Best Field Service Management Software Tools: Review and Comparison
Field service businesses depend on precise coordination. Dispatching the right personnel at the right time and ensuring customer satisfaction are crucial. Field Service Management Software (FSM) acts as an adept conductor, synchronizing field operations. It optimizes scheduling, provides on-the-go information to your field team, and offers real-time insights to maintain service excellence. This post explores standout FSM software tools, delving into their features and capabilities.
Our Top Picks
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The best all-in-one solution
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Comprehensive support capabilities
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Focus on optimizing service operations
What is Field Service Management Software?
Field service management software is a software solution that assists organizations in optimizing their field service operations by streamlining job management processes, enhancing communication, and fostering customer loyalty. There are two types of field service management software available for field service businesses: field service cloud (cloud-based) and on-premises field service solutions.
These software solutions, irrespective of their type, can completely transform the operations of field service technicians and teams, resulting in enhanced efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Common Features of Field Service Management Software
Field service management software is packed with powerful features designed to improve field service operations. Some of the typical features include:
- Customer management
- Trouble ticketing
- Repair center
- Work order management
- SLA compliance tracking
- Resource scheduling
- Dispatching
- Route planning
- Parts inventory management
- Contract management
- Partner management
- Forecasting
- Reporting
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Employing these features, businesses can manage their field service teams, jobs, and resources more efficiently, which in turn helps to boost customer satisfaction and operational effectiveness.
With advanced functionalities and seamless integration with renowned ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Business Central, and Sage, a powerful field service software significantly enhances operational efficiency. They provide greater visibility into performance metrics while streamlining operations. Small businesses can reap a host of benefits from software solutions, including better cash flow, time efficiency, minimization of human error, and improved organization. By eliminating manual systems and allowing field technicians to manage daily tasks, visualize goals, and interact with customers, these field service management tools can significantly improve the customer experience.
Field service management software enhances the efficiency of field service operations by providing real-time data and analytics. This can help in increasing the quality of service as well as offer additional services to customers, thus having a direct effect on revenue growth. Real-time inventory tracking and personalized service offerings based on customer preferences and job histories can help businesses maximize revenue per customer.
How is field service management software used by different types of service businesses?
Field service management software can cater to a wide range of businesses. From large enterprises to manage service calls and other field service operations to small and medium-sized businesses related to maintenance, installations, on-site repair, in-home care, landscaping, and cleaning that benefit from customer relationship management features. Field service management solutions have the capability to be useful in many field service industries. These include:
- Plumbing and electrical trades
- Healthcare
- Oil and gas
- Fire safety
- Pest control
- Industrial engineering
- Facilities management
- Property management
Criteria for Comparing Field Service Management Software – A Buyer's Guide
Before we delve into the top field service software tools for management and scheduling, understanding the comparative criteria for these solutions is pivotal. Factors to consider when evaluating software include:
- The size and scope of your business
- Specific features required
- Pricing models
- Market trends
Taking these factors into account will help you make an informed decision when choosing the right software for your field service business. One should carefully scrutinize the benefits of using field service management software and the factors to consider when selecting the most suitable solution for your business.
Why Use It? Benefits of Field Service Management Software
Implementing field service management software can lead to numerous benefits, such as:
- Decreased scheduling costs
- Significantly enhance customer satisfaction
- Decreased parts inventory costs and reduced fuel costs
- Meet the unique needs of each business type
- Streamline business operations across various service industries
Specific features like estimates, follow-ups, service agreements, and custom forms and checklists can maximize profits and efficiency for your business, while meeting customer expectations.
Another significant benefit lies in its ability to monitor safety and compliance requirements. Ensuring that technicians are properly trained and equipped to handle hazardous materials or other safety considerations is paramount for many service businesses. Customizable dashboards in field service management software can provide accountability and control of the entire business operation, scaling automated processes and improving efficiency.
What to look for in field service management software
In the evaluation of field service management software, factors like:
- scheduling
- dispatching
- inventory management
- mobile access
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These should be given due consideration. They can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of your field service operations and, ultimately, your business success. Additionally, understanding the pricing models offered by field service management software providers is crucial to ensure you’re getting the best value for your investment.
