Learn More About Field Service Management Software
What is Field Service Management Software?
Field service management (FSM) software helps businesses manage all the resources that go into the process of FSM. Field service refers to any service delivered away from company property or offsite. These services typically involve dispatching workers or employees to specific client locations to install, repair, or maintain equipment or systems. FSM software enables companies to easily supervise such off-site employee activities monitoring, keeping transparency into every operation, vehicle tracking, and integration with other business systems.
What Types of Field Service Management Software Exist?
Cloud-based FSM
Cloud-based field service management solutions store data remotely, allowing access by multiple users at a given time. Cloud storage also prevents data loss due to malfunctioning computers or devices, which is beneficial to businesses with a large number of technicians in the field. Many cloud-based products are also priced on a monthly subscription model.
On-premises FSM
On-premise field service management solutions are more customizable and sometimes offer simpler integrations with already established systems. These products are often cheaper because they are one-time purchases. This can be a good choice for businesses where customizations are needed to meet business processes.
What are the Common Features of Field Service Management Software?
Work order management: FSM software allows field service managers to manage all work order history in an easy-to-read dashboard. Work order management also helps field service workers place service requests and monitor real-time status updates. This makes repair and maintenance more efficient within the field.
Scheduling: FSM software offers scheduling features to help with project and employee management. Businesses can schedule routes and work schedules for field service workers months in advance so they can see their work ahead of time and make necessary arrangements in their schedules.
Dispatching: FSM software helps with the logistics of planning routes, choosing the right facilities, and ensuring that assets are used optimally. Dispatching features can help workers in the trucking industry find optimal driving routes that have less traffic, which can help them complete their tasks.
Invoicing: FSM software offers invoicing features that help manage field service sales transactions. This feature includes immediate invoicing directly from the field technician who completed the work, thus achieving a more streamlined, quicker payment cycle.
Mobile apps: Mobile apps help managers oversee field services on the go. Field service managers can monitor their workers, dispatch fleets, and schedule work for employees while they are traveling from site to site.
Quote estimates: Quote estimator features help prospective clients get a price estimate to help them with the decision to move forward with the service. Once a business sends out an estimate to a client, they have the option to accept or decline. If the client accepts within the quote estimator, businesses can start making the necessary arrangements to begin fieldwork.
What are the Benefits of Field Service Management Software?
Field service management solutions can make a business more agile and efficient. This software provides features that dispatch technicians, schedule workers, track employee location, and access work, all via a mobile app which can vastly improve time management. Companies can also set key performance indicators that can help teams track and manage annual goals.
Increased efficiency and productivity: FSM software helps optimize employee work schedules and service routes, track how and where assets and inventory are being used, report on productivity, and automate billing and customer interactions. This solution has totally replaced the traditional and manual system of keeping track of such data, thereby boosting both operational efficiency and employee productivity.
Error reduction: FSM software helps collect, track, and analyze crucial data (like job completion times, expenses, and field notes), reducing the likeliness of errors in scheduling, completing, and billing work. These improvements can streamline the business’s operations and improve customer satisfaction.
Meeting customer expectations: FSM software provides customer portals with easy online booking, automated notifications, reports, and invoicing, and more capability around customer-friendly features like consumer financing and recurring service plans.
Optimal employee experience: Relieved of administrative burdens, field workers can easily access essential resources, communicate effectively, receive schedules, and updates in one centralized place.
Who Uses Field Service Management Software?
Field service management software is used by anyone working in field services—offsite or client location activities—such as installations, repairs, and services of equipment or systems. These include businesses that provide services in the fields of HVAC, property maintenance, healthcare, cable, telecommunications, and heavy engineering. FSM software helps streamline the day-to-day operations of fieldwork by improving communication between the onsite and offsite locations that field service workers must shift between. In a field service such as construction, for example, a manager can deploy his workers into an offsite location and then track and manage his workers during the day using FSM software.
Software Related to Field Service Management Software
Accounting software: Field service management software often integrates with accounting software to streamline payment cycles. This usually includes invoicing payments, automating accounts payable, and giving quote estimates.
CRM software: FSM software can integrate with CRM software for field managers to manage customer relationships. This can help field managers maintain relationships with recurring clients and gain leads on new clients that are in need of fieldwork.
ERP software: FSM software can integrate with ERP software for optimization of field service operations. It is important for a business to essentially connect between all the various departments. Successful project management is possible only with better resource planning.
Product lifecycle management (PLM) software: PLM software helps field service managers manage data during the development of a product from inception through the manufacturing, servicing, and disposal processes. Having PLM software integrated with field service management solution can help improve equipment development as well as maintenance.
