Charlie Baker - Systems & AI Automation - CB Tech

14/10/2026

Second visit. Same questions.

Most people running Commusoft only use it to book the job and raise the invoice.

Commusoft keeps a full service history tied to the property itself, not just the customer record. So when an engineer goes back six months later, they can see exactly what was fitted, what broke, and what was agreed last time, before they've even knocked on the door.

Nobody has to ask the customer to explain the history again, because the system already remembers it.

Comment COMMUSOFT and I'll send you the five-minute walkthrough.

13/10/2026

He didn't chase the quote. He quietly stopped expecting one.

A customer mentioned, almost as an aside, that his last quote from a trades business took three weeks to land. He wasn't complaining. He'd just stopped expecting better.

That's the real cost of slow quoting. Not the jobs you can count as lost, it's customers who've quietly adjusted what they expect from you downward, and never bother telling you.

If quoting in your business takes longer than a few days, somebody's probably already written you off without saying so.

If your quoting process is genuinely slow and you want a second pair of eyes on why, reply here or send me a message, I'll have a look.

12/10/2026

The customer had already told the office. Nobody told him.

The office took a call, the customer added something to the job, and whoever picked up said "that's fine, we'll let the engineer know." It never made it onto anything the engineer could actually see.

He turns up, the customer repeats it like it's obvious, and he's hearing it for the first time standing on the doorstep.

It's not that anyone forgot. "Letting someone know" isn't a system, it's a hope.

How does a message from a customer actually reach the engineer in your business? Comment the answer, I'm curious how many different ways people do this.

10/10/2026

Two engineers turned up to the same job. Only one was needed.

The diary had it booked for Tuesday. The job sheet system had it booked for Tuesday too, except nobody had linked the two, so it went out twice, to two different vans, from two different mornings of planning.

It's not carelessness. It's that the diary and the job system were never actually the same place, they just both looked like they were.

How many separate tools does a job have to pass through before it's actually on someone's van in your business? Comment the number.

09/10/2026

He found out about the near miss after he got back. By then it was already sorted.

A customer was ready to walk mid-job over a delay that wasn't anyone's fault. While he was away, his site manager offered a small goodwill gesture on the spot and the customer stayed. He only heard about it as a story once he was home.

That wasn't luck. That decision had already been agreed in advance, so it didn't need to wait for him. Most owners haven't pre-agreed anything, which is exactly why their phone doesn't stop on holiday.

Is there a decision in your business that only you're allowed to make, that genuinely doesn't need to be? Comment what it is.

08/10/2026

A bit of a special EBN Brentwood for me this morning, my first meeting hosting as Group Director.

I’m genuinely grateful to have such a supportive group of people in the room. Plenty of laughs as always, but also some really good things happening between our members.

A few highlights from this morning:

Greg O'Sullivan is putting together a trusted local business directory to share with his clients. Definitely worth speaking to Greg if you’re a local business and would like to be included.

Peter Garland-Collins is hosting a Brokers Open in South Weald next Thursday, 15th October from 6–8pm, definitely one not to miss if you’re involved in property.

Ian Braysher - Extraordinary Business Support and Andrew Wigley. MStJ Tech IOSH have been collaborating on ladder inspections, a great example of exactly what good business networking should lead to.

With World Mental Health Day coming up on Saturday, it was also a timely reminder to check out Jayne Buckley’s workplace workshops and the support she offers businesses around mental health and wellbeing.

Toni Ball reminded us of the difference you get when booking through a personal travel agent, someone who actually looks after you, plus access to a 24-hour helpline if something goes wrong.

A big happy 13th birthday to Steven Green Financial Planning today. A great milestone achieved by Steven Green DipPFS (IFA).

Andrew Wigley. MStJ Tech IOSH also has a range of CPD-aligned e-learning courses covering first aid, alongside his face-to-face training.

We also welcomed Derrick Fordwuor of SyncraIT as a visitor, who provides IT support and is currently offering free IT surgeries for businesses.

This morning really summed up why I enjoy EBN Brentwood so much, people supporting each other, collaborating and creating genuine opportunities.

Looking forward to building on that as Group Director.

Tagging our fantastic members:

James Bennett FCMA, AfICB 🧮, Peter Garland-Collins, Steven Green DipPFS (IFA), Simon Leigh, Toni Ball, Sam Saunders Dip CII, Jayne Buckley, Charlie Baker, Ian Braysher - Extraordinary Business Support, Molly Brown, Joanne Tappin, Greg O'Sullivan and Andrew Wigley. MSt

08/10/2026

The job's finished. The paperwork isn't.

Most tradespeople running Powered Now only use it to book jobs and send invoices, and never touch the feature that would save them the most admin.

It takes an e-signature on site, on the engineer's phone, the second the job's done. The compliance certificate generates itself from that sign-off, so nobody's writing it up from memory two days later, and the invoice doesn't have to wait for the office to catch up.

Comment POWERED NOW and I'll send you the five-minute walkthrough.

07/10/2026

07/10/2026

Three weeks later, the job was done. It wasn't you who did it.

You sent the quote, heard nothing back, and assumed it had gone cold like half of them do. Three weeks later you drove past the job, finished, scaffolding down, and it wasn't your scaffolding.

You weren't rejected. You were never followed up with, and neither was he, except his quote landed the same day and yours took a week. He didn't win on price. He won because he was still in the conversation when you'd already moved on to the next one.

How many quotes from the last month do you actually know the outcome of, won, lost, or just gone quiet? Comment your number, I want to see how many people genuinely don't know.

06/10/2026

He could run the jobs. Not the business.

He'd been running the diary and the jobs for two years. When she went away, he kept the wheels turning without a hitch, right up until a customer asked for a discount on a job gone wrong, and he had no idea what he was allowed to agree to. He waited three days for her to answer a message on holiday.

Running the day to day and running the business are two different jobs, and most owners only ever hand over the first one. The second person can do everything except make the calls that actually need making.

If someone left tomorrow, is there one person in your business who could make a pricing or goodwill call without ringing you first? Comment yes or no.