How ServiceTitan is helping Beyer Plumbing Co. continue a family legacy

As a kid, James Beyer watched his father, Perry Beyer Jr., with a sense of awe.

His dad worked long hours at the family’s plumbing company, Beyer Plumbing Co., which he started 33 years ago out of their garage in San Antonio, Texas. The business was Perry’s pride and joy.  He was also very active in the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC) and knew the ins and outs of the industry better than anyone. 

But Perry never forced his children to follow his path. That’s why, after his son James and daughter, Liz, decided to join Beyer Plumbing Co. around the same time in 2016, he continuously questioned them.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he’d ask.

James Beyer was sure. And, now more than ever, he’s happy he did.

Perry Beyer Jr. passed away in 2020, and nothing makes Beyer prouder than following in his father’s footsteps. “What I love about it is that every day I get to live in his legacy,” Beyer said.

Part of that legacy is taking Beyer Plumbing to the next level. That’s why Beyer, the chief operating officer, led the push and switch to ServiceTitan in 2020. The all-in-one software for the trades powers everything for the residential and commercial service plumbing shop, from reporting to dispatch.

Beyer Plumbing also uses all of ServiceTitan’s pro products, including Marketing Pro, Phones Pro, Pricebook Pro and Schedule Engine. And it shows.

Last year, the company did $14.2 million in revenue. This year, it’s shooting for $15.7 million.

“With ServiceTitan, we’ve been able to maximize our profits, become more efficient and be more open to different types of pricing,” Beyer said.

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Using software to its full potential

Beyer is a recognizable name in San Antonio. That’s because Perry and his two brothers each started their own businesses: plumbing, HVAC and mechanical services. Together, they’re known around town as the “The Beyer Boys.”

For the first 20 years or so, the Beyer Boys relied on pen and paper to run their separate businesses. But eventually, they developed their own software to keep things organized. It did exactly what they needed it to do, but it wasn’t built to scale with their growing companies.

“It's one of those things where we got to a standstill,” Beyer said. “We're not software developers, we're tradesmen. So why are we having to sit here and make new software?”

They started looking for a software company that could service all of their needs and then some. That’s how The Beyer Boys found ServiceTitan.

“(My dad) really loved the simplicity of ServiceTitan, how it looked, how you can see things,” Beyer said. “He definitely saw the value of it.”

Beyer Plumbing went live with the software in the spring of 2020. Beyer and his sister, Liz, were in charge of leading the 70-plus person company in the transition.

“We work really hard to make sure we're using the platform to its full potential,” Beyer said.

And that’s no exaggeration.

‘Breath of fresh air’

Beyer Plumbing has a TitanScore that hovers above 200, which means the company is in the 99th percentile of usage. Here are some of Beyer’s favorite features:

• Customer communications: Beyer called it a “breath of fresh air” that his customers can now track when the techs arrive, just like Uber. “I love that because that holds our guys accountable, and then also as a homeowner, you know exactly when (we’ll arrive).”

• Schedule Engine: When everyone clocks out for the day, Beyer doesn’t have to worry about missing a call from a customer in need. That’s because Beyer Plumbing has Schedule Engine, whose live services and online booking solutions make it easy to deliver a convenient, reliable customer experience and book more qualified jobs—anytime, night or day.

• Marketing Pro: Beyer Plumbing uses Marketing Pro for different campaigns across TV, print and email. “We're constantly doing new campaigns so we can accurately get (a read on) where we're getting our revenue from,” Beyer said. He’s also a fan of the reputation feature, which allows the company to manage reviews from one place and gain deeper insights into their customers, technicians, and jobs.

• Phones Pro: “Everybody in our office, regardless of your department, has a dialpad. It works seamlessly for us,” Beyer said. “The guys in the field like it because they can go back and listen to the phone calls that the CSR had with the homeowner and hear exactly what they need. Because sometimes (things get) lost in translation. Phones Pro has been great.”

• Pricebook Pro: This is Beyer’s favorite feature. That’s because as a residential and commercial company, Beyer Plumbing has to juggle different taxes and labor costs. “Pricebook Pro allows me to keep track of everything. I love that if anything changes, like material pricing goes up, it'll notify you. If it goes down, it'll notify you. I love that there's a regional aspect to it, too, and dynamic pricing. We have customer-specific pricing for some of our commercial clients.”

And those features aren’t all that Beyer loves, either.

“One of my favorite things about ServiceTitan is that we've always had a (CSM) that's there for us and (who) will guide us in the right direction,” he said.

Continuing a legacy

Growing up, Beyer watched his father become a foundational member in San Antonio and within the plumbing industry. Now, he’s leaning into cutting-edge software to do the same.

Even better? He loves that ServiceTitan originated from a similar story.

“The (ServiceTitan) founders’ dads both have similar situations to mine and everybody else's,” Beyer said. “Their dads made a business off of their backs working from their garage or from a random office and then having that paper trail, transferring that paper trail over. I love the story behind it and their forward thinking.”

In the next five years, Beyer hopes to transition the construction side of his business, which did $9 million last year in revenue, over to ServiceTitan, and create a small projects division. He’d also like to open a second location. 

The potential changes are exciting, but one aspect about Beyer Plumbing will always remain the same. “We're never going to sell out to a private equity group,” Beyer said. “We're always going to be family owned and we never want anybody to take that from us.”