How to Choose the Best Field Service Management Software for Your Business

It is evident that to keep up with the growing market competition, you must empower your organization with field management software that offers the best features and services. However, the current market is overflowing with hundreds of software options, which makes it rather confusing to zero in on one. Some of them make lofty promises of astonishing features while some offers irresistible deals. But remember, nothing will work in your favor if they meet your requirements. So, ask yourself whether your choice fulfill the following criteria before you finalize.

1. Cloud-Based Software

While on-premise field service tools may seem like the secure option with the software installed in your own physical servers and computer systems or mobile devices on your local network, they will be pretty much useless for your field workforce and even back-office operators who work from a remote location. Whereas, cloud-based field service management software is built and maintained by the service provider on their own servers. What’s more, they come with state-of-the-art security features like single sign-on, face authorization, etc., in a mobile-compatible, browser-friendly version that can be used by both your customer and employees seamlessly irrespective of the location.

2. Ease of Use

In case the software that you choose demands additional infrastructure or comes with a long learning curve, then your employees will have a hard time adapting to it and start looking for ways to bypass the system, which will lead to more complications. If you make sure that your FSM software doesn’t require anything other than a mobile device and a decent internet connection, it will not only make the life of your employees easy but also improve the overall efficiency of your field workforce.

3. Smart Scheduling & Dispatching

Scheduling and dispatching is the backbone of any service delivery business. No matter what else you are offering your customers, nothing will work as per expectation unless the right technician reaches the job site on time and deliver the best of service to the customer. However, scheduling in field service can easily become a nightmare at times. Think about missed appointments, double bookings, an under-utilized workforce, and several other things that could go wrong in the process. But a smart scheduling feature will reduce the administrative burden of dispatchers and help them assign the right technician to the right job at the right time, every time.

4. Customization

Not all software is made equal. So, even when you choose a field service management system that is specific to your niches like maid service software or cleaning business software, you need to understand that it might not be made with your organization in mind. Picking a tool that needs constant maintenance and support from a dedicated IT professional will not suit a small, local service business. Hence, it is vital that you pick a field service software that can be customized without any complex process.

5. Mobile Access

The days where field service agent lugged around from one customer service location to another with a overflowing paper folder with all crucial information on the service job that needs to be done are gone for good. Now, most leading service providers rely on smartphones to disseminate information to their technicians. Therefore, an ideal field service software will offer its users a mobile-first experience replacing chunky file cabinet with a user-friendly mobile application. This mobile app must provide field agents all the information they need from customer location and contact to their any ad hoc requests or recent conversations they had with the back-office team.

6. Seamless Integration

Field service scheduling software can’t stand alone. It needs to connect seamlessly with the existing software stack software like CRM, ERP, accounting system, and everything else seamlessly to improve operational efficiency.

7. Team Management

If your business offer different services or your employees work at multiple job sites at a time, make sure the field service management software that you choose lets you create service groups and offer dynamic team management features.

8. GPS Technology

For field service businesses, monitoring field technicians in real-time could be a crucial element for seamless operations. This way, you can always keep track of your employees’ location, job status, routing issues, and most importantly, total billable hours. Most premium FSM software solutions these days come with GPS technology with features like geotagging and geofencing. Therefore, if you want to use your resources to their full potential, make sure it is GPS enabled.

9. Self-Service Portal

Gone are the days where customers made appointments through phone calls or emails. Now, they want everything to be done at the touch of a button, so if you want to keep up with customer expectations, choose a field service time app that offers a user-friendly self-service interface that enables your customers to take control.

10. Free Trial Period

Most of the field service management solutions available in the market offer a free trial period so that users can test the product on their own and ensure it is capable of meeting their existing business needs.
A free trial provides you with an ample amount of time to alleviate any doubts you may have about an FSM suite’s performance and make an informed decision about the value you can extract from it.