Need to streamline operations, save time and increase profitability? Then you should seriously consider electrician job management software.
For electrician businesses with profit growth high on the radar, streamlining operations is a must. And the quickest and easiest hack for this is to use electrician job management software.
In fact, a study conducted by PWC found that 77% of high-performing teams use good job management software.
The impact? Here are just a sample of results: 2,000 hours saved on admin per year and 70% boost in productivity.
Ultimately, the tech pays for itself quickly through returned profit growth.
Let’s dive straight into why you need electrician job management software. Or you can demo the product now.
Why now is a crucial time to switch to electrician job management software
The world is much more digitally connected than it's ever been before. This was hugely spurred on by the pandemic, forcing new ways to manage personal lives and business remotely.
Electrical businesses that were already – or quickly switched to – digital operations, were best placed to take on the abundance of additional demand that came through.
Why? Because the new tech provided quicker and easier ways to manage multiple jobs, job scheduling and resources with just the touch of a button. It meant businesses could quickly respond to remote requirements, such as remote signing and VOIP integration.
Plus, with everyone able to access systems remotely, from anywhere, and at any time, you can keep everyone up-to-date – regardless of being in the office or not.
Now, fast-forward to today and those electrical businesses have a huge competitive advantage.
They can:
- Respond to jobs faster
- Fit more jobs into a day
- Afford to lower or freeze prices because operations cost less (and therefore seem more attractive)
- Provide customers with a much more modern, professional and expected level of customer service
And that’s not to mention additional benefits like improved team morale, quicker invoicing, and better forecasting.
Piqued your interest? Let’s dive into this a little more…
Top 5 features of electrician job management software
Now, these benefits are juicy. But, it’s probably got you thinking: How exactly does job management software do this?
Here are some of the top features leading electrician businesses are using to streamline operations:
#1: Real-time job tracking and scheduling ⏰
Imagine having real-time visibility of the entire business – an actual live view – of job status reports, field worker locations, vehicles, and nearby stock levels.
Well, with the right job management software, you can.
This tracking feature means you can respond to emergency call-outs just as easily as scheduled jobs, sending the engineer closest and with the right qualifications – allowing you to optimise routes for reduced labour time and fuel consumption.
The best bit? This is all incredibly easy to see and track thanks to a nice, simple dashboard – featuring a calendar, maps to see location, electronic job cards, and a comprehensive customer management system.
#2: Mobile device access 24/7 📲
Emergency call-outs are never going to stick to 9am-5pm office hours, so finding tech with mobile-accessibility is a must-have. So, make sure you look for cloud-based / mobile-friendly job management software.
With electrician job management software, you can share job details, directions, workflows, and vital job information on-the-go, such as digital risk assessments AND safety certificates – thanks to mobile applications.
And with the best tech solutions, you can even access integrated GPS and tools like what3words for easy navigation in finding the exact location.
While this improves safety and speed of operations out in the field, it also improves back-office workflows because you’ll get live job progress – something you can share with your customers.
Plus, with less paperwork to do, both electricians and office staff can save hours of admin time and instead focus on things like getting more jobs booked.
#3: Inventory and stock management ✏
Having maximum cash flow is a must-have. Both stock and invoicing (covered in the next feature) are ways to keep cash flow abundant. And when it comes to tech, these are just a few ways it helps electrician businesses with this:
- Automate stock management: The right tech allows electricians to manage their inventory in real-time, with automatic stock level monitoring and notifications when stock levels fall below a certain threshold. This means that electricians can avoid running out of stock and can order new inventory before it’s too late.
- Manage inventory on-the-go: This means electricians can easily update their stock levels and place orders at nearby suppliers while they're out on a job. Plus, they can easily track their orders, receive notifications when orders are fulfilled, and reconcile their inventory levels.
- Order just what you need: You can also create 'systems' which are groups of items that you will always need for specific jobs, so that when that job type is booked it will automatically add the need for those items of equipment. This means you’re always prepared when you arrive/first-time fixes.
#4: Speedy quotes and invoice processing 💶
The tech also enables you to get paid faster and boost your cash flow by invoicing in seconds — not days or weeks.
How?
Put simply, you can create and send invoices directly from the software. What’s more, because invoicing can be directly linked to a job, it includes what parts were actually used and the work actually done, so that no extras are left off of the invoice.
But wait, there’s more…
Quick quoting 📜
With tech, you can create and send quotes to customers in minutes – without the need for manual data entry. So, when a customer requests a quote, you can simply enter job details into the system, and the tech will automatically generate a quote based on the pre-set pricing structure.
Plus, the pricing structure can be customised to include the cost of materials, labour, and any other expenses associated with the job for accuracy.
And for common types of job, like installing a new electrical outlet, you can use a pre-existing template to save creating a new quote from scratch.
How this works is you create a template and add keywords in specific fields that you want to be personalised – for example, name, reference number, total cost, etc. And when the quote is sent, it will be a unique document but with all your standard branding, T&Cs, and such on them.
No formatting nightmares!
Quick invoicing 💶
Like with quotes, the best tech allows you to customise invoicing fields too. For example, you can set up charges at a really granular account level. Basically, you can create them by customer or by resource with discounts or markups. You can even create different prices at different times of day, day-by-day – like higher costs for out-of-hours and weekends.
And, of course, you want tech that supports quick and easy online payments. So you’ll want job management software that integrates with popular payment gateways.
The end result? Quicker quoting. Instant invoicing. And faster payments for a healthy cash flow.
#5: Compliance and safety management made simple ⚡
Let’s jump straight into the few ways tech can help:
- Standardising and automating processes: For example, using mandatory risk assessment and workflow documents that they complete via the mobile app. These prompt a field worker to carry out certain tasks and check them off. This simplifies compliance and increases productivity levels.
- Providing access to essential documents: Through a digital library for schematics, certificates, best practice guides and other essential health and safety documents, as well as customer-specific documents (all stored on a CRM). These are easily accessible whenever and wherever electricians need them.
- Automated safety measures: Through job management software, an electrical business can mandate health and safety. For example, electricians can be obliged to carry out a vehicle check before starting work.
- Digital audit trail: Plus, thanks to real-time updates and live data, you can capture signatures and photos showing full job details. This ensures you’ve got an audit trail of work completed and can provide evidence if ever needed.
All this means they’re better equipped to get the job done quicker and more safely.
Streamline operations today with electrician job management software
To sum up, the right job management software allows electrician businesses to:
✅ Improve efficiency and productivity
✅ Increase speed and accuracy of invoicing – for better cash flow
✅ Provide better customer experiences – thanks to better communication
✅ Get better data and analytics – for improved forecasting and decision-making
✅ Reduce time spent on manual administrative tasks
… As well as cutting down on the costs and delays associated with physical paperwork.
Fancy streamlining operations, saving time and increasing profitability? Seriously consider a job management software solution built specifically for electrician businesses.
Ready to take tech for a test spin? Book a demo with one of our job management experts today.