Field service management software helps businesses manage customer work orders and streamlines the process of assigning technicians, equipment, and inventory to customer projects. We looked at dozens of providers and narrowed the list down to the six best options for small businesses based on pricing, usability, and integrations, arriving at the best overall.
Top 6 Field Service Management Software for Sales
(Best overall) Service businesses wanting a combination of ease of use, affordability, and features. | |
Businesses looking for a no-frills, inexpensive solution for managing service calls. | |
Organizations wanting software with a customer self-help portal and service scheduling. | |
FieldEdge (formerly dESCO)
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Companies that want real-time, seamless integration with QuickBooks. |
Budget-conscious businesses looking for an integrated suite of management software. | |
Service teams that want to get new business through an online referral directory. |
How We Evaluated Field Service Management Software
When considering the best field service management software, we looked at the things that matter most to small businesses, including how well they help you manage the work order process on a day-to-day basis. We also looked specifically at how they help businesses increase sales revenue by making it easy for service professionals to book jobs, create proposals, send invoices, and accept payments.
We therefore evaluated field service software based on the following variables:
- Price/Affordability – Whether or not a field service management software is a good value and affordable for your budget.
- Mobile App/Friendly – The ability for account management and service professionals in the field to access information, record notes about appointments, and prepare and finalize customer invoices are important aspects of field service management software.
- Automated Scheduling & Routing – The best options provide the ability to automate calendar and job assignment functions based on where service professionals are located as well as the most efficient routing.
- Work Order Management – The best field service management software makes it easy to create work orders, assign them to the right service professionals, and monitor progress and completion.
- Inventory Management – Customers especially look for options that include inventory and asset management, allowing them to effectively track and assign equipment, parts, and products to various customers and projects.
- CRM/Account Management Software Integration – The best options provide integrations to the tools you are already using, including CRMs, account management solutions, and accounting/invoicing software.
- Billing/Invoicing – In addition to being able to integrate with existing accounting software, the best options provide the ability to create proposals and invoices for clients and accept payments in real-time.
- Time Management – Small businesses want to be able to track the time their service professionals are spending on each job and manage the effectiveness of both their team members and overall service processes.
Service Fusion is the best overall option for small businesses based on the complete set of features it offers at an affordable monthly price for teams of any size. It also provides simple scheduling and team management tools when compared to the other options we looked at.
Best Overall Field Service Management Software: Service Fusion
Service Fusion is a field service management software suite featuring unlimited users and customers, customer estimates, asset scheduling, time management tracking, and mobile payment processing for $99 per month. The combination of features, price, and ease of use make it the best overall option for small businesses. It’s best for service businesses like HVAC contractors, repair and installation professionals, and landscape design companies that need a fully-featured service management software at a good price.
Service Fusion Pricing
Service Fusion’s Starter plan is $99/month and includes all of their essential features. Unlike many of the other options we reviewed, Service Fusion does not charge per user. Instead, Service Fusion includes unlimited users in all of their plans. Service Fusion’s “Starter +” plan adds inventory management, job costing, and automated phone/email reminders for $199/month.
Service Fusion Tiered Features
Price | ||
Customers Included | ||
Job Management | ||
Dispatching & Scheduling | ||
Mobile Access | ||
Invoicing & Payment Processing | ||
Text Messaging | ||
QuickBooks Integration | ||
Inventory Management | ||
Job Costing | ||
Email/Voice Reminders | ||
Uploading Job Photos |
Starter
The Service Fusion Starter plan is $99/month for unlimited users and includes all of the essential field service management features needed to streamline your customer work order process. Service Fusion makes it easy to access the information you need about customers, jobs, and about your business through an easily customizable interface. This plan includes mobile invoicing and payment processing as well as the ability to send invoices to QuickBooks.
This plan is perfect for small or medium-sized teams that are looking for the essentials but don’t need inventory management tools. This plan is best for lawn care teams, commercial custodial teams, or other service and repair teams that want to be able to provide their service professionals with the ability to quote, invoice and accept payments in the field.
