Finding the right field service management solution can feel like an overwhelming challenge…

There are so many software solutions out there, and many will tout the same features that are designed to help your business.

The question of which software is best, however, will only be helpful once you know the features you need.

Perhaps you’re already asking some of these questions:

  • Where do my team need most support?
  • What software integrations do we need to have?
  • What functionality would we find useful as we grow?

Perhaps that means you need software that can help with sales, finance, or maybe inventory management?

It’s important to understand your needs before choosing any old job management software solution so that you can be more confident in the solutions you eventually compare.

To help you get started, we’ve listed 10 essential field service management solutions you should look for to support your business.

These features (great and small) will help improve efficiency, save you money, and delight your customers.

Let’s explore them below:

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Top 10 Field Service Management Solutions Features:

Intelligent Scheduling

Intelligent scheduling:

  • Helps you fit more jobs into the day.
  • Offers customers shorter service times and smaller service windows.
  • Helps you save on fuel and maintenance costs for your service vehicles by generating the most efficient routes.

If you’re using a manual scheduling tool, or automated scheduling that simply picks the closest field technician, your business performance and customer satisfaction rates could be taking a hit. What you need is intelligent scheduling.

Ben Smye, Capterra

If you’re looking for new field service solutions, make sure it has an intelligent job scheduling feature that will help you increase productivity. 

Real-time Reporting & Analytics

The benefits of an all-in-one management system means all your data is in one place. It gives you a single, focused source of truth that helps businesses to better understand their business, thanks to a wealth of data and analytics.

The best analytics solution will come from software that makes use of data in real-time and presents information clearly, even at a glance, thereby giving your team information they can act on immediately.

With automated reports on your work orders, to overseeing your company finances, decision makers can make confident, data-backed choices that help everyone to work more efficiently.

Digital Signature Capture

Going paperless has been a big trend in the last few years.

But even if a field service management solution offers paperless tools—like certificates, estimates, and billing—if you can’t capture digital signatures on-site it will put a big crimp in your workflow.

So when you’re on the search for better field service solutions, make this one of the features you ask for.

Digital Forms

Smart businesses know how important it is to develop a signature color, logo, and style. So don’t let your carefully developed brand unravel by sending customers generic documents!

Make this opportunity the moment you create a coherent, consistent brand image by insisting on a field service solution that lets you add your branding to invoices, purchase orders, appointment confirmations, service reminders, and certificates.

Digital forms software should empower you easily create attractive PDF templates of these documents to send to your customers.

GPS Tracking for Fleet Management

The biggest customer complaint about field service businesses is late technicians.

Even if a technician isn’t late, customers don’t like being in the dark about when the technician will arrive.

That’s why a top FSM software feature is a GPS tracking, supported by fleet management software.

With this tool, software sends an Uber-style link so the customer can see the technician’s route to their location and the current ETA. And for your own team, they can easily track where engineers are, visualising their location on a live map.

Look for a technician tracking software that gives customers the ability to access all the technicians’ information, like pictures or ID, so they’ll know exactly who will be showing up.

Research from Heating & Plumbing Monthly shows that a third of women are too trusting of tradesmen—so letting customers know who the technician is, and what their credentials are, increases customer safety and trust.

Phone System Integrations

A good field service solution will integrate with your email communication platforms like MailChimp, Outlook, and Gmail. This way you can work on your strategy to get positive reviews.

But what about your phone communications?

In an article for Field Technologies Online, Ivan Moore of Jolt Consulting Group says customers dislike having to repeat information they’ve already provided via your interactive voice response system.

Not only that, Moore says, but failing to pre-populate your FSM system with the customer’s records based on their phone number creates friction and frustration.

That’s what makes an integration with a phone system a key FSM feature.

This will bring up a window with all the relevant customer data whenever a customer calls—so your office staff will always know who’s calling and why, and be able to serve them right away.

Photos & Videos

One of the most important reasons to use a field service management solution is to easily show customers proof of work and labor.

The digital trail [is] one of the most powerful utilities that keeps businesses and their employees safe from legal liability in a number of ways.

Technology Advice,

The ability to take photos and attach multiple files to an estimate or work order is a feature to look for in your field service solutions.

Open API

A full set of integrations to the software you already use—such as QuickBooks, Stripe, and Gmail—helps you get up and running without too steep a learning curve, and boosts buy-in from your staff.

But what if you use an app that doesn’t integrate with any of the field service solutions you’re considering?

That’s where an open, extensive API (Application Programming Interface) comes in: It lets you integrate your core business apps with your FSM software.

That’s why, when Capterra compiled their list of the top 20 most user-friendly field service solutions, one of the criteria they considered was open API.

Be sure the solution you choose offers this feature, and you’ll reap the benefits of a streamlined workflow and ease of use with the apps you already know.

Real-Time Scheduling Optimization

We’re sure you’ve experienced this. A customer cancels at the last minute, or a technician doesn’t have the right tools for the job. So you’re scrambling to redo the entire job schedule. 

A feature that handles schedule changes on the fly can help you get right back on track. This feature suggests an adjustment to the office staff; if it’s approved, the software automatically updates the technician’s calendar.

Supplier Database

You probably already track your customers.

So level up your business by looking for a field service solution that also lets you track your suppliers.

A supplier-tracking feature shows your purchase orders and money owed and lets you quickly request and compare parts prices.

Streamlining your supplier management will let you do jobs faster, which makes both you and your customers happier.

Choosing the Best Field Service Management Solution

Happy with these features?

We’d recommend exploring our blog that can get you started comparing different job management software that’s on the market.

You’ll find Commusoft has everything your business needs to manage jobs, stock, engineers, and SO much more.

You can explore more of our features by clicking here, dive into our competitor comparison article, or book a call with our sales team to learn more, too.

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