Field service management software streamlines operations, improves customer service, increases employee productivity, and saves money and time across a business. It’s an invaluable tool for companies offering in-home and mobile appointments, but not all field service management software is created equally.
Here are ten features to look for to find the best field service management software for your small business.
The best field service management software has employee scheduling to make assigning jobs easier. Using scheduling software to organize your service providers ensures the right technicians are given the right job, and your administrators don’t have to sift through a pile of paper schedules to find an available employee every time a new booking comes in.
Ideally, your chosen field service management software should also have an online booking option so customers can schedule their own service appointments online, 24/7. This allows you to automate employee scheduling by letting customer bookings populate schedules as they come in.
Travel zones are an essential field service software feature for mobile service businesses. They allow you (or your providers) to dictate how far they will travel for mobile appointments for complete control over when and where you offer services.
To be an effective tool for your roving workforce, the best field service management software should have a mobile app that makes operating on the move easier. The app should let your service providers access customer booking information, manage upcoming appointments, track hours, and update job statuses.
If the software doesn’t have a mobile app, but you’re sold on all the other features, make sure the web interface is mobile-friendly so your team can still access the information they need to operate efficiently from anywhere.
Another key feature of field service software is customer management (also known as a CRM). The best field service management software lets you track customer purchase history to make informed, personalized marketing decisions, reward loyalty, and reengage inactive customers. It should also allow customers to create accounts and store their information for faster checkouts and an easier way to rebook service appointments.
If your field service management software has online booking (which it should), it’s essential that the software also supports online payments. The fast, secure, and convenient way to pay for service appointments is the preferred payment method of 83% of customers.
Integrated payment options will also save your team hours creating, sending, and chasing invoices and ensure you never have a late payment again. Online payments also make tracking revenue and monitoring cash flow more manageable because you can generate reports and pull data instantly.
One of the benefits of running your business with field service management software is that you have easy access to information on everything from customer purchase history to provider performance and refunds issued. With that in mind, the best field service software should have reporting capabilities to give you the insights you need to make data-driven decisions about your service business and drive growth.
If you run other software that won’t be replaced with an all-in-one field service management software, integrations might be an important feature to look for. At the very least, you should be able to download files that can be uploaded to other software, e.g., employee time logs for payroll software.
Some software options will work with you to build integrations, so if you don’t see the one you need advertised on their website, it’s still worth reaching out to sales to ask.
When you’re storing sensitive customer data, choosing field service software with the right security is essential. Depending on your industry, you might need specific security measures to comply with industry regulations, e.g., home healthcare businesses. Still, for the most part, any reputable field service software has adequate security levels to keep customer data safe.
A field service management software can have all the features under the sun, but if it’s not easy to use, it will result in a bad customer experience and more admin work for your team. To find a user-friendly field service software, read reviews on Capterra and, if possible, sign up for a free trial to test it out for yourself.
The last feature is optional and will depend on whether your business needs to monitor inventory health. But if you sell products alongside services, inventory management can be a helpful feature to look for.
MarketBox is the first appointment management software designed specifically for businesses offering in-home and mobile appointments. More than just a field service software, the all-in-one platform makes it easy to get booked online, coordinate service providers, process payments, and more, all from one place.
Book a personalized demo to learn more.
Learn how to handle customer complaints in your med spa
Read StoryFind how to stop clients canceling medical appointments in your healthcare practice
Read StoryDiscover the features to look for and the factors to consider when comparing EHR software
Read Story