The field service management industry is thriving and shows no signs of slowing. The global field service market is expected to grow from 3 billion in 2020 to 5.1 billion by 2025.
To secure your seat on this speedily train, it’s vital that you have the right tools at your disposal to properly manage your complex set of daily processes – from handling inbound service orders and assigning these to your available field techs to keeping a strong line of communication with your entire workforce and tracking work progress in real-time while they’re out in the field.
Check out our top 10 picks for the best field service management software to get a clear picture of what’s available and to assist you in finding one that best suits your small business needs and budget.
What is Field Service Management Software?
Field service management (FSM) software enables businesses to manage and communicate with their mobile workforce while they are on the job. The field service management software improve employee productivity and customer experience by allowing constant contact between field personnel and their dispatch office, providing access to customer information, service histories, scheduling tools, and an organization-wide knowledge base.
Field service management systems manage workflows by reducing paperwork, dealing with dispatch issues, flagging urgent requests, matching technician skills to task requirements, and tracking optimized routes to control fuel consumption. Plumbing companies, cleaning/maid services, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) companies are the most common users of these systems.
Benefits of Field Service Management Software
#1. Improved Customer Satisfaction:
Field service management software promote team member coordination, allowing the business to reduce service request repose times. Managers can improve customer service by identifying the field technician who can be at a client’s location the quickest and has the knowledge and abilities to solve client questions/issues.
#2. Visibility of Real-Time Information
A business can use a field service management software to track worker location, client history, job status, and asset information in real time, allowing operations to run more smoothly. If a worker is unavailable, this information can be communicated across office staff members to reassign jobs or postpone appointments.
#3. Automation of Activities
Routine business tasks such as invoice and quote creation, time and attendance tracking, client communication, and recurring job management are all automated by field service management software. This automation minimizes inefficiency in the event that customer requirements change, and it frees managers up to focus on team productivity.
What Features Do Field Service Management Software Have?
- Dispatching: Assign customer service requests to field personnel and follow their location in real time.
- Phone access: Workers can take images, read onsite barcodes, and view efficient routes to work. They can also capture client signatures and provide dynamic pricing for parts.
- Scheduling: Allows you to prioritize jobs and allocate them to technicians using a drag-and-drop interface. Users can configure task allocation rules and sync data to view job status.
- Management of Work Order: To create, assign, reassign, or delete work orders, use predefined templates. After performing the assignment, technicians can gain customer approval.
- Database Contact: A searchable database including client information and information regarding serviceable equipment. Users can create custom fields to meet their own business needs.
- In-the-field Payment Collection: Accepts online payments through integration with payment processing providers.
- Tracking Service History: Tracks the service history of customer equipment to assist technicians in troubleshooting new problems and viewing previous actions.
Best 10 Field Service Management Software For Your Business In 2023
#1. Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro is a highly rated, all-in-one business solution that enables home service professionals to work more efficiently and grow smarter. It manages every element of its business in one place by providing simple digital tools for scheduling and dispatching services, handling payments, automating marketing efforts, and more. Call now to begin your 14-day free trial: 866-405-0752.
#2. BlueFolder
BlueFolder’s user-friendly interface assists commercial service professionals in the field in staying on schedule, accessing key task details, and managing work orders. Recurring jobs, secure custom user rights, scheduling/dispatch, customer portals, and more are available. Streamline paperwork with QuickBooks and other interfaces. With sophisticated capabilities, valuable integrations, and a simple, user-friendly interface, you can keep all of your field technicians on track and streamline operations.
#3. Salesforce Field Service
Salesforce Field Service, built on the world’s most popular CRM, enables teams to deliver a connected experience. Organizations may improve staff interactions and exceed customer expectations by linking the back office to the field. Customers are met on their preferred digital channel, with real-time appointment updates, mobile worker data, and virtual troubleshooting to make every interaction unique.
#4. Service Fusion
Service Fusion is an all-in-one field service management software used by over 6,000 service contractors. It is designed to improve your business operations and help you make smarter, more informed decisions. You receive comprehensive insight across business operations by using a consolidated system for customer management, dispatching, scheduling, invoicing, reporting, and payments. Technicians can also use our mobile application to accept and handle jobs in the field.
#5. simPRO
SimPRO is a robust field service management software solution designed by contractors for contractors. If you’re having trouble quoting tasks, managing multi-stage projects, managing inventory, connecting the office to the field, or any other aspect of your workflow, simPRO provides a streamlined platform to address your current issues while also assisting you in increasing productivity and revenues. More than 150,000 field service professionals rely on simPRO workflow management software.
#6. FieldEdge
The best field service management software for your complete business is one that the owner, office employees, and techs actually use! With a seamless QuickBooks interface, you may save up to 20 hours each week – no more duplicate entering! Our mobile app provides technicians with all of the information they need to provide excellent customer service while also being more efficient on-site. FieldEdge is the best field service software for connecting your office and field teams. It provides less bother and more control.
