Many janitorial services are making the switch to some form of facility management software and ditching the pen and paper. Makes sense, considering one of their many jobs is to empty trash bins and recycling boxes, so any place they can reduce paper is a bonus.
But there are many added benefits to using janitorial service software when taking care of a commercial building, and those benefits can add up in less time doing minor tasks, both at the property and in the back office. Time, that when added up, can be huge dollars coming off the bottom line.
Commercial cleaning can be as small as emptying a trash bin to larger tasks such as window cleaning a multi-story building. And when you think of an entire office building, a hotel or mall, and all the needs they would have, it’s easy to see how even the smallest detail could be missed. But when you make promises to customers that every task will be completed, missing even the smallest speck of dirt isn’t acceptable.
One way to ditch the paper and keep on task is to use a mobile checklist function that will keep your team on task, and ensure they don’t miss a thing. Load each task, from carpet cleaning to window washing and refilling towel dispensers, into the checklist and manage your team’s workflow by requiring an input of notes and pictures of completed tasks into the list. Not only does a mobile checklist offer an electronic way to capture every task on a job, but it also makes sure that nothing slips through the cracks, and your customer gets a sparkling clean space.
While also achieving the ‘go-green’ initiative that many in the janitorial services space are taking on, it also eliminates any need to double enter data from a pen and paper work order or checklist when billing out to a customer. Close out the work order and have all the tasks completed, plus any allotted expenses and time sent directly back to the head office for review and have a quick turnaround for invoicing. That alone will speed up billing times with your customers, offering them more accurate billing than they have had before, as the janitorial service software eliminates the guesswork.
It also makes the janitorial team more efficient and builds trust with the customer. If a facility manager is relying on old methods of paper and pen, there is a greater likelihood that information, quotes and past job history will be misplaced.
For a real-world example, while a team is cleaning a bathroom, they may notice one of the hand dryers is broken. Instead of writing it down and sending it back with the completed work order, they can instantly check inventory levels to see if one is in stock and have a replacement call scheduled, or attach a notice for a quote to be done for the customer to have the dryer fixed, all from their mobile field service app and in the facility management software.
It’s a more efficient way of working, as opposed to having to catch the written need for a quote or extra repair off a work order at head office, and it keeps your customers happy with prompt fixes to their equipment.
The savings aren’t just in the paper you won’t be buying, but in the time you’ll save on tasks and the extra revenue you can generate with quick turnarounds on quotes and additional repairs and maintenance.