Choosing the right service management software system for your business

Selecting software to help you run your service and maintenance business can be quite daunting. There are so many issues to consider. Each service company shares a lot of common ground with other service based businesses but equally there are distinct differences in day to day operation with specific trade and company size being major factors.

This article is designed to help buyers of service management software create a specification of their requirements to pass onto prospective suppliers.

Firstly let’s concentrate on some fundamentals.

What is Service Management Software?

Service Management Software is normally comprised of two major components which we can refer to as back office and mobile. The back office component is normally broken down into modules which aim to streamline the administration of a service delivery operation. For example a back office user will require functions such as call logging, job scheduling, job costing and sales invoicing. The mobile component connects the field operatives to the back office by providing a real time link between the database and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The mobile application usually enables a field operative to receive job information and alerts whilst allowing the operative to send back useful updates such as notes, photos, time sheets, status changes and customer signatures.

What functionality can I expect from a Service Management System?

Central Database

A Service Management System will typically have a central database for storing libraries of useful information. This will include customers, customer sites, suppliers, parts and operatives.

Service Desk

There will be a service desk function that enables office users to log calls, track calls by status, allocate calls to operatives normally via a diary interface and monitor service level agreements (SLAs) with customers such as response times.

Enquiries and Quotations

Enquiries can usually be classified under two broad areas. The first is where the enquiry is the first contact. A typical scenario is a customer enquiring about the price for an installation of equipment. In this case an enquiry will be logged into the system and a quotation sent out to the customer. This enquiry will be tracked by status and will hopefully become an order. Once the customer places an order the service management system will turn the enquiry into a live job for scheduling.

The second scenario is where an operative has already visited site on an existing job but has identified that further work is required. In this case the enquiry and quotation would be raised of the back of the live job and would be linked to this job for reporting and auditing purposes. There may be further consideration here such as whether to bill the initial call out fee or to include it in the quote for additional work.

Planned Maintenance

Some service companies will require a planned maintenance module. This is for companies that offer preventative visits to customer sites to perform scheduled maintenance on equipment or simply to carry out tasks that need to be done on a regular basis.

The planned maintenance module will allow users to create a schedule that then generates jobs into the Service Management System for deployment to field operatives at the appropriate time. Jobs are either auto-generated or generated by the user on batch to be scheduled in the diary.

Diary

A diary interface will enable back office users to plan work to their field operatives whilst seeing the current workload. It will allow them to plan work by geography and job type ensuring that the correct operative is assigned whilst taking into account factors such as response times or appointment slots.

Ideally the diary will be integrated to the operative’s tablet or smartphone to allow for a electronic deployment and a graphical representation of the visit status. For example an operative may have updated his visit status to ‘travelling to site’. This could be represented by an icon of a car in the diary so that the back office user can recognise the status instantly.

Job Costing

Service Management Systems may have a job costing module. This module typically provides two functions. It allows the back office user to record what the job is costing them to deliver and what they should be billing their customer in a chargeable scenario.

Job costing can be performed in several ways. A traditional method is to record time sheet information along with materials used and expenses to itemise the total cost of the job. The time sheet entry is normally associated with an operative who has a defined cost rate per hour. The cost of the materials is stored versus parts in the database whilst the expenses will be added in to cover sundries such as parking, toll charges and meals.

When a job is costed the values can be used in conjunction with the invoice value for the job or perhaps and overall contract value to determine profitability.

Purchase Ordering and Stock Control

There are normally two types of purchasing required in a service delivery business. Firstly materials or labour is ordered directly to the job. Often referred to as ‘just in time’ ordering this purchase order is linked to the job number and costs are accrued directly against the job.

The second function is to order materials into a stock location from where they will be distributed to either other locations or operatives to be used on jobs. Stock will then be tracked through it’s journey from order to fulfillment on a job. Stock would be replenished by raising purchase orders into locations based on set re-order levels.

A purchasing module should have the facility to ‘match in’ supplier invoices. This enables the back office user to check that they are being invoiced the correct amount for each purchase order raised. Invoices that do not match the purchase order would be put into a ‘query’ status before they can be approved.

Sales Invoicing

Most service delivery companies will be carrying out chargeable work that needs to be billed. A sales invoicing module allows the back office user to price up a job normally using pre-configured selling rates or fixed prices. This data is then displayed on a print out that is made bespoke with logos and standard company information. Alternatively some Service Management Software systems export sales invoices electronically either to an accounts package such as Sage, Pegasus Opera, Access Dimensions or Quickbooks. This means that the user does not have to re-enter the invoice data again in a second system. Other transactions that will be exported include supplier invoice and credits and sales credits.

Mobile

Early Service Management Systems relied on printing out job sheets or job tickets to give to field operatives as a way of job instruction. With the emergence of mobile technology and reliable internet connections this is no longer cost effective.

Rather than have operative attending the office to collect and drop off paperwork it is far more cost effective and environmentally friendly to deploy jobs electronically to an operative’s smartphone or tablet computer.

This is especially beneficial in a reactive environment where the service company is delivering a high volume of low value jobs to multiple customer sites.

The operative receives the job on his device instantly and can provide real time status updates to the back office. Other functions such as photo capture, customer signatures and recording time sheets / parts used enable the back office to quickly review the data before sending the bill to the customer. Invoice turnaround around is dramatically reduced having a positive effect on cash flow whilst customers receive emailed electronic job sheets with relevant data.

