bensurdi
Member
So I've bounced back and forth from Softserve to Servicemonster. They both have some pretty neat features and both have some really irritating shortcomings. Who here uses SoftServe? Concerns/Comments? What are the biggest complaints?
SoftServe Pro
- Thread starter bensurdi
- Start date
GeneMiller
Member
i looked at service monster and it's a nice program but i prefer something that i own. i don't like the idea of paying monthly for a program. at @ 50 per month that 600 per year x 15yrs =9000 . i paid less then 100 for the current program and it works well. it won't bring up a customer history as i start typing in a phone number, i have to search it separately. it's lacking a few other things that i would like but it has never locked once. i rather pay once for exactly what i want.
gene
gene
I tried softserve, but the interface was not nearly as friendly. ServiceMonster's big shortcoming is the weakness of its mobile client. I have a friend who uses SoftServe, and if we stand there and make an appointment for lunch, he puts it in in 10 seconds, and it takes me minutes. It's not practical for using while using the phone, or while standing in front of a client.
On the other hand, the SM software on the pc does everything I want except online scheduling.
On the other hand, the SM software on the pc does everything I want except online scheduling.
I'm more than happy by paying $50 a month for SM (which is much more than that since we do postcards as well), if it was $100 a month I'd be more than happy to pay for it. The pros outweigh the cons any day, it's not perfect but it gets the job done and more.
bensurdi
Member
Dan I think you're right on the money - Thats exactly what my concerns are. My techs are writing paper invoices and "supposed to" enter it into SM when they finish but they are telling me it is too slow and time consuming and telling me to go back to SoftServe... But Softserve is lacking some of the major "back end" sophistication that SM has.
What I like most about SoftServe is that at the end of the day... there is NO PAPERWORK to deal with. Their commssions are all ready done...
With ServiceMonster I have to sit and calculate commissions at the end of a 2 week period which is a PAIN IN THE BUTT.
Really wish that there was an alternative....
How about a group of us raise some capital and I build us a complete program that eliminates all of these issues! Who's in?
What I like most about SoftServe is that at the end of the day... there is NO PAPERWORK to deal with. Their commssions are all ready done...
With ServiceMonster I have to sit and calculate commissions at the end of a 2 week period which is a PAIN IN THE BUTT.
Really wish that there was an alternative....
How about a group of us raise some capital and I build us a complete program that eliminates all of these issues! Who's in?
bensurdi said:
I spent a lot of hours in the last few months trying to find something in Google Apps that would solve these problems. The advantage is that they have some programs that do all of what SM does and integrate with Gmail and Google Calendar, so if you put something in your Google calendar on your phone, it will block off that space on your schedule instantly. The one that came closest to filling my needs was Worketc.
Full Circle will only use a few programs, so in order to switch, I'd have to leave them.
Greg Cole
Member
bensurdi said:
Cheaper to use existing software. A cheap programmer is $70 - $90 an hour. A Program like you are proposing is probably around 350 - 400 hours. Then there are bug fixes, maintenance costs, etc....
Our software is custom. I originally designed it in 1995. It's grown as my company has grown. I wish there had been software available to buy and/or rent. Scheduling software didn't even exist back then.
Ken Snow
RIP
X2 Greg- we invested a fortune building our own within an accounting platform and still pay 10's of thousands a year in maintenance/licensing fees. It is great to have what works for our business units though.
GeneMiller
Member
ken i figured once you paid for what you wanted you owned it . thanks for clear in that up.
gene
gene
jkowalski
Member
We are working hard on improving Mobile. ServiceMonster is a very robust and feature rich application. It's much more difficult to get a mobile app working smoothly than if we just let your techs (or
you) do free form data entry.
you) do free form data entry.
jkowalski said:
Mobile would not have to be perfect, if you could just integrate SM with Google calendar – my biggest problem is double booking, but if I could put in a quick entry on Google calendar and have it blocked off in Service Monster, that would solve my problem. I do 90% of my input on the phone.
bensurdi
Member
Well, that could be accomplished with an app that was simple to use.
1 app for the business owners/managers that allowed you to check the heart beat of your company at any given moment in time. IE: Open the app and be able to see what your revenue is for the day, how many upsells etc. From this app you would be able to go into the scheduling section, schedule a job, move an appointment, search for a customer, create work order, invoice whatever.
2nd app would be for techs out in the field which would allow access the jobs appointed to them. It would allow them to also see the schedule and reschedule appointments as needed. It would allow a very quick and simple way to create the work order/invoice, pay the invoice and automatically email that to the customer.
THIS would make ServiceMonster much more attractive and I would sleep better at night. Let's do it Joe!
1 app for the business owners/managers that allowed you to check the heart beat of your company at any given moment in time. IE: Open the app and be able to see what your revenue is for the day, how many upsells etc. From this app you would be able to go into the scheduling section, schedule a job, move an appointment, search for a customer, create work order, invoice whatever.
2nd app would be for techs out in the field which would allow access the jobs appointed to them. It would allow them to also see the schedule and reschedule appointments as needed. It would allow a very quick and simple way to create the work order/invoice, pay the invoice and automatically email that to the customer.
THIS would make ServiceMonster much more attractive and I would sleep better at night. Let's do it Joe!
renegade_cowboy
Member
bensurdi said:
This is exactly what I am looking for in a service.. If SM is able to do this for the business owners then you guys would be at the top of the industry for many years.
hogjowl
Idiot™
When I first read the comment that ServiceMonster has some shortcomings, my inital reaction was to think WHAT shortcomings? Then I got to thinking about it and yes, there are a couple of things that annoy me about the program. However, by and large it is a good fit for me. Of course, I haven't tried to take it mobile yet.
chrissalter
Member
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 37
Service monster is going to be releasing its api so we can do some custom integration. They are also working with fittlebug Sweet for online scheduling cant wait for that. The one big thing we need is a way to capture the signature on the invoice I hate having to use a seperate invoice program. We need the customers signature guys can you please fix that asap
I tried using my droid and my ipad on SM mobile, but I just don't have the patience for it, I rather go back home and input everything, the mobile version is just doesn't it do it for me.
What I really need w/ SM is a way to track all referrals on the home screen. Instead of having to click on each job's name, it could say something like "Chris F's referred 3 jobs totalling $500).
What I really need w/ SM is a way to track all referrals on the home screen. Instead of having to click on each job's name, it could say something like "Chris F's referred 3 jobs totalling $500).
