Plumbing SOP Templates.
Ready-to-use systems for running a plumbing business, from the builder's first set of plans to the final invoice. Open any of them free. No login needed.
The approach Dr Drip Plumbing used before a bigger Sydney plumber bought the business.
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Mapping a plumbing business's client flow, live
Tony Fraser-Jones wrote The Profitable Tradie and runs the company of the same name, helping trade businesses build better businesses. In this episode he and Dave map the client flow of a plumbing contractor that works for builders, stage by stage.
His first move is to pick the right client: a builder doing 20 to 50 jobs a year, not a household that calls once.
If you can systemise a McDonald's, I think you can systemise most parts of a plumbing business.
The Critical Client Flow
Your whole business on one page
This is the flow Tony and Dave built on the call. The four places he sees plumbing businesses fall over are all on it: the clarifying call, the pricing, the follow-up and the handover.
- Pick a builder, not a household. A building contractor doing new homes and renovations can book you again and again.
- Call before you quote. Most plumbers price the plans, email the quote and hope. A clarifying call gets the scope right and lets you add value.
- Hand the job over in a meeting. Whoever priced it, whoever runs it and the builder's project manager agree the scope before anyone starts on site.
Where to start
Start where jobs leak money
Don't try to write everything at once. The pack and Tony land on almost the same list: the steps between the plans arriving and the first day on site.
Biggest return
Where Tony sees jobs leak
Plumbing SOP templates, by department
Each one is a full standard operating procedure: what triggers it, who does it, the steps, the templates and how you know it is done. They are written for an Australian plumbing business that subcontracts to residential builders, with an owner, an operations manager, an estimator and an office manager. If that is not you, every highlighted gap is a place to swap in your own tool, role or number. A one or two person business can read every role as a hat rather than a headcount.
The Job
The client flow, from the builder's plans to the final invoice.
Clarifying Call
Ring the builder before you price, so the quote matches the job and you add value while you are at it.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Quoting
Price off your standard rates instead of from scratch, with what is in and out written down.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Quote Follow-Up
Confirm the quote landed, then follow up on a set rhythm instead of hoping it comes through.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Contract and Deposit
Turn a verbal yes into a signed contract and, where you can, a deposit before anything is scheduled.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Project Handover Meeting
The estimator, operations, the lead plumber and the builder's project manager agree scope and timing before work starts.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Inquiry Response · Variations and Progress Claims · Job Completion and Invoicing · Follow-Up and Testimonials
Marketing
Getting on a builder's radar, and staying there.
Lumpy Mail Campaign
A parcel with something in it, a letter in your own voice, and a phone call a few days later.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Prospect Nurture
Stay in front of the builders who are not ready yet, one to one, until their current plumber lets them down.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Builder Target List · Capability Statement and Prequalification Pack · Shop Window · Referral Program Management
Sales
Pricing fast and knowing which quotes are still live.
Pricing and Estimating Schedule
The rate book behind every quote, kept current so pricing a house takes an hour instead of a day.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Pipeline Tracking
Every quote from first enquiry to won or lost, so nothing slips and you can see what is coming.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Ongoing Sales Training · Sales Playbook
Operations
Keeping jobs on track after the handover.
After-Hours and Emergency Callout
Who you take after-hours calls from and what happens when one comes in.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Callbacks and Warranty Claims
Work out whose fault it is from the evidence before anyone drives out, then fix it and watch the pattern.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Product and Service Fulfilment · Scheduling and Calendar Management · Supplier and Vendor Management · Vehicle and Equipment Maintenance
Finance
Getting paid and knowing where the money went.
Accounts Receivable and Payable
Chase what you are owed and pay suppliers on time, so cash keeps moving.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Monthly Financial Review
A monthly sit-down on profit, cash, outstanding invoices and which jobs made money.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Budgeting and Forecasting · Payroll Processing · Tax and Compliance Calendar
Human Resources
Finding good tradespeople and keeping them safe.
Safety and Training
Site inductions, incident reporting and ongoing training, on a rhythm of its own.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Recruitment and Onboarding
From the job ad to the 90-day review, so the good ones stay.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Employee Exit Process · HR Compliance · Leave and Time Management · Performance Reviews
Management
The rhythm that lets the owner get off the tools.
KPI Tracking and Scorecards
A weekly snapshot across sales, jobs, money and people, while there is still time to act.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Team Meeting Rhythms
A daily huddle for the field team, a weekly leadership meeting and a monthly all-hands.
Open the system → Opens in systemHUB. No login needed.Also in the full pack (get them with a free trial): Project Management Overview · Risk and Compliance Oversight · Strategic Planning
Case study
Two hours a week, then sold
Andy and Angela Smith started Dr Drip Plumbing in Sydney 21 years ago. At its peak it turned over about $2 million with a team of 17, and everything ran through them.
They documented how the phone is answered, how jobs are dispatched, how plumbers work on site and how invoices go out. In time one person in the office ran five trucks, Andy was in the business about two hours a week, and it made more profit than ever. When a larger Sydney plumbing company bought it, Andy did not do another day after the sale.
Get the whole pack in systemHUB
41 systems for a plumbing business that works for builders: 9 that carry a job from the first enquiry to the next one, 32 that run the business around it, plus 48 templates and 9 AI assistants. Start a free trial and ask our team to load the pack into your account.
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Common questions
Are these only for plumbers who work for builders?
The client flow systems are written around builder work: plans to price, clarifying calls, progress claims. The marketing, operations, finance, HR and management systems fit most plumbing and trade businesses.
What should a plumbing SOP include?
What triggers it, who is responsible, the numbered steps in order, the templates or checklists used along the way, and a definition of done so anyone can tell it has been completed.
Do I need a systemHUB account to read them?
No. Every system on this page opens as a public page with no login. You need an account to copy them, edit them and assign them to your team.
The rules in these are Australian. Do they work elsewhere?
The steps work anywhere. Anything set by a regulator, such as licensing, compliance certificates and safety rules, is marked for you to check against the rules where you work.
What is lumpy mail?
Tony Fraser-Jones's name for an introduction a builder can hold: a parcel with something in it, a letter in your own voice, then a phone call a few days later. It gets you noticed by a builder who already has a plumber.
What is a Critical Client Flow?
The handful of stages every client moves through, from first hearing about you to the job being paid for, on one page. It shows where work stalls and which systems to build first.
These systems are workflow documentation. Check anything to do with licensing, compliance or safety against the rules where you work.