Field service is a form of repair that’s been around for quite some time now, and field technicians require updates in technology to make their work more efficient. Visiting someone’s home to fix a gadget, appliance or personal item is more commonplace now than ever, thanks to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic. This requires field technicians to use some sort of field service mobile app to carry out their repair jobs when out and about.
The nature of field or onsite repairs requires visits to people’s homes and other places. This means that field App service technicians not only have to keep their equipment mobile, but also find a way to communicate effectively with their main office. For this purpose, a field service mobile app can prove very beneficial. It provides a range of benefits that are designed to enable mobile field technicians to do their job effectively and conveniently.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits a field service mobile app can provide.
Field service mobile apps are simple and streamlined
For field technicians, having software that is simple and straightforward is a necessity. Because they’re constantly on the move, any operations that they perform will have a certain degree of inaccuracy and urgency. Therefore, any field service mobile app that is created for them needs to be as simple and streamlined as possible.
Being on-site for a job, a field service technician will need the essentials for their work. They perform the repairs right on the spot, and bill customers while on their feet. A field technician doesn’t have the luxury of space and time that a normal computer repair or cellphone repair shop employee would have. Since they are faced with these circumstances, the software that they use needs to be designed around this ‘no frills’ idea.
Field service mobile apps provide that sort of convenience to them. The app carries the absolute basic and most-used functionality front and center, and the design language is big and visible, similar to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The idea here is to have elements that are easily identifiable for faster access, and that can compensate for inaccurate inputs. Moreover, they’re easy to use and fairly intuitive, allowing for field service technicians to take care of the job with maximum efficiency.
They provide better coordination with the main store’s workflow
Technicians out in the field won’t have access to the exact same repair shop software that you have at your main office. They have to make to with something that runs on their phones or mobile devices instead. Of course, there’s a lot of precise technical information that needs to be processed on-site, and a mobile app designed for field service can take care of the job.
With a field service mobile app, you can accurately record data on any repair that you’re doing while you’re on the move. The sort of information required by your fully-fledged repair shop software can easily be managed by a dedicated mobile app. It can help you fill out pre- and post-repair checklists, take pictures of the situation before and after repairs, and add diagnostic notes to a repair ticket. This sort of stuff would be a real hassle to manage in any other note-taking app, but a field service mobile app is able to process it no problem.
Best of all, most field service apps are designed to communicate with the software at your repair store. So, anything that you enter there can easily be uploaded to your main store’s repair software with ease. This sort of convenience allows field technicians to work much better and cuts down on unnecessary paperwork.
They allow you to bill customers & collect payments remotely
Collecting payment in the age of COVID-19 is one of the most troublesome things around. Obviously, cash is now near-unacceptable, since we can’t really touch things much. Since physical transfer is out the window, we’re left with digital payments, and mobile apps can definitely help there.
With a field service mobile app, you can easily charge customers for their repairs online by sending them an invoice via email. When the invoice reaches the customer, they can use the options within to pay for it online, thus removing the need to hand over money physically. This makes it a whole lot more convenient and safer. What’s more, all payments will be automatically logged into the system, and will appear both on your mobile app and your repair store’s systems. You’ll be able to effectively collect payments and have the records for it even while you’re on the move.
Final words
A mobile app for field service repairs is great for technicians thanks to all the benefits it provides. You’re able to create tickets, collect necessary data, fill out paperwork and bill your customers without having to go back to the store and use a desktop system. Not only does this save time, but it also creates a very efficient and streamlined workflow for your repair store.
If you’re looking to optimize your cellphone or computer repair store processes even further, we highly recommend you check out RepairDesk. Our repair shop POS software makes it really easy to create tickets and invoices, manage inventory, deal with customers, and run your store smoothly overall. It’s also got the perfect companion in our dedicated field service mobile app, a fully-featured application on Android and iOS that lets you run field service operations with ease.
You’ll have complete peace of mind and an excellent workflow that takes care of all the trivial stuff while you focus on growing your business. Sign up now for a free 14 day trial and see what your repair store can do with RepairDesk.