Customer Portal

We’re in the information age and customers want to know what’s going on right now. A module for customer access is normally available sometimes referred to as a portal.

This allows the customer to log in securely to a web-based application and see relevant job information. When the service delivery company has employed mobile technology the results can be very powerful as the customer is accessing real time job updates. Some portals will allow customers to print off reports, access graphical data such as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and even log their own jobs rather than by phone or email.

Cloud vs Desktop

Perhaps you’ve heard the terms used but what do they mean to you and your business?

Cloud based software systems are accessed via a web browser. They are often referred to as web applications. Basically what we’re talking about is a website sitting on top of a database that stores your data. Access to web applications is normally controlled by a username and password.

The term ‘Cloud’ means that your system is hosted on a server off site and is accessible by using the internet. Perhaps the best know Cloud system in everyday use is Facebook. Facebook stores lots of data including photographs. The location of the data is unknown to the user and the system is accessible from anywhere in the World providing that you have an internet connection.

The main benefits of using a Cloud based system are accessibility and low cost infrastructure. Accessibility because as long as you have an internet connection you can access your system from anywhere in the World and low cost infrastructure because the server hardware, configuration, licensing and maintenance is provided by the software vendor.

With a cloud based system you can effectively virtualise your business and become fully mobile.

Desktop based systems typically reside on a local network. A traditional installation involves a database being installed on a local server and the software program being loaded locally onto each device (normally a PC) that needs to access it. In a single user scenario the database and the program will normally reside on the same PC.

Desktop systems whilst not web based can be hosted off site in the cloud but will require a tool such as Windows Remote Desktop or Citrix to access them. This is sometimes referred to as ‘thin client’ computing.

Desktop systems are normally tied to an operating system. For example many programs that run on Microsoft Windows will not run on a Mac. Because they sit on an operating system you are therefore obliged to pay for licences. Licensing can become expensive especially when purchasing server and database licences.

Due to the fact that desktop systems reside on local servers there is the problem of configuration and maintenance. Microsoft SQL Server (an example of an industry standard database platform) cannot be configured by someone without a reasonable knowledge of the technology. People with these skills cannot be employed cheaply and are cost prohibitive for small companies.

The main benefit of desktop applications is that they do not require the internet to work. If your business operates in an area with a poor or unreliable internet connection then a desktop application maybe the safer option.

Security is also a factor. Companies are worried about exposing valuable information to the Cloud such as customer details, prospects and financial data. In reality it’s far more likely that local data is at risk due to corruption, fire, flood or theft than Cloud based data. This is because Cloud based systems are usually stored in heavily protected environments with secure personnel access, back up generators and sometimes cross server backup where your data is mirrored on another server. This means that in the event of a catastrophic failure on one server the data is safe on a sibling server and is ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Sofware as a Service (SaaS) vs Outright Purchase.

Service Management Systems will either be available for rent (SaaS) or capital purchase. SaaS normally involves a monthly subscription fee based on modules and number of users required. The monthly fee typically includes support charges but this should be checked. There may be additional fees for training and consultancy. It is fair to say that SaaS as a method of paying for software is more associated with Cloud based applications than Desktop.

Outright purchase will involve a capital purchase of the software licence again based on modules and users required. There will normally be an annual support fee and training costs to consider.

Once you have decided what modules you need and how many users you require it should be relatively easy to compare costs even if two vendors offer these different sales models. The way to do this is to simply put a lifetime expectancy on the software and work back from that to see what both options will cost you over the same period.

It is also worth remembering that software vendors often provide finance options for software purchases where you can pay monthly over three to five years.

How do I know it will work for me?

Once you have reviewed the prospective systems against your own requirements ask to speak with existing users. Try and select companies of a similar industry and size to yourselves. Ask them what problems they had to overcome during their implementation and how the supplier resolved them.

Be open minded. Purchasing a service management system does not mean that you immediately become a super efficient service delivery operation. Put some effort and resoure into learning how to get the best out of the system whilst also reflecting on your own processes.

Implementing a new system is a perfect time to review your own processes and make them slicker. Do not try and bend the new system to accommodate poor process. If the system forces a culture change in process it may be for the better.

Be realistic. Service Management Systems are typically sold as ‘off-the-shelf’ products. If you can achieve 80% of your wish list with the core product then you have done well. If you require some modifying then make sure that the vendor is willing and has the available resource to meet your requirements in the time scales that you set.

Make sure that you enter into a contract that clearly states any special requests that you have and documents any key delivery dates.

Long Term Relationships

Check the prospective supplier’s stability and credit rating. Software houses do come and go. Try and buy from established companies with a long trading history. Always ensure that you have an agreement in your contract that gives you access to the source code of the software in the event that the supplier goes out of business. That way you can either employ a software developer or third party company to support and develop the product further if required.

Super Users

Select a user/s at your company to champion the implementation. Get them to buy into the project by explaining the benefits to the business. Make sure that they are involved from day one until the system has been successfully implemented. Ask them to monitor the supplier in terms of key milestones and delivery. Ideally this person will have the ability and knowledge to create workflow documentation and train other members of staff on the new system.