer objections and craft a strategy to overcome them.

Furthermore, onsite technicians can access customer call recordings from the Field Service App. They can also view all the details the CSR collected during the intake call, alongside the customer’s service history and property data.

This ensures technicians arrive at job sites fully prepared to handle the project. Technicians can also use this data to confirm details instead of searching through clipboards or frequently calling the office, which is time-consuming.

The software also streamlines communication between techs and the office, as evidenced by the experience of Trevor Lively, president of Blue Jay Irrigation.

“We’ve gone from Windows 95 to Windows 10 in one big upgrade,” he said.

“We can get more verbal confirmations in the field, which in the past [...] was very clunky. A lot of it was writing in notes and then having to get the note to a salesman, to send the estimate. Just very inefficient.”

ServiceTitan’s Field Service App also empowers technicians to complete sales in the field with three key features:

• Estimate builder: Allows technicians to build attractive estimates using images, videos, and product information sourced directly from the manufacturers.

• Sales presentation mode: Instead of boring sales pitches, technicians can present multiple options to customers using the sales presentation mode, which resembles a shopping interface.

• Customer payments: Technicians can collect checks, credit cards, and cash payments in the field.

Irrigation companies use both the Call Booking software and the Field Service App to improve customer service and gain a competitive edge. This helps generate more revenue, boosting profitability.

10. Maintain Customer Loyalty

Irrigation businesses have much to gain from growing a loyal customer base—existing customers outspend new ones. They are more likely to leave positive reviews and recommend your services to others.

Top-quality work, timely communication, and efficient service boost customer loyalty and help grow your new irrigation business.

For example, you can show customers you value their time by sending text notifications when a tech is on the way.

Automated text messages also allow customers to leave a five-star review quickly—all you have to do is include the link to your preferred review site or social media platform.

Consider offering maintenance memberships to maintain a steady customer base or providing special discounts to reward customer loyalty. Prioritizing the customer experience keeps your clients happy and increases new customers through more customer referrals.

Consider using ServiceTitan's Customer Experience software to deliver quality service more easily and ensure timely and consistent communication with the customer.

The software lets you send automated appointment reminders and the tech’s bio to customers via a pre-arrival text. Customers can also track the tech's location in real time using the software’s GPS tracker to know when they will arrive.

Pre-arrival messages and location tracking serve a dual purpose. First, they allow customers to plan their day and familiarize themselves with the technician. Second, they kickstart relationship building before the tech arrives.

ServiceTitan’s Customer Experience software also allows customers to contact the company using text messages. They can use this opportunity to ask questions and clarify service details.

One service company says customers truly appreciate such clear and timely communication.

“It’s definitely one of our top pieces of feedback,” says Rebecca Tenorio, dispatcher and client HAPPYness representative for the electrical company The Happy Outlet in Nevada. “They appreciate being able to text and communicate with us.”

11. Create Your Marketing Strategy

Marketing is communicating the value of your services to prospective and existing customers. The ultimate goal is to either convince them to buy immediately or keep your company in consideration until they require your services.

Before you develop a marketing strategy for your irrigation business, you need to understand your target demographic. Experts recommend researching your typical customers' ages, household incomes, and credit scores.

After understanding your customer, make a list of marketing channels to prioritize. Your list should combine digital and offline channels to build an online and local presence simultaneously.

Here are some low-cost marketing channels you can explore:

• Local SEO: invest in local SEO strategies to increase your website’s local ranking and appear in Google features like the map pack.

• Paid ads: Run paid ads using platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Structure your ad copy and visuals to communicate the benefit the prospect will gain by hiring you.

• Business cards: Hand out business cards at trade shows and other physical events. They serve as a tangible reminder of your services.

• Build an online presence: Build a strong online presence to appear for digital irrigation service inquiries. Create a search-engine-optimized website and grow a following on any social media platform your ideal customers use.

• Email: Nurture relationships with prospects and customers through their inboxes. Send promotional and educational content to build emotional connections and retain top-of-mind awareness.

• Direct mail: Send marketing materials such as branded merchandise and brochures to customers’ mailboxes.

