Running a successful field service business doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes patience, good teamwork, a lot of effort, and the right use of the best tools you can get. When it comes to tools, we’re of course talking about field service software.

If you run on spreadsheets and emails, and feel increasingly overwhelmed with the workload, it might be time to switch to a better system. If you feel like you and your team don’t have the time to change your ways of working, you definitely want to check out these 5 reasons on why it’s essential for field service business to use software.

Spoiler: Happier teams, more jobs and thus a more successful business.

Are you ready? Let’s dig in!

1. Easier Work Scheduling for your team

Your technicians want to get the job done, and not waste time travelling back and forth between the job site and the office. When you use sophisticated job management software, you can give work details through mobile applications without needing installers to take phone calls or come back to the back office.

Proper work scheduling also ensures that an appropriate amount of time is allocated to the job, thus helping you manage overruns. This makes it easier to track which tasks are running behind and where you can almost call it a day.

All in all, communication gets that much easier, because if you’ve got a single source of truth that anyone can access, regardless if they use a computer, tablet or smartphone. This also allows you to quickly change installer or other details for jobs, without any confusion or lost information.

2. Going digital eliminates paperwork

We use our smartphones for virtually anything and everything - why not make the most out of this powerful device for fieldwork too? Most field service software providers allow attachments when filling out forms. This makes it easier for installers to fill out forms on-site with their mobiles and saves them time with paperwork. One of the biggest benefits of this practice is that your technicians don’t need to bring their work home with them. This also means that installers can fill out the forms as they work, leaving nothing to memory.

Another benefit of digitising your admin is that there’s no chance of losing data due to damaged, or missing forms. This means that data quality is maintained, and helps you and your team make better business decisions. Your Back Office can see changes being made to the digital forms instantly. No need to wait for the installer to come back.

Another benefit is that digitalised paperwork needs no physical storage space. Fewer expenses because of a smaller office space = more money in the bank.

3. Reliable performance measuring

With digitised data, it becomes a joy to track performance, allowing your team to identify problems to fix and areas of improvement. Above all, with a top-down view of the progress for every single job, you can determine where your business currently is in terms of delivery of contracts. KPI’s are easily measured, and it makes it that much easier to meet Service-Level-Agreements.

4. Better Inventory Management & Resource Allocation

Keeping track of your inventory can easily cost several hours a week for your team. You might suddenly realise that you’re out of supplies, and have to cancel jobs. Field service software makes it easier to see stock levels in the warehouse and allows your back office team to order more before you run out.

Apart from inventory, you might need to plan ahead for speciality tools to a specific job. This allows proper tracking, and leaves a digital trail for who has which tools.

Finally, invoicing gets that much easier if you’ve got a digital system in place already, as all the items used are recorded. Most field software offers inbuilt invoicing functionality or integrations with external invoicing and accounting software such as Xero. They can be added automatically with an autogenerating invoice.

5. Easier Collaboration means happier teams

Keeping all the messages in a single, persistent workspace removes any possible confusion for you, your back office team or your technicians. The reduction of this confusion in the workplace also reduces rework by your team.

All the communication in one tool also means that your staff can always be on the ball in terms of what is required of them. Everyone is aware of how busy a particular team member might be, making it easier to reallocate work.

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There you have it. Five good reasons why the right job management software will improve your performance, and most importantly, boost the happiness of your team.

If you’re looking for a field service software that can be tailor-made to your business needs, contact us at Emvisage.com/demo. Emvisage is a field workflow software created for businesses with highly complex workflows, such as solar & battery installers.