What is Field Service Management Software?
FMS, or Field Service Management software is really just about helping your business to be organised. If you run a business that is always working away from any office, such as an electrician or plumber, you work in the 'field'. Field management software is specialist software that helps you keep on top of your jobs, customers, staff and important paperwork. Powered Now is both low cost and easy to use. So if you are looking to get started with Field Service Management software, you are in the right place.
Why Field Service is important to small business
Many companies offer a broad range of services. Many of our customers do a lot of things, normally at the same time! It means juggling lots of tasks, tools, individuals, all the while trying to get the paperwork right.
A field service manager for a plumbing company might be responsible for the following:
- Scheduling times to visit prospects to arrange quotes.
- Managing which staff are doing which jobs and keeping all the admin records up to date.
- Tracking job progress, materials and equipment.
That's a lot of moving parts that need to be tracked, organised updated, and documented.
This is where field service management software comes into its own. Adding a central system to manage all of these tasks can have a big impact on efficiency, while reducing cost and hassle.
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How has Field Service Management Software developed?
In the recent past the vast majority of management effort involved manual processes; piles of paperwork, lots of phone calls and general mayhem. This is not only time consuming but also leaves plenty of room for error. A great example is when paperwork gets lost or forgotten. When this happens to invoices, it costs money. When you have lots of paperwork, it's hard to find things. All of this makes it hard to manage your business. The result can be scheduling, cash flow and communication issues, along with upset customers.
If this sound familiar, don't panic, FMS apps can make a big difference.
There have always been big, expensive office based system for big ponderous businesses. The more recent developments have been app based systems that are low cost, mobile and much easier to use.
This sort of Field Service Management Software has really developed starting from simple single user solutions. For example, lots of companies go from using a pen and paper for invoicing to a dedicated invoice app. The same for eForms, certificates, quotes, staff scheduling and many more. It can be easy to replace a chaotic system with lots of apps and software. The problem is that in time this can be even harder to manage with data in lots of different places. FMS brings everything together in one piece of software.
The biggest improvement however is though mobility, the rise of smartphones and tablets has meant field engineers can take the power of the office wherever they are. However it is vital that any FSM solution works both on and offline, this is especially important for industries that could work in environments with little or no signal.
Today FSM is designed to help businesses take control of all the moving parts. It uses automation, remote access to the office, customer insights, real-time updates and much more.
Field Service Management for Trade Companies
Out of all the industries field service management is useful for, trade and construction companies top the list. But any company that has employees working in the field can be helped.
Some of the most common trade companies that use FSM include:
- Plumbing, HVAC and Gas
- Electrical
- Building, Construction and associated trades
- Pest Control
- Landscaping and Gardening
- Cleaning
These types of businesses tend to involve longer term projects and tasks. They can employ a number of people and use various forms and equipment. Companies like this tend to use FSM to update job orders in real time, oversee engineers, schedule tasks, track expenses, and create checklists for inspections and certifications.
The Advantages of Field Service Management
With its many features, Powered Now can offer a company a variety of immediate and long term benefits, such as an improved customer experience, quicker reaction times, better people management and time and resource savings.
Book a demonstration
The easiest way to understand how FSM software can help your business is by talking to one of our product experts at Powered Now. We speak to thousands of companies and have seen and heard almost everything! Book a free slot, we can review your needs and help you with a full demonstration.
