Why juggle job scheduling on your own when an Excel field service management template can help? Get started with a free-to-download template and expert tips to make it work for you.
In this article, we dive into field service management. We'll help you kick-start your planning with our templates, and even weigh up whether upgrading to specialised software makes sense.
Let’s get into it.
What is a field service management Excel template?
Using spreadsheets for field service management helps to manage things like engineer and equipment availability, allocating engineers to jobs, and tracking budgets—at a basic level.
With a field service management Excel template (like the one we are giving away below), businesses can:
- Track engineer availability
- Plan job allocation
- Assign resources like trucks and other equipment
- Manage capacity and utilisation
Download your free field service management Excel template here.
Or, if you’re ready to ditch the spreadsheets, why not try specialist field service management software?
Now that you've secured your free template, it's time to amp up your field service management skills with Excel.
So, here are some tips on how to use your Excel template effectively.
5 top tips for maximising your field service management in Excel
These top tips are your quick guide to becoming a job management whizz in Excel:
✅Master Excel shortcuts: Knowing your way around Excel can save you countless hours. For example, you can apply different shortcuts to a cell, such as editing a cell, aligning cell contents, adding an outline to all the selected cells, and more.
✅Use conditional formatting: This allows you to set rules for cell formatting based on the data it contains, helping you spot issues at a glance. You’ll see we have added this to our template to flag when resources are under or over-utilised. (The cells flag as green if under-utilised and red if over-utilised.)
✅Implement data validation: To help with more accurate data entry, you can set up drop-down lists or number ranges. This minimises the risk of errors that could affect your field service management.
✅Regularly update your template: Business needs change and so should your field service management Excel template. Make it a habit to review and update it at least quarterly.
✅Run ‘what-if’ analyses: Before making major changes, use Excel’s What-If Analysis tool to predict different outcomes. This could help you avoid costly mistakes.
A well-crafted field services Excel template is only as good as your ability to use it. These top tips aim to boost your effectiveness.
Want to take it to the next level? Consider specialised field service management software like BigChange to manage complex scenarios with ease.
If you’re thinking “Why isn’t field service management in Excel enough?” Let’s break it down:
Microsoft Excel for field service management: Is there a better way?
Excel is often the default planning tool for many organisations due to its accessibility and familiarity. But spreadsheets were designed for basic tables and calculations - not the complexities of field service management.
In short, Excel is great for basic tasks. But for complex job management? Not so much. Here's why:
- Limited visibility: Excel's siloed data complicates scheduling optimisation.
- Manual overload: Spreadsheets are error-prone and high-maintenance.
- Inflexible planning: Excel's rigidity hampers custom needs and quick changes.
- Weak analytics: Excel requires manual analysis, making real-time insights a dream, not a reality.
Plus, relying on Excel can quickly become a bottleneck as your firm grows.
While Excel can generate reports, the number crunching is labour-intensive. Features like pivot tables help but don't remove the need for manual analysis. When you lack automation, you can’t get real insights from your data. This means you can never see where engineers and vehicles are at any given time, what they’re working on, or when jobs are ready to invoice.
In summary, spreadsheets clearly fall short of the needs of field service management businesses that need to juggle many people, jobs, vehicles, and priorities.
Take EB Gas, for example, “Before BigChange 80% of our processes were paper based. This required an extensive resource to support and, when it worked it worked well, but one small glitch and the process fell apart as paperwork is easy to lose, it can be incorrectly completed and different systems don’t always join up,” said MD, Kevin Byrne.
After implementing cloud-based field service management software, EB Gas has seen a 20% increase in the number of routine service jobs it can allocate, and engineers are 30% more efficient at capturing onsite information using mobile devices that are live-linked to the back-office system.
So is it time to consider software specifically designed for field service management? We'll dive into the benefits of doing so next.
Why field service management software is more effective
Field service management software, like BigChange, is specifically designed to handle the unique challenges of field-based businesses and avoid time and money traps. It provides a centralised system to optimise your entire business from start to finish.
📹Watch a quick video to see how.
1. 🌐Job scheduling
All your data is held on a single cloud-based platform, giving real-time visibility into availability. Drag-and-drop features, drop-down lists, and colour-coding make job scheduling and allocation super easy.
2. 📲Mobile app
Improve first-time fix rates with stock, equipment and parts available to view whilst on-site. Complete jobs quicker with digital job sheets and by viewing previous work history at the tap of a screen. And get to the job on time with work locations automatically shown on the integrated sat-nav.
3. 🚗Integrated vehicle tracking
A real-time data dashboard for job management provides 24/7 job progress and resource availability data. You’ll have immediate access to fleet information. Plus, instant comms between the office and engineers for accurate job tracking and speedy remedial action.
4. 💸Finance management
Invoice instantly with proof of service or delivery captured by photographs and e-signature. And best of all, get paid faster with a host of convenient payment options, including on-site payment with BigChange Pay. You can also eliminate customer queries and payment delays with integration with your finance and accounting software.
5. 📊Business information and reports
Get a 360˚ view of every account, contact site, and contract with a fully integrated field service management CRM. This also makes job management easy by logging every call, email and customer interaction. Plus it helps with GDPR compliance, with complete visibility of customer data and opt-in preferences, as well as high-level security.
👉To sum up, by side-stepping spreadsheets, field service management software streamlines coordination between engineers, managers, admin, and clients.
This leads to results like these:
- “Technicians are self-sufficient, there are fewer wasted hours and productivity is already up by 20%.” - A&S Contractors
- “With everything in one place and live information at our fingertips, we’re more responsive and have increased contract win-rates.” - Heatforce
BigChange: A better alternative to Excel field service management templates
BigChange isn't just user-friendly; it's a field service management powerhouse. Here’s how:
- Get the right resource to the right job every time
- Win more work and get closer to customers
- Take control of your operations in real-time
- Get paid faster while controlling costs
- See new business opportunities
BigChange’s job management software can really move the dial for your business. Instant communication between office and road teams enables a prompt response to urgent calls.
Live tracking lets you see the most suitable person to send out to jobs in real-time. And because it’s hosted in the cloud, you can log in from anywhere, with peace of mind that your data is stored securely.
Let’s make this a little more concrete with a scenario.
When the back office assigns a job, it sends a digital job sheet to the engineer's tablet. (This removes the need for engineers to go back to the office with paperwork.) Digital job sheets are also quicker to complete, with checkbox formats—this makes them less error-prone too!
This one feature alone adds up to more jobs completed while spending less time on travel and planning.
Additionally, automation in the tech can simplify your payment-chasing. You can use flags as visual aids to trace transactions through your process. Meanwhile, alert reminders signal when a payment is overdue or a quotation has expired. This level of financial visibility and control can make a significant impact on your cash flow management.
Boost field service management with the right tools
Excel templates are a start and are a step up from a paper system. But truthfully, they lack the firepower for today’s field service management.
Specialist software like BigChange has capabilities which Excel just can’t compete with. Features that take job management to the next level, such as:
- Smart job scheduling
- Route planning optimisation
- Automated quotes and invoicing
- Bespoke and custom features
- Easy integrations with existing tools
With BigChange you’ll never leave profit on the table again. Upgrade to BigChange and maximise your profits. You’ll never go back to messy spreadsheets or whiteboards again.
Take a look at our solution or book a demo to see for yourself.
