When choosing field service management software (FSM), it’s critical to understand your business objectives and the differences between existing solutions.
A reliable FSM solution provider can help you determine which features are suitable for your organization, enabling you to increase efficiency and provide a better customer experience.
In this guide, we will focus on the core features, pros, and cons of Housecall Pro and Service Fusion.
Housecall Pro Review
Housecall Pro is a solution that can help businesses manage their field service operations and customer support. Both big and small companies can use it to streamline the management of their customer service operations.
Housecall Pro offers several features that make it one of the more flexible FSM products on the market. These features include:
Invoicing And Payments
Invoicing is a critical part of any service business. You need to be able to invoice customers for the work you have done and be able to receive payments promptly.
The Housecall Pro software has an in-built feature that allows you to automatically create invoices based on the work performed in the field. You can also accept payments within the same platform via credit card or e-check.
Integration With QuickBooks Online
The Housecall Pro software can integrate with your QuickBooks Online account. Users can automate the creation of invoices and instantly send them out to customers.
This means that if you already use QuickBooks, there is no need for additional software. Everything will work seamlessly together.
Mobile Apps For iOS And Android
You can use mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones to manage your field service management team from anywhere at any time using Housecall Pro’s mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.
Automatic Scheduling
The automatic scheduling feature helps plan appointments based on customer and technician availability. It eliminates the need for manual intervention from the user.
Scheduling also enables technicians to see which jobs are available within their availability window, this helps them to identify what they need before accepting or rejecting the job assignment.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
With the CRM tool, you can keep track of all of your customers’ information in one place, including contact details, notes, invoices, payments made, and more. You can create custom fields for each customer so that every piece of information is easy to find when needed.
Inventory Management
The inventory management feature of Housecall Pro allows you to track the inventory of all your products and services.
It allows you to record information such as price, description, quantity in stock, etc. You can also use this feature to create custom fields for your inventory items by adding any additional information that might be relevant to your business.
Housecall Pro Pricing
The various Housecall Pro plans are priced as follows (this is the recurring monthly cost):
Basic Plan – $49
Essentials Plan – $129
MAX Plan – $279
Pros Of Housecall Pro
This software solution is designed to help businesses achieve their goals by increasing efficiency and reducing costs. The software offers several advantages for your business:
- One-stop organizing, scheduling, and invoicing
- Increased visibility into your business
- Collaboration and review
- Pricing standardization
- Mobile-friendly
- Completely customizable
Cons Of Housecall Pro
Here is a list of the potential drawbacks of using this software.
- Lack of customization options
- No two-way text messaging
- There is a lack of advanced reporting features
- You have to pay extra money to access advanced features
- The mobile app has limited functionality
You can read a more detailed HouseCall Pro review here.
Service Fusion Review
Service Fusion is a cloud-based, mobile-centric solution that helps businesses manage their field operations more efficiently. It provides real-time visibility and remote access to customer data, including locations, appointments, and tasks.
The platform has an array of tools to help you manage your field service business, Here are the top features.
Invoicing & Payment Processing
The integration between Service Fusion and QuickBooks is seamless. You can send invoices directly from Service Fusion and track payments in real-time.
When payments come in, they will automatically be applied to your invoice. All invoices are automatically sent out on the scheduled date and time, so you don’t have to worry about missing an invoice or having clients wait on the paperwork.
Equipment Assets Tracking
Equipment tracking has been built into the system so that you have up-to-date info regarding the status of your equipment.
The system also allows managers to track technician utilization and performance against goals set by management. This helps keep costs down by ensuring technicians are not wasting time on low-value maintenance items when they can perform higher-value jobs.
Customer Portal
A Customer Portal provides customers with an online account where they can see and manage all of their pending service orders. They can rate their technicians’ progress and communicate directly with technicians in real-time for service updates.
Scheduling
This is where the two apps are most similar. Both allow you to schedule appointments and capture customer information such as name, address, phone number, email address, and job description.
The difference is that Housecall Pro uses an iOS-style interface, while Service Fusion uses a more traditional calendar view.
Housecall Pro also has a contact management feature for storing customer information for later use.
Dispatching
Service Fusion has a built-in dispatch system that allows you to assign jobs to different technicians or groups of technicians.
Each technician can be assigned multiple jobs at once, allowing you to allocate them based on availability. Housecall Pro does not have this feature.
Mobile App For Techs
The Service Fusion mobile app has a range of features. For example, you can easily see the status of all your tasks and jobs in one place, view your schedule, check in on the job, and send messages to other team members.
You can even take photos on your phone and attach them directly to tickets to save them automatically.
Advanced Reports
The reporting system is more advanced than Housecall Pro’s because it allows you to filter by different criteria, such as ticket type or customer name. In addition, you can also export reports into Microsoft Excel format so that they’re easy to manipulate and customize.
Service Fusion Pricing
Service Fusion offers three different pricing options. All are billed monthly
Starter plan – $149
Plus plan – $219
Pro Plus plan – $399
Pros Of Service Fusion
Here are the main advantages that come with using the Service Fusion software.
- Real-time map view of jobs
- Calendar view of multiple technicians
- Easily track schedules, inventory, and more
- Powerful reporting to help you analyze your business and grow
Cons Of Service Fusion
Below is the list of potential disadvantages to using this tool.
- Work orders do not appear properly on mobile devices
- Reporting tools are very basic, and data do not appear adequate on all reports
- Limited customization options
- Cannot assign multiple techs to one job or a job with multiple line items
- Recurring jobs cannot be cloned; instead, you have to recreate them, which can be a huge pain
You can read a more detailed Service Fusion review here.
Conclusion
Housecall Pro and Service Fusion are popular field service management apps that can be used in the HVAC industry.
There is a range of positives and negatives to each solution, depending on your business preferences. But keep in mind that neither platform was designed specifically for the HVAC businesses.
For a well-rounded and reliable software option with all the bells and whistles, consider a software tool like 3C Connect as your technology partner to help your HVAC company thrive. We are a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for the HVAC industry.
