Software for a service orientated business
Discussion
Long story short I now own a small plumbing and home improvement business. It's an ace business with tons of potential but it's a dinosaur in terms of utilizing technology and software. Before we start unlocking some of the growth potential I'm keen to address this.
We've got 3 employees and a bunch of subcontractors. We'll also be bringing in more permies later in the year.
I'd like something a bit more advanced than a simple CRM, ideally something that helps us manage all the customer data, but also assists with tracking and managing jobs, invoicing, timesheets, quotes / estimates, project progress etc etc etc. So essentially something between a CRM and a full on database. I don't really like using spreadsheets for stuff databases should be used for.
So, I've found a few options.
1) Filemaker - seems almost perfect. Been a while since I did any db work but I think I can make a good enough stab of it without spending a fortune on dev work and the Filemaker Go app would be ace. I do worry about not having it hosted and having the opportunity to sync with Filemaker Go though, is there an easy / inexpensive way around this for my guys in the field?
2) Jobber - seems like a really nice system, but I don't know if it's going to be powerful / scaleable enough to deal with our business once we diversify and start adding new services. Anyone use this? I found it from an old PH thread. Integrates with some of the stuff we're using too (Quickbooks etc) and appears to be a nice balance of CRM and scheduling.
3) CRM + Evernote + Google Docs - Cheaper and seems a bit compromised - I think I'd prefer one unified system to manage the whole of the business from within.
I'm leaning towards filemaker as it makes for easy report generation and I can include other aspects of the business in it, but as a huge advocate of SaaS and hosted solutions I'm struggling to justify the cost for what feels like a bit of a backwards step. The business will be needing new computers and mobile devices, so platform isn't a great concern. I'm an OS X / iOS guy, but I suppose it'd make more sense if it worked on other platforms.
We've got 3 employees and a bunch of subcontractors. We'll also be bringing in more permies later in the year.
I'd like something a bit more advanced than a simple CRM, ideally something that helps us manage all the customer data, but also assists with tracking and managing jobs, invoicing, timesheets, quotes / estimates, project progress etc etc etc. So essentially something between a CRM and a full on database. I don't really like using spreadsheets for stuff databases should be used for.
So, I've found a few options.
1) Filemaker - seems almost perfect. Been a while since I did any db work but I think I can make a good enough stab of it without spending a fortune on dev work and the Filemaker Go app would be ace. I do worry about not having it hosted and having the opportunity to sync with Filemaker Go though, is there an easy / inexpensive way around this for my guys in the field?
2) Jobber - seems like a really nice system, but I don't know if it's going to be powerful / scaleable enough to deal with our business once we diversify and start adding new services. Anyone use this? I found it from an old PH thread. Integrates with some of the stuff we're using too (Quickbooks etc) and appears to be a nice balance of CRM and scheduling.
3) CRM + Evernote + Google Docs - Cheaper and seems a bit compromised - I think I'd prefer one unified system to manage the whole of the business from within.
I'm leaning towards filemaker as it makes for easy report generation and I can include other aspects of the business in it, but as a huge advocate of SaaS and hosted solutions I'm struggling to justify the cost for what feels like a bit of a backwards step. The business will be needing new computers and mobile devices, so platform isn't a great concern. I'm an OS X / iOS guy, but I suppose it'd make more sense if it worked on other platforms.
Edited by Stu R on Friday 3rd April 05:39
As much as I'd like to go bespoke I think off-the-shelf solutions are more than powerful enough for us at this point, and I'd rather spend the money addressing bigger problems like visibility on a local level.
Workflow Max looks like a really close match to what we need - like that it's xero owned too so I'll give it a spin and compare to Jobber and a couple of others I've found. Thanks for the recommendation.
Workflow Max looks like a really close match to what we need - like that it's xero owned too so I'll give it a spin and compare to Jobber and a couple of others I've found. Thanks for the recommendation.
surveyor said:
Have a look at Podio. Very easy to use and build something to do what you want.
Oh and cheap.
For workflow automation there is an add on called Globiflow.
Owe you a pint for that recommendation - it's perfect for the business side of things. Much appreciated. Oh and cheap.
For workflow automation there is an add on called Globiflow.
I think we're going with Podio for the business and either Jobber or Workflow Max for the field service guys.
Stu R said:
surveyor said:
Have a look at Podio. Very easy to use and build something to do what you want.
Oh and cheap.
For workflow automation there is an add on called Globiflow.
Owe you a pint for that recommendation - it's perfect for the business side of things. Much appreciated. Oh and cheap.
For workflow automation there is an add on called Globiflow.
I think we're going with Podio for the business and either Jobber or Workflow Max for the field service guys.
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