Starter +
The Starter + plan with Service Fusion is $199/month and adds inventory management, job costing, as well as the ability to automatically send email, text, and voice reminders about customer jobs. It also allows your field team to upload photos from the client site using their mobile device, which is perfect for keeping track of equipment or documenting repairs and replaced parts.
The Starter + plan is perfect for small businesses that want to have advanced control over their processes and jobs while not worrying about additional fees as the team grows. This plan is best for HVAC installers, carpet and flooring installers or home appliance install and repair businesses who want to keep track of inventory and manage expenses on each job.
What Service Fusion Is Missing
Service Fusion does not include a customer web portal or a customer-facing mobile app unless you pay an additional setup fee and monthly payment. Service Fusion also does not have built-in accounting management or call center management. Several of the other options on this list include these features automatically, making them a good alternative choice if these are the most important features for your business.
What Users Think About Service Fusion
Customers especially like how easy Service Fusion is to set up and the level of customer support they provide to new users. They also give Service Fusion strong marks for their scheduling tools, and how customizable it is. Users also like that as their business grows, they don’t have to pay more to add additional users.
Where to Find Service Fusion
Service Fusion is a cloud-based and mobile software platform and is the best overall choice for small businesses looking for a complete set of field service management features at an affordable price. Plans begin at $99/month for unlimited users, and you can request a free demo of their features and sign up for the plan that works best for your business by visiting their website.
Best No-Frills Field Service Software: BlueFolder
BlueFolder is a field service management software with plans that start at $20/user per month. It focuses on doing a few things well instead of offering endless customization. BlueFolder also makes it easy for users to set up and start using the software without having to navigate through a complicated setup. It is a great solution for smaller teams that want a no-frills, affordable solution that is ready to go out of the box.
BlueFolder Pricing
BlueFolder offers a lower monthly user fee ($20/month) than other options, though requires a minimum of four users. BlueFolder also includes a Business plan for $40/month, which adds additional features that help to further streamline the work order and service dispatch process, as well as additional customer management and reporting features.
BlueFolder Tiered Features
Price | ||
Minimum Users | ||
Work Orders | ||
Dispatch & Scheduling | ||
Field CRM | ||
Mobile Access | ||
Reporting | ||
Email/Text Notifications | ||
Equipment/Asset Tracking | ||
Recurring Jobs | ||
Contract Management | ||
Customizable Reporting | ||
QuickBooks Integration |
Team Plan
The entry-level plan for BlueFolder contains the essential features that a small business needs to get started creating work orders and dispatching team members. It includes an integrated field CRM to provide up-to-date information on jobs and customers to service professionals in the field. The Team Plan is $20/user per month and requires a minimum of four users.
The Team Plan is perfect for smaller teams that are just getting started and want the basic features of a field service management software tool without needing advanced features like asset management or custom reporting. It is especially suited to lawn and landscape professionals or in-home service teams that do not need to invoice or bill customers while in the field.
Business Plan
The Business Plan is $40/user per month and adds features focused on effectively managing your team, as well as the equipment and inventory you use to complete projects. It adds asset tracking, contract management, and customizable reporting to help you handle more complex projects and larger teams. The Business Plan also includes QuickBooks integration, allowing you to automatically sync project data for invoicing and accounting.
The Business Plan is perfect for medium-sized teams that need some of the advanced features offered, and want to take advantage of more customized reporting. This plan also includes contract management and recurring jobs, which makes it ideal for service teams that need to effectively manage recurring jobs, like landscape maintenance and custodial services businesses.
What BlueFolder Is Missing
BlueFolder contains fewer customizable options compared to some of the other options we reviewed. It is designed, instead, to get users up and running more quickly than other options. BlueFolder also does not have the ability for team members to capture credit card payments in the field, requiring the use of a service like Square Payments.
What Users Think About BlueFolder
Users really like how easy BlueFolder is to set up and use. They also rave about the customer support team when they ran into issues. One area users mentioned that they specifically found challenging is that BlueFolder lacks some of the customization options they were looking for.
