26 Locations. 300 Devices. Zero Chaos: Go-Forth’s Reinvention with Rippling IT

The Problem

Go-Forth Home Services manages 26 locations across the Mid-Atlantic with a highly mobile workforce. Nearly all employees use company iPhones, and field technicians rely on seamless access to multiple systems — but their IT infrastructure was anything but seamless.

The team juggled Okta, JumpCloud, Bill.com, Divvy, Paylocity, and countless spreadsheets, creating a tangled web of manual processes with no single source of truth. Onboarding and offboarding were handled through a Google Sheet and broadcast emails to 10–15 people per hire. Someone would forget to check a box, and new hires showed up locked out of critical systems.

Device management was chaotic, with iPhones being tied to personal Apple IDs would get bricked and disappeared into the field with no visibility. There was no live inventory, and limited device management guardrails. Combined with the fact that security was a critical weak spot, with passwords living in spreadsheets and people getting added to systems manually with varying permission profiles, the organization was struggling to keep up with critical IT tasks. 

Josh Baker, Process Improvement Director, and his team spent 20–30 hours weekly firefighting — resetting access, chasing device issues, and cleaning up data drift from missed transitions. Strategic projects were on hold while the team wrestled with “I can’t log in” tickets.

The Solution

Go-Forth consolidated its entire IT stack into Rippling IT, bringing user management, device control, spend policies, and app provisioning under one roof.

• Automated onboarding & offboarding: Google accounts now spin up two days before start, apps provision the day before, and manager notifications, invites, and credentials all flow automatically based on role and location. Structured approval flows (manager → payroll/CFO) keep data clean and auditable.

• Deep Apple Business Manager integration: Pre-staged devices pull straight into Rippling, giving the team live visibility into their 300+ iPhones and Macs. Configuration “recipes” let Josh enforce policies — like blocking iCloud sync or pushing security settings — with a few clicks, no JSON needed.

• Unified provisioning: Key systems (FieldRoutes CRM, Unity/Fleet Complete, Podium) sync automatically through API workflows, ensuring every employee record stays up to date. Daily file transfers refresh their data warehouse for reconciliations and audits.

• Spend & security at scale: Rippling Spend introduced more nuanced controls than Divi/Bill.com — flagging spend patterns over time, setting conditional limits, and allowing freedom within a framework. Centralized password management and consistent guardrails improved their security posture for financial tools.

Meet Go-Forth

With 26 service locations spread across the Mid-Atlantic, Go-Forth Home Services manages multiple business lines including pest control, HVAC, plumbing, lawn care, christmas lights, and insulation. From their central headquarters, they coordinate field technicians, call center teams, and central operations. They manage their workforce and maintain the agility to scale during peak seasons. Despite creating exceptional customer experiences, their technology stack wasn't keeping pace with their growth ambitions.

Process Improvement Director Josh Baker knew something had to change when his team was spending more time on access issues than strategic initiatives. The breaking point? Watching 10–15 people scramble through email chains and spreadsheets just to onboard one person, while the iPhones meant for them sat bricked by personal Apple IDs.

Here's how Go-Forth transformed their IT operations with Rippling — and why Josh's colleagues now think he's "an IT genius."

How Go-Forth eliminated the 15-person onboarding scramble

Before Rippling, onboarding at Go-Forth was a manual relay race. A Google Sheet triggered broadcast emails to 10+ people across departments. Someone would forget to check a box. Access wouldn't get provisioned. Day one would arrive with the new hire locked out of critical systems.

Now, Rippling's automated workflows handle the entire process. Google accounts are generated two days before a new hire’s start date. App provisioning kicks in a day before. Manager notifications, calendar invites, and credentials all flow automatically based on role and location. 

The master spreadsheet? Gone. The broadcast emails? Mostly FYIs now.

"Two days before someone starts, Rippling spins up Google and the right apps," Josh explained. "Managers get the credentials, day-one invites land automatically, and the employee logs in through one place.”

The numbers tell the story: Onboarding is now 80% automated, requiring only two people instead of 15. During their busiest hiring season, Go-Forth had record onboarding volume with zero payroll issues and minimal IT noise, allowing their teams to work more efficiently.

How Go-Forth gained control of 300+ mobile devices

Managing a mobile workforce means managing mobile devices — and Go-Forth was losing that battle. iPhones tied to personal Apple IDs would get bricked. Devices would disappear into the field with no tracking. The limited MDM setup through JumpCloud offered minimal guardrails and zero visibility into their actual inventory.

Rippling's deep Apple Business Manager integration changed everything. Pre-staged devices now pull automatically into their system, creating a live inventory that shows exactly what's deployed, what's available, and what needs attention. During cleanup, they discovered 268 assigned devices and 94 unassigned ones they didn't even know existed.

The real game-changer? Configuration "recipes" that let Josh apply complex policies with simple checkboxes. 

Block iCloud sync to prevent data exfiltration? Check. Enforce security settings across the fleet? Check. Roll out new policies without memorizing JSON configurations? Check.

"The configuration 'recipes' are huge," Josh said. "I don't want to upload JSON or memorize arcane settings — I want checkboxes that target the right people. We roll out policies quickly and consistently without needing an IT specialist at every step."

How Go-Forth cut IT troubleshooting time by 83%

Before Rippling, Josh and his team were drowning in access requests and device issues. Twenty to thirty hours every week went to triaging "I can't access X" tickets, tracking down who owned what system, and manually fixing problems that should have been prevented in the first place.

The transformation goes beyond time savings. Onboarding processes, offboarding processes, and employee transitions like title changes, location moves and department shifts now follow structured approval flows through manager and CFO sign-offs. Data stays clean. Systems update automatically. Nothing slips through the cracks.

"Transitions that used to slip through the cracks are tracked and effectively-dated, so data stays clean and systems update when they should,” Josh explained. 

Rippling's unified provisioning extends to their critical field service platforms through API workflows and custom apps. FieldRoutes CRM, Unity/Fleet Complete, and Podium all sync automatically with the employee record. Daily scheduled file transfers keep their data warehouse refreshed for reconciliations and audits.

How Go-Forth plans to scale with confidence

With the day-to-day finally under control, Josh and his team have shifted from reactive to proactive. Instead of fighting fires, they're planning for scale, designing workflows and approval chains that will support Go-Forth's growth to $100M and beyond.

Key areas where Go-Forth continues to expand with Rippling:

Security at scale: Passwords are no longer stuck in spreadsheets, creating more convenient and secure access. Centralized visibility spans mobile and desktop. Every policy has guardrails that actually work.

Operational excellence: During peak season, the lack of complaints became Josh's favorite KPI. "The system is working. During our busiest hiring season, we had record onboarding volume, no payroll issues, and minimal noise. Honestly, the lack of complaints has become my KPI — it means the automation is doing its job."

Growing reputation: The transformation hasn't gone unnoticed. "Everybody thinks I'm an IT genius," Josh laughed, "but the truth is Rippling makes it simple. I'm a process guy, and with recipes, custom objects, and workflows, I can design outcomes without writing code or babysitting integrations."

Advanced spend controls: Their Rippling Spend policies offer more nuanced controls than their previous Bill.com and Divi setup. "We can allow freedom within a framework," Josh noted. "Flag patterns over time, set conditional limits, and keep people moving without losing oversight."

Looking ahead, Go-Forth has the infrastructure to match their ambitions. Manual processes that once consumed weeks now run automatically. Device chaos has become organized control. And Josh? He's finally free to work on strategic initiatives instead of access tickets.

"It feels like we finally have a real, repeatable process," he reflected. And for a company managing complexity across 26 locations, that's exactly what scaling looks like.