Field Force Tracker Keeps Field Service Teams Very Happy

Field Employees are the most important assets of any service company and their happiness is very important.  They are the contact points for the customers. Good technicians are ambassador of your company and hard to find and keeping them happy on the job is going to reflect on services that they will provide.  This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you in increasing job satisfaction and at the same time, improve your company’s profitability.

Customers know your company by your technician’s name and face. Field service engineers have more face-to-face contact with customers than any other part of a business. They’re responsible for almost all sales, installation, maintenance, support, and other tasks that require direct access to the products and services a business provides. They also have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction and relationships. As a result, they are the most valuable members of a service chain. Empowering them with the right training, the right information and the right technology enables them to help build the reputation of the business, and also makes them a key to company growth and increasing business revenue.

 

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Field Force Tracker Users are Always Happy

Field Force Tracker has been designed with Field Technicians in mind. When we were designing the software, we interacted with numerous plumbing companies, appliance repair technicians and electrical service companies. We did trail runs with photocopiers rental companies. A lot of improvements and suggestions that came users were incorporated in the software. The result is an easy to use system that technicians and field engineers love. Office dispatchers and managers can get lot done in day after abandoning the system.

What are the Reasons Users Love Field Force Tracker

We can write the whole Wikipedia on this. But the main reasons our users love field force tracker is length and breadth of amazing features. All features are linked together an integrated one another. They are not patch work of the after thoughts. We have spent over 15 years developing software. We developed over 1000 other mobile applications before we designed this. That experience and love shows in Field Force Tracker. The key features are:

  • Employee Management
  • Job Scheduling and Assignment
  • Easy Dispatching with Ability to Reschedule Jobs
  • Single Click Assignment and Re-scheduling
  • Advance Inventory Management
  • Advance Service Contract Management
  • Customer, Job and Employee History
  • Customer Portals, GPS tracking and Google Maps
  • Web Service Ticket Management
  • Payroll Management
  • Timesheets, daily Clock In and Clockout
  • Invoices, Estimates and Quotes.
  • We have 100s of more features and customizable Settings

Field Force Tracker is so feature rich that it will take a company several large operations before they can make use of even 50% of features. Once our employees start using the system, they are amazed with the ease they can serve the customers, manage finances and deal with customer issues. The user comments are pearl of wisdom for us. Our users have been always very appreciative of our team work.

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When field technicians realize that positive changes that  Field Force A Tracker – the best of breed field service solution brings, they quickly fall in love with the mobile app and the software. The admin users such as dispatchers love it as well because they can accomplish a lot in the day. They can get all the job completion data  from the technician in real time. They can see where their techs are at all times using the integrated Google Map and everyone on the team is on the same page.

Enhancing Value Using Field Force Tracker

An easy to use service software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery.  Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization. Deploying a rich cloud based field service CRM software with mobile apps can improve your ability to manage your business. This facilitates service managers to better management of your service resources in the most cost effective way.

Service companies in all parts of the world are trying to move to electronic model of providing services. Paper based operation is too slow to address customer concerns and cannot provide suitable data analysis to the business. Field Force Tracker is the most comprehensive software for field service management.  It takes care of everything from customer management to the payment collection for a service company. By using this software, our clients can see major improvement in their productivity and the customer satisfaction. Service managers are constantly working to improve the quality and effectiveness of their service delivery with Field Force Tracker.

Why Field Force Tracker – The Best of Breed Field Service Software

Mobile enabled, cloud-based field service software was designed to provide ease of use with incredible flexibility. Along with the ease – and speed – of our implementation and the ongoing support service that we provide we enable companies to take full advantage of today’s mobile field service.

Field Force Tracker’s power mobile apps for iPhone and Android are available to all new and existing Field Force Tracker customers. They can extend the feature set with the enhanced mobile forms capabilities, and better system integration.  Field Force Tracker, a mobile enabled web-based field service management software, streamlines technician scheduling, dispatch, customer management, vendor and employee management, work orders, equipment maintenance, inventory tracking, contracts, estimates, invoices, payments and accounting. It is considered one of the most feature rich software of its kind.

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About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

Field Force Tracker Releases Updated API for its Field Service Software

Field Force Tracker delivers advanced API for integration of its award winning field service software with other operational systems. It improves data collection, streamlines workflows and enhances efficiency for field service operations.

Field Force Tracker, the leader in made-for-mobile, cloud-based field service automation solutions, today announced the release of updated Application Programming Interface (API) for its award winning Field Service Software.   This allows its customers to integrate their operational systems and other custom enterprise software with Field Force Tracker.  The improved API increases data accuracy, speeds up data collection and automates data routing between operational system and the Field Service System. The result is a seamless experience of management of client’s field service operations.

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Field service operations depend on the accurate and timely information available to dispatcher and technicians. If one system is generating fault events, and that data needs to be transferred to field force automation software, then a good API is the only way to transfer information in timely manner between two systems. Using paper forms to transfer data leads to double data entry, which is a very error prone process. With the enhanced capabilities of Field Force Tracker, the company has been able to integrate production systems of Telecom Companies and Call Center based VOIP systems of other providers to Field Force Tracker.

