Field Service Management Software Missteps: Why Your SaaS Solution Isn’t Working

Software as a service (SaaS) field service management software has become an essential tool that helps small businesses provide the best customer experience, streamline processes, and get ahead of the competition. Field service management (FSM) software should help you grow your small business, but too many companies learn the hard way they’ve invested in the wrong software.

Is your SaaS solution the best for your business? If you’re not sure, here are a few signs that your field service management software isn’t working well (and what you can do about them).

You’re not getting field technician or employee buy-in.

When you choose the right SaaS solution for your small business, field service management software pays for itself in nine months and can increase technician efficiency and customer satisfaction by 60 percent. But if nobody is using your FSM software, what’s the point of having it? If your office staff or field technicians aren’t buying into your FSM software, it’s likely because:

• The software is not intuitive for all users
• The system is too complicated for your small business
• Implementation was incomplete

Intuitive software is crucial. If it’s making everyone’s lives easier, you’re likely to see that nine-month return on investment (ROI) and 60 percent customer satisfaction boost. But people are creatures of habit, and if new things seem too complicated, they’ll likely revert to the old way of doing things, which usually means manual practices.

The answer? Don’t decide on field management software in a vacuum. Make sure the technology you choose embraces things like personalized onboarding to help get employee buy-in. Getting staff approval before you invest, and making them feel like part of the decision, will help ensure you get the right solution for your small business.

An Important Note About Implementation

Before you decide on software, make sure implementation will be productive. If you don’t have a solid implementation customized for your small business, your great software that everyone’s excited about may never reach its potential. There are plenty of places along the way where implementation can go wrong, so be sure to vet your field service management software to ensure effective implementation.

Download the free checklist: Save Time by Implementing Field Management Software

Your software lacks the communication capabilities you need.

Field service software has the potential to truly transform your business by making communication seamless among your field technicians, front office staff, and customers. Clear communication is everything when it comes to working smarter and making your small business more efficient.

You need software that has comprehensive phone and messaging capabilities. This means that no matter whether calls are made to a cell phone in the field or a landline in the office, they’ll be consolidated, ensuring no call is missed or forgotten. The right field service management software will also track and route calls, create call transcriptions, and make every number you use is a “text or call” number.

In addition to making everything run smoothly, this kind of technology can help with marketing by tracking call sources and automatically linking them to other projects within your field service management software.

Your small business payments experience isn’t seamless.

Today, we can pay for coffee by waving our phones in front of a scanner. While your customers expect old fashioned service from you, they also expect the very latest payments technology. Yes, paying for a new HVAC system and paying for coffee aren’t the same things. But your customers want them to both be convenient—and most folks don’t want to pay cash. Research shows that small businesses that only take cash lose customer trust, and therefore, business.

Making payments easy can help grow your business, and the SaaS model has made it so much easier. Software today can provide easy online payments with real-time insights and reporting dashboards that give you access to all payments.

It’s also crucial that your SaaS invoice management is user-friendly and that it easily integrates into your accounting software, such as QuickBooks. It puts all of your payment information in one place, creating efficiencies that make room for growth.

You’re not getting enough software support.

Just like you have to earn your customers’ business, your SaaS field service management software should earn yours. This includes:

• White-glove onboarding
• Customized data import
• Unlimited training and support with phone, email, and live-chat options
• Regular platform enhancements so you’re always using the newest tech

There are many SaaS solution options for small businesses—choose the one that gives you the most. Service Fusion’s platform for service provider small businesses consolidates multiple systems into one easy-to-use platform that helps you decrease operational costs and win repeat business. Find out more—request a demo.