For mobile access, desirable specifications encompass:
- Compatibility with different devices and operating systems
- Robust connectivity
- User-friendly interface
- Access to pivotal features
- Offline capabilities
- Integration with other mobile tools
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By carefully evaluating these factors, you can make an informed decision and choose the best field service management software that meets your business needs.
Top 5: Best Field Service Management Solutions
Having gained a more profound understanding of what field service management software entails and the factors to consider while comparing solutions, let’s examine the top 5 field service management solutions available in the market.
ToolSense is a field service management software that helps businesses streamline their operations and improve efficiency. With ToolSense, companies can automate and store work orders, transform the scheduling process, stay proactive with maintenance management, and maximize efficiency and productivity. The software also offers features like inventory management, equipment safety inspections, vehicle management and trip planning, intelligent reporting and analytics, and live GPS tracking.
One of the standout features of ToolSense is its seamless integration with other systems, making it a versatile solution for businesses in various industries. Additionally, ToolSense offers a simple QR code solution for asset tracking with which customers can easily report issues without the need to install an app, making it even more user-friendly and efficient. Field service management software is available to help with end-to-end tasks. It offers comprehensive solutions for streamlining the process.
Features
- Streamlines operations and improves efficiency
- Offers inventory management capabilities
- Provides tools for conducting employee safety inspections
- Features intelligent reporting and analytics capabilities
- Enables work order automation and storage
- Transforms the scheduling process
- Facilitates proactive maintenance management
- Maximizes efficiency and productivity
- Includes live GPS tracking for real-time updates
- Offers seamless integration with other systems for enhanced functionality
- Provides a simple QR code solution for asset tracking
Pros:
- Beneficial and time-saving tool management solution
- Cost-saving through tracking and efficient management of tools
- Seamless integration with other systems
- Much more price efficient than other solutions, making it an ideal fit especially for smaller service organizations
Cons:
- feature-rich and comprehensive interface, which might take some time to get used to
- QR code solution is dependent on internet connectivity
Free 30-day trial available. There is also an option for a free personal tour as guided walk-through to get to know the software. All prices are individualized and tailored to the specific needs of each customer and available upon request.
Salesforce Service Cloud (#2)
Salesforce Service Cloud is a comprehensive customer service and support platform. It streamlines operations, resolves customer issues quickly, and offers personalized support across channels. The platform integrates seamlessly with other Salesforce products, aligning customer service with sales, marketing, and analytics. However, some users have reported drawbacks like inadequate support, fragmented customer data, inefficient sales processes, limited customer engagement, and restricted visibility and analytics.
Features:
- Field Service Scheduling and Dispatching
- Work Order Management
- Mobile Access and Offline Capabilities
- Real-Time Tracking and Analytics
- Inventory Management
- Customer Relationship Management
- Service Agreement and Contract Management
- Safety and Compliance Monitoring
- Integration with Other Systems
- Customizable Dashboards and Automated Processes
Pros:
- Swift setup
- Powerful release management
- Useful reporting tools
- Simple view and chart creation
- Comprehensive omnichannel communications management
- Seamless integration with SalesforceÂ
Cons:
- Fragmented customer data
- Inefficient sales processes
- Lack of customer engagement
- Inadequate customer support
- Restricted visibility and analytics
- Congested user interface
- Very high contract costs
- Poor integration with other ERP solutions than Salesforce (Microsoft, SAP, Zoho, etc.)
Free trial available. Anually billed prizes start with the „Contractor“ plan (at $ 50 per User/Month or $ 20 per login) and go up to $ 220 / user / month for „Field Service Plus“. There is no option for a tailor-made plan shown at the websites pricing section.
Oracle Field Service Cloud (#3)
Oracle Field Service Cloud is a cloud-based service management solution that offers a broad spectrum of features and capabilities to streamline service operations. This platform is designed to cater to the intricate planning and training demands of businesses, transforming the asset-based field service lifecycle. The software’s self-learning scheduling engine and optimized schedules ensure that your field service operations run smoothly and efficiently. However, it’s not without its drawbacks. Some users have reported issues such as limited visualization and integration capabilities, an inconvenient website layout, and slow processing speeds.
