These answers cover the questions we hear most, from owners using the free tools and from those thinking about hiring us. The short version: the worksheets are free, paid help is month-to-month, you own everything, and we will not promise what nobody can promise. The longer answers are in the list below, and a few topics deserve more space here.
Frequently asked questions
What does it cost to use the worksheets?
Nothing. Every tool and guide on Trades.Tools is free to read and print, with no account, download or sign-up.
What does paid help cost?
Paid work runs through Trades.Agency plans from $1,999 a month on month-to-month terms, or $1,499 a month billed annually, in Canadian dollars plus GST/HST for your province (GST and QST in Quebec). Ad spend paid to Google or other platforms is separate.
Is there a long-term contract?
No. You pay one month at a time and give 30 days' notice if you want to stop. Paying annually is optional and simply lowers the monthly rate.
How long before marketing changes show results?
Tracking gives useful data in two to three months. Ad changes can show in booked jobs within the first month or two. Local SEO work usually takes three to six months to move rankings in a competitive city. Seasonal trades should judge over a full season.
We tried an agency before and it didn't work. Why would this be different?
We cannot promise it will be. What we can do is report every month on booked jobs and cost per booked job, against the same worksheets you can check yourself. If the numbers are not working, you will see it as clearly as we do, and you can leave on 30 days' notice.
Who owns the website, ad accounts and Google profile?
You do. Your domain, website, ad accounts, Google Business Profile, analytics and tracking data belong to your business, and stay with you if you leave.
What reports will I get?
A monthly report built around the ROI worksheet: leads by source, booked jobs by source, cost per booked job, and how that compares with your break-even from the job value worksheet. Clicks and impressions are supporting detail only.
Can you promise more leads or a first-page ranking?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. Rankings and leads depend on your market, competitors and many things outside anyone's control. We commit to honest work and honest reporting.
Do you work with my trade?
The worksheets work for any trade or home-service business that sells jobs: plumbing, electrical, HVAC, roofing, landscaping, painting, renovation and more. Our published case studies are from HVAC work, and we say so.
Are you a contractor?
No. Trades.Tools is a marketing and business consulting service for trades and home-service businesses. We do not install, repair or service anything, and we do not give technical, safety or code advice.
Do you work outside British Columbia?
Yes. We are headquartered in Vancouver but work with trades businesses across all ten provinces and the three territories, consulting by video call, in person, phone, text or email.
Why are there no contact boxes or chat on the site?
We keep contact simple: call, text or email, and you reach a person. No forms or chat widgets, and nothing collected from you unless you choose to send it.
Can I send you a filled-in worksheet to look at?
Yes. Take a clear photo of it and text or email it with a line about what you are trying to decide. It is the fastest way to start a useful conversation.
About the free tools
The four tools are a job value worksheet, a marketing ROI worksheet, an ad budget worksheet and a 40-line local SEO checklist. Each one has the formula in plain words, a worked example with invented numbers, and blank tables to fill in.
People often ask why we did not build calculators. The answer is that a calculator hides the reasoning. When you write the numbers in yourself, you notice that one channel's booking rate is half another's, or that a job type you advertise heavily barely leaves a margin. Those are the observations that change decisions.
About cost and contracts
Paid help is delivered through Trades.Agency. The pricing page lists the three plans, the annual-billing prices and the terms. It also includes a break-even calculation you can run on us, using your own job value, before you decide anything.
We encourage owners to do that calculation honestly. If your average job leaves very little gross profit, a monthly plan may not pay for itself yet, and the free tools are the better choice for now.
About results and promises
We publish only real, named results from our HVAC work on the results page, and we are clear that they are HVAC results. We do not quote them as predictions for other trades.
What we promise is method and transparency: every number in our reports traces back to an invoice, an ad bill or a call record, and estimates are labelled as estimates. That is the same standard the worksheets hold you to.
About working across Canada
We work with trades businesses in every province and territory, and the worksheets apply everywhere. What changes from region to region are the inputs: how long your busy season lasts, which job types dominate, and which rules affect your advertising. In Quebec, for example, French-language requirements change what your ads and website must contain, which changes the budget. Each province and territory page explains how to adjust the worksheets for that region, with links to the regulators and programs that matter.
About who does the work
You deal with a senior strategist, not a junior account manager reading from a template. The person who reads your worksheet is the person who talks you through it. We meet by video call or in person, or work by phone, text and email, and there is no software for you to learn. All you need is your own records and, ideally, a pencil.
We are a marketing and business consulting service. We do not do trade work of any kind, and we will not comment on how a job should be done, priced for code purposes or inspected. If your question is about the trade rather than the marketing, the regulator or your trade association is the right place to ask.
About the numbers we ask for
Owners sometimes worry about sharing invoices or ad accounts. You do not have to share anything to use the free tools, and for a first conversation, rough figures are enough. If you hire us, we ask only for what the worksheets need: job totals, marketing costs and where leads came from. We do not need your bank statements or payroll records, and anything you send is used only for your own analysis.
About getting started
The quickest start is to fill in the job value worksheet, even roughly, and send us a photo of it. If you would rather talk first, call or text (604) 632-4959 or email Ali@Sedighi.ca. The contact page explains what to include and what happens next.