“The enhancements in the Field Force Tracker API have made it very easy to automate our customer’s entire Work Flows. Now that we have integrated client’s call center system into Field Force Tracker, it has transformed the all-important data collection for our customers,” says Mark Robinson, Sales Manager of Field Force Tracker. “Field Force Tracker APIs simplify field service data collection, improves data quality, and enables real-time data sharing. The use of  system APIs to capture data not only saves time and eliminates paperwork, but ensures accurate records are being kept that can be used to create insightful reporting.”

Field Force Tracker APIs available to all new and existing Field Force Tracker customers. They can extend the feature set with the enhanced mobile forms capabilities, and better system integration.  Field Force Tracker, a mobile enabled web-based field service management software, streamlines technician scheduling, dispatch, customer management, vendor and employee management, work orders, equipment maintenance, inventory tracking, contracts, estimates, invoices, payments and accounting. It is considered one of the most feature rich software of its kind.

plumbing software
Commenting on the launch of new API, Dr. Brijesh Kumar, CTO and Head of Technology at Rapidsoft Systems said, “We believe that Field Force Tracker is the most comprehensive software for field service management.  It takes care of everything from customer management to the payment collection for a service company. By using this software, our clients can see major improvement in their productivity and the customer satisfaction.”

About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

 

Delivering Field Service using Third Party Contractors – Role of Field Service Software

Service organizations often experience differing service needs depending upon the time of year. Sometimes, there is a less demand of service and sometimes, there are peak demands of the service.  It is a challenge to manage such requirements for service managers. One solution that has been deployed is to use third party contractors to deal with fluctuating demands.

However to manage third party contractors, you would need a Field Service Software like Field Force Tracker to manage such demands.

In this article, we explore the need of Field Service contractor management and various issues associated with the contractor management.

Contractor management refers to the managing of outsourced work performed for an individual company. It is increasingly common for industries to rely upon independent contractors for specialized skills and knowledge. By utilizing outside contractors, companies can achieve three main goals: accessing specialized expertise that is not continuously or routinely required, supplementing limited company resources during periods of unusual demand, and providing staffing increases without the overhead cost of direct-hire employees.

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Challenges Associated with Contractor Management

Because independent contractors are not a regular component of the company for whom they work, there are some unique challenges that must be addressed by companies conducting contractor management. Increasingly, companies rely on outsourced contractors for field service work. This poses challenges in maintaining consistency in service delivery and customer experience, as well as in maintaining visibility and sufficient control over scheduling and other facets of service.

Some of the most common day-to-day challenges associated with contractor management include:

  • Senior leadership commitment
  • Project managers’ understanding of their roles
  • Team members’ understanding of expectations
  • Scheduling and task management
  • Control over labor costs

Companies also must determine how to access the independent contractor population and minimize costly penalties that often result from improper classification of workers and independent contractors. Moreover, companies need to consider how to evaluate independent contractors. On-boarding and administration programs must be in place for successful contractor management.

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Other aspects of contractor management that must be considered are risk assessment and identification, issuing 1099s on behalf of the client, and document completion, collection, and maintenance. Many challenges associated with contractor management can be overcome by employing best practices for contractor management.

Best Practices for Field Service Contractor Management

Freelancing and independent contracting especially are popular among small businesses. Independent contractors are able to fulfill needs that the small business workforce otherwise could not. Contractor management is necessary because of the nature of the independent contractors’ work; independent contractors, particularly field service contractors, often work away from the office and are not under direct supervision. Under these circumstances, even experienced CEOs may find it difficult to manage independent contractors. There are some best practices that help companies and executives handle their contractor management:

  • Clearly define the services that you need to have provided
  • Draft a job description to serve as a reference point when drawing up a contract
  • Determine payment schedules and compensation rates ahead of time
  • Set up a straightforward and clear written agreement at the contract’s start
  • Ensure that you are firmly within legal grounds and document a work arrangement meticulously so that you are correctly classifying your independent contractor
  • Keep in mind that experts recommend that you determine the what and the contractor determines the how – you outline specific goals, but the contractor must provide his own tools, equipment, and facilities to complete the work
  • Guide productivity and ensure that the contractor will produce high quality work while meeting key deadlines by specifying the deliverables in the agreement, making yourself available to answer follow-up questions, and scheduling regular meetings for progress updates

Communicating Demands to Field Service Contractors

Independent contractors, program managers, and company executives not only have a professional duty to communicate effectively, but they must communicate in a way that ensures the contracted work is completed well and in a timely manner. Effective communication is a key component of contractor management throughout the business relationship, from defining services and writing the agreement, to meeting with the contractor throughout the project’s completion. There are several solutions for contractor management available, including mobile management software and solutions, to connect everyone and ensure successful contractor management.

