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The best field service management software in 2023

Published on 1 March 2023 • Reading time: 7 min read

Every field service management system has the same objective: optimising the time and resources needed to carry out field services, both in the office and in the field.

Discover our explanations and some tips on how to choose the right field service management software, as well as our list of popular and efficient software.

Table of contents

• What is the purpose of a good field service management software?
• The 5 key criteria for choosing the most suitable software
  1. The suitability for your industry
  2. The integration with other software
  3. The user experience
  4. The planning methods
  5. The quality of support
• The best software for managing your field workers
  • Praxedo
  • AntsRoute
  • Synchroteam
  • Route4me

Service management software improves the productivity of technicians in the field. The tool ensures that work is carried out properly. It also ensures better customer satisfaction.

What is the purpose of a good field service management software?

All software of this type has some key features such as:

• The planning and assignment of tasks within each team.
• A mobile application including several tools to facilitate field operations: information about the services, proof of service with photos, electronic signature, etc.
• Solutions to facilitate communication: customer database, sending notifications by e-mail or SMS, etc.
• Creation of service reports.
• History and dashboards to measure the performance of each technician.

In addition to these essential functions, some field service software publishers have developed more specific services or modules such as:

• The management of the stock of consumables or spare parts.
• The optimisation of routes according to different criteria.
• The live geolocation of technicians.
• The planning of new visits from the mobile application.
• The payment of work done directly to the technician, etc.

The 5 key criteria for choosing the most suitable software

The following solutions are some of the most popular tools, all of which offer valuable resources for optimising field service management and improving customer satisfaction. This is a list, not a ranking. The objective for you is to determine which software is suitable for your needs and your way of working.

The 5 criteria to analyse when choosing field service management software.

1. The suitability for your industry

Many professionals would benefit from adopting a field service management software: plumbers, maintenance technicians, after-sales service, cleaning and maintenance companies, telecommunications operators, service providers, etc.
However, the workers in these different industries do not all have the same needs, far from it!

It is therefore best to make sure that the publisher concerned is already working with other companies in your industry, as the advantages are obvious. Not only will you have a better chance of working with software that “speaks” the same language as your technicians. In addition, you will benefit for the same price from developments already made for others!

2. The integration with other software

There is nothing more annoying than having to enter the same information twice, or even three times, in several software systems: work order management, CRM, CMMS, billing, HR, etc. To save you time and reduce the risk of human error, most software publishers have set up computer “gateways” through which the information between your various software tools is automatically transferred:

• Tailor-made module to make 2 solutions communicate.
• Connection using a no-code tool such as Zapier.
• API, etc.

Otherwise, most software packages provide the option of importing or exporting the necessary data via an Excel-type spreadsheet.

3. The user experience

The best software is worthless if it takes your staff days and days to learn how to use it. Or worse, if they are reluctant to use it!

Before making the final choice, it is best to ask some of your team members to test the proposed solution in real-life conditions. The user interface should be intuitive and suitable for both field technicians and support functions: operators, administrative staff, etc.
Most publishers offer free trials: take advantage of them!

Access to a quality technical support is essential.

4. The planning methods

From one company to another, the systems for planning the work orders are very different, and often several methods coexist:

• Planning on incoming or outgoing call.
• Time slots transmitted in bulk.
• Frequency or schedule of field services indicated in the maintenance contract.
• Online appointment booking by the end customer, etc.

Your field service management software must take this into account, otherwise you will lose the benefit of it.

5. The quality of support

Breakdowns, operating errors, loss of data, difficulty in using a functionality: in the words of one of our customers, Farid Saidani, “in IT and software, things can go wrong very quickly!”.
If this is the case, you must be sure that you can reach someone who is able to speak to you in English during your usual working hours.

Before subscribing, it is better to check the availability of the customer service, as well as the quality of the answers provided!

The best software for managing your field workers

To help you choose the service management software best suited to your business, we’ve compared six different solutions.

Praxedo

Praxedo positions itself as one of the leader in field service management software with 40,000 users, from SMEs to large companies.

This solution is indeed very useful to take the plunge into paperless invoicing, and thus reduce billing times. In addition to all the standard functionalities, Praxedo also provides some services that are not yet common on the market. For example, a specific access portal for contractors, or the connection to the Sum’Up® device to collect payment directly after the work is done.

Another advantage for mobile teams is that even though it is a SaaS solution, i.e. hosted in the cloud, the data entered in the mobile application can still be accessed offline, for example in a white zone.

On the other hand, Praxedo may not be intuitive at first, as it requires a lot of configuration and setting up work. But this is the price to pay for a highly customised software.

Pricing: from €29 to €69 per month per user, depending on the features chosen.

AntsRoute

This solution is initially a route optimisation software. Its objective is to reduce the time spent on planning work orders, but also the number of miles travelled between two tasks and the amount of fuel consumed.

The AntsRoute route optimisation software interface.

In order to plan optimal routes, AntsRoute takes into account all the essential criteria in your sector of activity: the time slots required by customers, the expected duration of the work, the technical skills and qualifications required, the vehicle’s loading capacity, and of course the geographical location!

Thanks to an integrated GPS (Waze or Google Maps), AntsRoute also allows you to geolocate your technicians in real time and to send a tracking link to the end customer.

The solution takes into account many different ways of making appointments. AntsRoute even provides a white-label booking site for field service businesses, available online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In addition to these rather innovative solutions, the tool includes all the essential functionalities for a field service management software: planning of recurrent maintenance operations, electronic signature, creation of customised service reports, etc.

To avoid duplicate entries, multiple solutions have also been designed to automatically exchange data with most CMMS or invoicing software: Alteva, Axiobat, Sage, etc.

The final advantage of AntsRoute is its very reasonable prices, which make the software affordable even for small companies and non-profit organisations. Depending on the expected functionalities, the publisher offers 4 price plans ranging from €24 to €88 per user, with a 50% discount for the first 3 months.

Synchroteam

The scope changes with Synchroteam, which has established itself as the European leader in the sector.

This SaaS software is suitable for many professions such as heating engineers, plumbers, maintenance technicians, cleaners, etc.

To attract the target audience, the tool has been designed to be very intuitive. For example, you can assign a job to a technician by dragging and dropping, or change the expected duration of a task by “stretching” the box with a single click.

Synchroteam includes all the features you would expect from this type of software: mapping and GPS, assignment of tasks and tracking of their completion, editing of customised service reports, performance analysis, etc. You can also manage the invoicing and payment in the field.

The publisher also provides several connectors to exchange information directly with Zoho, Sage, Xero and Quickbooks, as well as a catalogue of APIs to interface its solution with your CRM or ERP.
By contrast, in smaller organisations, if you are not yet using a CRM, the tool includes a module for managing your customer data.

Synchroteam offers a single package at €24 per month per user if you accept annual billing. If you choose to pay monthly, the price rises to €31.

Route4me

Route4me is, like AntsRoute, originally a route optimisation software.

The Route4me route optimisation software interface.

The solution, which has been regularly upgraded since then, now has a wide range of functions: electronic planning, dispatching of work orders by drag and drop, GPS navigation, real-time tracking and geolocation of technicians, creation of service reports, etc.

On the other hand, its functionalities are less extensive than those of a classic field service management software. For example, the solution does not include a stock management module, nor an invoicing or unpaid reminder module.

According to the reviews available online, this simplicity makes the software intuitive and easy to use. Customers also appreciate the quality of the support and its responsiveness.

There is a free version, but it is rather limited in terms of functionality. The paid version starts at $199 per month for 10 users. The tool is best adapted for bigger teams and not individual drivers.