Sponsored Content

Finding a need and filling it has always been the hallmark of good business strategy, and the team behind Arborgold Software certainly has done just that for the tree care industry. Specifically, they have created software that offers a comprehensive and personalized approach to tree care, lawn and landscape business management.

Arborgold’s all-in-one software for tree, lawn and landscape companies. Images courtesy of Arborgold.

Arborgold’s roots are firmly established within the Green Industry. Founded by Donna and Jon Garner in 1994, the company is a direct offshoot of a rather humorous need Donna first realized while managing the couple’s tree, lawn and landscape business. “Donna tells how she couldn’t read handwritten estimates,” says Denni Griffith, Donna’s close friend and director of product marketing for Arborgold. “This was back in the Apple Newton days. So Donna and Jon got some tech help and developed a Windows-based software that synced to an Apple Newton. Donna is a visionary by trade, and she knew, just knew, she could do something with this.”

The Garners launched Arborgold while still in their 20s, focusing on providing business-management solutions specific to lawn, tree and landscape companies – something no one had done before. “For 30 years now, Arborgold’s software has helped these companies build a better business by automating tasks, optimizing schedules and connecting the office with the field in real time, resulting in increased profits and a reduction in costs,” notes Griffith.

Serving the tree care industry
“Generic” is not in Arborgold’s vocabulary! “Some companies advertise their products to Green Industry companies, but they deliver generic field-service software,” says Griffith. “What makes Arborgold different is that we’ve dedicated 100% of our product development to serving tree, plant health care (PHC), lawn, landscape and snow-removal companies. When you’re looking for standard field-service features such as scheduling, estimating, billing and CRM, we’re the best in class.”

Arborgold’s software includes industry-specific features that deliver on the everyday needs of tree care companies, including:

• Customer tree- and plant-inventory management.
• Auto-price estimating, integrated digital landscape design and unlimited lawn measurements.
• Advanced scheduling, routing and emergency self-dispatch with GPS.
• Mobile direct and indirect time tracking.
• Equipment, material, vendor and project-management modules.
• Automated chemical and weather tracking.
• Centralized appointment calendar and full-featured customer RM (relationship management).
• Automated renewals.
• Integrations with QuickBooks, Google, Outlook, Twilio, LandscapeHub.
• Business intelligence and reporting.

All of these features, and many more, are flexible and scalable to individual companies, according to Griffith. Whether large or small, tree businesses will find that Arborgold gives them the help they need to manage leads and customers, bid jobs, schedule work, track inventory, run supply chain, manage projects and invoice customers from their computers or mobile devices.

Why Arborgold?
Bringing fresh and innovative insights to the company is Coulsen Phillips, general manager since December 2023 and a visionary in his own right. As a seasoned executive, strategist and consultant with such businesses as Pluralsight and The Walt Disney Company, Phillips says he’s committed to ensuring that Arborgold “evolves to meet the dynamic needs of our customers.”

He adds, “In no way are we deviating (from the original product), we’re just improving on what’s always been there.

“I think what’s important for people to know is that we provide cutting-edge business-management solutions,” Phillips continues. “Maybe you’ve had a poor experience with other software, or you’ve never used anything but the old paper, pen and whiteboard approach. There’s always fear in change, but you’re thinking, ‘I probably need software to grow the business.’ We know that when you choose Arborgold, you’re putting your trust in us, and we take that trust very seriously.”

Phillips notes that big improvements are coming in 2025, with a two-pronged focus. “Number one is continuing to improve our user experience and interface,” he says. “This happens through user-led product design, by reaching out to our customers and working with them in the design phase. In fact, one of my favorite parts of this job is getting to know both our customers and the industry better. We’re also invested in bringing in additional talent and hiring those with Green Industry experience whenever we can.”

Improvement number two focuses on “a very hands-on onboarding program for customer training,” notes Phillips, adding that this ensures that every team member can effectively utilize the technology. “We know that not everyone who’s an arborist is comfortable with technology, so an on-boarding
specialist is assigned to every new customer. We’ll help coordinate with your teams and crew leaders for trainings, and we offer best-practices webinars throughout the year. We also host our annual users conference; it’s been online since COVID, but we’re coming back in person in 2025. We’ll tie it in at either end of TCI EXPO or another trade show, so attendees don’t have added travel expenses.”

Another pillar of the Arborgold customer-service experience, according to Phillips, is its live technical support provided by knowledgeable product experts who make sure customers receive prompt assistance and problem resolution.

Preparing for the future
Phillips acknowledges the importance of Arborgold positioning itself to be a leader in the Green Industry for years to come. Griffith concurs, saying, “We’re staying ahead of industry trends and closely monitoring emerging technologies and industry best practices, to ensure our software remains relevant and effective. We also are committed to supporting sustainable practices, such as carbon-footprint tracking, and of course, we want to focus on customer satisfaction and prioritize customer feedback.”

Both Griffith and Phillips are excited about the introduction of Arborgold’s new mobile app, which Phillips says will be showcased at TCI EXPO ’24 in Baltimore, Maryland, and available in early 2025. “Arborgold is going to lead the way in this new development,” he says.

Be sure to stop by TCI EXPO Booth #2525 and say hello to the Arborgold team!

Patricia Chaudoin has been a freelance writer/editor for more than four decades, in areas as disparate as tree care, golf, weddings, luxury travel and international nonprofit NGOs. She has been writing for TCI Magazine since 2016.

TCI Magazine’s Corporate Member Spotlight is a feature available only to TCIA corporate members. This article is sponsored by Arborgold Software. Contact advertising@tcia.org for more information.