Field service software: 4 reasons to go for paperless

Even in the year 2020 there are still many field service departments that work (partly) with pen and paper. And that's a shame. Working digitally offers so many benefits. For your company, your service technicians and your customers. These are the four key reasons for using field service software that makes pen and paper a thing of the past.

1. Service technicians spend more time on what they are good at

Service technicians are true professionals. And you want them to spend as much time as possible on what they are really good at: service, maintenance and repairs. So not on filling in paper work orders, search through piles of paperwork, spend valuable time on administration and re-enter all data on the computer later. With a field service application, service technicians handle all administration quickly and easily. Fewer mistakes, no double entry, no lost papers and no illegible handwritings. Take care of the administration immediately and move on to the next job.

2. Stop leaving money on the table unnecessarily

You miss out on money with your paper administration. Partly because it is error prone and time consuming. But digitization also helps you to follow up service requests on time, to make your planning more efficient and to manage your service contracts. Customers are more likely to accept a quote that they can sign for immediately or an invoice for a job done earlier that day instead of three weeks ago. And you will close more service contracts with a better insight into the costs, the revenues and when they are due. Paperless service management gives you more control and insight, so that you no longer leave money on the table unnecessarily.

"Take the right decisions based on correct and complete data. Doesn't that sound much better than following your gut feeling?"

3. Digital is better

In addition to improving the productivity of service technicians, there are many more reasons to go for paperless service management. Satisfied customers because they immediately receive everything digitally. Satisfied employees because they have more time left for other work and have less frustrations. Increased revenue for your company and more data for reporting and analysis. Digital is also safer and more reliable than pen and paper. And better for our planet.

4. Take decisions based on data

Take the right decisions based on correct and complete data. Doesn't that sound much better than following your gut feeling? Better planning, for example, with a graphical dispatch board where you can see all work orders to be planned and all technicians with their availability and skills. Or have a clear overview of which parts often need to be replaced, which service contracts are the most profitable and how much time standard jobs take. By running your service department digitally, you collect data, which you can convert into relevant information and you base your decisions on that.

Everything depends of course on HOW you work paperless. With the use of the right software and hardware, support from a specialized partner with industry knowledge and a good project approach in which there is enough time reserved for training your employees, pen and paper can permanently be stored after the implementation.

Philip van Kemenade is marketing manager at Dysel and is in contact with software end users every day.