Looking for New Service Software for QuickBooks?

Avoid these Costly Mistakes

By Contributor - Paul Jacques, CEO Partners Group - Mechanical Service Software Specialists

Over the past 30+ years I’ve had the opportunity to help hundreds of HVAC and Plumbing service contractors review and select new service software for their companies.

If you are considering new service software for your company I'd like to share some TIPS to help you avoid making mistakes during your software review and selection process.

"Start with a written list of the problems that YOU want the software to solve"

Never begin your software search by scheduling software demonstrations after you have shopped on Google. Google is a search engine NOT a research engine.

Most of Google's Page One results are paid advertising software companies. Take a look at both Page One and Page Two for those software companies that may meet your software needs.

Before you call any software company prepare your own written list of problems that you, the owners and other staff members are trying to solve.

Here are some of the most common HVAC and Plumbing problems that you might also consider:

• Streamlining the office and field operations with a simple single entry seamless workflow process from new job call taking to scheduling to customer billings inside QuickBooks
• Eliminating all of the double and triple entry with disconnected software programs
• Connecting seamlessly with our existing QuickBooks job locations,  billing accounts and items list
• Tracking our customer equipment and work order history 
• Tracking our service agreements with PM reminders 
• Provide our field technicians with a paperless mobile solution

"Only schedule demonstrations with service software which is designed for the HVAC and Plumbing industry"

 You may be wondering why all service program don’t automatically handle these common service problems?  

 Trust me when I tell you that most service programs are generic and NOT designed for the HVAC and Plumbing business. They are one-size-fits-all-service software. Start by eliminating all of the generic services software by reviewing their website home page. If they list several other service industries including HVAC and Plumbing be very cautious.

 Unfortunately a very high percentage of service companies end up selecting a generic service software program that doesn't resolve the common workflow problem of the typical mechanical service contractor.

 My advice is to only schedule software demonstrations with companies that have designed their service software specifically for your HVAC and Plumbing business.

"Prior to scheduling software demonstrations – prepare your answers to these questions -then ask each software vendor"

• Are we looking for software designed only for our specific business or are we willing to settle for a generic service program?
• Do we want service software that is designed to handle both residential and commercial work?   
• Do we ever have intermittent outages during the day? Is it slow? Do we want the entire company to be dependent on an internet-based cloud software if we have immediate scheduling and customer history needs?  
• Would we rather control our QuickBooks and service software on our own computer(s) for the security and privacy of our company and customer data?  
• Would our bookkeeper and accountant rather have our customer invoices and sales receipts created inside our QuickBooks?
• Are we willing to import customer invoices which were created in another service software program into our QuickBooks – and correct any import or duplication errors in QuickBooks?
• Do we want an ongoing monthly internet cloud-software subscription or would we rather own our software with a fixed investment amount?  
• How much is our company willing to spend on service software over the next 5 to 10 years?  

Taking time to prepare the answers to these questions with your team will help you to avoid selecting the wrong service software program for your company.

Paul Jacques is the CEO of Partners Group Ent. Inc. He has helped over 1200 service contractors to select and implement software in their offices since 1984. Partners Group represents the leading Fireline Systems HVAC Pack Service Software for QuickBooks. He can be reached for questions at (661) 254-8511