Best Field Service Management Software

Field service management (FSM) is organizing and planning field service jobs in a service organization. The process is all about identifying customers’ service needs and ensuring customer satisfaction with each service delivery. Whether residential or commercial, typical field service operations involve various moving parts and functions, including

1. Managing service appointments and scheduling jobs out of it.
2. Dispatching technicians out on service appointments with necessary tools and equipment.
3. Tracking remote workforce or field service technicians and the job progress.
4. Assigning and tracking service work orders from creation to completion.
5. Keeping track of inventory, including the transfer of products, consumption, and adjustments.
6. Creating and sending estimates and invoices to customers.

As the field service industry keeps expanding and becoming more competitive, it’s high time for field service companies to adopt the most efficient field service management system to stay on top of the industry.

Field service has come a long way. The days of service agents having to keep track of mountains of paper are thankfully drawing to a close. Today information required for a job can all be managed electronically and with greater efficiency. Misplacing a work order is not nearly the issue it once was—now a technician can look it up in real time! But all of this requires a software solution.

Ideally, any software chosen should be designed with a “mobile-first” experience in mind. User-friendly mobile applications should centralizes all the information a field agent needs in one place. Instead of having to cart around files and folders and keep track of far too many pieces of paper it is all in the palm of your hand…customer location…contact information…ad hoc requests and recent conversations with back-office team mates. Moving to a mobile solution is no longer the future it is the present.

To smoothly transition from Excel sheets or an outdated tool to a new field service scheduling solution, you need to consider API integration. API integration allows for effortless data migration between systems and is a feature you should prioritize when shopping for new solutions.

Not all software is equal. Even when you choose an FSM system specific to your niche, you need to understand that it might not be designed with your particular use case in mind.

A tool that needs constant maintenance or support from a dedicated IT professional will not suit a startup. So, it is vital that you select a field service management tool that can be customized without coding by any user with administrator access.

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Because the software installed is on your physical servers, on-premise FSM tools may seem like the secure option. But they will not be as helpful for your workforce in the field or the back-office operators working from remote locations as you think. The software is on your servers, so security is your problem—and it is up to you to make sure updates and patches are applied as needed.

However, cloud-based field service management software is built and maintained by the service provider on their servers. The security features cloud-based FSM software comes with are state-of-the-art. Features like single sign-on and face recognition come packaged in a mobile compatible, browser-friendly solution that your customers and employees can use irrespective of location.

Field service businesses deal with a high volume of jobs to dispatch and a large pool of employees to assign jobs. Faced with a unique set of challenges in dispatching, field service management software helps with various aspects of dispatching.

Automated Scheduling

• Automates the scheduling process and helps to ensure the right skilled technicians are at the job location
• Provides complete visibility and transparency regarding jobs, resources, and locations
• Assigns jobs to technicians based on individual skillset, availability, and location proximity
• Helps find the right resource for the right job while focusing on high-quality service delivery

Intelligent Dispatch Board

Dispatch board in field service management software consists of a centralized view of all service appointments scheduled. With a unified dispatching board, field service businesses can:

• Filter and assign jobs to technicians or field service teams based on various factors.
• View resource-wise details on the dispatch board, such as assigned technicians, their skill sets, and available slots.
• Get accurate ETAs based on real-time and historical traffic data.
• Synchronize schedules with a single drag and drop from the centralized calendar to easily access all relevant information in a single platform.
• View job progress and get status updates from every technician on the field
• Track unassigned, unscheduled, and overdue jobs to identify and resolve any issues that may arise quickly.

Real-time alerts to the team

With FSM software, you can track the progress of each job so you can keep your customers updated. It lets you get real-time visibility over technician’s location and job status. It also allows your business to:

• Send scheduling push notifications and real-time mobile alerts
• Inform the field service team about new job assignments and schedule changes
• Keep everyone on the same page by providing a platform for communication 
• Resolve conflicts with subsequent schedules
• Communicate with customers with detailed job information