Software has changed the way most of us do our jobs, but there are so many different options for plumbing and heating business software. It can be overwhelming – how do you know what you need, and what your current software could be missing?
We are here to help your research with the top 5 features you NEED in your software!
Software technology is constantly changing and improving, so be sure to keep these questions in mind as you conduct your search:
- What do you like or dislike about your current business software?
- Are there features that would make your life easier?
- What takes up the most time in your job that could be automated?
Today we are going to look at the top five must-have plumbing and heating business software features.
1. Everyone’s On The Run – You Need a Mobile CRM!
Connecting between the office, the field and customers is a game changer. With a mobile app, your business never stops and your HVAC technicians or plumbers will have every piece of information they need, right on a phone or tablet.
The latest and greatest mobile CRMs have ability to:
- Alert customers that the technician is on the way by text, email or voicemail
- Create work orders and dispatch technicians
- Show notes, customer and equipment history on each work order
- Display a visual pricebook to improve price presentation, invoicing and quoting process (more on this later!)
All these features help your employers throughout their busy day! No more calling the office for updated information or lugging around a heavy price book. Identify your customer’s information with just a quick glance.
2. Get Organized and Streamline Your Day with Scheduling and Dispatching Features
“89% of customers want modern, on demand technology applied to their technician scheduling”
An extremely busy office manager can often spend hours trying to schedule plumbers and techs, and then spend even more time calling them with daily changes! To make life easier, office staff need a smart dispatching board that they easily reference or edit.
Plus, a cloud-based dispatching software will also alert employees of scheduling or job changes – so your office manager or dispatcher doesn’t need to chase them down via phone.
Here are some of the popular scheduling/dispatching features offered on many service softwares:
- Drag and drop capabilities: assign or re-assign a job to a tech instantly
- Real time job status including pending, traveling, working and completed
- Decreased windshield time with map-based scheduling
A responsive, easy-to-use dispatch board improves the lives of the office staff and the technicians on the job. Having one robust picture of where everyone is and what service they are performing makes life much easier.
3. Quoting & Invoicing Tools to Improve Service and Get Paid Faster
When quotes and invoicing tools are built into the software, it’s so much easier to keep track of day-to-day operations. No more losing paper invoices or not knowing whether a customer paid.
Ensure the software you are using or plan on purchasing:
- Integrates with QuickBooks. More than 80% of small businesses use QuickBooks for their accounting needs. Make sure your plumbing and heating business software can sync directly with Quickbooks so there are no accounting discrepancies.
- Allows invoices to flow from field to office in real time. No more waiting around for your app to sync or worse waiting until you get to the office to unload your daily invoices.
- Utilizes a payment solutions integration so technicians can get paid as soon as the job is completed with a credit card. Your business will be able to recognize revenue in real time!
These tools may be your most important features to seek out because they determine how quickly your business gets paid. It also saves hours of time by knowing exactly where all invoices stand. When it comes to invoicing, you don’t want anything slowing down the process!
4. Price Presentation for Higher Profit and Better Customer Service
Is your price model confusing for your technicians and your customers? Wouldn’t it be easier to have everything in one place to easily and consistently present on every service call? Is your team equipped to easily upsell while on the job?
Let’s face it – most technicians aren’t thrilled to also double as salesmen. But by using a “good, better, best” presentation option when talking to customers, it takes the pressure off the selling experience.
With a solid price presentation and quoting feature, your technicians will be able to offer equipment options easily, right from a phone or tablet. Software that allows you to customize offerings and parts markups quickly are ideal.
With the right software tools, your techs will be able to cross sell and upsell on the job, even without extensive training.
5. Creating Life-Long Customers with Customer Management Features
Providing exceptional, reliable service is easier when you are armed with plumbing and heating business software to improve the experience. After all, it’s much easier to keep existing customers than to gain new business.
A good software platform helps you with both. Here are some typical features that help with the customer experience:
- Work orders that include prior job details, such as all previous work performed and quoted
- History of the equipment current customers are using, so your techs know exactly what to expect on the job
- A way to store notes and images to show customers exactly what the issue is and how it has changed over time
A recent study found that the top challenge for technicians is the pre-visit review of service history. With software that shows this information automatically, you will be way ahead of the game!
Want Service Software That Checks All The Boxes? Get All of These Features with FieldEdge!
Thousands of HVAC and plumbing professionals use FieldEdge software to streamline their businesses. All of the above features (and many more) are available to help your office staff and plumbers.
Find out why service professionals choose FieldEdge to increase profits and streamline customer experiences.
Join a FREE demo of FieldEdge to see how the best HVAC and plumbing software will help you grow your business!
Focus On These 5 Features To Level Up!
Today we covered the top 5 must-have plumbing and heating software features. Look for these features and you’ll be on your way to a more efficient, profitable business!
You now have identified the top features of plumbing and heating software:
- Connecting with a mobile CRM
- Scheduling and dispatching
- Quoting and invoicing tools
- Price presentation
- Customer management features
