What is the Best Job Management Software For Tradespeople?

For many, the appeal of going into the trades was to find a job with variety; where they can move around from place to place, apply their skills, and avoid mundane office work. 

But then you started your own business. An extremely rewarding and fulfilling choice, yet you’ve now got to handle all the quotes, invoices, tax, scheduling and much more for yourself (and even your team). 

Nowadays, job management software is almost a necessity for tradesmen that want to earn a decent wage and keep their businesses competitive. The best apps offer tradesmen a solution to inefficient workflows, a way of reducing stress, and improving service quality. The time you save can be reinvested wherever you see fit, and your customers are bound to notice the difference. 

Perhaps you’ve already tested a few job management software options out, or maybe the idea is completely new to you. Either way, this article will help break down different features and help you find a tradesman app that suits you. Let’s begin with a quick background overview:

What can job management software do for you?

Job management software offers tradespeople several enticing features and benefits, which we’ll cover in more detail shortly. But, as a tradesperson, you need to understand what all these different software providers are trying to sell you. 

In short: a workflow. 

We’d recommend you not look at individual features but instead how they all play together and would work within your business. 

This is because job management software is designed to help you guide jobs through your business – from the very first call to when the money arrives in your bank account. 

Granted, not all job management software options work the same way – and there’s more than a few on the market. So how do you find a tradesman app perfect for you?

Let’s take a look at some of the most important features you should be looking for. 

Features to look for in the best job management software apps

Records & certificates

Certificates play a huge role in the lives of tradespeople here in the UK. Electricians with their EICs and EICRs, gas engineers with their CP12s, F-Gas service records, and lots more get completed on a daily basis. Going paperless with them is a great way to save time, and stay organised. 

Apps for tradesmen like FieldRocket let you create certificates in the field using information pulled from your customer database. It’ll then automatically file them away for safekeeping and easy access, whenever you might need them. 

When looking for software, make sure you check whether they’ve got all the certificates you’ll need for your day to day job.

Quotes & invoices

Quotes and invoices are an essential part of finding work and getting paid, and you probably spend a good amount of time on them. An app that lets you handle both is one of the most important things for tradespeople. 

It’s worthwhile doing a bit of research into the quoting and invoicing process for the software you have in mind. The best job management software companies offer some useful features such as customisable options, open banking integration to facilitate fast payments, and an easy way to track whether the invoice has been paid.

Scheduling

This one is not only for the larger businesses, but sole traders as well. A diary or paper scheduling might be manageable when you work alone, but it’s still easy to make mistakes like double bookings and missed appointments when you’re following a scribble you made whilst on the phone. 

Using proper job management software, you’ll be able to place complete trust in your schedule, get insights for under and overbooking, and easily make modifications when an appointment changes or gets cancelled. 

For those managing even a small team, all of this becomes even more important as efficient scheduling can easily become one of the most stressful and complex tasks in a trades business.

Customer management

The longer you’re in the game, the larger your database of customer information grows. Search for a job management software which lets you store, and sort through all your customer information quickly and easily. Then, whenever you’re in a pinch (like when you’re trying to find an old job sheet or get customer information as you’re on the phone), it’s all on hand.

Automated reminders

For many trades (like gas engineers, oil engineers, and electricians), service reminders are a huge plus. They’ll help you find plenty more jobs with zero effort on your end. Job management software options like FieldRocket are able to automate these, so all you have to do is set your email templates and leave it to do the rest. 

Invoice reminders are also a huge plus. You’ll want to be able to track the status of your invoices (as we mentioned earlier), but sending out a payment reminder can be a great way to get customers who may have forgotten to pay.

Mobile accessibility

One of the best parts of job management software is being able to complete almost all of your work in the field. If the tradesman app is both intuitive and able to sync between desktops, tablets, and mobile devices, you’ll be able to do this much more easily. 

Integration with other software

Job management software is designed to improve your workflow. But no single app can do everything. 

It’s not uncommon for software providers to team up with one another to offer integrations – in other words, a way of pairing their two systems to work seamlessly together. 

This is most commonly done with accounting software like Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage, but it can also be useful to have integrations with open banking partners like Crezco, email marketing platforms like MailChimp and ActiveCampaign, and even simply with your equipment through Bluetooth (gas engineers and their flue gas analysers, for example).

A dashboard for visibility

It’s important to know your numbers, and software can make this a much easier process. With one consolidated place to see your revenue, invoice statuses, team schedules, it’s much easier to get an idea of the health of your business and plan for long-term growth. 

6 benefits these features bring

All of these features play their part. But what exactly can you expect to gain from starting to use software?

#1 Time saving

Using software lets you save time on many of the more mundane and tedious tasks related to your business. If you use them throughout your business, you stand to buy back several hours of your time each week. Whether you want to reinvest this into doing more jobs, improving your service quality, or leading a healthier work-life balance is up to you. 

#2 An informed team

With easy and remote access to previous job details, you and your team are much better prepared for properties you’ve worked on before. This will help improve your service quality and allow more flexibility with scheduling. 

#3 Increased profits

Largely due to service reminders, better quotes, and an overall improved service quality it’s much easier for many tradespeople to find work. You’ll be able to capture more demand with the same effort and over time word-of-mouth marketing will work wonders. 

#4 Streamlined (and less stressful) workflows

Software takes many of the most stressful parts of your job off your hands, leaving you to focus on the real work. Managing a team also becomes much less of a challenge, meaning growing your business might not be as daunting as you imagine.

#5 Easy customer management

Taking and keeping customer information is much easier when you have a contact database that syncs across all your devices and entire company. Not to mention, scheduling improvements, invoice tracking, and automated reminders all benefit your customer as much as your business.

#6 A great return on your investment

Even the best tradesman apps won’t set you back too far, and most offer free demos and free trials. 

By simply multiplying the amount of time you’ll save with your hourly rate, job management software is one of the best investments tradespeople can make for their business.

What sets apart the best job management software for tradesmen?

• It’s all-in-one. The best job management software offers tradespeople a streamlined and all-in-one experience where they can easily and effectively manage jobs for themselves and their teams straight from their mobile phones. Standalone apps or those missing core features can’t properly take advantage of linking each stage of the job together. 
• Great customer support. As a paid service your business will rely on, it’s important to know there’s a real human you can speak to if you need help. 
• User friendly interface. We’ve just been talking about how much time you’ll save with software. The best apps for tradesmen are easy to learn and easy to use so you and all your employees can pick it up in no time. 
• Active & customer driven updates. Like your business, the software developer should be constantly monitoring and developing their app. Nothing is ever perfect and if the app hasn’t been receiving regular updates, it’s not a good sign. The best apps for tradesmen listen to their customer feedback and push out regular updates designed with their usage in mind. 

Why FieldRocket could be the the tradesman app for you

FieldRocket has been made by the very same team who made the UK’s #1 job management software for gas engineers. Taking all that we’ve learned, we’ve improved our infrastructure, expanded into each and every other trade vertical, and refined our product. 

FieldRocket has all the core features you’d hope to find in a tradesman app that are critical to modern day businesses. Each part of our software has been designed to link up and offer a comprehensive solution that lets you and your team spend your time where it matters the most.