Yepic is an innovative app for tradespeople that helps users stay organised and on top of jobs. The company behind it are sponsoring our very own InstallerSHOW app for 2023.
We caught up with Sam Overment, Yepic’s CEO and Founder, to find out more about how the app can turn the phone in your pocket into a vital tool for you and your business.
Could you describe your background and the journey that led to you launching the YEPIC app?
I’m a former sparky myself. I started building a solution for tradespeople called Trade Chimp about ten years ago. It was received well and got a bit of traction, leading to a meeting with the owners of CEF and agreeing on a multi-million-pound deal to build a higher-quality digital platform for tradespeople. Yepic was born in April 2020 as a result. We’ve spent the last three years researching, designing, and building the Yepic App V1, which we’ve just launched and has fantastic early traction.
What is YEPIC and why should tradespeople download and use it?
The Yepic app is completely free and available in the App and Google store. It helps tradespeople by automatically sorting and organising their work photos and keeping track of the hours they spend on jobs. People should download and use it because it’s the easiest App you’ll ever use, and its clever technology means all the hard work is done for you using your phone’s GPS. Users get all their work photos sorted into job albums quickly and easily, and a log telling them exactly how long they’ve spent at every job – all from a simple snap.
If you can take a photo, you already know how to use Yepic.
And did we mention it’s free?!
How does YEPIC help tradespeople manage their jobs?
Photos and time tracking are the key elements. Photos are used by tradespeople for so many reasons, tracking progress, showcasing work, capturing snags and problems, portfolios for college assessments, GPS-labelled photos for building control sign-off, and the list goes on and on. No one wants all these photos mixed up on their camera roll with all their personal photos. Yepic helps you sort 1000s of work photos into job albums in seconds.
When it comes to time tracking, every tradesperson needs this; some know that, and some don’t. Invoices are usually directly tied to hours on the job, but even if it’s quoted work or day rate, you still want to know if your work was profitable. Using Yepic, you can compare the hours quoted vs the actual hours on site.
Customers and employers often challenge how long you are at a job, so having a detailed log of every visit and every hour is really helpful; especially when you don’t have to do anything to create it other than take a photo.
What sets YEPIC apart from some of the other apps on the market?
Free and photo-based, that’s our USP! Tradespeople who typically wouldn’t bother with a fuller featured job management platform can pick up Yepic, get started straight away and instantly benefit. That’s why Yepic’s had such a successful start. It’s effortless, useful and free.
How keen do you think the trades have been to embrace apps and other online platforms?
There are some average tools out there for tradespeople. But we believe they’re just that – average. We want to use modern technology to give tradespeople something revolutionary. We’re building things that tradespeople want to use, not that they feel they should use, but can’t be bothered.
How do you see the app evolving in the future, with developments such as 5G, AI and VR?
Great question. The Yepic team have a massive interest in introducing as much modern technology as possible into our products. The only caveat is that it has to be super simple and helpful. We don’t believe in tech for tech’s sake. We always tie it back to real-life behaviours and real-life problems that we can help with. One example that we are exploring right now is how we integrate with suppliers. We want to offer a service eventually where the App knows what materials you need before you do! It would source them all competitively and make it easy for the tradesperson to say, “Yes, send me what I need”. We are still a bit away from that, but that’s the sort of future we see for Yepic. We will be the APP delivering the ground-breaking changes for tradespeople.
Are there plans to launch the app globally?
Yes, one step at a time. But as mentioned earlier – we are majority owned by the owners of CEF, who also own CES in the US. We are certainly planning to be worldwide. We’ve had many people from various countries reaching out already, asking when it will be available.
Why did you want to get involved with InstallerSHOW?
InstallerSHOW has an excellent reputation among tradespeople. The great thing about Yepic is that it’s a very versatile tool – it can be helpful to any tradesperson or installer. We even have pet exterminators, blind makers, gardeners, and all manners of other people using Yepic.
Is there a particular feature you’re looking forward to seeing at the event in June?
Honestly, I haven’t had chance to look. We’re all that busy with Yepic!
To see how Yepic can help you and your business, visit: https://www.yepic.com/