With comprehensive contractor management practices offering visibility and control over the complete service chain, enterprises managing field service contractors and other independent contractors are able to reduce labor costs, obtain proof-of-service, gain real-time visibility into the status of jobs and tasks, and ultimately, provide a more consistent experience that increases end customer satisfaction.

field service software for enterprise

About Field Force Tracker

Field Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Our solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

Dealing with Fluctuating Service Demands

Service organizations often experience differing service needs. Sometimes, there is a less demand of service and sometimes, there are peak demands of the service.  It is a challenge to manage such requirements for service managers.

You have to always evaluate if your field service organization handle the additional workload when demand spikes without impacting service quality and customer experience.  In many sectors such as utilities field service, demand changes significantly, requiring teams to find agile methods for meeting customer demand.

In the following paragraphs, we will describe a handful of methods for scaling either up or down based on seasonal demand, market volatility, or customer behavior change.

Forecasting Field Service Demand

Calling upon predictive software and machine learning, your organization could model its seasonal demand based on algorithms and historical data. While predictive software analyzes current and historical data to predict future events, machine learning – a type of AI – empowers computers to learn in real-time and create models based on deep historical data. Combined, these two capabilities make it possible for your organization to forecast technician requirements.

For example, you could know the number and type of technicians needed to handle demand at given times of the year. As a result, you can be prepared to staff up and down as needed – in advance – rather than scramble at the last minute.

appliance repair software

Leveraging the Contracting Staff

A growing number of technicians are open to working virtually and as contractors. In fact, Gartner predicts that 40% of field service work will be handled by contractors as of 2020. By calling upon this contingent workforce, your organization can easily staff up as needed.

Let’s say, for example, your business sees peak demand in the winter months because you are running a snow removal service. Instead of hiring at the start of the season, you could engage contractors with the needed skills throughout the season. Moreover, you can access talent that may not be readily available in your immediate area – a tremendous benefit if your service organization covers a wide geography. Instead of being limited to local talent, you can find the most fitting technicians for your needs.

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Support Technician With Mobility App like Field Force Tracker

Hand in hand with preparing your organization to vet and onboard talent for part-time “gigs,” you should be ready to support technicians’ mobile needs. Whether your technicians are contractors or full-time employees, more of them are likely to be considered mobile in some regard or another. Consider that over the past 10 years, the number of mobile employees grew by 25% and is likely to grow another 50% by 2020, according to PwC. Equipping them to capably handle service calls using mobile technologies is a must. Plus, it benefits your business.

A certified contractor that you hire for a gig could inspect downed equipment in a remote location. Using a mobile app that you supply, this on-call technician could then share the findings and analysis with your experts back at headquarters and receive instruction on how to proceed. Once the problem was resolved, you could end the contractor engagement.

Offload Repetitive, Task-based Work to Field Service Software

While essential to keeping the business running, manual tasks are labor-intensive and not necessarily always a value-add. Your field service organization can handle a prescribed level of these tasks by applying artificial intelligence (AI) software.

During times of peak service demand, AI software could process and route work orders. It could also handle the scheduling and dispatching of technicians. Rather than staff up a command center with numerous dispatchers, you could call upon AI software designed to rapidly analyze lots of data to make the best scheduling and routing choices. By taking into account seasonal patterns, the software can also predetermine schedules.

Eliminate Unnecessary Service Visits

As you know, truck rolls are an expensive, time-consuming part of your field service operations. You can only afford to keep a certain number of trucks in commission, and the number of trucks in your fleet essentially caps off the number of service calls you can handle at a given time. Fortunately you can take steps to serve more customers regardless of your fleet size.

One option is to take advantage of real-time video chat combined with a mobile app that allows customers to reach a service technician as needed. During the video chat, the on-call technician could direct the customer to aim the camera at the equipment experiencing issues and diagnose and hopefully fix the issue remotely.

Another option is to apply preventive maintenance measures to reduce the chances of equipment breakdowns and service outages. By regularly and proactively applying updates and fixes as needed – and remotely when possible – your organization will find itself responding to fewer service calls even while satisfying more customers.

 

Empowering Field Service Employees

Field Service Software is being adapted by more and more organizations. In today’s technologically advanced world, an organization relying on outdated tools puts entire organization as disadvantage.

A Field Service software like Field Force Tracker can help you in many ways.  It can optimize your service operations and improve employee productivity greatly. It can increase software usage and thus make employees happy.

If your company is still using paper based system, Field Force Tracker can help you quickly rollout services.  However, to move from a paper based system will require that your organization make a change. As a field service manager, your  job is to connect the dots for your higher ups, helping them see that the value of this change will make it worthwhile.

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Field Service software can help you save money. Here is a not-so-difficult dilemma – would you rather be paying your employees for hours spent providing prompt service to customers, or for time spent on tedious paperwork and manual record-keeping?

The answer is a no-brainer – the more clients that a company can cater to on a daily basis, the better a reputation it gets and the more it can flourish. Field Service Management helps companies with a mobile workforce achieve exactly that: higher productivity, more satisfied customers and less overtime for employees.

