Hammer Plumbing used an off the shelf work order system for years.
Technicians use this to see what work they have lined up for the day, the details of the work orders, and can add notes and pictures, invoices, and signatures when they are doing the work. It also tracks their time on location when they are working, so that the front office can see how long they are there.
The iPhone application took about 2 months to create.
The app included a Dispatch board. The front office uses this to assign work to the technicians, which then shows up on their iPhones. There are warnings on the dispatch board for when a job hasn’t started yet that should have started, when a technician is taking longer than estimated, and when a technician doesn’t have the right skill set for the job requirements.
RIO:
FileMaker has cut down on their verbal communication because they know where their technicians are and what they are doing at all times. It was also about a year ROI since they had an expensive subscription to an off the shelf application. It has also given them a lot more flexibility in how they want data to be tracked than their previous system and includes integration with Square and Xero that has helped speed up their AR.
