All residential HVAC businesses share one thing in common – they want to grow. What that means for individual companies may differ, but generally, it involves scheduling more jobs and boosting the bottom line. That’s your goal, but how do you achieve it? HVAC service management software is one of the most important tools for taking your business to the next level. As you explore your options, consider the features of the best HVAC contractor software available.
Features of the Best HVAC Management Software
HVAC contractor software – also called HVAC field management software – helps teams achieve efficiency by automating tasks like scheduling, dispatching, and invoicing. It enables greater communication and collaboration between staff operating from the office and plumbers in the field.
Not all HVAC service software is made equal. Since HVAC companies can have different needs and priorities, you want a software solution that will help you achieve your goals. The following are some functions all HVAC contractors find beneficial when seeking to grow the business:
Automated Dispatching and Job Scheduling
Growing your business means increasing the HVAC jobs you schedule. More jobs are great news but managing them without HVAC scheduling and dispatching software can be difficult.
Intelligent scheduling gathers data like a field technician’s availability, skillset, and location to assign jobs. It reduces time-consuming manual scheduling significantly, helping dispatchers boost productivity.
When manual adjustments are necessary, HVAC software provides more visibility into the field. Functions like time tracking show dispatchers a tech’s progress with their workflow. When emergency requests come up or techs are longer than expected with a job, they can modify schedules to ensure efficient business operations.
Real-Time Updates Between Teams and Customers
You can’t expect your business to grow unless you please your customers. Leverage HVAC contractor software to enhance customer satisfaction. Some of the same features that streamline HVAC dispatching and scheduling can affect the customer experience.
HVAC software helps office staff and HVAC technicians maintain better communication. Say a tech experienced a delay at a job site or is stuck in traffic. Time tracking might show the tech’s progress with their workflow, but dispatchers need context. Techs can message office staff in real time, explaining the delay. Then, customer support teams can send homeowners notifications, explaining a possible delay in the estimated arrival time and why.
Although delays can diminish customer satisfaction, just a simple notification goes a long way in keeping homeowners aware. It gives them more control over their service request, improving their experience.
Streamlined Invoicing
HVAC businesses know the woes of manual invoicing well. Traditionally, techs would fill out job details and leave them at the office at the end of the day. Then, you deliver the finalized invoice to the homeowner. This process delays your timeline to getting paid, which impedes growth.
With HVAC invoicing software, payment processing can happen while the tech is still at the job site. Techs can access the software from their smartphones, inputting job details and calculating invoices in minutes.
A related feature is intelligent quoting. Homeowners like to know their financial responsibility to help them budget for the project. Without HVAC software, techs would need to call the office and relay job details to estimators. The process creates a tedious back-and-forth that diminishes employee experience.
As with invoicing, HVAC software simplifies estimating. Techs can create estimates quickly from the mobile app. What’s more, they can develop multiple quotes, which helps if you offer memberships. Highlight the savings to boost your membership numbers and secure year-round work.
Enhanced Data Entry
Redundancy is a common problem with manual data entry. With increased redundancy comes more possibility of error, which diminishes efficiency and can increase costs. Search for HVAC contractor software with customizable templates. Templates streamline operations by eliminating repetitive data entry and ensuring consistency when creating documents. HVAC software also provides a centralized location for these materials, preventing the data loss you might experience when documents are scattered.
Seamless Integration with Existing Tools
HVAC contractor software is meant to be comprehensive, offering a range of functions to boost efficiency with multiple tasks. However, most service businesses rely on several tools, including CRM, ERP, and accounting software. HVAC software that integrates with these tools maximizes the benefits of each. It also enables a seamless transition when implementing new software.
Which integrations do you need? For instance, HVAC business owners often want QuickBooks integration to streamline accounting tasks. Consider the software you use for task automation, call tracking, marketing, reputation management, and other processes. The best HVAC software for your business offers these integrations.
Mobile Device Compatibility
A unique challenge for service businesses is keeping dispersed teams connected to the resources they need to operate efficiently. Office staff can easily access software from a desktop. Field techs need software compatible with mobile devices.
The best HVAC business software offers a consistent, user-friendly experience across devices. The mobile version of HVAC software serves as a portable workspace for techs, ensuring they have access to the information they need to meet and exceed expectations with service requests.
Simplified Customer Management
A business with a great reputation is sure to experience growth. One solution is to expand your customer service options. For instance, research indicates that, in many cases, customers prefer self-service over interacting with a human agent in many cases.
Consider HVAC software that includes a customer-facing portal where homeowners can set up appointments according to their schedules and at their convenience – even outside business hours. Customer portals also allow homeowners to access their service histories, review estimates, and pay invoices from a single location without needing support from a rep.
Customer portals also benefit internal processes. From the back end, you access customer information to personalize efforts and enhance engagement.
Experience Growth with HVAC Software from Sera
In the competitive HVAC industry, you want to win more customers to experience long-term growth. It starts from within your business. HVAC contractor software automates day-to-day processes to reduce inefficiency and build your bottom line. Sera offers a solution designed for small businesses like yours. Our field service management software helps solve the top internal challenges HVAC businesses face with job management and integrates with the technologies you rely on daily. Contact us to learn more about HVAC FSM software and pricing. Request a demo today.
