4. Expanded Feature Catalog (What Extinguisher Shops Ask For)

These are features a small fire-extinguisher inspection and service shop is likely to ask for. Each is classified with the same honesty as the stated list. Demand doesn't mean you should build it, and several of these are already done well by someone else.

Evidence note: owner forums, Reddit and Facebook groups couldn't be fetched in this research run (10). Demand signals come from competitor feature pages and pricing, portal documentation and analyst judgment. Validate every P0 in the first 15 owner calls (08).

Legend: TS = Table stakes, D = Differentiator, X = Distraction, L = Liability. Priority: P0 = v1, P1 = next, P2 = later, — = don't build.

4.1 Assets and compliance records (the core, so lean in)

Feature	Demand signal	Category	Priority	Notes
Extinguisher asset register (type, size, agent, manufacture date, serial, location in building)	High: it's what every fire tool is built around	D	P0	The record everything else hangs on.
QR or barcode label per unit, scan to open its history	High: standard in BuildOps, GoAudits and others	TS	P0	Expected. Sell pre-printed label rolls at cost.
Due-date engine (annual, 6-year, 12-year hydro; configurable per unit type)	High	D	P0	Shows billable work per month. The money pitch. Rules must be editable, because standards and AHJs differ.
Deficiency capture with photo	High	TS	P0	One tap, photo, reason code.
Per-site inspection report PDF	High	TS	P0	Branded, signed, sent to the customer automatically.
Compliance Engine / city portal export pack	High where extinguishers are tracked	D	P1	Start with the 3 portals your first 20 shops use. Charleston doesn't track extinguishers; others do.
Service tag data (what's written on the physical tag)	Medium	TS	P1	Print-ready tag data to match what the tech punches.
Customer read-only portal with certificates	Medium	D	P1	Building managers stop calling for paperwork. It's a retention and referral loop ("powered by TradeLedger").
Audit trail (who changed what, when)	Medium, rises after any dispute	TS	P1	Records you can defend after an incident.
Kitchen hood suppression module (semi-annual cycles)	Medium: many extinguisher shops also do hoods (unverified)	D	P2	The first expansion line. Raises revenue per shop.
Emergency lighting and exit sign checks	Medium (unverified)	TS	P2	Cheap to add on the same asset model.
Sprinkler / alarm inspection (NFPA 25, 72)	Medium	X for you now	P2+	That's where ServiceTrade, Uptick and BuildingReports are strongest. Only for existing shops.
Backflow test module (assembly register, annual test, gauge calibration, portal packs)	Medium	D	P2	Module 3. It's the runner-up trade (02).
"NFPA compliance guaranteed" badge or claim	Asked for by marketing, not by owners	L	—	The contractor and the AHJ decide compliance. Never claim it.

4.2 Work, routes and people

Feature	Category	Priority	Notes
Job list from the due list (grouped by street or area)	TS	P0	Scheduling as a view on what's due.
Tech assignment and day view	TS	P0	Who goes where today.
Offline-first tech app (PWA) with clean sync	D	P0	Techs work where there's no signal.
Customer signature on completion	TS	P0
Time on site per job	TS	P1	Feeds pricing and payroll exports.
Route optimisation on a map	X	P2	Only for 8+ tech shops.
Crew payroll and timesheets	X	—	Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll. Export hours only.
Tech licence and certification expiry tracking	D	P1	Techs' certifications expire. Small, sticky and cheap to build (state rules unverified).

4.3 Money

Feature	Category	Priority	Notes
Deficiency → quote → approval → repair job	D	P1	Turns records into revenue. Track quoted, won and billed.
Invoices with Stripe payment links	TS	P0	Never hold customer funds.
QuickBooks Online sync (customers, invoices, payments)	TS	P1	Most small shops keep their books there (analyst assumption).
Price book (per unit type and service)	TS	P1
Contract / annual service agreement renewals	D	P1	Renewal reminders for recurring agreements.
"Revenue found" dashboard (units due, quoted, billed this month)	D	P1	The metric that renews the subscription.
Full accounting, bills, payroll	X	—	QuickBooks does it.
Payments marketplace or financing	L	—	Payments licensing and risk.

4.4 Inventory

Feature	Category	Priority	Notes
Van stock counts (units, agent, parts) with use-on-job deduction	TS	P1	Techs run out on site. Keep it simple.
Loaner / spare unit tracking	TS	P1	Loaners go missing. Tie them to a site.
Purchasing, supplier POs, multi-warehouse	X	—	ERP territory. Distributors have their own.
Rental inventory for events	X	—	Wrong trade.

4.5 Migration and onboarding (a differentiator in this category)

Feature	Category	Priority	Notes
CSV and spreadsheet import with column mapping	D	P0	Most shops start here.
Photo / PDF import of paper inspection sheets (AI extraction, human check, capped per plan)	D	P0	The task owners dread. Charge for very large archives.
Import from competitor exports (FireInspected, generic job apps)	D	P1	Only for tools your prospects actually use.
Done-for-you migration service by a person	D	P0 (first 20 shops)	You do it yourself. It's also discovery.
Recorded demo + onboarding checklist + weekly office hours	TS	P0	What makes ~15 hrs/week workable.

4.6 AI features (use sparingly)

Feature	Category	Priority	Notes
Extraction from paper sheets and old reports	D	P0	The one AI feature that saves real hours. Cap the cost.
Deficiency photo → suggested reason code	X now	P2	Nice demo, small gain.
AI chat over the shop's records ("what's due at Acme next month?")	X	P2	The due list already answers this.
AI "compliance advice" on NFPA rules	L	—	Wrong answers carry liability. Link to the standard instead.

4.7 Net effect

Of roughly 45 features, about 15 are real differentiators for this trade and about 15 belong in v1 (P0). Half of those P0s are table stakes done properly: scan, report, signature, invoice. The differentiators that win the sale are the asset register, the due-date engine, migration done for the shop, and the jurisdiction-ready reports. Everything else is either table stakes you add slowly or someone else's product (QuickBooks, Gusto, the portals) that you should integrate with, not rebuild.