Best Field Service Software with a Self-Help Portal: RazorSync
RazorSync is a field service management software that provides both cloud-based and mobile apps with pricing that begins at $40/month for two users. One thing that sets it apart is that it includes a customer web portal and advanced customer management tools. RazorSync is the best choice for small businesses that want to provide their customers with the means to schedule jobs or pay their bills without needing to make a phone call.
RazorSync Pricing
RazorSync is one of the more affordable options we reviewed, with a Solo plan beginning at $40/month for two users. Plans are available depending on the size of your team and the features needed for your business. However, RazorSync also charges a one-time setup fee for all of their customers regardless of plan selected.
RazorSync Tiered Features
Price | |||
Setup Fee | |||
Users Included | |||
Work Orders | |||
Job Tracking & Scheduling | |||
Service Dispatch | |||
Mobile Credit Card Payments | |||
Time Tracking/Payroll | |||
Reporting | |||
Customer Portal | |||
Mapping/GPS | |||
Quickbooks Integration | |||
Advanced Reporting | |||
Advanced Notifications | |||
Route Optimization | |||
Inventory Management | |||
Workflow Templates |
Solo
The Solo Plan is $40/month with a $250 setup fee. It includes two users and most of the essential field service management tools needed to effectively handle customer work orders. It includes job tracking and scheduling, dispatch and time tracking, as well as mobile customer credit card processing. All of the plans include the customer-facing web portal to allow customers to self-schedule and manage their account.
Because this plan is limited to two users, it is best for smaller teams or sole proprietors like individual painters, plumbers or electricians. One advantage of this plan, compared to other entry-level plans is that it allows an individual who also has an office manager to both use this software without having to pay for an additional user.
Team
The Team plan includes additional features for up to seven users for $115/month with a $450 setup fee. This plan includes advanced reporting and notifications, as well as integration with QuickBooks Online and Desktop versions. The advanced reporting features are useful for keeping track of your team’s progress and job status.
Most of the customers who would choose the team plan are medium-sized teams who need to keep track of project scheduling and ongoing customer service agreements. Specifically, lawn and landscape maintenance or HVAC repair and installers are the types of customers that this plan would benefit.
Pro
The Pro Plan is $240/month with a $550 setup fee and includes up to 15 users. This plan has additional reporting and notification options, as well as inventory management and route optimization features. These are especially helpful for larger teams that work on multiple customer jobs and move from location to location frequently.
This plan is ideal for service repair technicians or home appliance installers who visit a higher volume of customers and want to plan their routes as efficiently as possible. It also helps them keep track of assets like equipment and products/parts that are necessary to complete customer jobs.
What RazorSync Is Missing
RazorSync does not include Service Level Agreements, which are often important for businesses that deal with commercial accounts. It also doesn’t include reporting on the amount of time spent on each job, which is another important feature for businesses that invoice commercial accounts based on the amount of time spent working on a job or project.
What Users Think About RazorSync
Overall, users find RazorSync easy to use and a good value for the price. Users also like the Web Portal they can use with their customers, streamlining the project workflow. Some users comment that they wish the mobile apps included more features like with the browser-based version, and that the software had a more up-to-date interface.
Best Service Software with Real-Time QuickBooks Integration: FieldEdge
FieldEdge, formerly dESCO, is a set of cloud-based and mobile field management software tools with a wide range of features including a seamless, real-time QuickBooks integration. FieldEdge is one of the higher-priced options, charging between $100 and $125/user per month depending on whether they are using the mobile app. It the best choice for small businesses that need transactions to flow in real-time into QuickBooks from both the office and the field.
FieldEdge Pricing
FieldEdge does not provide their pricing on their website. However, the company told me that they charge $100 per office user (browser-based), and $125 per mobile app user. Based on this, a business with one administrative user and four field service techs would pay $600 per month.
FieldEdge Features
FieldEdge is a fully-featured software platform that includes all of the tools a small business needs to manage a field service team in almost any industry. From job scheduling to customer relationship management, FieldEdge includes almost all of the features that matter most to customers.
