In order to succeed in the highly competitive environment, companies in the HVAC industry need to run smarter, more organized, and have their workflows managed well. HVAC field service software is making it easier for HVAC enterprises to be more efficient through automation in their service practices. Field service mobility and a better ability to turn Big Data into useful analytics helps them improve the day-to-day functions of the organization.
With the focus firmly entrenched in offering a greater customer experience, HVAC field service software is aiding HVAC organizations in all facets of their service delivery to better address growing customer needs and demands while also increasing the amount of service calls their technicians are able to take in a day. Field service software gives them tools to get rid of any manual processes and exchange them for field service mobile apps, Internet of Things technology, and increased levels of automation.
Here are just some of the ways HVAC organizations are benefitting from HVAC field service management software and what effect it is having on service delivery.
1) Improved Customer Service
Software can’t talk to your customers, so you will still need to hire technicians with great customer service skills. However, HVAC field service software can help improve your customer service by ensuring your customers are never forgotten and that, when you say you will be available, you will be there on time with the right tools and information to offer quality service.
HVAC field service management software makes it easy to schedule technicians in an emergency. It gives dispatchers the ability to search geographically for the nearest technician, or for the one with the right skill set to get the job done right the first time. It can also offer many different ways for customers to book service without having to call in to a call center, such as QR codes, direct emails that automatically create work orders, and customer portals to book their own service.
Ensuring technicians are on time and where they need to be will have customers returning and make your service delivery more efficient, which opens opportunities for new growth.
2) Better Resource Allocation
Whether you have 10 technicians, 100 technicians or more, getting your technicians to the job site on time can be the toughest challenge. Scheduling and dispatch are one of the most critical parts of any service delivery organization, and in the HVAC industry, it can be extremely difficult during peak seasons when heating units need to be working in those cold-weather months.
That’s why HVAC field service software comes equipped with tools that will get your resources to the proper job while also giving you opportunities to book as many appointments as possible to grow your business. With HVAC field service scheduling software, take advantage of scheduling tools that allow you to narrow down your technician pool with a skill set search, ensuring the right technician with the right skills is being dispatched. Coupled with a field service mobile app, you can push work orders to the field, make changes as you need to throughout the day in emergency situations, and see your technicians’ full schedules either weeks or months ahead, so you never miss a call or double book calls, while limiting idle times for technicians, keeping them constantly working all day.
3) Improved Responsiveness with Field Service Mobility
Being responsive to the ever-changing landscape is hard, especially if you are stuck doing things the old way with manual process and paper-based work orders. That just won’t cut it in today’s marketplace, as HVAC organizations need tools that are responsive in the field, so they can communicate with their technicians and get information back from them quicker.
That’s why many are turning to a mobile solution with their HVAC field service software and are asking their software to have a field service mobile app that allows them to push work orders to the field, while also getting those work orders back, completed, filled out with all billing information, customer signatures, photos, and checklists so that they can be billed to the customer quickly.
4). Flexibility in HVAC Field Service Software
One size does not fit all in the service delivery field, and that is no truer than in the HVAC industry. With many different services to offer, as well as installation projects, preventative maintenance contracts, and emergency break/fix repairs, HVAC organizations need to be flexible in what they offer and how they offer it to their customers. And that also means they need software that is just as flexible.
With HVAC field service software, organizations can handle all their service needs with one solution and can book their resources out across one platform, as opposed to having to check in with different departments to see availability. This is especially critical in the case of an emergency repair situation where a technician may need to be pulled away from a project, or off a preventative maintenance job in which someone else needs to fill in. This flexibility gives everyone the option to use the same technician pool for all different types of service.
5) An End-to-End Solution with Integrations
Field service organizations use different software in their everyday work. There are CRM, ERP and accounting systems, such as Microsoft GP, NetSuite, and QuickBooks, and there are tax programs, subcontractor management portals, and additional work order management systems. Plus, HVAC organizations may have a specific software they use in-house. But you don’t want to use to portals or software to do the work of one, so integrations between those programs and your HVAC field service software are needed to limit double entry and the possiblity of errors.
Integrations make it easy for information, such as customer profiles, employee records, and inventories to pass through and be useable in your field service software. They also can help speed up billing times straight from the field as work orders pass through the integration and become invoices for the customer. When you think of an HVAC field service software, you should be thinking of everything combined for a true end-to-end field service solution.
HVAC Field Service Software Can Directly Impact Your Service Delivery
Many aspects of field service delivery can be impacted by HVAC field service software. There are multiple ways you can automate your service delivery, start to nail down key performance indicators, and push your HVAC field service enterprise forward to open up new opportunities for revenue growth. And it all starts with a HVAC field service software that can impact every aspect of your field service operation.