Use Automation to Replace Manual Work

Manual work is not only time consuming, but also prone to error. Scheduling, for example, becomes inefficient and does not take all the factors affecting an employee into consideration. This can lead to employees wasting billable hours and having to spend time unnecessarily commuting to far-apart locations.

As opposed to this, features like auto-scheduling in Field Service Management tools (like Field Force Tracker’s solutions) help maximize the service successfully provided to clients. At the same time, wastage of resources is minimized by taking factors like an employee’s location, urgency of a job, cancelled jobs in an employee’s schedule, etc. into account.

Location tracking in real time is a feature that all good scheduling software has. It keeps the central office updated on the movements of their mobile workforce and helps optimize appointments and the time spent travelling. Home locations of employees are parameters too, and jobs at the end of the day are assigned such that they lie on the same route. This helps members of the workforce balance their professional and personal lives better.

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Retraining Your Work Force on New Software

Skill is also an important aspect that Field Service Management considers when scheduling appointments (which can be overlooked in manual work). A worker assigned a job that necessitates his particular area of expertise will naturally excel at it, which serves as an additional motivator for employees to perform well.
Safety of employees is also a major concern in field service. Workers may be placed in potentially dangerous situations during repairs and other services which may pose a safety hazard (e.g. elevator repairs). Field Service Management software which can notify dispatch about the whereabouts of a worker as well as send out information to the central office in case of an emergency provides employees with security. It reduces the risk of accidents and subsequent job changes by workers who feel that their safety is not a priority.

Enabling  Field Technicians

Field Service Management tools also provide employees with all the information required for a job – saving time that would otherwise be spent in redundant research due to unavailability of relevant data. Field employees can update inventory, place orders for extra parts, manage expenses and issue invoices, all in real time. The offline mode in Field Service Management software lets employees make important entries regardless of network availability as early as possible, saving data and updating databases once they are online again.

Field Service Management software ensures that customers do not get neglected in case the job cannot be completed the first time around. Customer inputs can be taken in the form of e-signatures if the task is completed. If not, the scheduling software can immediately plan for further appointments and rectify whatever prevented the completion of the job the first time around. Thus, Field Service Management is crucial towards ensuring happier clients and likewise, happier employees.

Managing Field Service Operations in the Mobile Era

The growth and adaption of mobile technologies has revolutionized everything.   Field Employees are no longer happy using paper based forms and bulky registers.   Good technicians are ambassador of your company and core assets. It is important to keep them happy on the job. It is is going to reflect on services that they will provide.  This article describes how cloud based Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you in increasing job satisfaction and at the same time, improve your company’s profitability.

Field service engineers have life blood of your service business. They have more face-to-face contact with customers than any other part of a business. They’re responsible for all sales, installation, maintenance, support, and other tasks that require direct access to the products and services a business provides. They also have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction and relationships. Now they want to use mobile devices, mobile enabled software and mobile forms based software. Is your company ready to provide all this?

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Reducing Operational Costs of Field Service Delivery

Managing operational costs in a business is vital.  Field service depends upon keeping the operation costs down.  There are many variables that can affect profitability of a business. Hence, it is necessary to optimize every opportunity to keep costs down. Daily operational expenses such as rising fuel costs, high employee overhead and low first-time fix rates, and employee churn contribute to it.  It makes it challenging to maintain control of operational expenses in the field service business.

The recent published research shows the list if issue that service company face. On the top of the list is keeping operational cost down, improving employee utilization and stretching market dollars. When asked by small business owners about their main issues in running the service business, here are the key issues cited:

  • Rents of office spaces
  • Parts and Inventory Costs
  • Fuel and vehicle maintenance
  • Marketing and Advertising Costs
  • Back office Accounting Support services

Deploying Field Force Tracker – The best of breed Field Service Software

Field service software like Field Force Tracker can help in addressing these issues. It provides features that address precisely these concerns:

  • Employee Management
  • Job Scheduling and Assignment
  • Easy Dispatching with Ability to Reschedule Jobs
  • Single Click Assignment and Re-scheduling
  • Advance Inventory Management
  • Advance Service Contract Management
  • Customer, Job and Employee History
  • Customer Portals, GPS tracking and Google Maps
  • Web Service Ticket Management
  • Payroll Management
  • Timesheets, daily Clock In and Clockout
  • Invoices, Estimates and Quotes.
  • We have 100s of more features and customizable Settings

To reduce for variable costs, a business can move to stabilize OPEX by restricting the possibilities of revenue leakage. For example, a company that’s managing day-to-day operations with a paper and/or whiteboard process is not using technologies to make their operations more seamless. Implementing a field service management system like Field Force Tracker provides visibility for dispatchers to verify when jobs are complete. Software also let them  schedule calls better and more optimally. Jobs can be assigned in closer proximity to one another to reduce travel time and fuel costs. This ability addresses the second top concern for service businesses, that of better scheduling and dispatching.

