TradeLedger
As described:StopNarrowed:NarrowNo as a system of record for any trade. Go as the fire-extinguisher inspection system of record, only with trade access.
fire-safety contractors · ~$150 a month per shop · last reviewed (next review by 29 Dec 2026) · 53 cited sources
Start this week
- Write down your trade access honestly: who do you know who runs or has worked in a fire-extinguisher, fire-protection or backflow business? Also write your hours per week available.
- Build a list of 60 US extinguisher service shops from the NAFED member directory and 3 public AHJ contractor lists. Book 15 calls.
- Ask each owner three questions: how they track due dates today, how long a site report takes, and what they pay in portal fees each month. Record the answers word for word.
- Set up the hands-on kit in Airtable: asset register, due-date formulas, a PDF report template. Offer it to the first 5 shops at $99/month.
Checkpoints and kill gates
Decide in advance what counts as on track. Missing a checkpoint means changing the buyer or the offer, not adding features.
Day 30
~15 hrs/week
3 shops paying ≥$99
Full-time
5 shops paying ≥$99 for the hands-on service
If you miss it
No trade access yet: stop and get an advisor first. With access: switch region or shop size once. Missing twice means stop.
Day 90
~15 hrs/week
6 shops, same rule
Full-time
12 shops on the self-serve app, every pilot running all its inspections in it for one month
If you miss it
Cut to the core: asset register, due list and report. Drop quoting and routing until usage returns.
Month 6
~15 hrs/week
$1k MRR (~7 shops)
Full-time
$2k MRR (~13 shops), monthly logo churn ≤2%, ≥30% of trials from search or referral
If you miss it
Pivot A: backflow testers (same asset-and-due-date core, tester-side). Pivot B: extinguishers plus kitchen hood suppression as one offer.
Month 12
~15 hrs/week
$3k MRR (~20 shops)
Full-time
$6k MRR (~40 shops), ≥50% on annual
If you miss it
Stop feature work. Fix onboarding time and the single best channel.
Month 18
~15 hrs/week
$5k MRR (~34 shops)
Full-time
$11k MRR (~73 shops)
If you miss it
Add the second product line for existing shops (hood suppression or sprinkler) to raise revenue per shop.
Month 24
~15 hrs/week
$8–10k MRR, profitable
Full-time
$18–20k MRR, profitable
If you miss it
Above $10k: keep running it profitably, and consider Canada or a second trade. Below $3k: stop, or pivot within compliance records for trades.
Do
1.Start in one trade: portable fire-extinguisher inspection and service, US only, for shops with 1–10 techs.
Target: Every user can say it in one line: "It knows every extinguisher I service and tells me what's due."
Why: It scored highest of four trades on legally required records, year-round recurring work, price tolerance and reachable buyers (analysis/02).
2.Make the extinguisher the core record, not the job. Every unit gets a QR or barcode label, its location, type, size, manufacture date and full service history.
Target: 100% of pilot units have a scannable ID within 30 days of onboarding
Why: This is the system of record. Jobs, reports and invoices all come from it. Generic job apps (Jobber, Housecall Pro) don't model the asset.
3.Build a due-date engine for annual inspection, 6-year maintenance and 12-year hydro. It produces a monthly "what's due, by customer and by street" list.
Target: Pilot shops find ≥10% more billable work in their first 90 days
Why: Missed 6-year and hydro work is lost revenue. Showing it is the money pitch, the same way CreatorDesk shows overdue invoices recovered.
4.Do migration for them. Import from spreadsheets, CSVs, old software exports and photos of paper inspection sheets, using capped AI extraction plus a human check.
Target: New shop live within 7 days of signing
Why: Switching cost protects incumbents. Remove it and the sale gets easy. It's also the task owners dread most.
5.Build an offline-first mobile web app (PWA) for techs: scan, pass/fail, deficiency photo, signature.
Target: Works for a full day with no signal and syncs cleanly
Why: Basements, plant rooms and parking garages have no signal. One lost inspection record ends trust.
6.Turn every deficiency into a quote. A failed unit becomes a line item, the quote goes to the customer, and approval becomes a repair job and then an invoice.
