How We've Run Our Appliance Repair Business with Fixlify Since 2017

We've been repairing appliances in Toronto since 2017. In that time we've tried spreadsheets, WhatsApp group chats, paper job cards, and two other software platforms that promised to fix everything. None of them did. Then we found Fixlify, and things actually changed.

This page isn't a sales pitch — it's a real account of what our operation looked like before, what we changed, and what we'd do differently if we were starting over today. If you run an appliance repair business in Canada or the US, hopefully some of this helps you.

What Our Operation Looked Like Before Fixlify

When we were small — two vans, Nick and one helper — keeping track of jobs wasn't hard. You remembered most things, you called customers back, and most days ended with everything sorted. Then we grew. By 2022 we had four technicians on the road and the cracks started showing.

Calls were slipping through. A customer would call at 9 AM while a tech was mid-repair, nobody picked up, and by the time we called back three hours later they'd already booked someone else. We were losing leads we didn't even know we had. Our diagnostic fee collection was inconsistent. Invoicing was done in a notebook and then re-entered into a spreadsheet. Techs would arrive at jobs and not know the appliance model or what parts to bring. Some days felt like organized chaos — emphasis on chaos.

We tried a general CRM. It was built for sales teams, not service businesses, and customizing it took more time than it was worth. We tried a field service app built for plumbers and HVAC — closer, but not quite right for appliance repair where you're dealing with warranty claims, part sourcing, and brand-specific diagnostics.

Why We Chose Fixlify

A friend who runs an HVAC company in Brampton told us about Fixlify. He'd been using it for eight months and said it was the first software that felt like it was actually built for field service, not adapted from something else.

The thing that sold us immediately was the AI Dispatcher. We were skeptical — "AI" in small business software usually means a basic chatbot — but this was different. When a customer calls or submits a request online, the AI Dispatcher captures the inquiry, extracts the key information (what broke, what brand, their location, when they're available), and routes it to the right technician based on their schedule, location, and the type of job. We stopped missing calls. That alone paid for the software in the first month.

What Changed After Switching

Never Miss a Call or Lead

The AI Dispatcher handles inquiries around the clock. If someone calls at 11 PM because their fridge stopped working the day before a big family dinner, that request is captured, logged, and waiting for us first thing in the morning with all the details already filled in. We've booked jobs from inquiries that came in at 2 AM.

Online Booking That Actually Converts

We added Fixlify's online booking widget to our website. Customers can pick a time slot, describe the problem, enter their appliance brand and model, and confirm their address — all without calling us. About 35% of our new bookings now come through the widget. Those customers tend to show up better prepared because they've already committed in writing.

Job Management from Dispatch to Done

Every job in Fixlify has a timeline: created, assigned, in progress, parts ordered (if needed), completed, invoiced. Technicians update job status from the mobile app. We can see at a glance where every job stands at any moment. Before Fixlify, finding out the status of a job in progress meant calling the tech — who might be elbow-deep in a dryer.

CRM That Remembers Everything

Every customer has a profile. Every appliance they've had repaired is on record. When Mrs. Kowalski calls back because her Samsung fridge is acting up again, we can see that we replaced the evaporator fan motor fourteen months ago, it's still under our 90-day warranty period (it isn't — that's past 90 days), and her address is already in the system. No re-entering details, no confusion.

Invoicing and Payment Collection

We were losing money on diagnostic fees. Techs were sometimes skipping the charge because customers pushed back and the tech didn't have an easy way to process payment on-site. Fixlify's invoicing module integrates with the job — when the tech marks the job complete, an invoice is automatically generated with the right line items. The tech can collect payment on-site via the app. Our diagnostic fee collection went from roughly 85% to 99% within the first two months.

SMS and Email Communication

Automated appointment reminders go out the day before and two hours before the job. Customers get a message when the tech is on the way. After the job is done, a follow-up message asks for a review. We went from getting maybe two Google reviews a month to averaging eight or nine. Those reviews compound — they've noticeably improved our search ranking in Toronto.

Lead Pipeline

Not every inquiry converts immediately. Some customers are shopping around, some need to check with a landlord, some are waiting on a part. Fixlify's lead pipeline lets us track those conversations so nothing falls through. We follow up at the right time instead of letting warm leads go cold.

What We'd Tell Other Appliance Repair Owners

If you're running more than two or three technicians and you're still managing jobs in WhatsApp or a shared calendar, you're leaving real money on the table. Not because you're bad at what you do — the repair work is the easy part. The hard part is the coordination overhead: who's going where, what parts do they need, did the customer confirm, did we collect the diagnostic fee, when does the warranty expire, when should we follow up.

Software like Fixlify doesn't replace your judgment. It replaces the administrative drag that eats up two or three hours every day. Those hours go back into doing more jobs, training your team, or just finishing at a reasonable time.

"The AI Dispatcher alone was worth the switch. We stopped losing leads we didn't even know we had."
— Nick, owner, Nika Appliance Repair

Is Fixlify Right for Your Business?

Fixlify is built specifically for field service businesses — appliance repair, HVAC, plumbing, electrical. It's not a generic CRM or a project management tool jammed into a field service shape. That specificity matters. The workflows, the terminology, the mobile experience for techs — it's all designed around how field service actually works.

If you're a solo operator just getting started, Fixlify helps you build professional habits from day one. If you're running a mid-size operation with multiple vans, the dispatching and real-time job visibility will change your day. If you're thinking about expanding, having clean job data and customer records makes the business easier to hand off or scale.

We've been using it since 2022 and we're not going back to the old way. If you want to try it for your business, the link below takes you directly to Fixlify's site.