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Another area that may be improved lies in end-to-end, bidirectional communication between the back office and the field, which helps in the management of workflow and processes. Eliminating the need for data entry and the need to decipher the handwriting of field workers reduces errors and the amount of time spent translating paperwork.

Companies with a mobile workforce may experience high employee turnover  as a result of stress in the field. Multitasking behind the wheel with paperwork, low safety standards, and a low first-time fix rate all contribute to high stress. High stress results in high turnover and ultimately, higher costs.  Deploying a FSM Software using mobile technology enables the field service worker to function in a less stressful manner. This creates employee-considerate environment, helping field service workers to feel more valued. They are then less likely to leave. This environment also lends itself to being a recruiting tool for qualified new hire candidates.

Automating the service processes through mobile technology not only reduces operational expenses, but creates pleasant experience for customers too. It results in a less stressful environment will be apparent to customers. Field service workers and other employees that are customer facing can provide a better experience. This will improve customer satisfaction ratings, reduce customer churn and higher customer referrals. Collectively, this will help in reducing the operational expenses and increasing profitability of your field service business.

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What makes Field Force Tracker Users  Always Happy

Field Force Tracker has been designed with Field Technicians in mind. When we were designing the software, we interacted with numerous plumbing companies, appliance repair technicians and electrical service companies. We did trial runs with photocopiers rental companies. A lot of improvements and suggestions that came users were incorporated in the software. The result is an easy to use system that technicians and field engineers love. Office dispatchers and managers can get lot done in day after abandoning the system.

Field Force Tracker is so feature rich that it will take a company several large operations before they can make use of even 50% of features. Once our employees start using the system, they are amazed with the ease they can serve the customers, manage finances and deal with customer issues. The user comments are pearl of wisdom for us. Our users have been always very appreciative of our team work.

When field technicians realize that positive changes that  Field Force A Tracker – the best of breed field service solution brings, they quickly fall in love with the mobile app and the software. The admin users such as dispatchers love it as well because they can accomplish a lot in the day. They can get all the job completion data  from the technician in real time. They can see where their techs are at all times using the integrated Google Map and everyone on the team is on the same page.

Enhancing Value Using Field Force Tracker

An easy to use service software can help everyone in the company to better manage the effectiveness of your service delivery.  Using extensive capabilities of Field Force Tracker’s software, you can improve the effectiveness for field services in your organization. Deploying a rich cloud based field service CRM software with mobile apps can improve your ability to manage your business. This facilitates service managers to better management of your service resources in the most cost effective way.

Service companies in all parts of the world are trying to move to electronic model of providing services. Paper based operation is too slow to address customer concerns and cannot provide suitable data analysis to the business. Field Force Tracker is the most comprehensive software for field service management.  It takes care of everything from customer management to the payment collection for a service company. By using this software, our clients can see major improvement in their productivity and the customer satisfaction. Service managers are constantly working to improve the quality and effectiveness of their service delivery with Field Force Tracker.

Why Field Force Tracker

Mobile enabled, cloud-based field service software was designed to provide ease of use with incredible flexibility. Along with the ease – and speed – of our implementation and the ongoing support service that we provide we enable companies to take full advantage of today’s mobile field service.

Field Force Tracker’s power mobile apps for iPhone and Android are available to all new and existing Field Force Tracker customers. They can extend the feature set with the enhanced mobile forms capabilities, and better system integration.  Field Force Tracker, a mobile enabled web-based field service management software, streamlines technician scheduling, dispatch, customer management, vendor and employee management, work orders, equipment maintenance, inventory tracking, contracts, estimates, invoices, payments and accounting. It is considered one of the most feature rich software of its kind.

oil field repair

About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

 

Best Employee Tracking Software

Improving Field Service with Better Scheduling

Customers expect their problems to be resolved fast as the failure of a HVAC or Plumbing unit may come at a time when their life quality depends on it. On the other hand, in some situations, the problem may be such that it can wait for a day or two the repair.  When an equipment breakdown occurs, customers have a hard time explaining their urgency. Everyone wants his or her service tasks to be handled fast and on priority.

This is where an Advanced scheduling software like Field Force Tracker shine. It can help you optimize your resource scheduling by separating high priority jobs from the low priority jobs. It can also help you optimize the use of your precious work force resources.

Poor customer experience is one of the biggest reasons for non-retention of customers, resulting in losses and lower revenue. On the other hand, statistics show that a company with good customer service policy can expect to have as high as 75% of its sales coming from returning customers. Since service industries are evolving themselves into customer centric from product centric business models, it is imperative that the customer be happy.

Field Service software for Computer Repair Service Business
Field Service software for Computer Repair Service Business

Ensuring Optimum Field Technician Scheduling Efficiency

You start by picking the best-suited person for the job. You ensure that the representative you assign is capable, that he is in reasonable proximity to the job location, taking into account the commute time, among other things.

