Contents
Introduction
A snow removal company is a complicated venture, with many things and people to constantly oversee.
Everything from client and subcontractor management to paperwork, scheduling, invoicing, and more can fall into a contractor's hands at any given moment. Every situation is unique and can lead to a number of issues.
Today's businesses can't be managed effectively using antiquated methods like pen and paper or generic office productivity tools like Microsoft Office or Google Docs/Sheets. It needs access to the appropriate resources that can boost its business operations and increase profits.
In order to run their operations viably, consistently, and effectively while limiting their liability, snow management companies should consider investing in snow removal software.
But how do you choose the right software for your business? This article will answer that question and provide a comprehensive checklist of features for snow removal software that can benefit you.
What Is Snow Removal Software?
Business owners and their workers use software designed specifically for snow removal in order to better organize and manage day-to-day operations. This software is a kind of field service management software (which we will talk about later) that is required to manage clients, as well as quotes, schedules, shipments, invoices, and payments.
Snow removal professionals can run their businesses more effectively with the help of software, which enables them to provide better service to customers, secure more jobs, and expand.
With the help of snow removal software, contractors can finally kick back and take a break before, during, and after a storm. Many teams find the snow to be a particularly stressful time.
Choosing the Right Snow Removal Software
Before you go through the checklist, you need to understand your requirements thoroughly. To help you get started, here is a brief framework that will guide you when choosing a software program.
1. Know Your Solution
The first step in finding the right software for the snow removal business is knowing what software you are most comfortable using. You can choose from one of the following:
FSM software
FSM is a software program used to run businesses in various sectors in a well-organized manner. If you find the right FSM software, you can organize everything including employee management, scalability, dispatching, and more.
No-code tools
These kinds of tools are perfect for those who don’t have a lot of experience designing their own software program. Tools like Utilize, Stacker, and Glide do all the legwork without the user having to do any coding or backend work.
Developers
This involves outsourcing your work with developers like Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer.com. This allows you to customize your options according to your preferences.
2. Know Your Requirements
The next step is to know why your business requires snow removal software. Whether it’s to manage your employees, automate minor tasks like billing and scheduling or handle all kinds of snow removal assignments, you need to know which software can rightfully help you with your requirements, no more no less. Don’t invest in software just because it has a lot of features. Focus on just what you need and you can utilize it to its fullest.
3. Know the Software
When you know what features and integrations you require, you can compare your options and select the one that best meets your needs. However, before diving in, it's important to weigh how much different software solutions would cost, how flexible they are, and how well they work on mobile devices.
4. Try the Software
No matter what kind of software program you choose (FSM software, no code tool, or a developer agency), make sure to test it to see if it works right for you.
How to Use the Feature & Integration Checklist
In order to make the most out of the feature checklist, it is best to understand how to use it. Here, we have coded the values as P1, P2, and P3 depending on their priority, which you can use as a reference when looking for the right snow removal software:
P1 - high priority
P2 - low priority
P3 - not needed
Features Checklist for Snow Removal Software
Here is a checklist of the most important features you should look out for in snow removal software. Make sure to prioritize them and assign values to each feature and integration.
Features
Employee Notifications
This allows you to notify employees and send them automated notifications such as emails or SMS in the event of scheduling, canceling, or update of a job.
Capture Digital Signature
This allows you to reduce paperwork by capturing customers' signatures digitally.
Consumer Financing
This option allows you to give your customers a chance to pay over time and keep their financing options open. This gives you more chances to get bigger projects and provide your customers with prompt services.
Create Custom Workflows (Customizability)
It allows you to organize your workflows according to your daily operations.
Customer Management
Allows you to view and update customer records including contact information, past quotes, task history, payment modes, and so on.
Customer Notifications
Sends automated emails or SMS to the customers on job booking, rescheduling of an appointment, or employee duties.
Customer Portal
A separate portal that allows the customer to view, manage, and get an update about the project.
Email Marketing
Allows you to sync customers' details and create custom email designs using various features including personalized birthday cards, event notifications, and so on.
Employee Timesheet Management
This feature features a time-tracking system that enables you to track real-time project progress and also the team's clock-in and clock-out time.
GPS Tracking/Map View
Allows you to keep a track of your employees' whereabouts and keep a check on their progress accordingly.
In-App Communication
This allows the team to chat with the customers directly and update them about the operations of the task.
Inventory Management
It helps manage order processing, storage, and overall materials count. This also provides real-time tracking of inventory, sales, restocks, and defective parts.