Features:- Route and schedule planning for mobile workers
- Equipment provisioning for efficient service activities
- Workforce scheduling to optimize technician assignments
- Customer self-service options for easy scheduling and tracking of service requests
- Service logistics capabilities for efficient inventory management and parts tracking
- Integration with IoT and connected devices for real-time monitoring and proactive maintenance
Pros:
- Unified solutions for end-to-end field service
- Self-learning scheduling engine
- Optimized schedules
- Field operation management and collaboration tools
Cons:
- Limited visualization and integration capabilities
- Inconvenient website layout
- Slow processing speeds
- Very high contract costs
No free trial available, Live-Demo upon request. Plans start at $100 per user per month (Oracle Field Service Professional) or $5 per activity (Oracle Field Service for temporary employees). There is no option for a tailor-made plan shown at the websites pricing section.
UpKeep (#4)
UpKeep functions as an Asset Operations Management solution, but it also works as field service management software, offering businesses a comprehensive set of tools and data to enhance the operations of their Maintenance and Reliability teams. This mobile-first software is designed with a focus on maintenance management. With UpKeep, you can:
- Streamline work order management
- Boost asset utilization and reliability
- Streamline parts consumption and purchasing
- Implement preventive maintenance strategies
- Ensure safety and compliance
- Integrate with other systems
- Access reliable asset and workforce data for data-driven decisions.
UpKeep is designed with a user-friendly interface, making it easier to adapt to the system. The software tracks assets and allows for quick and easy preventive maintenance creation, ensuring that your business’s assets are always functioning at their best. However, some users have reported issues with the Single Sign-On (SSO) setup and glitches in the system.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Reduced training time for new employees
- Effective asset tracking
- Quick and easy preventive maintenance creation
Cons:
- Single Sign-On (SSO) setup could be improved
- Some users report occasional system glitches.
Free trial available. Starting with the „Lite“ plan for $20 / month per user. It builds up to Starter ($45 / month per user) and a Professional ($75 / month per user) plan with more functionalitties. The „Business Plus“ package as individually modelled plan offers a tailor-made pricing upon request.
Odyssee Field Service (#5)
Odyssee Field Service is a robust software solution designed for companies that provide installation, maintenance, and repair services. It centralizes all field service activities into one hub, providing real-time control and organization of customers and their equipment. The software manages work orders from request to completion, punctual service planning, and allows businesses to go fully digital with a mobile app. However, it’s essential to be aware that the highly customizable feature set may require a significant learning curve, and its collaboration with industry leaders may limit flexibility for smaller organizations.
Features:
- Centralizes all field service activities in one hub
- Organizes customers and their equipment
- Manages work orders from request to completion
- Punctual service planning
- Allows you to go fully digital with a mobile app
- Collects and saves all data for reporting and insights
Pros:
- Cost-effective solution
- Well-structured and straightforward interface
- Efficient multi-worker time and route planner
- Comprehensive customer portal and contract management features
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Cons:
- The highly customizable feature set can be overwhelming and difficult to understand
- Limited flexibility for smaller organizations
Free trial available. Pricing starts at € 22 / Month per user, featuring a selection of the most important features. It goes up to a tailor-made enterprise solution where the pricing will be adapted to your needs.
Comparative Analysis of our Top 5
In this comparative study, we delve into the top 5 field service management software tools, analyzing their unique features, benefits, and limitations. The tools we will be discussing are:
- Odyssee Field Service: This software offers a cost-effective solution with a well-structured interface and efficient multi-worker time and route planner.
- UpKeep: UpKeep provides a user-friendly, mobile-first maintenance management software.
- Oracle Field Service Cloud: This tool excels in providing unified solutions for end-to-end field service with a self-learning scheduling engine.
- Salesforce Service Cloud: Salesforce Service Cloud is a comprehensive customer service and support platform that streamlines customer service operations.
- ToolSense: ToolSense is a field service management software that helps businesses streamline their operations and improve efficiency. With its powerful features, seamless integration, and user-friendly approach, ToolSense can significantly improve your field service operations.
Utilizing field service software, along with field service management software tools and field service management apps, can greatly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your field service operations. However, each software has its drawbacks.
Conclusion
Conclusively, field service management software can markedly influence the efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction of your business. By carefully evaluating the available options and choosing the right solution that caters to your unique business needs, you can:
- Streamline billing processes
- Enhance business growth
- Optimize marketing efforts
- Ensure smart resource allocation
With the fully integrated field service management software solutions like Service Fusion discussed in this blog post, your business has the potential to reach new heights of success and customer satisfaction.
