Cloud-based system helps company speed up paperwork 

Problem: At Roto-Rooter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, paperwork was manually processed. There was a wait for the technicians to turn in their paperwork, and then it had to be scanned and manually entered into the JaRay system. Often it took five days to process and send out statements. 

Solution: Famhost Apps proposed the cloud-based RealTime Forms application that processed invoices, purchase orders, bids, and inventory in real time and integrated into their existing JaRay Software System.

Result: Data entry was reduced, scanning was eliminated, and receivables were reduced by 25 percent. During the 2016 floods, the office was inaccessible, but jobs could still be dispatched directly to the technicians’ devices and technicians no longer needed to come into the office to turn in their paperwork. 800-658-1676; www.famhostapps.com.

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Tracking program monitors location and fuel usage

Problem: Plumbing & A/C Medic in Gilbert, Arizona, needed to improve the time management and accountability of their mobile workforce. Since their techs are spread out all over the Phoenix metropolitan area, they had no way to know what they were doing in between jobs. They also sought to eliminate fuel card fraud.

Solution: GPS Insight displays the locations of technicians and their estimated arrival time for the next job site on easy-to-read maps. To raise employee accountability, GPS Insight established odd-hours alerts to notify management of unauthorized usage of company vehicles.

Result: Having the ability to locate any vehicle in real time has provided better visibility and peace of mind. “We were able to identify one of our technicians using a company vehicle to cross states lines for personal use,” says Plumbing & A/C Medic dispatcher Tami Gurka. “We received an odd-hours alert in the middle of the night that one of our vehicles was moving in another state.” It monitors fuel usage by integrating WEX fuel card data to monitor all fuel card purchases. It also makes dispatching simple by eliminating time that would have been spent on the phone trying to figure out technicians’ current locations. “On average, I would make 150 calls per day, and now, I make virtually no calls because most communication is done through GPS Insight,” Gurka says. 866-477-4321; www.gpsinsight.com.