Mobile Solution Title
Finding a new mobile service solution is a lot like shopping for a used vehicle—it’s really easy to end up driving off the lot in a great looking truck without ever really inspecting what’s under the hood. Sometimes that’s okay, but most of the time, you’ll end up getting burned—ask anyone who’s unknowingly purchased a lemon. Many of our clients, in fact, had made similar software purchases once or even twice before choosing the Ascent Mobile Solution. Unknowingly, they were promised mobile solutions that could do everything, but without the knowledge of ‘what to look for’ they were left with a service tool that did not meet their business requirements.
To help navigate you through this critical solution selection process we created a set of questions you need to ask your potential mobile solutions provider.
Note* these items weren’t created during a weekend meeting with the programming staff; they were developed from over 12 years of feedback from successful customer mobile solution deployments.
- What types of information will our technicians have access to in the field?
In order to get the job done right, your technicians will need as much information about the job as they can possibly get. That means equipment history, work history and more. Beware of any solution provider that can’t itemize the service detail your techs receive while on the job. - How much of my technician’s activity will be reported back to the office?
The mobile solution industry made a fortune selling products on the idea of reducing the business paper trail, but you’ll want to make sure that you’re saving more than just paper; you’ll want to save time too. Make sure your mobile system automatically sends the technician’s activity-notes, detail, labor time, etc-back to the office so that you don’t have to do it twice. - Does the mobile solution require a full time broadband connection
Some of those consumers who unknowingly purchased lemons definitely wish they had asked this question. Imagine sending your technician out to a job with their brand new software installed on their brand new tablet. They arrive on site and fire up their new application only to discover that they can’t receive or send any job detail because they don’t have an internet connection. If any of your techs will be working in areas with ‘spotty’ or ‘limited’ connections, a solution that operates with or without a consistent connection is a must. - Will the mobile solution enhance productivity
Even the most attractive business solution is pointless if it doesn’t actually speed up and improve the way you do business. So the next time you have your solution provider on the phone, ask them what the solution will do for your business. Your provider should be able to take a paper ticket from your business and explain-in detail-how to increase your operational efficiency. Going further, a legitimate solution provider will always implement a pilot program with your business to iron out problems before completely launching a mobile solution
If you’d like a complete 60 Point List of Features that are necessary for mobile solution success, please contact us at sales@ascent-sys.com
Ascent Business Systems is a Sage 100 Development Partner with over 30 years experience developing service management solutions designed to work seamlessly with Sage accounting solutions. The Ascent product line provides clients with a wide range of world class service management tools, superb reporting capability and scalability for growing businesses. These products include AS Office for the back office, AS Mobile and AS Cloud for your customers and workforce.