From hot lead to invoice, your field service business won’t ever look back: WorkWave

15 October 2019 | 3607 Shares

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A few years ago, suggesting that service businesses start using technology to help their technicians and operational staff made many stop listening immediately: too expensive, no-one would use it, impractical, and not for us, thank you very much.

But since everyone started walking around with what’s effectively a powerful computer in their back pocket, almost everyone’s attitude toward technology has changed. Now, most of us wouldn’t be separated from our technology; in fact, it helps us inordinately in our daily lives. And, moreover, most people are conversant, so that when a new app or service comes along, we’ll at least attempt to give it a go, and see if it works for us.

And the final stumbling block, that of the cost of technology, has also all but disappeared. Cloud-based apps and services are standard: lower-cost, more transparent licensing models, and a technology ‘vocabulary’ (the GUI, or UI — user interface) that’s familiar in 99 percent of cases.

Service companies, from pest control to lawn & landscape to HVAC, now not only have several choices of technology vendors whose products are designed specifically for them but — because of consumerization of IT — have staff that are happy to use the systems, too. For SMBs in particular, implementing a powerful yet easy-to-use cloud-based software solution allows them to stay competitive in an increasingly demanding market, while saving critical time and improving ROI.

At TechHQ, we’ve been considering software and hardware solutions designed for field service-based companies, and are here focusing on ​WorkWave​, a company whose mission is to help businesses work the way they want to work, and reach their full business potential, whatever that may be. Instead of setting the precedent for the way every business must function, WorkWave has designed a cloud-based solution that lets you decide how to use the tech, and run your business the way you want to run it.

The NJ-based company offers several platforms for service-oriented business​es​, recognizing that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that works, in real life. Sure, there’s WorkWave ​Service​ (details below) that covers off almost all the bases required, but it also has more specialized components tailored for businesses across various industries, and of all sizes.

The prime example is WorkWave ​Route Manager​. As its title suggests, it cures one of the greatest headaches afflicting service businesses — that of efficient route planning (and dynamic route optimization). Every field-service operation knows that keeping truck routes as efficient as possible saves money and time, everyday. Planning efficient routes, and having properly qualified staff on each one, is immensely challenging and time-consuming. But Route Manager plans and optimizes all routes (from 2 to 200+ trucks-worth), plus it allows managers via ​WorkWave Route Manager GPS ​to track progress as the day goes on. It can dynamically alter routes as customers cancel, or jobs run over, ensuring staffing, overtime, and fuel costs are always kept low.

For companies looking for a complete solution, ​WorkWave Service ​is the place to start. There are many features and advantages to the platform that make operations massively more efficient, and profitable. In combination with service technicians using the WorkWave Mobile App, the platform manages the business as efficiently and smoothly as you’d like to run your business.

Source: WorkWave

Customer lists (and prospects) form the core of the system, with individual service journeys plotted out by the software’s drag-and-drop interface. For sales staff, prospects can be turned into appointments at the click of a mouse, and existing customers can request a time slot that works for them, promoting a better end-customer experience.

Following artfully structured and efficient routes, service staff are informed of each customer’s history and requirements, right from their phones. They can text their arrival time in advance, and let the next appointment know they’re on their way, delayed, or just down the block.

Work can be literally signed-off by the customer on the technician’s phone, and he or she can ​take payments ​while on the road too, update notes and customer records on the go, and even capture new leads for the sales team to pick up in the morning.

With each mobile app synchronizing in real-time (or waiting until there’s cell service, then updating automatically), the office-based staff get up-to-the-second information. Staff can divert technicians to a new job with a notification, and a new route too, all pushed into the technician’s smartphone. From quote to appointment to invoice, the cloud software helps service-oriented businesses run better. It lowers costs, lifts staff morale, makes customers happy, and boosts the company’s bottom line. Luckily, the platform is scalable, so your company can go from three trucks to three dozen without new software, training or processes.

There are specialist sets of capabilities for pest-control companies (WorkWave PestPac​) and ​ServMan​, a proprietary integrated development environment (IDE) that allows the software to incorporate any HVAC client’s unique business rules and workflow requirements. WorkWave offers the solutions that run your business the way it already does— but better.

To hear more about WorkWave and learn why we’re so enthusiastic about the product, get in touch with a representative from the company today to reserve your own, ​free demonstration​.