How this plumbing company cut admin by 20 hours per month with workflow automation
For over 40 years, Conrad Martens Plumbing & Hot Water has been a trusted name across Brisbane. What started in 1982 as a two-person operation has grown into a thriving team of plumbers, apprentices, customer service and admin professionals. The business specialises in maintenance and emergency plumbing & hot water, with a strong focus on service excellence and same-day response.
When brothers Angus and Jackson Martens took over managing the company from their parents in 2019, they inherited a reputable business with a loyal customer base and multiple industry accolades. Since then, that strong foundation has helped the company grow to over 800 five-star reviews.
However, they also inherited paper-based systems and processes that no longer fit the pace and scale of a busy, service-based operation.
“Some pain points that we were facing in the business were lots of manual, paper-based processes,” Angus says.
“The office was filled with paperwork,” adds Senior Administrator Anne Ryan. “Once a week, we’d have to spend half a day just collating job sheets.”
Manual, disconnected systems replaced with MYOB’s integrated business management platform
The first step was to replace outdated systems with modern software that supported the way the business actually works. That’s where MYOB Business AccountRight Plus came in.
The firm didn’t just want a digital tool; it needed a complete platform that would integrate seamlessly with job management system, AroFlo, while offering the flexibility to support a hybrid work environment and a growing team.
Time-consuming payroll processes transformed through automation
One of the most immediate changes was the integration of MYOB with AroFlo. Previously, timesheets were filled out on paper, and the admin team would spend hours manually processing them.
Now, it’s a fully automated workflow. Timesheets and job data flow directly into payroll, eliminating manual entry and significantly reducing processing time.
By 9 am on payday, it’s done and it’s accurate.
“MYOB integrates effortlessly with our field management program and our payroll now takes just a couple of hours in the morning.”
— Angus Martens, General Manager, Conrad Martens Plumbing & Hot Water
The automation didn’t stop at payroll. By eliminating physical paperwork and transitioning to digital invoicing, quoting and job tracking, the team has drastically cut down on clutter, which gives admin staff breathing room to focus on customer service.
“MYOB helps us with end-of-month processing in a much quicker manner than we could do previously," Anne explains. "It’s saved four staff members four to five hours every week, so twenty hours per month.”
Delayed reporting and limited access solved with real-time financial visibility and remote flexibility
With bank feeds and real-time financial reporting, MYOB also provides Angus and Jackson with greater visibility over how the business is performing. That used to be a much slower process. Bank reconciliations were manual and time-consuming, making it difficult to make timely decisions.
Now, bank feeds update daily, and digital recordkeeping makes reconciling faster, easier and far less prone to error.
And because MYOB is cloud-based, it offers added flexibility for certain roles to work remotely, improving work-life balance and making it easier to manage the business on the go.
Admin bottlenecks reduced to focus on customer experience
For a business that prides itself on service, these back-end improvements have had a direct impact on the front line.
“As a family business, the most important thing is our customers,” says Angus. “Less time on admin means more time for customers.”
That’s reflected in the loyalty of their clients, many of whom have been with the business for decades. The team now includes a mix of experienced tradespeople, apprentices and office staff, all working together for their customers with the support of systems that keep operations running smoothly.
And that’s the real value, Angus explains.
“MYOB hasn’t just saved us time or money. It’s made the business better. We’re more efficient, less stressed, and more focused on what we do best.”
For other trades, it’s time to make the move
When asked what advice they’d give to other trades or service-based businesses considering a move to MYOB, the brothers are quick to answer: “Don’t wait.” They say while it can feel overwhelming to change your systems, especially when things have been done the same way for years, once you do it and see how much easier life becomes, you’ll wish you’d done it sooner.
For Conrad Martens Plumbing & Hot Water, MYOB hasn’t just helped modernise the business. It’s secured the legacy of a family-owned company for the next generation.
“The key to the success of this business is keeping things simple, and what MYOB has done is allow us to become more efficient without adding complexity.”
— Angus Martens, General Manager, Conrad Martens Plumbing & Hot Water
