Software is not something that immediately comes to mind when you think of plumbing, but there is a silver line that connects both: they are essential to modern-day living. As such, both software technology and the never-ending demand for plumbing services have come together in an invention called plumbing software. So, how do you get the best one for your money? Let’s find out.
Things to Consider
But first, a definition: plumbing software is a scheduling application based on a mobile or web platform that helps plumbing service providers manage their business more efficiently. Make no mistake – these are to be used by the plumbing businesses primarily, but the beneficial effects of running these solutions are felt by the customers as well.
Why is this the case?
First, this has to do with the key benefits of running plumbing software, as the availability of at least some essential features should ultimately determine your choice of the best one for your business.
The first thing to check is to see if the plumbing software has a robust scheduling platform that will allow you to dispatch jobs in no time. This works well for both the new and well-established plumbing businesses whose success often hangs on acting as the fastest responder in a highly competitive market.
In addition, deciding on the priority for dispatches for your teams goes a long way in ensuring healthy rapport with your customers. The plumbing software of your choice also needs to be accessible and intuitive enough, with as many drag & drop features as possible, including colored scheduling calendars for instance.
Another important feature is the support for keeping records of the appropriate customer leads. Here, it means that all calls from long-term clients or the new ones are all taken and processed with equal diligence with the help of the software. This means having support for around-the-clock communication with prospective clients, which is done through a booking/queuing system.
Also, having a clear overview of the history of interactions between you and your individual customer is a clear boon. Based on this, you can decide to offer certain benefits to your loyal customers and personalize the services offered to them. Make sure that your plumbing software allows you to directly interface with your clients for the purpose of giving them price quotes. The more communication channels your software can support, the better, including video calls, messaging, etc.
Next, quality plumbing software needs to have an inventory management feature. If you are running multiple teams, tracking down where your valuable tools and hardware are is a great alternative to losing these or deploying them in a wasteful manner.
Finally, make sure that your software has an in-built invoicing system that will make it easier to collect your hard-earned money.