Important questions to consider when choosing a field service application

The field service application is an essential service and maintenance software component for installation companies. It supports all your workflows from the field at the customer’s location. When searching for a field service application, you must ask yourself a few key questions in advance about what features you expect from this application. This week, we will address six essential questions when choosing a field service application.

1. Does the field service app work with service and maintenance software?

Field service applications come in many shapes and sizes. Some are connected to an all-in-one ERP system in the background. This software supports all work processes from start to finish, including order confirmation, planning, execution, and invoicing, to work as efficiently as possible daily.

We also understand this is not the ideal solution for everyone, and some installation companies are satisfied with a simpler version. For those organizations, field service applications are more standalone solutions, without a complete ERP software system for installation companies in the background. This can sometimes be sufficient for smaller installation companies. It is up to you to decide what you want and need, but it is essential to think this through carefully.

2. How many different processes does the mobile application support?

If you choose a field service application, it is also wise to consider the number of different processes it supports. It is easier if the application supports unlimited processes, especially if you have various workflows on-site with the customer. This way, a separate flow can be created for each process, supporting all different processes from start to finish. And suppose that a specific process is added in the future, and you can create a new process for it in the field service application without being limited to this.

3. Does the field service application work with or without an internet connection?

Field service applications work with both an internet connection and without one. Suppose it frequently occurs during your assignments that a technician is working in a dark basement or deep inside a large building. In that case, ensuring the application works without an internet connection is wise. Nothing is more frustrating than software that does not function when needed, preventing your technician from completing their work or forcing them into various workarounds to finish the work order on their tablet properly. There are field service applications that, for example, store the data locally and sync it once the internet connection is restored.

4. What happens if a technician forgets to complete the work order?

Technicians are also human, so it’s unsurprising if a technician forgets to complete a work order in the field application when leaving the customer. Therefore, it is wise to clearly understand how the field application you have in mind handles this situation. What happens if the technician forgets to complete the work order? Will I lose all my data then? Or is this data stored locally on the device and synced once the technician completes the work order? And does someone receive a reminder if a work order is not completed correctly?

5. Can work orders in the field service application also be paused?

You might only be carrying out tasks that take about an hour, but it can certainly happen that your technician is sometimes engaged for several hours or even days with more specific and complex work orders. Therefore, it would be helpful if the field service application had a feature that allowed ongoing work orders to be paused (possibly multiple times). Always familiarize yourself with the possibilities of this. What happens if my technician stops the work order? Can I find the total paused hours somewhere? And are all these data already included in the technician’s hours accounting?

6. Does the technician have insight into previously completed work orders?

It also likely happens at your installation company that an installation experiences the same malfunction for the second time. If the problem was not resolved during the first repair, it is, of course, very valuable if the technician can review what was done during the first visit on the second visit. It is up to you to determine whether this is important for you, but it is essential to think carefully about this in advance and select a field service application that meets your needs.