Invoicing
It allows you to make estimates and invoices from any location in a short amount of time.
Job Checklists
Markups
The tool is useful for figuring out the exact cost of each good or service, as well as the percentage discount.
Mobile Friendly
It allows a software program to run both on desktops and on mobile phones.
Offline Access
Provides all kinds of information about the scheduling, dispatching, and more offline,
On-Site Assessments
Is useful for managing all kinds of on-site operations.
Online Bookings
Allows a customer to book the service online through Google, social media, or any other media.
Online Requests
It allows the customer to make a request for a service online or even request a quote for the service.
Payments
Gives the customer multiple options for payments and eases the process of making hefty payments with automated payments.
Quote Approval and Follow-Ups
Gives the customer access to approve the quotes or request changes with only the click of a button.
Quote Creation
Allows you to create customized quotes using templates and displays along with on-site assessment pictures.
Reports and Analytics
Keeps a track of your reports and allows you to analyze them anytime.
Payment Deposit Requests
It allows you to request payment deposits and manage recent payment activities.
Routing and Optimization
You can save time and money by using a map to plot out the best routes for your field forces and delegate jobs to workers in close proximity.
Scheduling
If you have a team that regularly travels to various job sites or client appointments, you can easily create and maintain jobs for them.
Service Authorization
A centralized policy for a multi-user system makes it possible for anyone to use the system.
Recurring Jobs
It helps you organize and keep your team on the same page by coordinating schedules, notifying people of deadlines, and sharing invoices.
List of Integrations Required - A Checklist
System integration simply refers to the process of joining different computer devices and software programs to work together. As a result, business IT like cloud computing, VPN, and unified software solutions is becoming extremely important and snow removal software is no different.
We've outlined some of the best integrations to look for in snow removal software below. Regardless of what tools you use, there are some benchmarks worth checking against.
1. Payment Integration
Payment integration is a collection of resources used to simplify the process of receiving and processing payments from customers and transferring funds. Some of the prominent gateways include Authorize.net, PayPal, Profit Rhino, Stripe, and Wordplay.
2. Accounting Tools
You can use these resources for better accounting, bookkeeping, and overall financial management. Some examples include Fundbox, Quickbooks, ResponseiBid, Sage Intacct, Sage 50, and Xero.
3. Marketing
Marketers rely on these strategies or resources when conceptualizing and advertising their products. This allows for extensive product advertising and boosts sales. Popular tools include Broadly and Mailchimp.
4. Automation
Tools such as Workato and Zapier make the automation of manual tasks easier and drop the paperwork in billing and scheduling.
5. Advertisement & Directory
With these resources, customers and potential clients can easily find the business from anywhere they are. For example Google Local Search and Thumbtack.
6. Storage & Documentation
This provides unlimited online or cloud storage for managing your data. Popular tools include - Dropbox Business, Google Drive, and Microsoft Excel.
7. Customer Insights & Analytics
You can use this information to analyze customer behavior and then modify your marketing and production strategies accordingly. Popular tools - Convert, Google Analytics, and Mixpanel.
8. Customer Reviews
Let you know what your customer likes and dislikes about your products. Popular tools - BirdEye, NiceJob, and SendJim.
9. Customer Communication
Allows you to have one-on-one communication with the customer. Popular tools - Podium, Twilio, and Zendesk.
10. CRM
This set of data-driven applications helps businesses manage and save all customer-related data. Popular tools - Dynamics 365, Freshdesk, Hubspot, Salesforce, Zendesk, and Zoho.
11. Team Communication
Using this built-in function, employees can discuss orders, schedules, and payments. Popular tools - CompanyCam, Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook, Naturalforms, etc.
12. HR & Payroll
Payroll is used to manage employee paychecks, while the HR portal handles everything else payroll-related. Popular tools - ADP Workforce now, gusto, and HCM.
13. E-commerce
By connecting with other platforms, your business can gain visibility among the sites frequently visited by its ideal customers. Popular tools - Shopify, Woo commerce, and Adobe Commerce.
Conclusion
In addition to the aforementioned benefits, the convenience and security of snow removal software, centralized data storage, intelligent scheduling tools, and powerful reporting and analytics all contribute to a more pleasant digital experience for clients and agents alike.
But again, you don’t want to get overwhelmed by the insane amount of features offered by the software. The more simple and more useful it is, the better.
If you need something, in particular, you can use a no-code tool such as Utilize which is simpler and easily adapts to your current system. Book a demo with Utilize to know more about how it works.