Specific FieldEdge features include:
QuickBooks Integration
One of the most important features of FieldEdge is the seamless, real-time QuickBooks integration that allows invoicing and payment transactions to flow instantly into your accounting software. Unlike several other QuickBooks integrations, their live integration means that all of your transaction information is automatically reflected in QuickBooks as soon as you create it in FieldEdge.
Scheduling & Dispatch
FieldEdge includes a dispatch tool that allows you to optimize your service professional’s time and routing. It also allows the assignment of jobs according to skill and expertise. While other software offer similar capabilities, FieldEdge updates your team’s status in real-time and allows you to make changes based on your team’s capacity, workload and current job progress.
Mobile CRM
The Mobile CRM feature keeps all the information your service professionals need to do their job in their iOS or Android device in real-time. This includes providing your team with in-depth customer information, job instructions, and equipment history, making sure they have what they need, whenever they need it.
Service Agreements
FieldEdge includes the ability to create recurring jobs according to contracted service agreements and gives you the tools to manage them on an ongoing basis. It automatically updates agreements based on renewal date, billing information, and scheduling. From a sales perspective, this feature helps increase revenue and grow your business.
What FieldEdge Is Missing
FieldEdge does not have an entry-level plan or a free trial. They do offer a free demo, but the software subscription is a one-size-fits-all, and they don’t offer any plans for smaller, budget-conscious customers. Additionally, FieldEdge does not offer a customer-facing web portal.
What Users Think About FieldEdge
Users are big fans of the QuickBooks integration, as well as the ability to easily create ongoing service agreements. Users give FieldEdge positive marks for their customer service and support and for overall ease of use. Some users share concerns that the software isn’t as quick as other options and doesn’t offer advanced customization options.
Best All-in-One Service Management Software: FreshDesk
FreshDesk is a help desk software solution that is flexible enough to meet the field service needs of many smaller teams. We included it here because it is a great option for businesses looking to manage all aspects of their operations, from sales to support to customer service. FreshDesk’s free plan is great for businesses already using FreshWorks software and wanting to add field service capabilities as part of an all-in-one service solution.
FreshDesk Pricing
FreshDesk offers a free plan for small businesses that includes their basic features. The entry-level paid plan is $19/month, and there are plans increasing up to $49/month depending on the level of features required for your business.
FreshDesk Tiered Features
Pricing | |||
Work Orders/Tickets | |||
Support Chat | |||
Reporting Analytics | |||
Knowledge Base | |||
Automated Workflows | |||
Surveys | |||
Time Tracking | |||
Community Forums | |||
Custom Roles |
Sprout
The free level of FreshDesk includes basic job ticketing, basic reporting, and the ability to assign service requests to different service team members. All of the FreshDesk plans included automation and workflow templates that make responding to incoming work order requests more efficient.
For businesses already using FreshWorks software like Freshworks CRM, the integration with FreshDesk allows smaller teams to manage their customer relationships from start to finish without having to integrate different types of software from different vendors. For sole proprietors, the Sprout Plan lets you implement a software tool that can streamline your work order process, saving you time and money.
Blossom
The Blossom Plan is $19/user per month and includes additional features like time tracking and the ability to automatically send customer satisfaction surveys upon project completion. This plan allows smaller businesses to better manage their field service processes and keep track of how well they are meeting their customer needs.
The Blossom Plan is ideal for smaller businesses that don’t need all of the features of a full field service management software but want to better track work orders and the time spent on customer projects. It also works well for companies that don’t need to manage assets like equipment, parts, or inventory, like home repair handymen or general contractors.
Estate
The Estate Plan includes additional customization options like advanced reporting and custom roles. This allows users to fine-tune both management reports as well as individual user permissions. If your team has multiple levels of management, this plan can help you control who has access to what, and how they interact with customer information.
This plan is ideal for companies who are already managing their sales process with Freshworks CRM and want a fully-integrated solution for all of their customer interactions. Customers who need both lead management and customer relationship management, like HVAC sales installers or landscape design companies, are good candidates for this plan level.
