What is Field Service Management Software?

Introduction

Field service management (FSM) software offers a single platform from which you can manage your business tasks such as scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, reporting, customer account management, and more. This solution is ideal for service companies such as pool and spa, HVAC, plumbing, and others. It enables you to run your business efficiently, make your staff more productive, and keep your customers happy.

FSM software removes confusion and uncertainty in business operations. You can bid goodbye to old-fashioned methods such as using whiteboards and Excel spreadsheets to manage your multiple employees. The platform makes scheduling and monitoring intuitive and easy, and your firm more agile. With FSM mobile apps, your staff can receive jobs in the field and will not have to come back to the office for new tasks.

Features of Field Service Management Software

Job Scheduling and Dispatching

The workforce management module is an important part of FSM software as it helps you to efficiently schedule and dispatch your field techs for on-site services. Based on the field techs’ schedules, the solution can automatically assign them fresh tasks as they pour in. After scheduling, the techs are automatically informed about the details of the job.

Find a FSM program that optimizes scheduling. It should be able to assign jobs based on severity and dispatch techs based on their other scheduled tasks. This ensures your techs get nearby jobs and don’t have to travel across the city multiple times each day.

Order, Contact, and Case Management

Monitoring your customer service quality is difficult but very important. FSM software helps here as it can track incoming customer calls. If a client makes multiple calls about their issue, they get collected in a contact database. This helps you analyze the issue and understand why multiple calls were needed to resolve it. You can learn if the techs could’ve done better and whether there was a serious lapse in service quality. Thus, this feature enables you to learn from previous work orders, and continuously improve your customer service levels.

Work Order Management

With FSM software, you can say goodbye to outdated paper work orders. The system eliminates confusion by streamlining the process. After a job is assigned, the work order records the name of the responsible technician, and anybody can view it to learn who’s doing the job.

After finishing the tasks, the techs can mark it complete in the system. Nobody needs to ask them about the job status of work orders as they can easily see it in the platform. In addition, the software saves details of completed work orders for later reference.

Parts Inventory Management

This is another helpful feature of FSM programs. Your techs use a lot of the same parts to perform their repairs and tasks. Therefore, it is essential to ensure you have a good stock of these parts at all times. Parts inventory management functionality helps you keep track of these inventory levels. 

When a tech uses a part, it gets recorded in real time in the platform. As a result, the software sends you an alert if the inventory for a particular part falls below the specified amount so that you can order more.

Mobile Access

Since field service businesses use a mobile workforce, it is essential that your FSM software vendor offers handy mobile apps to enable your field team to be productive on the go. Your field techs should be able to use the mobile app to receive dispatches, look at their schedules, perform updates to work orders, and mark them complete after finishing the job.

Benefits of Field Service Management Software

Automation

FSM tools automate key processes and activities in a streamlined manner. This includes planning and scheduling tasks as well as adapting to changes through the day. Thus, the software helps you avoid the cost and frustration of inefficient activities and wasted time. Top solutions in the category automatically handle all the planning and scheduling dependencies and variables, and eliminate the need to make manual decisions.

Resource Optimization

FSM programs optimize the assignment and routing of field techs. This is an important task because it directly impacts profitability. Dispatch optimization enables your crew to execute a high number of jobs per day. Plus, it increases productivity, reduces drive time, and reduces fuel charges and emissions.

Coordination

FSM applications simplify field service management including processes and tasks such as projects, contracts, returns, warranties, service parts, labor, work orders, and equipment. The tool consolidates and coordinates disparate processes such as dispatch, invoicing, and reporting. In addition, it provides standard controls, workflows, and databases to help you organize and coordinate your field service activities productively.

Efficiency

FSM software sends jobs to the mobile devices of field techs, along with the fastest route to the customer site. In addition, it sends details such as contractual commitments, applicable warranties, contacts, service history, and tools and parts required – all of which aid the techs to deliver effective and timely service.

Techs can check off each task on their mobile device after completing it to keep managers updated on the latest status. Plus, they can record details of labor expended, parts consumed, quality info, test results, diagnostics, and service notes, as well as capture before and after task video or images on their mobile device.

Responsiveness

Without FSM software, companies are in reactive mode to inevitable changes. Field situations keep changing through the day, throwing static work plans into disarray. Necessary skill sets or parts could be missing, or union regulations may stipulate an added crew member. Inclement weather, longer travel and work time, technician illness, and higher-priority tasks can crop up.

Without real-time mobile communication with field techs, you cannot handle these surprises. Mobile devices and FSM software facilitate two-way communication in real time, empowering schedulers and field staffs to respond swiftly to changing scenarios, inform the client, reorganize priorities, and effectively address inadequacies from the office and field.