What are the benefits of using field service management software?

If you are still using spreadsheets or sticky notes, it's good to understand the benefits of using field service management software. There are opportunities to eliminate the hard work and make things easier with simple workflows; improve work for field service technicians and drive employee retention, improve communication and customer experience, and eliminate errors that get created when manually tracking information and numbers.

In our Guide for Selecting the Right Small Business Field Service Management Software, we highlighted the top pain points that drive business owners to want field service software. We didn't highlight the benefits, which we'll do below. We also discuss how you should measure that benefit in your business, to help you think about what to prioritize in your software selection.

Benefits of using field service software

Improve data security and access of your business

Software these days has gone to the cloud, meaning it's all web-based and you can access your account and data from any computer or device. Field Service Software as a Service (SaaS) is widely favored over desktop software for a number of reasons.

1. Your data is more secure stored in a SaaS application that relies on industry leading best practices.
2. If your computer crashes or is lost, all of the critical business information is lost.
3. Access to all of this information from anywhere is critical, especially with teams out in the field, or employees that sit in other offices.
4. Let's face it, oftentimes you aren't working in your office.
5. SaaS software seamlessly updates with new features and upgrades, making sure you are always working with the latest version.

The debate between SaaS and desktop software is decades old and pretty much resolved. The benefit of field service management software, specifically cloud-based, is huge.

Simplify field service management workflows and time spent managing the business

Whether you are a sole proprietor or an owner with employees in the office and out in the field, the benefits of pulling all your critical functions into one field service management application are huge. Your workflows cut across answering the phone, scheduling estimates and following-up on them. When the deal is closed, you need to find available technicians, schedule the jobs based on their location and manage lots of communication with the customer. Lastly, once the job is complete, you need to send invoices, track receivables, and enable payments. Without a solution, you could be using email, SMS, Excel spreadsheets, Word docs, calendar reminders, sticky notes and depositing checks. There is no way to keep track of it all. With field service SaaS, a simple dashboard provides you visibility, alerts, and allows you to see all the activity moving through your business. The benefit of field service management software on your business workflows will create peace of mind.

Get more from your field service technicians (and reduce turnover)

You are only as good as the quality of the job and your employees out in the field in front of customers. If you don't have a good team, your business will suffer. With field service management software, the benefit to your employees is immeasurable. It helps them keep track of their schedule, use GPS tracking to route their jobs, easily add notes and track communications with customers, and access critical information that makes their job easier. Field service technicians are looking to work at companies that invest in these tools and make their lives easier and enable them to do better work for customers. If you don't do this, you risk employee turnover. The other benefit is you get more efficient scheduling and more productivity from your field service technician team, leading to more jobs and revenue. The benefit of field service management software is efficiency and reduced employee turnover.

Create a better service experience for your clients

The field service industry is notorious for creating bad experiences with clients. No returned phone calls, waiting for estimates, uncertainty on when the job can get started or completed, poor communication, payment confusion and more. The benefits of field service management in addressing the variables that are in your control are significant. Many systems have a customer portal, providing the customer with a place to view all of their communication, estimates, invoices, payments and more. Additionally, GPS mobile apps can alert clients to the technician location and arrival time. And, contactless, online payments on site on the job allow for safe processing of payments and not having to mail checks and make sure payments get handled. The field service technician is better prepared and empowered to deal with all their needs, and the system helps you stay up on service, contracts, seasonal work and more.

Field service management software compatible with QuickBooks®(or others) eliminates errors

There is nothing worse than running the business in your field service SaaS app, and then having to transfer all the customers, invoices, and payments into your QuickBooks® Online or Desktop solution. It takes time, it's highly error-prone and it's tiring. Integrating your field service management software with an accounting system has all kinds of benefits. It saves you time, eliminates errors, reduces costs spent on accounting, and if your internal staff (or yourself) are doing it, it can free up time to focus on revenue producing activities, customers or having a life on the weekends!

If you want to further explore the benefits of field service management software, G2 review site has content further exploring the benefits from their point of view. Access more guidance in our Guide for Selecting the Right Small Business Field Service Management Software