The bull work gets done in the field, but it takes a strong office to make a contracting business run well. Every year, providers of business and office productivity software upgrade their offerings to help make work life easier and deliver better records, better routing, and generally more efficient operations. Here are the latest offerings from software providers dedicated specifically to the kinds of businesses cleaning and pipe repair contractors operate.
Next Generation
Total Activity Control 2009 from Clear Computing Inc. increases office and route efficiency and lowers operational costs. A drag-and-drop dispatch board lets dispatchers quickly schedule and dispatch jobs onto route or driver calendars. Dispatchers can select and filter jobs to view, and schedule them by date range, rate code and location.
Special tools enable tracking of production by work order, driver, site and market, and scheduling of recurring services. The Standing Orders feature handles accounts done during different days, weeks, months or years. This release has structured query language (SQL) 2005/2008, full audit logs on all transactions, and free integrated Google maps. It also integrates with caller ID and credit card processing.
With StreetEagle GPS and TACTrackerPRO, companies can track vehicles and rental inventory. 888/332-5327; www.clearcomputing.com.
Field Service System
The JaRay Software Inc. field service system from Famhost Hosted Applications manages and schedules preventive maintenance agreements, tracks bids and proposals, handles follow-up calls, and enables users to create lists and mailings from customer and noncustomer residential and commercial databases.
Dispatchers can sort jobs by time promised, job type and customer priority. They can click on a driver ID and sort jobs by proximity or click a job and show the closest drivers. Live dashboards instantly alert dispatchers when vehicles start up or digital pen images are received. Pop-up calendars enable scheduling ahead, and the job information goes automatically to any cell phone display.
The application allows customers, jobsites, employees and vehicles to have multiple attachments, including notes and scanned images such as permits, invoices, packing lists, photos and digital pen documents.
Bookkeepers can calculate payrolls with multiple commission schedules by job type and with different hourly rates. They can set up sales taxes for different rates for labor and parts with city, county and multiple-state reporting. The system also tracks inventory for each job and generates purchase orders automatically. No matter where it runs, the data is backed up. 800/658-1676; www.famhost.com.
Hauling/Scale Management
With just a few mouse clicks, PC Scale Tower software from PC Scale Inc. makes routing and mapping, dispatch, billing and collections, scale management, and customer service easier. The program integrates with third-party software, such as accounting, structured query language (SQL), and client/server computing. 800/962-9264; www.pcscaletower.com.
Modular Design
The Summit Service Profit Builder from Ritam Technologies is a work order-based job tracking, customer accounting and operations management system. Tasks include detailed order entry with diagrams, technician and sales commissions, invoicing and receivables, automatic credit card processing, complete job history with warranty tracking, automatic scheduled maintenance or repeat business reminders, wireless priority dispatching and appointment-based dispatching with equipment reservations, basic or advanced mapping, GPS links, and technician and shop inventory control.
Besides more than 30 ways to view sales data and business sources, the software has numerous scheduling and accounting reports and an advanced version of caller-ID tie-ins. A modular design accommodates budgets and allows features to be added as needed. The application eliminates double entry of customers, technicians, vehicles and inventory, and requires no special security devices. Work orders can be based on time and materials or a flat rate. 800/662-8471: www.ritam.com.
Maintenance Program
The Service Program enables contractors who clean holding tanks and grease traps to easily create work orders and recurring orders, and track gallons dumped, dump locations, time pumped/dumped, and dump fees by county, permit or tax key.
The software also tracks tank and rental equipment locations and sends them into Quick-Books accounting software for printing invoices. It links drawings to customer records. Users can easily create routes and verify that all units are being serviced.
The program works with Mappoint and Mapquest for mapping and routing, and includes a Palm/Windows mobile interface. Users can route and map to an LAT/LONG. The Pay as You Go program allows users to pay a small setup fee, then a fixed fee per month. 866/480-1879; www.theserviceprogram.com.
For Septic Pumpers
Septic Tracker from Tracker Solutions tracks customer and transaction information. The software generates annual reports for pumping, holding tanks, income and vehicle service. Delinquent customer payments and service-due reminders print with mailing labels, and invoices print at the office or in the truck.
Dispatching has e-mail capability, and work orders have a calendar scheduler. The application provides disposal site usage with automated alarms, tracks employee information, and can import files from other programs. 888/308-0651; www.septictracker.com.
Streamlined Routing
From single vehicles to large fleets, RouteOptix software from RouteOptix Management Systems Inc. is designed to streamline business. It records detailed customer information, including mailing and billing details, locations with visual map-based confirmation, multiple services, follow-up calls, asset details, charges and routing on a single screen.
A customer service module enables dispatchers to create immediate or future work orders, track routes, and update calls to reflect the service performed. From a single screen, users can generate invoices or review revenue from parameters such as customer, frequency and billed-to-date. MapPoint technology allows users to visually analyze geographic densities by service type, sales representative and service frequency. 866/926-7849; www.routeoptix.com.
Tracking Services
EZTrakR from EZTrakR Systems Inc. validates every service, delivery and pickup with a date and time stamp using tamper-proof iButton technology and PulseStar data collectors. Mapping modules select service days, assign routes, and optimize individual routes.
Probe or GPS tracking appears on high-quality Microsoft MapPoint maps. Point-and-click reconciliation of all deliveries and pickups lets users keep a complete inventory and histories for any unit, location or customer. Most fields for order entry populate automatically. The application integrates with QuickBooks accounting software for invoice production and financial reporting. 866/529-1938; www.eztrakr.com.