What FreshDesk Is Missing
Because FreshDesk isn’t specifically a field service management software, it doesn’t include some of the features that other options provide, including scheduling or route mapping features. There are workarounds that include third-party tools, allowing FreshDesk to integrate with these, but they aren’t included as a part of the software “out of the box.”
What Users Think About FreshDesk
Users give FreshDesk extremely high marks for their customer service and support. There aren’t many reviews specifically about FreshDesk as a field service management software tool, but customers rave about both FreshDesk and Freshworks CRM as an integrated solution.
Best Referral-Based Field Service Software: Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro is a field service management software for small businesses that has a customer-facing app, allowing potential customers to find, book and pay for jobs with businesses that use the software. This software has a price ranging from $39/month – $199/month, making this combination of price and features ideal for businesses that are looking to generate new customers through online directory referrals.
Housecall Pro Pricing
Housecall Pro charges monthly based on a combination of the overall number of users as well as the level of features you select. The Simple plan includes one user for $39/month when paid annually. All of the plans include scheduling, dispatching and credit card processing, as well as the referral directory Housecall Pro App.
Housecall Pro Tiered Features
Price | |||
Users Included | |||
Scheduling | |||
Estimates | |||
Mobile Apps | |||
Service Dispatch | |||
Text/email Notifications | |||
CC Processing | |||
G-Calendar Integration | |||
Referral Directory | |||
Online Booking on Your Website | |||
Postcard Marketing | |||
QuickBooks Online Integration | |||
Time Tracking | |||
Customizable SMS Messaging | |||
Customizable Reports | |||
Employee GPS Tracking |
Simple
Housecall Pro’s entry-level plan includes one user, and provides all of the essentials for scheduling work orders, creating job estimates and invoicing customers. It also includes features like email notifications, invoicing, and mobile credit card processing. All of the plans include the referral directory, and Housecall Pro charges a 10 percent referral fee for any new customers booked through the service.
The Simple plan is perfect for the solo contractor or small team. With only one user, the plan is limited in the number of service professionals you can schedule and dispatch, but for an individual who handles their own workload like a painter or handyman, this plan allows them to professionally manage customer projects as well as generate new business through the directory.
Modern
The Modern Plan is $109/month and includes up to six users. This plan provides additional features like online booking on your own website, the ability to send invoices to QuickBooks, customizable SMS notifications, and team time tracking. It also includes features that are great for sales teams, including postcard marketing to keep you at the top of your customer’s mind when they need work done.
This plan is geared towards smaller teams that find most of their business through referrals and online. It is a good choice for businesses like carpet cleaning or smaller construction teams like kitchen remodelers and patio installers.
Advanced
The Advanced Plan includes unlimited users for $199/month. It also includes customizable reporting and employee GPS tracking. This plan includes advanced tools that are designed to help manage larger teams and keep track of their progress. Advanced reporting tools allow you to get a high-level dashboard view of your business, as well as dig deep into each project and team member progress.
This plan is designed to work for larger teams like HVAC repair and installation, larger commercial landscape maintenance companies, and construction crews like homebuilders. It includes features that help make your work order processes more efficient when dealing with teams across a larger geographic area, and the advanced reporting features are especially useful for tracking sales and revenue performance of your field service teams.
What Housecall Pro Is Missing
While businesses can set up many of the features according to their business, Housecall Pro is limited in customization compared to some of the other options on this list. Users aren’t able to modify forms or save email templates. Additionally, Housecall Pro doesn’t offer telephone support on most of their plans, providing chat or email support instead.
What Users Think About Housecall Pro
Users really like how easy Housecall Pro is to use, and give it high marks for its QuickBooks Online integration, invoicing and payment processing in the field. Users also like generating new business through the Housecall Pro App. Some users comment that because of the lack of customization, it is harder to track materials and time related to more complex customer projects.
Bottom Line
Field service management software to help them manage the people, assets, and projects they interact with every day. The best field service management software for sales includes the best features at the most affordable price point for a small business. From our research, Service Fusion is the best overall field service management software for sales.