The post Are You Still Using Paper Job Sheets? appeared first on Okappy.
]]>When tradesmen are out on a job, they have all the tools they need for the job. But they also often have to lug around admin files. This is unnecessary, it’s just extra baggage. If tradesmen were to have an interactive version of their job sheets, then they would not need to worry about completing paperwork or badgering clients for information.
It can take a great amount of time to fill out paper job sheets. Often engineers do not have the best handwriting, especially when they are trying to write on uneven surfaces or out in the cold. Add to the mix that the client may also want to add their own details to the sheet, then you can end up with paperwork which can be very hard to read. Let’s be honest, no one likes filling out seemingly meaningless forms.
At the end of day, or even the week, your workers will have to bring the job sheets back to the office. Depending on the tradesman these may return to the office in a jumbled pile, ruined or with key information missing. Your admin department will then have to spend time sorting out the information and entering the details onto the system. There are many occasions when handwriting can’t be read, this further prolongs the process. Your admin staff will likely have to phone up the engineer again and maybe even have to contact the client for information they’ve already provided. This not only causes a delay in processing the information, it also doesn’t look professional.
By using electronic job sheets you will be able to update your information quickly and easily. And often straight after the job has been completed. The benefits of electronic sheets are numerous. Especially for tradesmen (like electricians and plumbers).
Your engineers can provide updates at the click of a button which means less missing information and less risk of miscommunications between you, your employees and your clients. It also means less copying of information from one piece of paper to another which saves time and can help ensure missed invoices are a thing of the past.
By having a customer database with all your job information filled out in real-time. If you ever need to find the details of what was done on a previous job, you can simply use your computer, laptop or iPhone to look on the relevant e-sheet. The relevant information is available with just a couple of clicks. This is much quicker for you and looks much more professional for your customers.
Your electronic job sheet can be shared across the business, meaning everyone can update and view the job sheet. If your tradesmen are out on a job, they can update the job sheet whilst on site or soon after the job is complete. Their update will be available instantly to the admin team in the office. No more ringing for job updates and no more chasing for the job sheets to be returned.
With all the job information readily available, this enables you to raise an invoice as soon as your job is complete. The sooner you can raise your invoice, the quicker you get paid. And with all the information readily available, this means less chance of disputes with your customers.
Why don’t you take a look at our web and mobile based job management software which enables you to send and receive jobs and share the status of your jobs in real-time as they are updated by your engineers out in the field.
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]]>The post Electronic Job Card Software and the Benefits appeared first on Okappy.
]]>Job cards are used in many in industries such as electrical contracting, plumbing and facilities management. They are used to send job details to workers out in the field and to get information back about the work done on each job.
In most cases, job cards are printed off, handed to an engineer and they have to then fill out the job card by hand once the job is complete – or days later.
No one likes doing admin, it takes up time which you could be using to grow your business and if information is missing or hard to read then this can lead to delays or errors when invoicing.
Okappy has been championing electronic job cards as a way to cut out paperwork, make life easier and above all cut the cost of admin or missing invoices.
An electronic job cards is simply a way to get rid of paper, replacing it with a form on a computer, tablet or mobile phone which can be filled out by you and your engineers.
Typically a job card will have two parts,
1) Details of the job including the address, contact details and any pertinent information about what work is required.
2) A work sheet which your engineer can complete with the details of what has been done.
Customers typically populate the details of the job with the customer address and telephone number along with any job details. They then allocate the jobs to their engineers or subcontractors.
The engineer can see their list of jobs on their phone and can simply click on the job to get more details. They can get directions and easily ring or text the customer.
Once the job is complete, the engineer can enter details of the work done and click complete.
That’s it, no more duplicating information, no more chasing engineers to get your job cards back and no more missing, incomplete or ineligible information.
As soon as you allocate your job to an engineer they can view the details on their phone, no more waiting around each morning to get their job cards, and no need to come back to the office if a new job comes in.
They can also update the job sheet at the click of a button, which not only means less admin for them, you also get to see the status of the job as its updated.
Trying to decipher handwritten information is often near impossible. This can be compounded if your engineer is busy or working in a difficult or dirty location. Information also gets forgotten, especially if you’re job cards are filled out at the end of the week or even later.
This can lead to disputes with your customers, it can delay the raising of invoices or mean that you cannot invoice for the full amount of work done.
Using electronic job sheet can mean an end to copying data from one piece of paper to another.
Once the details are in the system, job cards and invoices can be generated without having to copy and paste the details from one to another.
Putting your information into electronic form also means that you can better analysis what work has been done over time. This may be required by particular customers but could also help you streamline and improve your business allowing you to better allocate resources and concentrate on the jobs that add the most to your bottom line.
One of the biggest differences our customers talk about is improvements to invoicing.
If job cards are delayed, or even worse, missed altogether then this can lead to delays or missing invoices.
By automating the process and putting job cards on your phone, you can raise your invoices as soon as your jobs are complete and automatically include the information required by your customer.
This ensures that invoices are not missed, it helps ensure they are correct and can speed up the time it takes for you to get your invoices out.
Find out more about Okappy Job Management and how it can help your business.
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]]>The post It’s all right for some… appeared first on Okappy.
]]>Then there was the one snowed under with work…Gary, the easygoing plumber. Imagine his delight when he wakes to see the glittering snow laden ground and he knows this can only mean one thing…chaos of a different kind: burst pipes. Aha, one of his clever customers is on some national register for call outs, and passing lots of work his way.
So, its plumbing work with burst pipes day today, thinks Gary. This system he’s got hold of is what has really done it – no, not caused the snow and burst pipes but it’s just soooooooooo easy.
He can manage all these extra jobs as he can see the status of each job; jobs automatically get allocated to his relevant sub contractor, and texts automatically go out to his sub contractors notifying them of the job. Oh, and they go to the end customer on the morning of the job.
Relaxed, feeling-rich-at-the-thought, Gary, can see where any of his sub contractors are, if they’re stuck in snow and haven’t got to a particular job or delayed on the A road, B road, middle of nowhere road.
Find out more about Okappy Job Management
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]]>Decorators, plumbers, electricians and others: with a long list of jobs to get through, you had your work for the day cut out. With your route planned the night before; travelling across counties and towns, A roads, B roads and minor roads, fitting all the customers in nicely, as you went, whistling a little tune. Then back home for supper.
Ah, the satisfaction of being self-employed and a good day’s work done, mortgage paid, everyone fed – and Christmas looming. So far, so good, things could be worse…
Then you opened the curtains and stood back from the glare: several inches of snow had fallen overnight…plans scuppered!
Well, with us Brits unable to cope with a smattering of ground frost without the country grinding to a halt, this ‘slight precipitation’ meant only one thing: chaos. Your car has turned into an igloo and peeking out of those curtains looks like living in Siberia (hah, the Siberians get on with a normal day in worse conditions).
Travel plans abandoned, roads impassable, no work, no pay, customers not knowing if you are turning up when, how, if at all. Everyone getting fed all right…fed up.
Sorry folks, hey ho, hey ho, it’s off to no work we go – will try again tomorrow.
If only…you had one of those handy job management systems. You’d be able to see at a glance which jobs are due today, text your customers, let them know you’re not going to make it or you’ll be delayed. Or plan a different route: instantly see road blocks, diversions, jams and oh yes, er…weather reports. Keep them all happy whilst having one less thing to worry about.
Find out more about Okappy Job Management
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