Assigning the right field service expert is crucial to good customer experience. No two jobs are exactly similar and neither are any two persons in their ability to solve an issue. The onus is on the field service manager to know the unique skills of each employee and discern the most suitable resource for the job. Of course, with increasing digital transformation tools for field service management, job scheduling can be automated largely.

Providing Right Tools to Field Technicians

A Field technician can only solve the problem using tools that he or she has access too. They not only need tools to do actual repair, but software tools that can facilitate them to diagnose and fix the problem faster and quicker.  For example, in Field Force  Tracker software, a technician can immediately check the customer history or past repair history.

Since face-to-face interaction with the customer is part of their job, a field service professional must have good  manners to deal with customers. They also must know to value the customer’s time. To this end, a representative need to be equipped with complete knowledge of the issue and the required parts so that they can have a better chance of fixing the problem at the first go. In addition, customers will place more faith in a professional who appears to know what they are doing.

Best Field Service software

Avoiding Repeat Service Calls

First time fixes save the customer any further inconvenience, and they also save the company a great deal of time and money that could otherwise be used to attend to other jobs. A report by Aberdeen suggests that if the average first-time fix rates for a company is above 80%, the customer satisfaction goes up to around 90%. On the other hand, with a first time fix rate of below 50%, customer satisfaction nosedives to below 50%. Most often, it is due to poor customer experience that companies fail to retain customers. Fixing problems the first time helps build trust with the customer, promoting the idea of the company’s reliability and building its goodwill.

Despite the best of efforts, some problems are just not solved in one visit. In such instances, the field service manager would do well to assign the same person for the second and perhaps subsequent visits, as the first time. Customers tend to feel more comfortable around a representative that they have already met before and the problem is faster diagnosed and solved when the two communicate better with each other. Often, a customer will be less inclined to be difficult and demanding when they become familiar with the representative.

Managing Job Priority

The field service management  software like Field Force Tracker facilitate a professional to schedule the work with a mix of both high and low priority jobs so that if an emergency service request comes in, they can reschedule a low priority service visit and attend to it. Prompt addressing of the customer’s complaint is a determining factor in customer satisfaction. Capital Equipment Manufacturers (CEMs), for example, will always require immediate attention in case of unexpected failures. In such a case, a technician will have to be swiftly assigned, prioritizing their skill set and previous history of first-time fix rates, and rescheduling other low priority jobs to allow availability.

Service visits are important. They are one of the few personal interactions between the customer and the company, and given the direct influence of customer satisfaction on the bottom line and the goodwill of the company, it is paramount that they be agreeable and pleasant to the customer.

Enterprise field service software

About Field Force Tracker

Field Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Our solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

Mobile Apps are changing the Field Service Landscape

Arrival of 4G networks and smart phones has changed the field service landscape. Many technicians are carrying mobile devices and using powerful Field Force Tracker mobile applications to provide web services. In this article, we discuss how mobile apps can help you manage your service work force better.

Just a few years back, the logistics of remotely managing a field service business would’ve seemed impossible. However, the advent of smartphones and tablets has made this a reality. Now, it is easier than ever to connect your branch office(s) and field techs with the use of mobile apps and best of the breed cloud based software like Field Force Tracker.

In previous article, we have explained the benefits of cloud based software as opposed to the software that runs on your on servers. Moving your operation to a cloud based system may seem daunting, especially if you’re accustomed to managing the business manually. Read on to discover five major benefits of using a mobile app for managing your field service business.

Improved Technician Productivity

Mobile apps let the service managers or job dispatchers manage with better scheduling and dispatching. With instant access to daily appointments and critical account information, all technicians will arrive at every job site prepared and ready to go. They can easily and precisely track materials used add photos and documents to customer accounts and track time on the job using their powerful Field Force Tracker Mobile app.

That is not all. With this additional control, you’ll save time in the field and office. Unnecessary calls between office staff and field techs are eliminated, saving valuable time for more important matters. Reporting is also simplified, as techs can generate and email customer invoices directly in the app, before ever leaving the job site.

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Streamlined Service Operations

Field service mobile apps greatly improve communications between the main office and field technicians are vastly improved. All necessary completion information is captured at the job site and transmitted to the office in real time, greatly reducing the risk of incorrect billing and potential errors due to illegible handwriting.

Office dispatcher  will always know where techs are in their day, as well as the status of current jobs. Making adjustments to work schedules in real time is easier than ever, as availability and proximity are updated automatically. Technicians are immediately updated regarding schedule changes, job details and new locations.

Improved Customer Experience

Mobile apps can help in improving customer experience and satisfaction. The popularity of mobile devices has changed customer expectations forever. When access to information and services is just a single tap away, the expectation of instant gratification is set. Naturally, smart businesses need to be ready for this. They need make changes to these expectations to keep customers satisfied. A recent study showed that 75% of businesses using mobile apps in the field have seen an increase in overall customer satisfaction. Real time text updates informing customers of upcoming service visits and appointment changes will provide a positive experience for new and returning customers.

