“I didn’t know you offered that.”A customer
“I didn’t either!”The owner
Discover finds the work your customers already ask for that you turn away or never think to sell. It ranks what you could add with the people, trucks and gear you already have, cheapest to start first.
What customers asked for that we said no to
Example dataWater pools by the patio every time it rains.Work order notes · 12 months
The city sent a letter about my backflow test.Calls and emails · 12 months
Why is my water bill so high in July?Irrigation calls · 12 months
Can your crew hang our Christmas lights?Turned-away requests · 12 months
Sample numbers for the mock-up. The real app counts them from your company's own work orders, calls and emails. It reads only company phone lines, company inboxes and work orders, never crew members' personal phones.
Services you could add
Ranked by startup cost, fit with what your company already does, and how often customers ask. Pick one to see exactly what it takes.
Irrigation water checks
Run a sprinkler audit: catch cups, coverage, pressure and a new watering schedule. The same techs already open these systems twice a year.
Drainage fixes
Downspout extensions, regrading, French drains. Crews already dig and haul. Call OHIO811 before every dig.
Backflow testing
Test the device at the spring turn-on. One Class B certificate, one test kit.
Holiday lighting
Install late October to mid-December, take down after Christmas. Keeps crews working in the slow months. Ladder work; large displays may need an electrician.
Gutter cleaning
Add to fall cleanups when leaves come down. Ladders and stabilizers. Ask the insurance agent about ladder work.
Mosquito and tick control
Needs an Ohio commercial pesticide applicator license in the right category. If your company already holds one for turf, this may only add a category.
Nothing matches these filters. Try a higher startup limit.
Backflow testing
BY SPRING
One irrigation tech can carry a state certificate for lawn-irrigation backflow testing (Ohio Class B) after a 24-hour course and a state exam. The biggest gate is five years of qualifying experience. Every other barrier is money and paperwork.
Class B covers devices on lawn irrigation piping only. Anything else needs a Class A certificate.
What stands in the way
9 barriers · sorted by how hardYear one cost
EST| Item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| State application fee | OAC 1301:3-7-04 | $50 |
| State exam fee | OAC 1301:3-7-04 | $50 |
| Certificate fee (3 years) | OAC 1301:3-7-04 | $75 |
| 24-hour course | Published $625 (3 days) to $790 (36 hrs) | $625–790 |
| 5-valve test kit | Listed at $926.40 | $926 |
| Paid course and exam time | 4.5 days × 8 hrs × $28/hr sample wage | $1,008 |
| Insurance change | Ask the agent | Unknown |
| Water department filing fees | Per test, per city | Unknown |
| Known costs | EST, before insurance and filing | $2,734–2,899 |
After year one: calibration about $99 a year per gauge, and every three years an 8-hour refresher (published at $300) plus the $75 fee. The $28 wage is a sample. The owner fills in the real rate.
Time to first paid test
EST 8–12 weeksStriped bars are waits we don't control and haven't confirmed. Start by mid-January to be ready for spring turn-ons in April.
When it pays back
EST · move the slidersStartup uses the high end of known costs ($2,899). Filing fees and insurance are left out until they're known. Later years subtract calibration ($99). Nothing here is a quote.
FIT
The tester rides along on a visit your crew already makes. The same customers, the same truck and the same irrigation knowledge carry over. The risk is spring: turn-ons and tests land in the same weeks.
How it meshes with what we do now
Every irrigation customer has a backflow device on the system, and most cities want it tested every year.
Test at the spring turn-on. One trip, one invoice line, no extra drive time.
Irrigation techs already open and close these valves at turn-on and winterization. Testing adds the gauge, the procedure and the report.
One new kit per tester. Nothing else changes on the truck.
New: a signed report for every test, filed with each city on its own form and deadline.
Turn-ons already fill April. Testing adds minutes to each stop. The schedule needs room for it.
Spring turn-on
Bundle the test with the turn-on.
Winterization
The tech already knows each device. Fall visits can flag failed parts for a spring repair.
Repair and retest
A failed test becomes a repair job, then a retest.
Projects to bring it in-house
The builder drafted these from the barriers. Untick what you don't want. Anything that spends money waits for the owner's OK.
New price book item
DraftWhat others charge in Ohio
Published prices only, residential, per device. Most testers don't publish a price.
| Company | Area | Price |
|---|---|---|
| RDL Backflow Testers | Columbus suburbs | $55–70 |
| Backflow Guy | Columbus metro | $85–105 |
| Service My Lawn Sprinkler | Lorain County | $85 |
| Conserva Irrigation, Northern Ohio | Hudson, Solon | In $355/yr plan |
From Backflow (ABC) market research, seen 2026-10-16. Re-check before setting a price.
Where these facts come from
Checked 2026-10-19 unless noted. In the real builder each fact keeps its source and date and is re-checked before money is spent.
- Ohio Department of Commerce, Backflow Technician Certification (classes, five years, fees, 70% pass, renewal): com.ohio.gov
- Ohio Administrative Code chapter 1301:3-7 (classes, experience, 24-hour course, exam, fees, renewal, discipline): codes.ohio.gov
- OAC 1301:3-7-06, approved training agencies: codes.ohio.gov
- Ohio Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control Manual, revised 2019-03-25: dam.assets.ohio.gov
- KOI Training, certification class, $625, three days, needs the state approval letter: koi-training.com
- Operator Training Committee of Ohio, 36-hour course $790, 8-hour refresher $300: otco.org
- Transcat, Mid-West Instrument 845-5 test kit, $926.40: transcat.com
- Backflow Parts USA, test gauge calibration, $99: backflowpartsusa.com
- Turf Magazine, 2013, Ohio's limited irrigation certificate for contractors: turfmagazine.com
- Irrigation Association, Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor: exam $250 member / $495 non-member, renewal and 20 CEUs every two years: irrigation.org
- Total Landscape Care, Adding holiday lighting service (2012): franchise about $7,000, labor margins 15 to 45%, season dates: totallandscapecare.com
- Ohio State University Pesticide Education, commercial licensing: $35 a year to ODA, recertify every 3 years: pested.osu.edu
- OHIO811, the safe digging process: dig notice at least 48 hours ahead (weekends and holidays not counted), free: oups.org
- Ohio published test prices: Backflow (ABC) research file docs/research/ohio-backflow-prices-and-irrigation-companies.md, 2026-10-16