For many field service providers, dealing with many technicians who hardly report in the office is among the most difficult operational tasks. They might still rely on obsolete manual approaches to allocate work and track error-prone and tedious tasks.
In addition, field technicians often respond to emergency calls every day that require on-the-spot changes. Slight delays, missing information, or miscommunication may result in low efficiency, idle technician time, and poor customer service.
This is where a field service app comes to play. Through an app with some of the following features, you can manage a team of technicians and handle a lot of other field service tasks:
1. Integrated Payments
Invoicing through an app can cut down on loose papers and save many hours of office work. Integrated payment features need to allow your technicians to send invoices to customers through emails or use mobile printers to print invoices.
Ensure your app has the ability to forward invoices from the office. This helps to eliminate the importance of transferring hard copies back to the office.
2. Job Routing, Dispatching, and Scheduling
You should always be on top of your job schedule so as to run an efficient and smooth business organization. Otherwise, you may find yourself in what is called the constant game of catch-up, looking to resolve issues that bad schedules cause.
For example, the sick day of a technician may mean rescheduling jobs last minute. Although this task is very stressful with a piece of paper and a pen, field service apps will make it straightforward and quick.
Most field service apps consider factors like the skill level, geographical location, and availability of technicians before assigning tasks. Some apps automate this process, whereas others use an algorithm to suggest technicians handle specific tasks.
3. GPS Tracking
GPS tracking is among the basic yet valuable features that benefit waiting customers, technicians, and dispatchers. You must ensure your app allows you to track the location of technicians. Tracking active field employees makes assigning projects to the nearest available technician simple. As a matter of fact, this may automatically be done when your app is part of an FSM system.
In addition, GPS tracking estimates how long customers should wait before a technician reaches their location. Empowering you in such a way positively impacts your company’s image of professionalism and transparency.
4. Contractor Management
If you work with third-party vendors and contractors, an FSM app’s work order management features will help streamline processes and eliminate confusion. In addition, workers may document their project progress through notes, pictures, videos, and voices, keeping every party involved accountable.
After finishing projects, technicians will update their work orders while project managers may view job status through the app. It is also important to ensure your app can support contactless payments and send electronic invoices.
The Bottom Line!
Choosing a good FSM service will be a game changer for your company. A good app won’t just streamline your workflow. It will also increase your business profits and improve efficiency.
