Assessing Free Field Service Management Software: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly
If you’re considering working with free field service management software, you might be a believer in the old saying that “the best things in life are free.” But another old adage reminds us that we “get what we pay for.” So where do you turn when old clichés contradict one another?
In today’s post, the FranchiseSoft team assesses the value of free field service management software. Read on for a breakdown of the good, bad, and ugly!
Is free field service management software really free?
A quick Google search for “free field service management software” yields 35,500,000 results in 0.75 seconds. But are all of these results really pointing to free software?
While many reputable companies will give you free access to their product, the program’s bread-and-butter will usually only be available once purchased. In some cases, you may be able to find a free trial, as with FranchiseSoft’s no-cost, no-commitment demo, but these expire once the trial period has elapsed.
If you do find a truly free product, make sure that you adjust your expectations. Free software usually boils down to limited calendar services that are only useful for logging appointments.
A review of the top three free scheduling apps listing in Google’s search listings shows that the following features may be available at no cost:
- A shared online calendar
- FAQ page
- Basic messaging system limited to 1-3 users
Unfortunately, these services are not really worth writing home about; in fact, you can find better versions of both the calendar and “messaging” software through basic Google services.
Top free services require paid upgrades to access the following functions:
- Confirmation and reminder emails or texts
- Email or chat support for training, retraining, and customer queries
- Multiple staff users
- Ability to schedule recurring appointments
- Ability to sync with Google calendar
- Reports and analytics
In light of these findings, it seems as though reputable paid programs are much more worthwhile.
Is free field service management software really worth my time?
So long as you’ve chosen a reputable product, adopting new field service management software shouldn’t be a huge headache, but any kind of digital transition will tie up business resources and personal time to some degree for setup and training. With this in mind, it’s crucial that you choose a product that is worth your time. That means finding field service management software with enough advantages to offset the productivity lost during its learning curve.
Unfortunately, this is rarely true of free software. Simple scheduling programs aren’t worth disrupting workdays and forcing old-timers to modify their work processes.
On the other hand, low-priced field management apps are absolutely worth the investment. FranchiseSoft’s field service management software will improve your internal communications, client relationships, sales cycle, payment and invoicing process, customer satisfaction rating, and save you thousands of hours in bookkeeping. You will immediately offset the time and money you spent, and implementation is easy with our unparalleled franchise support services.
Rating Free Field Service Management Software: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
- The Good: Free trials of reputable, comprehensive, and paid field management software services. You can sign up for a no-cost, no-commitment trial at https://franchisesoft.com/franchise-solutions/field-service-management/
- The Bad: Free programs that offer paid upgrades.
- The Ugly: Free software offering limited calendar scheduling options and basic internal communications.
