How to choose workforce management software

Feb. 28, 2013 - PRLog -- Choosing a workforce management system (WFM) for your home cleaning, HVAC, electrical, plumbing or landscape company isn’t the easiest task but can be if your company looks for a company that provides a few important key features of WFM software.

Most WFM software is cloud-base today because of the benefits that small businesses receive when moving to the cloud, and reports are showing that for small business heading to the cloud is imperative.

A recent report from InfoWorld explained that small companies today, honestly just can’t afford the traditional IT—so heading to the cloud is most cost effective.

If you think about employing a company (http://www.serviceproz.net/) that handles your IT business or paid IT on staff, your company has to be ready to make a commitment for thousands of dollars being paid out of the budget--which for many small businesses is impossible.

But with a cloud-based WFM product, a monthly or annual fee, along with possible maintenance along the way and a little education for you and your employee’s, is really all that is required.

So, the investment isn’t nearly so steep with WFM software—and many products also will easily integrate with QuickBooks to keep all of your important data streamlined, stored in the cloud and able to be accessed from anywhere!

What features to look for in WFM software:

Customer Management: make sure the software can create service orders that includes the customer’s exact requests, history and the ability to communicate exact instructions to technicians
Billing: accurate invoice billing for exact services, make sure you will never miss a billing cycle with good software and the ability to create invoices while still at the job
Technician Management: efficient WFM software will have a technician management feature that will create time sheets, note availability, create driving routes for efficient use of time and energy
Scheduling:  is one of the most important WFM features, you should be able to create schedules using interactive techniques, only schedule technicians who meet job requirements and provide the customer with reliable appointment times and copies of work order.
Mobility: Most important is the mobility feature that cloud-base systems provide. Communication is key because everything will be in real time including new jobs, updated jobs or cancelled jobs. This feature will remove wasteful and inefficient paperwork by communicating directly from the office to the field.