• Flyers: Distribute flyers to residents of your local service area. You can also place them at high-traffic locations like barbershops, restaurants, recreational parks, etc.

A vital aspect of creating a marketing strategy is laying out key performance indicators (KPIs) and a reliable system for measuring performance. Prioritize those strategies that are working and pause those that aren’t to maximize your ad spend.

ServiceTitan’s Home Services Marketing software helps you track your marketing performance. You can use the software to create and assign unique numbers to different campaigns to determine the source of each job.

The software also has intuitive dashboards that rank marketing campaigns using revenue and reveal the exact zip codes generating the most revenue.

ServiceTitan’s Home Services Marketing software also has different features that allow you to track and create marketing campaigns using multiple channels.

For example, the Email Marketing and Direct Mail platforms have an extensive template library for creating emails and physical promotional materials. This eliminates design costs.

Both platforms also allow you to segment your audience using different criteria to send them hyper-relevant content. For example, you can send promotional content to customers whose memberships expire in a month.

Such hyper-personalization helps to increase conversion rates.

Another helpful feature is the integration of Local Services Ads. This lets you add a calendar booking widget to your Local Services Ads so customers can book appointments without the intervention of CSRs. Every job booking automatically shows in ServiceTitan’s CRM and Scheduling tools, eliminating the difficult and error-prone manual data entry process.

Finally, ServiceTitan’s Home Services Marketing software has a tool called the Ad Optimizer, which is valuable for running paid ads. It uses ServiceTitan conversion data to train Google to display your ads to high-quality leads, reducing your costs per acquisition (CPA).

These different features and tools help irrigation companies run successful marketing campaigns that directly impact revenue.

12. Manage Your Online Presence

When potential customers need irrigation services, they’ll turn to the internet to find the best-rated company. Dedicating your marketing spend to online advertising, such as Google’s Local Services Ads, ensures customers see you first. 

You can also leverage your online presence by investing in pay-per-click ads or posting content on your website to boost Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Manage your irrigation company’s online reputation through social media. Know which social media platforms your customers use so you can generate interest in your business through helpful videos or even discounts.

List in local directories and create and optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP) to boost your local ranking. This will allow you to appear in the local map pack—a Google feature that appears for local-intent queries like “irrigation company near me.”

ServiceTitan’s Marketing Pro Reputation software allows irrigation companies to manage their online presence and build a positive digital reputation from one place.

The software allows users to send customer review requests when a tech completes a job and respond to online reviews from multiple platforms in one central hub.

This makes it easy to resolve customer complaints before they gain momentum or your competitors take advantage of them.

13. Streamline & Automate Processes

Using technology to automate and streamline processes boosts efficiency and helps employees redirect their efforts to productive activities. It also frees up time for them to focus more on delivering quality customer service.

Automating processes with technology also helps you turn your planning and hard work into profit and implement effective growth strategies.

However, it’s vital to know that the results you achieve depend solely on the types of tools you use. For example, Myles Sidorak, owner of Naiad Irrigation Systems, found it difficult to grow his business when he was still using QuickBooks for financial accounting and Excel for customer files. 

But that changed when he switched to ServiceTitan—he doubled the company’s profit quickly.

“I've been totally impressed with ServiceTitan,” says Myles.

“We wanted something where the guys in the field were able to do their jobs much more efficiently in addition to having the office being able to run a little more smoothly.” 

ServiceTitan’s cloud-based irrigation business software streamlines communication between the office and field with automated scheduling, GPS-based dispatching, and real-time timesheet tracking. You can cover your bases with customizable service and membership agreements, which track costs for accurate invoices.

The platform also allows users to monitor real-time data from anywhere so they know where to focus their efforts and watch their irrigation business flourish and grow.

Over to You

Now, you have the strategy and knowledge to start and run a successful irrigation business.

Before you implement each strategy, create a comprehensive business plan (if you don’t have one) and use it as a roadmap for your business.

Also, automate business processes with irrigation software like ServiceTitan, to boost efficiency and free up more time for revenue-generating activities.

ServiceTitan is a cloud-based, all-in-one platform that helps home service businesses manage customer interactions, marketing campaigns, and financial transactions from one place. Join the thousands of contractors nationwide who use it to boost their revenue.