Moving and storage
SmartMoving integrations and automation for moving companies
SmartMoving has an open API on its Growth plan, but it does not build custom integrations. Its own documentation says implementation is your team's responsibility. I am the CTO of WNY Moving and a co-founder of Semres, and I build the integrations moving and storage companies need on top of SmartMoving: books that stay current on their own, customer emails at every stage of the move, realtor outreach, and dashboards.
- Built by
- CTO of WNY Moving, co-founder of Semres
- Works with
- SmartMoving and Chariot Move
- Most first builds
- 2 to 6 weeks
- You own
- The code, the accounts, the docs
What I build for moving and storage companies
Books that sync themselves
Jobs flow from SmartMoving into a back-end portal over webhooks and the API, so the books are always current with zero manual entry. This replaced WNY Moving's Excel bookkeeping.
Customer emails at every stage
Pre-move prep, a day-of confirmation, and post-move follow-up, timed to each job and sent with no staff involved.
Realtor prospecting
New listings pulled from the USA Home Listings API and checked against existing contacts so nobody gets a duplicate, then the listing agent gets a personal intro sequence. Some include a custom video from ownership, filled in with the listing's details.
Referral partner pipelines
Once a realtor responds, they move into a managed pipeline with follow-ups and partner onboarding, so referral relationships keep building in the background.
Storage jobs logged on-site
Staff log a job in under a minute, the customer signs digitally, and the invoice is generated and emailed automatically. Built for 4.0 Storage.
Reporting across the business
Live analytics across customers, realtors, and leads in one place, instead of a spreadsheet someone rebuilds every week.
Semres or a custom build?
Semres is the product version of this work. It maps SmartMoving and Chariot Move into one data model and runs customer drip emails, realtor prospecting, referral partner management, and lead prospecting for any moving company on the platform. If what you need is on that list, start with Semres.
Custom work through Octavian Ideas is for what is specific to your company: a bookkeeping portal, a storage workflow, a dashboard built around your numbers, or an integration Semres does not cover.
When this is the right call, and when it is not
A good fit if
- You run SmartMoving or Chariot Move and still re-key jobs into spreadsheets or accounting.
- Customer emails and realtor follow-ups depend on someone remembering to send them.
- You run storage alongside moving, and the storage side still lives in Excel.
Probably not a fit if
- Everything you need is already in Semres. Use Semres.
What SmartMoving's API includes
The Open API is available on SmartMoving's Growth plan, in two tiers. Webhooks let automation react the moment a job changes, and they only come with Premium.
| Compared on | Basic | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $149 a month |
| Access | Read-only, for reporting and data extraction | Full read, create, update, and delete |
| Webhooks | No | Yes |
| Calls per month | 20,000 | 125,000 |
| Good for | Dashboards and reporting | Automation and two-way sync |
The straight answer
Separately, the Lead API is free on every SmartMoving plan, and it is how leads from your own website forms or lead providers get into SmartMoving. For anything that should happen the moment a job changes, plan on the Premium tier.
From SmartMoving's Open API documentation, updated August 5, 2026 and checked September 29, 2026. Plans and prices can change.
Builds that shipped
What was there before, what got built, and what changed.
WNY Moving
Moving and storage
Full back-end automation and operations infrastructure for a moving company that was running its books in Excel.
4.0 Storage
Student storage
Took a student storage business that ran on spreadsheets and rebuilt its operations as a self-running system.
Semres
Moving industry software
One integration and automation layer that sits between a moving company's CRM and its entire customer lifecycle, so the growth work runs without a dedicated ops hire.
How a build actually goes.
The same five steps on every engagement, so you always know what happens next and what it costs before it happens.
- I
Discovery call
Thirty minutes on how the business actually runs. What the team touches by hand, what breaks, and what nobody has time to fix. No slides and no pitch deck.
- II
Process mapping
I sit with the people doing the work and write down what actually happens, step by step. The real bottleneck is usually somewhere nobody flagged on the call.
- III
Proposal with hours
A fixed scope. Every piece listed with the hours it takes and what it costs. You approve the number before anything gets built.
- IV
Build with approval gates
Work ships in pieces and you sign off on each one. No multi-month black box, and no finding out at the end that it solves the wrong problem.
- V
Handoff
You get the code, the accounts, and written documentation covering how it works, what it touches, and what to do when something looks wrong. It runs without me.
- Optional
Then, if you want it, a retainer
Most clients keep me on a flat monthly retainer after handoff for monitoring, fixes, and small changes. It is optional, and everything is built so you are not stranded if you skip it.
Questions about moving and storage
Do I need SmartMoving's Premium API tier?
For anything real time, usually yes. Webhooks, which let SmartMoving push an update the moment a job changes, only come with Premium. Read-only reporting can run on the free Basic tier, which also requires the Growth plan. Check SmartMoving's current plans before you commit, since pricing can change.
Do you work with CRMs other than SmartMoving?
Yes. Semres already maps Chariot Move alongside SmartMoving, and most moving CRMs with an API can be connected the same way.
Is this the same thing as Semres?
No. Semres is the product, built once for the whole industry. Custom work is for what is specific to your company. Plenty of moving companies will only ever need Semres.
Can you replace our Excel bookkeeping?
Yes. That is what the WNY Moving build did: the Excel books were replaced by a portal that syncs from SmartMoving, so they are always current with no manual entry.