GIS software: GIS software usually focuses on gathering, analyzing, and displaying geographical data to manage business operations. This can help field service managers by tracking the location of fleets and locating where field workers are in real time. It can also help field managers find the next location workers need to head to. If a project location changes, workers will be notified immediately so they can make the necessary changes.
Fleet management software: Fleet management software helps field service businesses monitor, track, and create detailed performance reports on vehicle fleets.
Challenges with Field Service Management Software
Duplicate entries: An issue that might arise from using FSM software is duplicate entries. Since field workers tend to write field reports manually, this can be tedious if they have to transfer them into the FSM software as well. This leads to wasted time and extra paperwork.
Lack of in-person communication: Managing field workers through FSM software can leave no time for actual face-to-face communication. While field managers might feel as if they are managing their workers effectively through the cloud, it might lead to communication problems that would not arise if the problem was addressed in person. Businesses implementing FSM software must ensure to provide adequate time to address important issues in person.
Which Companies Should Buy Field Service Management Software?
Mobile, healthcare, and real estate: Industries such as mobile, healthcare, and real estate can use FSM software as they might use field service principles and tools in their work.
Businesses with full-time employees and contractors: Industries with full-time employees and independent contractors working side by side might require tools that can provide access and permissions based on the worker’s role.
How to Buy Field Service Management Software
Different companies have different needs and objectives, so when looking for FSM software, there will be a number of factors to consider to find the best solution.
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Field Service Management Software
The primary goal when making a purchase decision for FSM software is to pick a software that is well aligned with the business’s desire and budget. For improving field service staff performance and allowing managers to easily monitor and improve team’s performance, the company may require a product that can capture even minute information from start of the process to completion of task.
Another key factor when requirement gathering for FSM software is to ensure it supports a company's future upgrade plans. It is a good practice to check with the software vendor if the FSM software can support the buyer in the long term as well.
Some important questions to ask when deciding on the field service management journey are:
- What information can be captured in FSM software?
- How accurate and real time can the information be captured?
- Can the software provide real-time recommendations of asset availability?
- Will the FSM software be used for legacy data centers or brand new ones?
- Is the solution scalable to meet future requirements?
- Does the FSM solution provide a high level of security?
Answering these questions will help to define the scope of requirements for FSM software.
Create a long list
Once the customer has decided that they require FSM software to oversee their data center operations, the next step would be to make a long list of the best options that are presently available in the market. Long lists help eliminate software that does not provide critical functionality, thereby reducing the list to be more compact and precise.
Create a short list
Once the list has been narrowed down, the customer can begin to compare different features and offerings of the FSM software as per the company’s needs. Pricing decisions are also taken to ensure that the software selected fits the IT budget. A highly efficient method of comparing various FSM software would be to opt for technology review platforms such as g2.com, which provide unbiased reviews and also provide different perspectives on the benefits or issues with various FSM software, and hear what other users have to say.
Conduct demos
Once the list has been further narrowed down, customers can then opt to check if the FSM software vendors are providing a live demo, or a free trial version (with limited functionality). FSM software is a significant commitment in terms of time and cost, and therefore making the right choice is critical for the customer. Customers can use the trial versions before finally committing to the purchase decision.
Selection of Field Service Management Software
Choose a selection team
Choosing the right team to work together on choosing the FSM software is a critical part of the process. This team will be in charge of identifying pain points to finally overseeing the entire implementation of FSM software.
What Does Field Service Management Software Cost?
Field service management software can be a worthwhile investment for many businesses that handle a large volume of work orders. Subscription pricing, usually linked to the number of organizational users, is the most common pricing structure. Generally, subscription-based offerings have costs that start at $30–$50 per month for a single user and then increase by around $20–$30 per additional user per month for the most basic plans. Advanced tools and integrations typically require higher-priced subscription tiers that start at $100 or more per month.
Field Service Management Software Trends
Automation: FSM software is automating more and more tedious tasks. Most of the automation applies to backend operations such as scheduling, dispatch management, contract, SLA and warranty management, and inventory management. The trend of automating these tedious tasks will help with streamlining the operational process.
Predictive maintenance: A major trend in field service management is predicting when repairs will need to be made. Lots of field service managers are connecting their field service tools with IoT management software. This helps them actively monitor equipment health and set up predetermined measures to prevent potential damage. Some IoT tools can even simulate normal device behavior which lets them compare against the current device’s health. This way they can see if field devices are in the best possible condition.
