Before the cloud, small field service businesses just weren’t equipped for the realities of managing a business with staff working in the field all day, every day. Cobbled paper-based and spreadsheet “systems” were ill-suited, and inevitably throttled business efficiency, productivity and professionalism, along with hindering the owner’s lifestyle. These types of businesses simply did not have the right tools for the job. 

Think about some of your contracting or home services clients – the ones that manage jobs and staff out in the field – the plumbers, electricians, cleaners, locksmiths, gardeners and pest control experts. 

How are they coping with the sheer amount of administration and “busy work” involved in managing so many jobs at once – scheduling, communicating with clients, providing timely estimates, keeping track of jobs and so on? What “systems” do they have in place to help?

Every field service business is different, but the signs they need a good front-end job management solution are common. Some of those could be:

• Frequently losing customer and job details
• Running behind and missing appointments
• Finding it difficult to keep track of staff and jobs
• Struggling to maintain productivity and service levels
• Slow to get estimates and invoices to clients (or forgetting entirely!)
• Experiencing poor cash flow
• Spending their nights catching up on paperwork
• Feeling stressed and like they don’t have control of their business 

How are these issues affecting their business? How is it affecting your ability to serve these clients?

The good news is, with the advent of mobile and cloud technologies, things have changed. Field service and job management software (like ServiceM8) is well established and easily accessible to small businesses.

ServiceM8 – The app for trades and home services

ServiceM8 is a cloud-based software designed to help field service businesses manage the front end of their job workflows, from a client’s first call to scheduling, quotes and estimates, job documentation, invoicing and payment. From there, ServiceM8 integrates with QuickBooks® Online (QBO), forming an end-to-end field service package. 

Field staff use the ServiceM8 app for Apple products, and office staff can access a ServiceM8 dashboard via web browser on their Mac or PC.

With ServiceM8, contractors and home services can:

• Manage their jobs, staff and customers, anywhere. 
• View staff locations and job status in real time.
• Schedule and dispatch jobs, and communicate with field staff in real-time.
• Manage jobs from start to finish from the app. 
• Access all client and job details in the field.
• Create professional PDF estimates, invoices, reports and certificates on site. 
• Record and access a complete history of every job – emails, texts, signatures, photos and notes. 
• Connect with QBO to streamline accounting & reduce administration.

As an accountant or bookkeeper, if your field service clients struggle with problems caused by inefficient, paper-based systems, putting them onto ServiceM8 with QBO is a great way to help them streamline the front-end of their business, eliminate administration and transform their productivity, service and cash flow. 

Further, with ServiceM8 and QBO instilling best-practice processes, you’ll spend less time trying to make sense of your clients’ numbers and paperwork and more time helping them grow and meet their obligations.

ServiceM8 and QuickBooks Online – How the integration works

ServiceM8 integrates with QBO to form an end-to-end, cloud-based package for contractors and home service businesses. Job and client details are entered once and guided through a best-practice workflow of communication, job management and accounting. 

In the ServiceM8 app or web dashboard, invoices can be raised in QBO in two taps, ready to be reconciled. 

On first integration, all clients and materials in QBO will be synced to ServiceM8, and from that point, changes made in either program will update the other within 20 minutes.

• Invoices are sent to QBO when approved from ServiceM8 (app and web).
• Invoices printed or emailed in QBO will be marked as sent in ServiceM8.
• Payments received against an invoice in ServiceM8 will be sent to QBO.
• Payments received in QBO will be imported into ServiceM8.
• On integration, all tax codes in QBO will be imported into ServiceM8. 
• Changes made to tax settings in QBO will sync to ServiceM8.

Editor’s note: Check out this ServiceM8 Fact Sheet and Checklist.