South Island Electrical

Building a Business That Reaches the Whole Island

For over 15 years, South Island Electrical has delivered high-quality electrical services across even the most remote areas of New Zealand’s South Island. From installations and emergency repairs to ongoing maintenance and IQP inspections, the Christchurch-based team is known for showing up where others won’t.

With three decades of experience in the trade, founder Damon Stewart wanted to build a business on his own terms. But like many small business owners, he found himself working long hours just to stay on top of the day-to-day. After selling and later buying back into the business, it was clear that making a profit while maintaining quality meant running a smarter operation.

Outdated Processes Were Holding the Business Back

South Island Electrical was built on great service, but behind the scenes, manual processes made it difficult to scale. Quoting, invoicing and time tracking were all handled manually, with information stored across spreadsheets and emails.

“We knew there were inefficiencies, but without data we couldn’t make decisions with confidence,” said Stewart

Operations Manager, Luke Sullivan, agreed. “Finding old quotes and invoices was a nightmare. Everything took longer than it should.” It was clear they needed a better way to manage jobs, track costs and make the right calls for the future.

Choosing the Right Partner

To solve the problem, South Island Electrical turned to e2e, a consultancy that helps field service businesses implement better systems. e2e recommended Simpro, and implementation began immediately.

All customer and supplier data was migrated into Simpro, preserving years of valuable business relationships. Quoting went from manual to digital, saving time and reducing errors. Health and safety forms were fully integrated to support compliance, and customised training helped the entire team get up to speed quickly.

“From the start, the difference was obvious,” said Stewart.

Smart Systems That Power Daily Operations

With Simpro in place, everything changed, from the office to the field. Job history is now available at a glance, even years later. The mobile app means tradies no longer have to visit the workshop to pick up job details. Health and safety checks are completed in-app, and job documentation includes photos, notes and status updates captured before, during and after every job.

“You can never have too much information,” said Stewart. “Now it’s all right there when we need it.”

The system is flexible, fast and easy to use. Simpro’s wholesaler integrations ensure pricing is accurate and up to date. Quotes are faster and more reliable, and paperwork that once took hours now takes minutes.

Smarter Invoicing, Greater Confidence

Integrating Simpro with Xero has streamlined payments and improved visibility. Invoices that used to be managed at month-end are now reconciled daily in four minutes. Luke no longer has to chase payments or track down missing information.

“I’ve never enjoyed signing off invoices before. Now I do. I can see the profit. I can see the data. It’s clear and it feels good,” said Stewart.

More importantly, the transparency means every quote, every job and every invoice is backed by real costs and tracked margins. With better job costing, South Island Electrical has turned losses into learnings and improved how the team quotes and works with long-term clients.

Stronger Margins and More Time Back

Simpro has helped South Island Electrical reduce admin, protect margins and improve job tracking across the board.

Here’s what the team has achieved:

• 35% improvement in profit margins
• Fully integrated health and safety workflows for ongoing compliance
• Daily invoice reconciliation in four minutes instead of end-of-month marathons
• More accurate quoting through up-to-date supplier pricing
• Reduced paper usage and improved fuel efficiency thanks to Simpro Mobile

A Platform to Power the Next Stage

South Island Electrical is still early in its Simpro journey, but the impact is already undeniable. The team tracks profitability in real time, rather than waiting for an accountant to do a year-end review. They’re still exploring features and finding new ways to save time and increase accuracy.

“We’re only using 60% of Simpro, and it’s already transforming our business,” said Stewart. “Can you imagine where we’ll be in another year?”

With the support of e2e and the ongoing improvements from Simpro, South Island Electrical is set up for long-term success: fewer admin hours, better margins and a lot more time to enjoy life beyond the workshop.

Discover how e2e can help implement and optimize Simpro for your business.