Considering the unique features, advantages, and drawbacks of each field service management software tool, ToolSense emerges as the top choice for businesses looking to streamline their operations and improve efficiency. With its comprehensive feature set, seamless integration with other systems, and straightforward asset tracking, ToolSense is the most suitable field service management software solution for businesses aiming to optimize their field service operations.
The software solutions and the respective rankings presented in this article reflect both our opinion and that of our customers. While we can’t claim to have looked at them with complete objectivity, we do believe we offer a top-notch solution. Not convinced yet? We warmly invite you to form your view during our complimentary 30-day trial period.
Unlock the Power of True End-to-End Field Service Management Software
Some companies operate out of a single office, others from a workshop – but for many businesses, employees can be spread out across multiple locations. Offices, workshops, construction sites, and field workers need to cooperate for your company to succeed. However, organising your workers and materials as well as ensuring seamless communications can be challenging, which is where field service management software comes in to keep track of your assets, work orders, and inventory – from anywhere.
- No credit card required – 100% free
6 Ways ToolSense Field Service Management Software Can Improve Your Business
Automate and Store Work Orders
Coordinating your field workers in multiple locations can result in many phone calls and e-mails. Oftentimes, work orders can’t be conveyed directly, and it’s unclear whether a task has already been completed. Your day-to-day workflow becomes a breeze with proper work order management and the help of cloud-based field service management software. ToolSense offers a work order and field service management solution that allows you to reach the right employee at all times by simply assigning them the order through the software.Â
Transform the Scheduling Process
Developing a schedule and conveying it to your employees in a way that enables them to easily stick to it are two different things. With ToolSense, your trusted field service software, you can transform your schedule and scheduling process because it combines field service management, work order management, inventory and asset management in one clever tool. If certain maintenance tasks are due at a specific interval, you can easily set up automated reminders that will alert your field service technicians every 3, 6, or 12 months – whenever the next inspection is due.Â
Stay Proactive Instead of Reactive
Reactive maintenance is still a prevalent form of maintenance management, but waiting for an asset to break can result in higher maintenance and repair costs, unexpected downtime, and loss of revenue. FSM software, which also covers asset management, can help your business shift from reactive to proactive maintenance. Instead of waiting for an asset to break, proactive maintenance focuses on conducting regular maintenance and service tasks to prevent downtime and unexpected repairs in the first place. The service scheduling software can be used to determine service intervals, set up automated reminders, request spare parts, and organise all field service maintenance tasks.
Greater Customer Satisfaction
A satisfied customer is often a returning customer and can lead to an increase in revenue for your business, which is why customer satisfaction should be one of your top priorities. But how exactly can field service management solutions help with that? ToolSense offers combined asset management and field service solutions that make it easy for you to keep track of all your equipment, machines, and vehicles – and what shape they are in. This allows your business to easily manage your assets or fleet and offer your equipment and services on time, while proactive maintenance ensures that your assets are always in top shape.
Maximise Efficiency and Productivity
Downtime, unclear work orders, and a lack of overview of your equipment can really put a dent in your company’s efficiency and productivity. The right FSM software tools can help your business unleash its true potential by reducing downtime with the help of proactive maintenance and asset management. Every service appointment, spare part request, location, and runtime are stored in your asset’s lifecycle folder, allowing you to make the best of your equipment at all times.
Keep Your Stock Levels Just Right
Inventory management is another clever ToolSense feature that makes the platform the top field service management software. By keeping track of your stock and inventory and setting up automated alerts in case of shortages, you can perfect your inventory management without further tools. Your field service team can request spare parts straight through the mobile field service management software, allowing all your employees to access inventory information from anywhere.Â
Proven Track Record
Reduction in time of operational staff spent managing assets, handling inspections and locating asset information
Reduction of annual asset costs (buying, repair & parts)
Example: For FM company with 3K employees this results in €150K asset cost reduction / year
Reduction of unplanned downtime
Example: For FM company with 3K employees this results in €200K cleaner personnel cost reduction / year
Key Field Service Management Software Features
Enhanced Employee Safety
Avoiding workplace accidents altogether is not always possible, but by eliminating accidents due to mechanical or electrical failure, you can create a much safer workplace for your field workers. Field service management and scheduling software can help your business develop the perfect employee safety inspection schedule by creating automated alerts to remind you when an audit is due. Asset management and employee safety also go hand-in-hand because keeping your assets in top shape makes mechanical and electrical failures a lot less likely, thus contributing to a safe workspace.