Target: ≥30% of deficiencies quoted within 48 hours
Why: It connects records to revenue, and gives owners a dollar reason to renew.
7.Produce jurisdiction-ready reports. Build a clean PDF report per site, plus export packs formatted for The Compliance Engine and the main city portals where contractors submit.
Target: Report generated in under 1 minute after the last unit
Why: Contractors pay $15–37 per report to these portals and still re-key data. Brycer now sells a $5/report re-keying service, which proves the pain (research/10).
8.Price flat per shop, not per seat. Charge from day one. Solo $69, Shop $179 (up to 5 techs), Crew $329 (up to 12). 14-day trial with no free plan, and 2 months free on annual.
Target: ≥50% of new shops on annual by month 12
Why: Per-tech pricing ($75–180 per tech elsewhere) punishes growth. A free plan brings in hobbyists and makes support work.
9.Build channels that run without you: the NAFED member directory, AHJ and Compliance Engine contractor lists for cold email, SEO pages ("NFPA 10 6-year maintenance schedule", "how to submit extinguisher reports in [city]"), and a free due-date calculator.
Target: ≥50% of trials from search or referral by month 12
Why: At ~15 hrs/week you can't sell every shop by phone. Search and directories work while you're offline.
10.Automate onboarding and support. A recorded demo, a self-serve import wizard, templated welcome emails, a help center and one weekly office-hours call.
Target: ≤1 hour of founder time per new shop after shop #20
Why: This is what makes the ~15 hrs/week plan possible at all.
11.Show the money outcome per shop: extra billable units found, hours saved on reports, days from deficiency to quote.
Target: Every case study opens with a dollar figure
Why: Owners buy "it paid for itself in a month", not "it's modern".
12.Add the second product line only after the first holds: kitchen hood suppression or sprinkler inspection for the same shops, then backflow testing.
Target: Not before $8k MRR
Why: Expansion inside the same shops raises revenue per customer without a new customer base. Backflow is the runner-up trade and a natural later module.
Avoid
1.A "system of record for any trade"
Why: It meets Jobber, Housecall Pro and ServiceTitan head-on with nothing trade-specific. The as-described odds show the result.
2.Starting without trade access
Why: It's the moat for this whole category. Rentman and ZenMaid both began inside their own trade. No access, no pilots, no truth about the job.
3.Chasing larger fire-protection contractors (20+ techs) or sprinkler/alarm first
Why: ServiceTrade, Uptick, BuildingReports and Inspect Point own that end, with sales teams and integrations. You win where they're too heavy and too expensive.
4.Becoming a compliance portal that AHJs or cities buy
Why: That's a government sales motion (Brycer, SwiftComply), with long cycles and procurement. Stay on the contractor's side and feed their portals.
5.Promising "NFPA compliant" or "guaranteed compliance"
Why: The contractor and the AHJ decide compliance. You provide records and reminders. A missed-due-date lawsuit is the liability. Use clear terms: the licensed contractor is responsible.
6.Full accounting, payroll or a full CRM
Why: QuickBooks integration covers accounting. Every extra module competes with a free or better tool and eats your limited hours.
7.Native iOS and Android apps before $10k MRR
Why: An offline PWA covers the tech's job. Two app stores double release work for a tiny team.
8.A free plan, lifetime deals or AppSumo
Why: Trade shops that don't pay stay on paper anyway. Lifetime deals cap revenue and fill support with non-buyers.
9.Custom work for one big customer
Why: It turns a product into a consultancy and eats the hours that should go to the next 50 shops.
10.Building direct integrations into every city portal
Why: Most portals have no public API. Start with clean export packs per portal, and integrate only where a portal offers an API and many customers use it.
11.Unlimited AI import on every plan
Why: Photo and PDF extraction costs money per page. Cap it per migration, and charge for very large legacy archives.
12.Paid ads before month 6
Why: The buyer list is small and findable. Ads to "contractors" buy clicks from the wrong trades.
13.Adding features when a checkpoint fails
Why: A miss means wrong shop size, wrong region or wrong pitch. Change that first.
14.Raising money
Why: The ceiling for one trade is a good business, not a venture outcome. Outside money pushes you to go horizontal, which is avoid #1.