System Data For Better Marketing

Software helps you in maintaining accurate records of your business activities. While state regulations may require you to keep paper records for your business, the process of manually collecting data in the field is notoriously inaccurate and inefficient. Capturing data with pen and paper is prone to errors, not to mention that documents can easily get lost before being filed away at the office.

Mobile apps make your business stand apart from competition. They allow your business to go paperless and improve efficiency. Office staff no longer have to worry about inputting data following appointments, freeing up time for other tasks. Filling out paperwork in the field is burdensome and leads to frustration for the customer and technician alike. Securely capture payments and customer signatures while giving techs complete access to customer information.

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Technology for Better Profits

The use of technology helps a company market its services better. The customer perception is  very important. Field Service companies that are using the latest technology are seen as innovative and progressive by customers. Enabling your technicians with the latest and greatest in mobile technology gives your company more credibility and builds trust among customers.

Using a mobile app, like Field Force Tracker, that is industry leading provides all above advantages. We make use of amazon cloud to ensure that all customer data is secure, preventing unauthorized access and giving customers’ peace of mind.

Field Force Tracker, a mobile enabled web-based field service management software, streamlines technician scheduling, dispatch, customer management, vendor and employee management, work orders, equipment maintenance, inventory tracking, contracts, estimates, invoices, payments and accounting. It is considered one of the most feature rich software of its kind.

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About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

Cost Effective Latest Field Service Software For Field Employees

In this age of universal mobility and smart phones, Field Service Industry is going through the big change. Field service software like Field Force Tracker are changing the software industry by their revolutionary features and with its  low cost of implementation.  Because it is a cloud based field service software software is based in the cloud, you have no infrastructure to maintain, and no servers to update. You need no IT person to maintain it.

However, if you are moving from paper or spreadsheet based scheduling, you will be making a big change in the process. To make sure that you get the most benefits, this article will explain that.

While all companies are benefiting from new technology and software that helps connect different departments and processes, organizations that rely on workers in the field reap some of the largest rewards from cloud-based software. When dispatching, collecting payments and monitoring daily activities, service management software that is provided as a service means technicians in the field are no longer removed from the companies they work for while performing their jobs.

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Benefits of Software As a Service (SaaS) Field Service Software

Software as a service also allows field service companies to cut down on overhead costs such as new hardware, according to Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News. According to their recent article, SaaS allows in-field workers to access field service software on nearly any device that has a Web browser. This opens the door to companies that want to save costs with BYOD (bring your own device) policies or use existing hardware.

BYOD is growing in popularity and since many workers already own a smart device, there is essentially no hardware cost and technicians will be able to navigate the field service software using a device that they are already familiar with, cutting down on training time.

Field service software impacts Customer Service

Customer service is also improved when workers in the field have better connectivity to the home base of the organization. They can provide customers with more accurate estimates on how long it will take to order a needed part and how much it will cost. Technicians can locate much of this information on their own, without speaking to an off-site employee who must search and report it back to them.

Repair service software can expedite the payment process and reduce the need for invoicing for some services. Technicians running late can also quickly communicate their situation to the company so that impact on other customers is reduced.  This can help workers and customers adjust to possible, unforeseen interruptions in the schedule, which are common in industries such as HVAC.

With BYOD, contact is also made through a device that the technician is likely to have on their person at all times. This way, communication can continue even if the worker is at a site that does not have telephone, Internet access or is not near a radio in their fleet vehicle. The software will connect them to all of the information that may need when on the job.

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The Cost of Not Deploying Field Service Software

A service company spends significant hours on service paperwork, emails and phone calls in your office.  If those activities were replaced with something more high-value like customer care, business planning or marketing the company can greatly benefit from it.

And what if instead of mailing out invoices days after a job was completed and then waiting for payment to be mailed back, the invoice instantly arrived in your customer’s email box as soon as the task or project was completed?

Think of the revenue gain, if you could complete another job every day just from better scheduling and dispatch.

These are all missed opportunities that cost you money every day.

You may not be the only one waiting. You customers may be getting faster service from competitors who have shorter service windows and deploy the closest technician to their home or business. How much business will you lose if your competitors get there faster and more reliably?

Even if you already have a field service software solution, there are likely gains to be made from newer, mobile and cloud built solutions. If you’re using a premise-based solution for instance, there’s a good chance it’s costing you in IT and maintenance fees. Worse, field workers aren’t getting things done as efficiently as they could with native mobile apps designed specifically for use on a variety of devices. Inefficiency means less work gets done and that costs you.

Best Field Service Software

About Field Force Tracker

Field Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Our solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker, customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).

 

A Field Service Software to Cover Full Service Management

The Cloud technologies, Mobile phones and 5G networks are proving to be a god send for the field service companies.  Ubiquitous availability of network connectivity has made it possible to move paper based field operations to mobile phone and tablet based solutions. The use of modern devices like iPhone or iPAD is increasing in the field service industry.  This article describes how  cloud based Field Service software or Field Service CRM like Field Force Tracker can help you in better managing your FSM business.   It can contribute in increasing customer satisfaction, generate new business, improve  job satisfaction and at the same time, improve your company’s profitability.