Intelligent Reporting and Analytics​
Combining field service solutions with asset management becomes possible with ToolSense and allows you to get to know your assets, your inventory, and your work order management in-depth. ToolSense’s FSM software comes with intelligent reporting and analytics tools that will transform your management in all areas. You can find out your machines’ runtimes, the reported downtime, how often a certain asset has been repaired, how long employees need to perform a work order, and much more. This information can be used to pinpoint bottlenecks and improve your workflow, making it more reliable and efficient.
Stay Productive On-The-Go
One of the most important and useful features that ToolSense offers is complete desktop and mobile compatibility. With cloud-based field service management solution, your employees can access important information from anywhere at any time. Whether your field technicians are servicing an asset, requesting spare parts, logging runtimes, or going through work orders and checklists – all they need is a mobile phone or tablet. This easy accessibility contributes to a more productive workflow.
Live GPS Tracking
The field service industry often works with a large fleet, numerous assets, and a lot of equipment. Keeping track of all of these is made especially hard when they are spread out across multiple locations or on the move. Along with their construction field service management software, ToolSense offers useful GPS trackers that transmit an asset’s location live and in real-time. This allows businesses to reliably track their equipment and perfect their schedule based on real-time GPS data so that your equipment is always where it needs to be.
Create Seamless Workflows
ToolSense’s field management software allows businesses to create their own checklists, which are incredibly useful for creating seamless workflows and clear work instructions. Whether your field service team is servicing assets or conducting safety checks, they can find clear guidelines and checklists attached to your work orders and asset lifecycle folders. Along with ToolSense’s simple work order and inventory management, your workflows will become more efficient and productive.
Simple QR Code Solution
Not every piece of equipment needs a GPS tracker, but tracking runtime, downtime, repairs, and services is still useful if you want to make the best out of your assets and prolong their lifespan. ToolSense offers a simple solution that works with just a tablet or a mobile phone. A unique QR code is created by the field service software and attached to your asset. If your field service technicians want to log usage, report downtime, request repairs, or look up information in the asset’s lifecycle folder, they can simply scan the QR code using their mobile devices.Â
Who Benefits From Field Service Management Software?
Field service software is useful for small businesses as well as for larger companies. If your business operates a fleet, numerous assets, or your employees are spread out across multiple locations – such as offices or construction sites – ToolSense can help you coordinate your field workers, keep track of your assets, and improve your work order and inventory management.
Frequently Asked Questions About Field Service Management Software
Field service management is the coordination of employees that work outside the company’s premises – for example, field technicians that are sent out for installation, maintenance, or repair purposes. Field service management usually includes work order management, inventory management, scheduling, and dispatch management.
Field service management software – FSM software for short – is used by companies to coordinate field workers and manage all resources involved in field service operations.
Field service software combines different areas – such as work order, maintenance, asset, and inventory management – into a single platform. This enables offices to communicate with field workers, automate certain tasks, and get real-time information from technicians on-site.
Instead of relying on e-mails, phone calls, and paper, FSM software digitalises field service operations, making your workflow more efficient and productive. The best field service management software also includes work order, inventory, and asset management solutions that will help you improve your entire management strategy.
FSM software eliminates the old-fashioned paper trail and combines multiple tools into one simple platform, keeping all the information you need neatly stored in one place where it is easily accessible to your employees. Cloud-based field service management software allows field service teams to work from anywhere. Additionally, it improves asset and inventory management.
No matter if you are a small business or a large company – user experience should be one of your top priorities if you don’t want to spend a lot of time and money educating your staff on how to operate your new FSM software. Frequent security updates and reliable customer support are also things to watch out for when choosing your field management software.
The key to finding the top field service management software is to choose the one that is right for your company. Every business has different needs which depend heavily on your type of field service, the number of your employees, and how many assets or machines you operate. You can watch a demo or schedule a digital tour if you want to find out whether ToolSense is the right FSM software for you.