#7. SkyBoss
SkyBoss is a cloud-based, mobile software system that offers service businesses comprehensive real-time field management, call monitoring, technician tracking, paperless invoicing, payment processing, a price book, and reporting on key business KPIs. They are designed to streamline your business and provide you with the tools you need to drive your business to new heights of performance and profitability. SkyBoss also integrates with QuickBooks!
#8. ServiceTitan
ServiceTitan helps HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses expand! Like 24 Hour Air Conditioning and Heating, which is rapidly approaching its $1 million goal. Discover why ServiceTitan is the top business software that is transforming the way residential and commercial field service firms operate.
#9. Workiz
Field service professionals can use Workiz to build their business by abandoning outmoded business management methods like pen and paper, Excel spreadsheets, and Google Calendar. Workiz provides an easy-to-use platform for managing your scheduling, invoicing, payment processing, and dispatching jobs quickly, among other things.
#10. OptimoRoute
OptimoRoute assists field service management businesses in providing exceptional service. Their plans and optimizes routes in seconds using sophisticated algorithms. There is an infinite supply of techniques, features, and shortcuts hidden beneath a simple interface. It’s simple to use, adapts to your requirements, and gets the job done. Customers who use OptimoRoute save 20% on fuel and driving expenses, freeing up time for more vital things like business growth.
How to Compare Field Service Management (FSM) Software
Because systems differ significantly from vendor to vendor, it’s critical to understand your requirements when comparing field service management software. By identifying pain points early on, you may determine which components of your FSM system are non-negotiable. Vetting vendors is a complex task, and when weighing possibilities, many solutions begin to merge together. After you’ve determined your feature needs, consider the following essential aspects in your field service management software selection for your business:
#1. Price
To establish your FSM budget, you must first understand the various price structures. The cost might vary depending on a number of factors, including:
- The number of users, administrators, or seats
- Size of the company (multiple locations or franchises)
- Pay-per-employee / on-the-field
- Business requirements
- Training, setup costs, data storage requirements, and technical assistance
- Customizations to the system
- Type of deployment (cloud, hybrid, or on-premise)
It’s best to estimate costs in a variety of methods so you can compare prices and avoid surprises. Depending on the price structure, monthly charges can range from $75 to $2,000. Pricing for expanded franchises, corporations, and businesses with complicated operations that require bespoke solutions may be more. Businesses who merely want to automate dispatch may find that their membership expenses are lower. When creating a budget, it’s better to have a range in mind rather than a specific figure in mind.
#2. Deployment
Software can be delivered on-premises, hosted as software-as-a-service (SaaS) via a web browser, or a hybrid of the two. SaaS use has surged as a result of inexpensive and readily available mobile technology, as well as rising need for economical technological solutions for small businesses. SaaS solutions are appealing not only to SMBs searching for their first system. They also entice businesses that are eager to improve their current processes. Data access, modifications, long-term total cost of ownership, and the requirement to interact with current software — such as CRM or HR systems — can all play a role in determining which deployment option is best for your business.
#3. Mobility
Mobile apps and devices are increasingly an expected tool for anything from logistics support to faster paperwork completion, and FSM companies have begun to use mobility to:
- Enhance communication by providing real-time analysis of mobile work status.
- Analyze the technician’s skill set and location to dispatch the most capable worker.
- Improve the first-time fix rate
- Improve client service and loyalty
- Reduce the administrative and overhead costs associated with paper-based processes and data entry.
- Boost productivity, optimize workflow, and cut billing cycles
Though the majority of FSM suppliers provide some level of mobile access, many companies are investing in more complex solutions that provide offline access, geolocation, image upload, connected work orders, and mobile payments.
#4. Automation
Because it is so valuable, automation is making its way into business software and consumer technologies in practically every area. Automation, which is based on a system of triggers and actions, enables businesses to get more done faster by reducing the need for individuals to do manual tasks. When a technician completes a work order on-site or a customer approves an estimate, the documentation is automatically loaded into the general ledger and processed.
Automation entails more than simply getting the appropriate paperwork to the right people. Rather than relying on individual dispatchers to coordinate each task, we now see more complex automated systems in field service management solutions that integrate technician mapping, mobile work order apps, and automated task management to move technicians between jobs and assignments at optimized rates throughout the day.
Who Makes Use of Field Service Management Software?
#1. Technicians
Most field service management packages feature a mobile app through which technicians can access all relevant tasks while in the field. Individuals can use the technician interface to get dispatch notifications, log invoices, accept payments, order new components, check inventories, and plan follow-up visits to customers. These features lower the quantity of paperwork managed by the company, increase the speed with which work is estimated, executed, and paid for, and reduce errors caused by misplaced paperwork or poor verbal communication.
