EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY BY CHARLES RATHMANN
on Field Management Services Moving beyond core disciplines, software companies selling field service solutions are giving small contractors the help they need to win in the market.
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Blitzz
In Blitzz, a user can select markup from the menu bar at the bottom of the Blitzz Desktop to take a picture from the video stream for markup. Once the image appears, either party can mark up the image.
44 GREEN INDUSTRY PROS
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ield service management software is an essential tool for contractors that visit multiple customer sites every day. This ensures the right technician with the right tools is at the right site at the right time. It is even more important when work is being performed on an annual service contract where effective and efficient operations can lead to higher margins than per-service billing. Some vendors are augmenting their solutions with professional services, business support or delivering communication tools that will give their customers capabilities they often otherwise could not access, including marketing help, financial services, video-enabled remote support and the ability to connect the customer or field service tech to the back office. Here’s a look at what software companies like Jobber, WorkWave, Blitzz and Streem offer.
Jobber Offers Marketing, Finance
Finding the business and then hiring the people to do the work are two fundamental challenges for lawn care and landscape companies.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
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“We are here to help people run these small home service businesses,” says Jobber Senior Director of Marketing Nick Keyko. “The majority of what we do is operations, but business financing and consumer financing are an important offering for us.” The Edmonton, Alberta, Canadabased software company adds a number of service offerings and partnerships to its product that give even a oneman-band contractor access to a whole orchestra waiting in the wings. In 2020, Jobber partnered with Stripe Capital to secure financing for equipment to plug a gap in cash flow to meet payroll or ramp up and accept more jobs. Jobber added consumer financing service in 2021 by leveraging a partnership with Wisetrack. This gives the customer the ability to pay for a project over time while ensuring the contractor still receives a lump sum payment. Through Jobber, consumer financing can be automatically offered on residential quotes between $500 and $25,000. To apply for monthly financing, homeowners fill out a short application and receive a decision instantly. Annual percentage rates range from 0 to 29.9
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