In today’s competitive business world, you need every advantage available to set your field service business apart from the competition. Field service management (FSM) software helps give you the advantage you need to accomplish just that. With the current FSM software advancements, front office and back-office operations both get a significant boost in efficiency and productivity. Front office functions are often the first to benefit from fleet management software, but back-office processes can also enjoy many significant advantages as well.
Inventory Management
With GPS tracking and the Internet of Things (IoT), vehicle and inventory tracking are automated and made simple. Through the use of cloud technology, available inventory visibility can be updated in near real-time. When your inventory is tracked by technicians from the field, the potential for errors is reduced when it is managed through an FSM solution. The same type of software also eliminates the need for pen-and-paper tracking and transcribing, eliminating the need for double documentation and redundant entries. Fleet management software puts inventory management into an automated and up-to-date system that makes your operation more efficient and less likely to suffer from the woes of human error.
Predictive Maintenance
Today’s fleet management software tracks driver and technician location while also tracking mileage. This allows your fleet managers to detect when preventative maintenance is due. The same technology can also monitor for sensor alerts and provide the information needed for recommended service.
With this type of predictive maintenance, fleet vehicles can be kept up and running at all times, rather than sitting in the yard and not making you any money. Servicing vehicles before small problems become major breakdowns reduces downtime and prevents costly repairs further down the line. The ability for fleet management software to monitor these metrics and present the information in reports that fleet managers can act on is a critical advancement in today’s FSM technology.
Invoicing and Payments
Current fleet management software has improved the invoicing and process by leaps and bounds. With the option for cloud technology, invoices can be created within minutes of a job being completed. When a technician in the field marks the job done, FSM software updates the materials used and logs the time it took to complete the job. In this way, an invoice can automatically be created in a matter of mere seconds.
The latest FSM solutions and technology represent a monumental improvement over how these processes were handled in the days of paper invoices with carbon copies. Gone are the days when everything had to be double logged, paperwork had to be created, and information had to be transferred from one (now obsolete) system to another.
The ability to log things in real-time means an invoice can be created, sent, and paid much more quickly, enhancing the experience for both the customer and the technician. Your field technicians or administrators will be able to take payment in person, over the phone, or even online. Recurring payments can easily be scheduled using FSM software, and customer credit card information can be automatically updated as needed, making for a far more streamlined process for all involved parties.
Integrated Accounting
Along with advancements in billing and payments, the related and relevant information can now automatically be logged into your accounting systems through field service management software. Your managers will no longer have to toggle back and forth between invoicing, payments, and accounting systems. With an FSM solution, a single entry logs the information into every area where it is needed. Removing these redundant entries results in improved efficiency and accuracy — and more timely reporting of pertinent data.
Improve Operational Efficiency
Up-to-date field management software provides the ability to streamline your fleet-based company’s operations and improves overall workflow. Assign jobs to technicians while in the field, or update their existing routes with new jobs as they come up, all with the simple click of the mouse.
With today’s state-of-the-art FSM software, you can even dispatch your most experienced technicians and specialists with the right skills to the toughest jobs. You’ll also be able to monitor the statuses of jobs and work orders in real-time, allowing your fleet managers to see technician progress and job completion in real-time, too.
All of these features allow for sleeker, more modern, and far more efficient process management with little to no paperwork. Gone are the days of inefficient back-and-forth phone calls and outdated legacy methods that allowed so much to fall through the cracks. FSM software means streamlined workflows, and that benefits the office staff, field technicians, and your field service business as a whole.
Take a moment to evaluate Azuga’s field management software. You’ll find that they offer the most cutting edge features with solutions that improve your fleet and field service operations from front to back end and everything in between. Azuga’s FSM software is user-friendly, simple to install, and easily customizable. And, when used in unison with the rest of the Azuga suite, its FSM solution allows you the most flexibility, offers the most insight into your operations, and gives you access to today's most prodigious CRM. Contact Azuga today for a free demo.
