Residential contractors often invest in electrician service software because it can enhance customer satisfaction. However, this isn’t the only benefit of electrician software; it also has significant implications for the employee experience. From increasing the capabilities of techs at job sites to giving office staff more visibility over what’s happening in the field, there are many ways in which electrician service software benefits employees. Check out this case study to learn how an electrical contractor partnered with Sera to generate 450% growth.
What Is Electrician Service Software?
Electrician service software is a tool for electrical contractors to help make business more efficient. It streamlines many day-to-day project management tasks, including job scheduling, dispatching, and job costing. This business software is user-friendly and often has a mobile app version for IOS and Android devices. Some software also integrates with other tools, such as customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, to centralize data and further boost efficiency.
There are various types of electrician software. For example, you can obtain scheduling software or invoicing software separately. These types of software only streamline functions related to these tasks. Another option — and one many electrician businesses find more advantageous — is field service management software. This is an all-in-one software solution that combines the features of other software for a comprehensive approach to job management.
How Does Electrician Service Software Impact the Employee Experience?
Electrical contractor businesses see the difference between electrician service software and manual processes. With software to automate tasks, techs and office staff spend less time on tedious and repetitive efforts and become more productive. This enhances the entire team's experience handling electrical jobs and can motivate them to bring their best selves to work every day.
Consider the specific ways in which electrician service software leads to a better employee experience:
Intelligent Job Scheduling
Homeowners expect fast service times and jobs completed right the first time. Electrician software helps you meet these demands. Dispatching teams benefit from tools that automate scheduling, assigning the right electrician for the job based on factors like tech availability and skill level.
Electrician software also provides greater visibility over workflows. Office staff have a better view of schedules to check the status of each tech. They can also manually assign or change jobs when necessary. What’s more, with the efficient scheduling that electrician service software enables, there’s more space to make last-minute adjustments.
Communication Between Employees and Homeowners
A uniquely challenging aspect of field service operations is dispersed teams. With office staff at the main location and electrical techs scattered throughout the area at job sites, the potential for miscommunication is significant.
Electrician service software strengthens communication by connecting teams via mobile devices. Most software has a mobile-friendly version for techs to access on their smartphones while on-site at customers’ homes. If there are any delays in service, such as a tech caught in traffic or a job taking longer than expected, electricians can notify office staff that they may be late for the next job. Similarly, if homeowners make last-minute emergency requests, dispatchers can communicate with techs about the change in their schedule.
In addition to enhancing communication between different teams, electrician software keeps customers in the know. For example, if a tech indicates a service delay, office staff can send real-time notifications to homeowners with updated arrival times. Delays can reduce customer satisfaction, but keeping homeowners aware of changes may help alleviate their frustration.
Quote Building and Invoicing
The difficulties of field service business operations are perhaps most evident when providing quotes. Done manually, the typical process involves the tech contacting office staff and submitting all job details. Estimating specialists calculate costs and provide techs with an accurate quote to share with the homeowner. This back-and-forth impedes the process, which, besides diminishing customer satisfaction, also affects the employee experience.
Electrician software that includes invoicing and quote-building capabilities eliminates this hassle. With all the information needed to create accurate quotes accessible from their mobile devices, electrical techs can provide quotes and invoices without contacting the office. The result? Less time spent waiting and more time spent completing jobs.
Integration With Other Business Software
Besides job management software, contractors use various other tools as well. Electrician service software that integrates seamlessly with these tools helps centralize data for teams. For example, some software integrates with QuickBooks Online, a common accounting software, for payment processing. QuickBooks integration makes processing check and credit card payments easier and simplifies other accounting tasks.
Live Booking and Customer Portal
The advantages of 24/7 appointment booking and customer portals for homeowners are clear, but these features also benefit employees. Booking widgets enable customers to request service appointments according to their schedule and tech availability.
24/7 appointment booking enables homeowners to submit service requests and schedule follow-ups whenever it’s most convenient, even late at night or on the weekends. This means there are phone calls for dispatchers to answer during normal business hours, which saves time for more productive tasks.
Customer portals also benefit teams. These are where homeowners can view invoices, accept estimates, and review service history. It’s also how they gain time-tracking updates about tech arrival times. Often, customer portals are connected to other functions of electrician service software. Electrical techs and office staff access important customer information that helps them personalize services. When employees can deliver a better customer experience, it often impacts their own experience.
Enhance Employee Experience With FSM Software From Sera
Investing in electrician service software is investing in a better employee experience. What’s more, software can provide a better customer experience to win the loyalty of more homeowners. With many different options for electrical contractor software available, you want to choose a tool that supports an exceptional employee experience in all areas. This solution is found in Sera’s FSM software.
Our software is designed for small home service businesses. It offers the features necessary to boost efficiency in all aspects of running a residential electrical contracting business, from scheduling and dispatching to invoicing and customer management. Additionally, when you partner with Sera, you get best-in-class customer support.
Contact us to learn more about FSM software for electrician businesses and pricing information. Schedule your 15-minute discovery call today.