At Westcourt we understand that trade and services business are time poor. This include businesses like plumbers, electrical contractors, locksmiths, cleaners and gardeners. In effect any business that runs and operates jobs with staff in the field.
And as a ServiceM8 expert we can use ServiceM8 to simplify and streamline the job of quoting, invoicing, running and operating a business. In particular we love ServiceM8 for the following reasons:
You can quote and invoice the job on your first visit
The ability to run powerful job management through a mobile phone is what sets ServiceM8 apart from other cloud-based software providers. The creation of standard job types, prices and narration allows a job to be set up, a quote issued and accepted in front of the client. You can take photo’s and add it to invoices
The ability to take photo’s from your Apple iphone and attach it to quotes and job tracking is important. The photo’s give you the ability to show the client the before and after impact of your work and also allows you to track the state of the work before you arrived in case there is damage caused by another business operator.
It has a great inventory management system
ServiceM8 understands that many businesses run stock on the go or through a large warehouse. So you can sell and track stock while at site and the owners can keep track of stock in the van or in the warehouse so you know when to order more stock, refill a van and track how individual operators are going with stock leakage and billing all the stock that is provided at clients.
Document scanning
ServiceM8 can take a photo and turn it into a pdf. So items like house plans, documents and site plans can be quickly turned into a hard copy document to a working pdf for the office.
You can incorporate checklists
The creation of a checklist to a job on site with the cloud accounting software programs give you better quality control and more consistent delivery of services. Your team on site can verify they have done individual steps before completing a job so you can see, in real time, how a job is progressing.
Tracking staff with GPS
ServiceM8 allows you to see and track where individual operators are located and how they are progressing during the day without having to call them individually.
Getting client authorisation
If a client on site agrees to a job that you have quoted – the client can sign the quote on site through the iPhone and you have evidence that the quote has been approved. There is no need to manually type in that the client has agreed to the quote or “hope” that the client will stand by their oral commitment.
ServiceM8 and Xero
ServiceM8 integrates with Xero so you can take your on-field activities and combine this into semi-automated bank reconciliations, BAS returns and your business reports.
Job History
Some clients and some sites are more unique than others with their own legacy. So ServiceM8 gives you a detailed job history so you know where the job was at and how it went – this helps newer team members on site get upto speed with legacy issues and understanding how your clients operate and best place them moving forward.
Job Scheduling
If a team member is sick: co-ordinating their jobs over the rest of the team can be a nightmare. ServiceM8 has job scheduling software built-in so you can get a top-down view of your team calendar and if there is scope to reschedule somebody who has availability on the day. The “drop and drag” function makes the process and communication across your team a breeze.
Further, any update to an employees schedule is automatically sent to the team member through a text message so they are upto date with what is going on.
Appointment booking software
ServiceM8 can send links to clients where they can book in team members time according to their calendar and travel times. This means that the “back and forth” time consuming process with clients can be automated.
Straight away payments
ServiceM8 can accept credit card payments on the spot so you can get paid immediately. This can even be done by scanning a clients credit card so you don’t have to enter the credit card details when you take a payment.
Customers can even choose to pay through ApplePay, GooglePay or Mircosoft Pay for those who don’t have a credit card on them.
On the way messages
You can automatically send “on the way” messages so your customers know when the tradie or professional is arriving to site. There can even be a “track my arrival” so customers can even see where you are and your arrival route.
Iphone and Apple Watch Integration
The ability to communicate to your staff through Apple Watch simplifies communication with your team and saves time for team members on site.
It works offline
If your team have to go into remote areas ServiceM8 still works and allows a range of activities to still occur. And when your back into a service area text messages and emails you have scheduled will issue.
As a tax accounting firm we understand how critical it is for business to simplify their business and get a better handle on what is going on in the business. ServiceM8 is a great tool we use for trade and services businesses that can help very simple to very complex business operators who are working on site with clients and multiple jobs. The cloud accounting aspect and its integration with Xero and MYOB make ServiceM8 a great front end package. If you use Futrli and KeyPay you are starting to get a very complete package to run your business from.
Like anything – the setup is critical to getting the job to work properly. And given that Westcourt is a ServiceM8 expert we a natural choice for your trade and service business to get a full job management system.
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