Look for the following mobile-friendly features:
- Scheduling
- Invoicing
- Quotes
- Payments
- Reservations and inventory searches
#2. Team Managers
The most crucial responsibility of a team manager is to promptly and efficiently arrange technicians’ moves between and within jobs. Team managers can utilize a field service app to ensure that technicians are matched with the correct work for their skills, that the team is making the best use of their time moving between projects, and that each member of the team is adhering to safety and corporate rules. A field service software program will offer team leaders the schedule for each of their technicians, an overview of the jobs they are in charge of, and a drill down into the exact tasks anticipated of each team member. Most FSM apps will provide these views through mobile app, allowing the team manager to spend more time in the field and less time in the office.
Look for the following mobile-friendly features:
- Scheduling
- Team job perspective
- Inventory
- Payments
- Contracts and quotations
- Providing access
#3. Dispatchers
The dispatcher is the brain if the field service business is the body. These people are in charge of assigning technicians to the best-fitting job while simultaneously handling task urgency, timetables, and team work schedules. The more automated and guided by predefined criteria these operations are, the easier it is for the dispatcher to create a good timetable. Automated scheduling technologies also relieve dispatchers of time-consuming scheduling responsibilities, allowing them to handle urgent circumstances that require speedy analysis.
Look for the following characteristics:
- Scheduling that is automated or rule-based
- Scheduling via dragging and dropping
- There are several calendar views available, including day, week, month, and job.
- Technician speciality organization
- Notifications through text message or phone call
#4. Financial personnel
Bookkeepers, accountants, and tax experts require complete access to all touchpoints in the financial lifecycle. A field service management software can automate and digitize the payment process, making transactions searchable and simple to import into accounting software. An FSM software can also track digital time cards for all employees and send this information to payroll or accounting software, lowering the amount of hours the staff spends on payroll each month significantly.
Look for the following characteristics:
- Online billing
- Payments using mobile devices
- Quote in digital format
- Integration of accounting or bookkeeping software
- Integration of payroll software
- Time clock features
#4. Customer service representatives
While technicians contact with clients directly in the field, many field service companies also hire customer experience personnel to handle their customer support. These individuals require access to the whole client profile and job history in order to comprehend job status without detracting from the technician’s current duties. They should also have direct contact and visibility into the scheduling features to relieve dispatch pressure.
Look for the following characteristics:
- Module for customer relationship management (CRM)
- Module for Helpdesk
- Email synchronization
- Automated scheduling.
Why Should You Choose Field Service Management Software Over Other Alternatives?
Field service management software is designed for teams that spend most of their time away from the main office, warehouse, or manufacturing site. But, aside from mobility, why should you choose field service management software over other options?
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software vs. Field Service Software
Field service software, while not always the case, is less expensive to develop and operate than an enterprise resource planning system (ERP). Both FSM and ERP software include CRM, time clock, payroll, inventory, and even marketing capabilities into a single user interface, but industry-specific features distinguish them.
Field service management software contains capabilities tailored exclusively to field service companies. Most FSM software comes with a mobile app that technicians and managers may use in the field, but most ERP systems require a browser or desktop app to interact with the software. To assist field service companies in tracking their specialists, field service mana systems may additionally include GPS tracking, geofencing, and route mapping. Inventory and supply chain features are more robust in many ERP systems than they are in FSM systems.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software vs. Field Service Management (FSM) Software
While client or customer management tools are frequently included in field service management systems, these systems are designed for completely different reasons.
This software is designed to handle contacts and communication records as they pertain to those contacts, depending on the capabilities of the customer relationship management (CRM) system. CRMs can be extremely complicated databases that collect all types of interactions on websites, emails, text messages, and even phone conversations, as well as distinguish between leads, prospects, current customers, and former customers.
Compare this to FSM software, which maintains contacts in the context of the services provided by the company. While many FSM programs provide lead management and sales capabilities, their primary use is to monitor existing customer contacts. Field service software typically tracks customer information relevant to the completion of a project rather than information required to close the next sale. Many field service management technologies, thankfully, interface with CRM software to facilitate a smooth transition from lead to customer.
Field Service Management Software FAQs
What is field service management in SAP?
SAP Field Service Management (SAP FSM) is a professional deployment planning solution for technicians, trucks, equipment, and tools. In this case, the software assists staff in charge of service throughout the entire process, from service requests to planning, mobile field service, reporting, and final invoicing.
How much does field service software cost?
The cost of field service management software ranges from $30 to $300 per month. Pricing is often determined by the number of users who access the platform, the volume of jobs managed per month, and the depth of capabilities offered by the solution.
How big is the field service market?
In 2020, the global field service management (FSM) market was worth USD 2.87 billion. The market is expected to increase at a CAGR of 13.9% from USD 3.24 billion in 2021 to USD 8.06 billion in 2028.
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