Before we discuss further, the role of FSM on the changing landscape, we would like to understand the field force tracker software. It is the best of breed field service software.  It is a comprehensive end to end solution taking care of all your needs.

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Field force tracker provides “end-to-end” solution for all your service needs. Below we outline all the different areas of a field service business addressed by our best of breed field service management software system.  Field force tracker was designed to be the best software.  Any field service management software needs to be designed to deal with flexible and variable work flows of field service organizations.  FSM software should empower field personnel to deliver exceptional value to customers.

Work Order Capture and Job Scheduling

The smart scheduler in field force tracker provides a comprehensive view of all jobs and gives office staff a single pane of view into work both planned and in progress. Many filters available on scheduler panel views allow schedulers to drill down into specific departments, crews, locations etc. As new work orders are created (whether on a mobile device in the field or in the office), scheduling staff need to be able to quickly assign jobs based on resources and skills available.  Technicians need to be assigned, deployed and managed easily by the job dispatcher.

Efficient Job Dispatch and Employee Tracking

In addition to a schedule view, schedulers need a map view to locate field resources and customers and make smart job assignments. Being able to see mobile technician/engineer locations in real time means they can optimize scheduling.  There is no need to make phone calls just to find out who’s closest to the next job. Field technicians need to know where they’re going next and how to get there.

dispatch software 04

Information for the Job Completion

When a technician arrives at a customer job site, they need to information to do the job. They can get the right answers quickly so they can get to work. That means mobile access to the entire work history of a customer, including any equipment documentation, photos etc. Whether they were the last one to visit the customer or not,  the information flow is always seamless.

Completing the Job

A job must be done to perfection. Consistent and complete customer service is  the goal of task management team. Using Mobile, technicians can see all the tasks to be performed on a given job as promised to the customer. They also need to know what customer assets are installed. Also,  where those assets are located and what the repair history  of each one is. As  jobs are completed and items (parts, forms, etc.) are used,  they can record them. The back office  immediately knows the current status of parts. Any pre-work or post-work signatures can be captured right on their tablet or mobile phones.

Updating Inventory

Companies maintain big stock of inventories. Inventories are expensive to maintain. Therefore, correct levels are very important. Field Force Tracker lets you deal with maintaining inventory.

Also, discovering additional opportunities for revenue is important. It should be part of every workflow. Technicians need reminders to sell recurring service contracts, additional services, etc. as part of their normal routine. If an opportunity is unearthed, they need to create a quote right there on the spot while it’s top of mind.  They can generate the quotes right away.

Invoicing and Quoting

Field Force Tracker provides powerful Invoice and Quote maintenance system. You can generate invoices and quotes using mobile devices. We have a very powerful system with many customization to quotes and Invoices.

Track Time and Timesheets

You can invoice a client right away in the field using mobile app.  Field technicians have the option of emailing an invoice as soon as a customer signs off on the work. Field-based workers shouldn’t have to punch a clock back at the office to keep track of time worked. Time tracking is built in to their workflow. As technicians start jobs, end jobs and travel in between the system should keep a running log that can be pulled into time reports. Field Force Tracker does this and a lot more.

best employee tracking software 03

Why Field Force Tracker

Mobile enabled, cloud-based field service software was designed to provide ease of use with incredible flexibility. Along with the ease – and speed – of our implementation and the ongoing support service that we provide we enable companies to take full advantage of today’s mobile field service.

Field Force Tracker’s power mobile apps for iPhone and Android are available to all new and existing Field Force Tracker customers. They can extend the feature set with the enhanced mobile forms capabilities, and better system integration.  Field Force Tracker, a mobile enabled web-based field service management software, streamlines technician scheduling, dispatch, customer management, vendor and employee management, work orders, equipment maintenance, inventory tracking, contracts, estimates, invoices, payments and accounting. It is considered one of the most feature rich software of its kind.

About Field Force Tracker

Force Tracker (http://www.fieldforcetracker.com) is a leading global provider of its award winning mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Its solutions enable businesses of all sizes (from 1 user to 10,000 users) to meet the challenges associated with managing and running complex service operations. It helps in improving the productivity of their mobile workforce.

With Field Force Tracker customers can create service schedule and route quickly, dispatch sooner, collect correct information at once in the field and invoice faster. The field service software makes it easy for users to eliminate waste, get more done in less time and be more profitable.

Field Force Tracker is a wholly owned unit of Rapidsoft Systems Inc. (http://www.rapidsoftsystems.com). Rapidsoft Systems, Inc. has its main office in Princeton, NJ, USA, a US R&D Center in Mercerville NJ, and sales, support and development offices in Palo Alto, CA, USA, Singapore, Dubai (UAE), Bombay, and Noida (India).