How Raw Fire & Security doubled revenue and team size in under 2 years

Based in Bristol, in the UK, Raw Fire & Security has been providing leading quality fire and security services, since 2017. As their operation grew, so did the challenges of staying organised: managing schedules, paperwork, and ensuring the team had the right information at the right time.

Directors Paul Williams, Harvey Russell, and Kevin Oakley knew it was time for a change. That’s when they decided to switch to Uptick's job management software.

Within two years, Raw Fire had doubled both its revenue and team size. Here's how Uptick helped them get there.

One system for everything

Director Kevin Oakley paints a vivid picture of the company's operations before Uptick:

“It was hectic. We were juggling Google Calendars for scheduling, Excel spreadsheets for tracking costs, and Google Drive for storing information. Everything was disjointed, and nothing was centralised."

After implementing Uptick, everything changed. They suddenly had a single, streamlined system that kept their entire operation in sync.

With everything in one place, Raw Fire’s team could focus on what they do best: delivering leading quality fire and security services without getting bogged down by admin work.

Growing the team

When Raw Fire first adopted Uptick, they had seven engineers and no admin staff. After two years on Uptick, they'd grown to a team of 15, while maintaining an efficient 5:1 engineer-to-office staff ratio.

"The engineers were doing everything behind the scenes to keep things running," adds Kevin. "Now, we’ve got office staff handling Uptick - inputting assets, running reports - so the engineers can focus on their job and being in front of the customer.”

Raw Fire has been able to grow at a healthy ratio of engineers to support staff, ensuring smooth operations without unnecessary overhead.

Empowering their engineers

For Raw Fire’s engineers, Uptick’s mobile app has been a game-changer.

“The app is brilliant," says Director Paul Williams. "Everything’s in one place. It tells you where to go, what time to be there, and who to speak to. The productivity is far superior to what we were doing before.”

It's also reduced the constant back-and-forth between engineers and management.

Kevin explains: “Before, all the information was in our heads. If the engineers had questions, they had to ask us. But with Uptick, everything is in the system. The internal notes and technician notes answer most of their questions before they even need to ask.

"That allows us to step away from the day to day operations, and then look at future revenue generation. That's been huge for us. It's something we've never managed to grasp. We've never managed to get to that position before Uptick."

Faster quotes, happier customers

Before Uptick, quoting jobs at Raw Fire was a slow and frustrating process.

Executive Assistant Maya Trueman explains: "It used to take two to three days to put a quote together. We had to use Excel, get supplier quotes, and manually piece everything together.‍

"Two hours is the longest it takes us now to send a quote. It’s so much faster."

This streamlined process has not only built trust with customers but also made it much easier for them to approve work and fully understand the value of Raw Fire's services.

Support that goes the extra mile

For Raw Fire, choosing the right software wasn’t just about the features. It was about having a product support team that had their back. From the start, Kevin says Uptick’s customer service stood out, making the onboarding process smooth and offering ongoing support that made the transition easy:

“Uptick's support is second to none. We email a question, and within 10–15 minutes, we get a response. One time, I asked for help, and 18 minutes later, I had a 17-minute video showing me exactly what to do. The level of detail was unbelievable.”

Kevin also says this kind of responsiveness and care gave Raw Fire full confidence in their decision to switch to Uptick. Whether it was a quick question or an in-depth walkthrough, the team always knew they could rely on expert support.

Considering making the switch?

Making a big change can feel overwhelming, but for Raw Fire, switching to Uptick was a no-brainer.

“People think it’s going to be painful to switch systems, but change is necessary if you want to grow," says Kevin. "If you want to double your revenue and double your team, you’re not going to do it unless you move to something like Uptick.”

Raw Fire’s journey is proof that with the right tools, scaling a business doesn’t have to be chaotic. Uptick has streamlined their operations, improved customer service, and given them the foundation to keep growing, without the growing pains.