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How to improve Work Order Management with Field Service Software?

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It is 2022 already! Who would have thought that so much will happen to us in the last two years? The COVID-19 pandemic has visibly transformed the world as we know it. Ever imagined your kids will attend school from your living room? Ever thought of walking into a supermarket wearing a face mask? More importantly, have you guessed in your wildest dreams that businesses worldwide would suffer so much? But it takes more than a catastrophe to take the human spirit down. As the world emerges from the aftermath of COVID-19, small and medium businesses are also resuming their course. However, some things will never be the same. Much has changed since 2019. And so have the trends and predictions in the domain of field service management. If you are one of the professionals in the field, you must be aware of these changing trends, including the emergence of field service management software and how they might turn your business around.

The global market of field service is expanding at an accelerating rate. As per recent reports, it is growing at an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5%. Naturally, this took time and effort, and digital transformation played a crucial role in this. The days of disjointed, tedious paper-based systems are long gone. Technology has transformed field service management for good. Especially with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worldwide social distancing protocols, the traditional methods underwent a complete overhaul, facilitating remote collaboration and tracking. This has been a major boost in the field service industry as well. As a service business owner, you too can now have full control over all your operations via field team management software and other digital tools. Furthermore, innovations such as automated work order management, incorporating the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and even harnessing the power of augmented and virtual reality have ushered in a new era in field service.

work-orders-details

A work order is an action or task assigned to a person or team. It provides all the information about the task and outlines the process for completing it. Work order management refers to the management of these work order services from creating, Scheduling and Dispatching, and receiving the payments from the customers. It is a systematic approach and maintenance of work orders within the given time frame.

2. What is Field Service Software?

Work Flow

Managers, dispatchers, and supervisors use Field Service Management Software to allocate technicians to field tasks and monitor their performance. Field professionals use it to find information about their work orders, report on their work, and optimize the time and resources provided for each job. The software is integrated with various other software applications to make management easier and smoother.

3. Why does Work Order Management need Software?

If you’re thinking, “Can’t work orders be managed manually? Why do I need software?” Let us tell you why. Work order management software helps an organization track, prioritize, and complete work orders. It helps companies streamline their field operations and ensures all equipment, devices, and building infrastructure is working optimally. It also saves time by streamlining the scheduling process.

schedule-feature-zuper

In the 21st century, when technology is advancing every day, shifting from a paper-based to a digital platform is very essential. Using work order management software, dispatchers can save time from filling excel sheets, paper forms, and doing mental calculations. The software automates most of the work by reducing errors and improving quality.

4. How to Enhance Your Work Order Management with Field Service Management Software

  • Schedules and Dispatches

    To help replace all of the piled-up papers and files, Field Service Software organizes and schedules all the work orders digitally. Work orders can be rearranged by dragging and dropping them on the calendar along with the assigned field professional for the job. The field management software also allows dispatchers to check the technician's availability, skill level, and location before scheduling them for the task. The calendar view displaying technician schedules and the live status of the work order helps avoid overbooking or any other errors in the scheduling process. The software also sends technicians and customers text reminders of their schedules, cancellations, etc.

    The field service software increases the efficiency of the dispatchers and the technicians. It helps them schedule, manage, and track their schedules and dispatches in one place. This makes work order management smoother and easier.

  • Estimate and Invoices:

    Invoicing Bill

    Estimates are generated before the service or products are delivered. It breaks down the costs, charges, and tasks. In comparison, invoices are generated after the work order is completed. The Field Service Software generates estimates and invoices before and after the work order. The estimates are sent to customers for their approval before the work order is created. The invoices are generated once the work order is completed and help receive quick payments.

    By easily generating estimates and invoices through the field service software, technicians can complete their work orders faster. Completing work orders efficiently and on time provides the opportunity to complete more services thereby increasing revenue and profits.

  • Tracking:

    Timekeeping plays a significant role in determining the profitability of a business. The field service software helps manage the work order by tracking the technicians' time, resources, and location in real-time. The software has time card modules that help track the working hours and the location of the technician. Timekeeping when integrated with work order management helps increase billable hours. Apart from time, the software also helps monitor the technicians on the field through the map module. It also provides dispatchers with real-time updates of the work orders on a calendar.

    By tracking the work hours, resources, technicians, and work order status, field service companies can ensure standardization of processes and sustainability of their business. It helps assign the jobs to technicians efficiently, saves time and increases productivity.

  • Reports and Dashboards:

    The field service software dashboard allows dispatchers and technicians to view their daily, weekly, and monthly progress and performances. It provides live metrics of your business processes and gives you a clear view of how different components of your businesses are performing. Reports on the other hand provide historical statistics on daily, weekly, monthly, or annual metrics.

    With the Reports and Dashboard features, businesses can better understand their businesses' health and make better decisions.

  • Customer:

    Customer acquisition and customer retention are two primary objectives of any organization. The field service software houses the repository of customer information. It is further enhanced with customer-centric information from other software like QuickBooks or Zoho. The software helps auto-fill forms, provide customer databases and help send invoices directly to them. It also sends SMS reminders with technician information to keep them updated. The field management software allows organizations to communicate easily with customers thereby enhancing the services that they deliver while ensuring customer satisfaction.

    Keeping your customers happy is a part of work order management. The service software ensures that customers have an insight of the progress of their work order, make necessary adjustments, and get their services at their convenience.

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Field Promax is dedicated towards helping businesses streamline their work orders, manage their schedules, monitor their technicians, and track their progress. It helps organizations provide the best services to their customers.