Businesses can be rather expensive to run, which is why it’s critical to look for methods that you can apply to your daily routine to save both time and money. HVAC business management software will save you time and money by automating and streamlining manual processes like scheduling, dispatching, inventory management, billing and invoicing, etc. so your team can work more efficiently and get more jobs done each day.
Software that’s built specifically for HVAC businesses will help cut down on the amount of time you’re wasting behind a desk, help improve your profit margins and help you deliver top-notch customer service.
Here’s how HVAC software can save you time and money:
1. Automatic Scheduling & Dispatching Saves Time
If you are a business owner and schedule your techs on a whiteboard and take service calls on a notepad, you may want to consider HVAC software. The reason is, while taking notes and such on paper, you waste valuable time, money and resources tracking down the customer and job details, and an available technician to complete the job. Scheduling and dispatching technicians manually, usually requires a lot of back and forth communication about the job location and details between the field and the office.
HVAC business management software provides you and your office staff with a better, more concise way to organize, track and schedule your techs and it begins with customer management. When your customers’ information is more accessible, it makes scheduling and following up with a job status much easier for everyone. Plus, the software works and operates in real-time. So, if a customer calls, your office manager would pull up their record and create a new job in the system. After that job's been scheduled, the technician who's been assigned to complete it would see it on their schedule from their smartphone or tablet. They’ll also be able to see the job details and the customer's address, in case they need directions. Since information is being pushed as soon as everything happens, it then reduces the total number of phone calls made between the techs and the office for the same information. Which, in turn, makes the entire scheduling process more organized and efficient.
The same is true for any last-minute updates or scheduling changes that may occur.
2. Software Saves You Money on Callbacks
Callbacks and repeat visits cost you more than a trip out; its extra gas, added mileage on your vehicles, time taken away from other customers, lost billable hours, an inconvenience to your technicians, and a nip at your bottom line. Furthermore, if a customer is dissatisfied with your services, they’ll go elsewhere.
Business management software will help your techs resolve any problem the first time. Technicians who use software always have access to the most pertinent information on site, such as the customer’s prior service history, notes from the office relating to the current issue, any information pertaining to their preventative maintenance agreement, and who completed the last service visit. Having all of this information at their fingertips allows techs to diagnose the customer’s problem faster and more accurately. They’ll know exactly what’s going on, what needs to be done to fix it and what parts, if any, are needed.
3. Software Puts Money Back in Your Pocket
Well, not literally but almost! HVAC business management software will help you keep track of all your service agreements. As soon as a customer signs an agreement with you, you’ll be able to schedule their first appointment and all subsequent appointments for the duration of the agreement, regardless of how far in advance they may be, in one step. All you need to do is tell the system to repeat the following job every 6 weeks, for example. When that appointment is nearing, the system will notify you and you can assign an available technician to it. Also, if a customer requests a specific tech, you are able to see their entire schedule for the next few weeks. This way you will ensure that you don’t accidentally double book them.
Furthermore, HVAC software will notify you when your customers' service agreements are about to expire so you can reach out to them and ask them to renew with you. Staying on top of your customer’s maintenance schedules will generate more revenue for your business, help you provide better customer service, and know their service needs better than they do.
4. HVAC Software Makes Invoicing Easier
Software makes invoicing and bookkeeping faster, which helps you get paid faster. When you use software to help with scheduling and dispatching, you’re also logging all your jobs, services and inventory in the system as well. This makes it especially easy to take a work order and turn it into an invoice that you can then mail to the customer. Additionally, techs who use the software in the field, can capture a customer's signature and invoice that job on the spot.
Now that you have a system that can track these invoices, you can also run a report to follow up on the statuses of them. So, when it comes to invoicing, HVAC software will save you time with drafting and mailing your invoices and tracking down the ones that are past due. You’re saving money on the number of man-hours and consumables it takes to complete all this manually.
Additionally, business management software can be integrated with cloud-based accounting platforms like Quickbooks. This is a nice feature to have as it reduces any double entries you’ll have from using multiple systems for bookkeeping. For instance, when a customer makes a payment or when you make a business purchase, those transactions, when recorded in software, will automatically pass through into your bookkeeping system for easy reference.
Overall, by automating your scheduling, dispatching and invoicing processes with HVAC business management software you will become more efficient and customer focused, giving you the opportunity to become more profitable as you retain even more loyal customers.
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