6 Ways To Boost Your Business Efficiency With Field Service Apps
With the hands-on nature of the business, home service operations have fallen behind the astronomic standards other industries have spoiled customers with. E-commerce giants offer same-day deliveries, people can stream their favorite content on demand, and data has allowed brands to predict what consumers want before they even realize it. It’s challenging to meet those expectations. Thankfully, business solutions have emerged to level the playing field.
This article discusses what field service apps are, what they can do, and how they boost your business efficiency.
What is a field service app?
As the name suggests, a field service app is a digital business solution for field service businesses, such as food delivery, plumbing, and HVAC services. It streamlines business operations with features that can include the following:
- Mobile field service management
- Scheduling and dispatching
- Automation
- Client management
Using a field service app is an excellent way to modernize business operations traditionally reliant on phone calls and text messages. The app benefits the industry both ways since it provides operational efficiency and transparency to the business, while clients get the convenience they’ve come to expect.
Below are six ways this digital business solution can boost your efficiency and help grow your business.
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Client management
Field service apps provide a database for all relevant client information, including
- Past quotes
- Job orders
- Invoices
- Billing history
You can pull data up anytime, which makes site visits and phone calls more efficient. The software even provides a filterable search feature, so you can find what you need when you need it. This feature also doubles as a CRM, offering meaningful insights that allow you to personalize services to impress customers and encourage referrals and repeat business.
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Scheduling and dispatching
A field technician usually spends more or less an hour taking care of paperwork between jobs, which only leads to delays. When there’s an emergency repair, a dispatcher must contact available field technicians to search for the nearest one who can handle the emergency situation. Once they assign a field technician, they need to give them instructions on the new work order.
But all these won’t be necessary with field service automation software for electrical contractors, commonly called electrical contracting software.
Field service apps like this software allow managers to schedule jobs and dispatch workers with just a few clicks. In addition, these tools have a user-friendly layout you can customize according to status and urgency. Their logical interface makes it easy for managers and team members to visualize their week, wherever they may be.
The software provides a clear view of employee availability, avoiding over, under, and the dreaded double booking. Plus, both team members and clients can get a notification about job details.
Overall, field service apps eliminate messy paperwork, minimize confusion, and reduce unnecessary phone calls—all of which are transformative for the industry.
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Online booking
In this digital-centric age, online booking might be what customers will appreciate the most. Apart from being able to book jobs from your website or app, field service solutions offer integrations to other channels like your Facebook page. This efficient process eliminates the need for multiple calls or email exchanges before customers can schedule a job.
Moreover, field service apps can send automated quotes for customer approval once customers fill out the online job form. This is peak efficiency for the field service industry.
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Customer communications
Speaking of unnecessary phone calls, field service apps reduce this problem with automated text and emails regarding appointments and job details. You can schedule automated messages, tailoring them to your workflow.
When customers don’t see the messages, they can view all relevant details in the app’s client hub and request any necessary changes. On top of that, they can view other job details in the client hub, such as the team member scheduled for the job and their name and photo.
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Payment processing
The field service industry requires steady cash flow for daily expenses like gas and materials. As such, you can’t always afford to wait for checks to clear. Field service apps address this concern with convenient payment processing options.
For example, some apps provide a credit card reader, allowing your clients to pay right when you finish the job. They can also store clients’ credit card details for even more convenient payment processing.
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Automation
Field service apps integrate automation across all the processes mentioned above. To review, these could include the following:
- Quotes
- Appointment reminders
- Job alerts
- Invoices
- Follow-ups
- Reports
The software even provides a view of all relevant business areas where managers can see things, like pending and late invoices, employee performance, expenses, and other financial details. Having an overview helps inform decisions and promotes transparency across the entire organization.
Final words
A field service app can transform the way you do business. And the great thing about it is everyone—managers, team members, and customers—all feel the benefits of its suite of features. With increased efficiency across the board, field service apps can save businesses thousands of dollars a month, making them a worthy investment that’ll make you wonder how you ever got on without one.
Author bio:
Liam Gafford has been in the contracting business for over a decade. He shares his industry knowledge by producing content designed to help small business owners. In his free time, Liam enjoys carving canyons aboard his motorcycle.