Like it or not, the workforce is increasingly mobile and workers on the go need to be fully productive from mobile devices. Service companies need to keep up with the demand of an ever-growing digital world and should take advantage of the continued streamlined benefits that go along with a mobile solution. A recent article in The Air Conditioning/Heating/Refrigeration News speaks to this very message.

Most service companies already have cell phones distributed to improve in-the-field communications and most cell phone providers now offer bundled text/phone/internet solutions that are the same price if not cheaper than the individual plans. Adding a mobile service management solution will organize and streamline the work flow of both small and large service companies, making them more manageable and profitable.

ESC Mobile is a simple and affordable way to outfit your mobile technicians with real-time job information and time tracking. ESC Mobile is a powerful and intuitive smartphone, tablet and laptop App for Service Technicians to manage work orders in the field, Technician managers to manage technicians in the field and office personnel to monitor everything with real-time updates to and from the field.

ESC Mobile has all the tools and features growing service companies need. Benefits and advantages include:

• Increased tech productivity by arming your team with the right information in the field ensuring jobs are completed faster and more efficiently.
• Increased response time with features such as GPS tracking and mapping.
• Increased field accuracy with access to all information needed to identify and work on the right equipment and eliminate illegible hand-written field notes.
• Increased customer care and professionalism with easy access to complete customer information across your network.
• Increased sales by increasing the productivity of your technicians and in turn allowing them to complete more jobs daily as well as giving your team information needed to quickly identify up and cross sale opportunities.
• Reduced costs by identifying areas of waste and inefficiencies. (Example. Reduced fuel costs with ESC’s route optimization and mapping functions.)
• Improved internal communications by giving your employees access up-to-the-minute company and customer information, all in a single location.
• Improved external communications with appointment reminders, status updates, technician profile emails, surveys, coupons and more.  
• Reduced collections by allowing techs to process payments in the field lowering processing costs, ensuring accuracy, reducing collection issues and improving cash flow.

The benefits of implementing a mobile solution far outweigh the cost. So what are you waiting for? Contact us today for a personalized demo on our ESC mobile solution.

Many HVAC, Plumbing, and other service companies that have been in existence for years and have never used software to manage their dispatches, quotes, invoices, or service agreements. However, in this fast-moving business environment, even traditionally low-tech industries can no longer afford not to use technology in their businesses.

Change is difficult, and keeping the fear of change from influencing your boss’ decision about introducing new technology into their business is difficult but necessary.

Some owners of HVAC, Plumbing, and other service companies are gung-ho about using new technology to advance their business, but others are more technologically averse and need more coaxing and convincing. If you have determined that your company would greatly benefit from service software, but your boss is hesitant about introducing new technologies, here are a few tips to pitch your idea to your boss.

When you know what technology your company needs to move to the next level, you need to get your boss not only accept your point of view, but act on it. To sell your idea to your boss, you have to communicate how your software choice will help your company accomplish what it has set out to do.

For instance, if one of your company’s goals is “same day service,” a dispatching tool that lets your dispatchers schedule your technicians efficiently is necessary. Alternatively, if you company loses money because of lost or illegible invoices, mobile computing tools might be the answer.

To get your boss to listen to your idea for software, you must select the key points and deliver them in a convincing way. Here are some quick ideas for presenting your idea to your boss:

1. Make a one-page handout for your boss that makes the case for the software you want.
2. Set an appointment to discuss the document.
3. Go through the document point by point to persuade your boss of why your company will benefit from your idea.
4. If you cannot get a commitment from your boss right away, schedule a time to follow-up and get a final decision.
5. If you believe that your idea is the right one, do not give up after an initial “no,” but instead, focus on communicating the bottom line implications of not going forward and keeping the status quo.

The most important part of selling service software to your boss is that it meets his needs. Your software idea has to solve your boss’ problems, not yours. Your boss cares less about how it will make your life easier and more about how it will contribute to the bottom line.

To sell your boss on your software idea, you have to demonstrate how it will help him reach his business goals.

Peer reviews are one of the most sought after pieces of content that people look for when seeking out service software. Honest product reviews are more useful to buyers than any marketing materials, advertisement, or even testimonials.

You can see what other ESC users have written about ESC service software on Capterra. We are proud of what our customers have to say about their experiences with ESC service software.

For those of you that use ESC every day, you know how the software works for your business better than anyone. That’s why we’re inviting you to rate ESC and share your personal experience.

If you are an ESC user, you can submit a review on Capterra to share your personal experience with the service software. It only takes a few minutes to complete, and your feed back will help and educate other service companies as they evaluate the software for their use.

Submit a review on Capterra

Your review will be displayed on dESCO’s Capterra Profile and will help other businesses make good software decisions.

Click Here to Rate ESC or go to http://www.capterra.com/review_new?vendor_id=2000681

Capterra is an organization that helps companies choose the right software for their needs by presenting them with all of their options and making it easy for them to compare solutions.

The Section 179 deduction in the Internal Revenue Code lets businesses expense in full qualified equipment in the year they buy it. This deduction can be used for many types of equipment purchases, including vehicles, machines, computers, office furniture and equipment, and even software.

The Section 189 Deduction is not some obscure or arcane loophole in the tax code. It is designed to encourage business equipment investment by letting businesses deduct from their gross income the full purchase price of qualifying equipment in the same year that they purchase or finance it. This incentive, created by congress, is designed to encourage businesses to invest in themselves with new equipment purchases.

First, what officially is the Section 179 deduction?

“Section 179 of the IRS Tax Code allows a small business to deduct, for the current tax year, the full purchase price of financed or leased equipment that qualifies for the deduction. The equipment purchased or leased must be within the specified dollar limits of Section 179, and the equipment must be placed into service in the same tax year that the deduction is being taken (for tax year 2010, this means the equipment must be put into service between 01/01/2010 and 12/31/2010).” (Via Section179.org FAQs)

Usually when you purchase a piece of equipment, you get to write it off a little bit at a time over its useful life. However, this section in the tax code will allow you to write off the full amount right away.

Here is a short video from Rhonda at Crest Capital that explains how the Section 179 deduction works, and how you can use it to write off your equipment or software purchase:

Our ESC service software meets the requirements and falls into the standard Section 179 equipment write-off. However, for anyone that wants to take advantage of the Section 179 Tax Deduction for this year, the software needs to be in service by December, 31 2010. For more information about how the tax deduction applies to software, there is an article on Section 179 and software on Section179.org.

Most businesses that purchase or finance less than $2 million in equipment purchases in 2010 should qualify for the deduction. The other important qualification is that the purchased equipment must be put into service before the end of the year.

There are less than four weeks until this enhanced Section 179 tax deduction expires, so there is still time to take advantage of this tax code. This is a use it or lose it program. With it you can write off the entire cost of equipment or software you purchase. However, as a reminder, to qualify the purchase must be in place by December 31, 2010.

If you are looking to get an idea of how much you could save with the Section 179 tax deduction, you should check out Crest Capital’s Tax Deduction Calculator. The calculator is updated with all the limits for the 2010 tax year, and can give you a good idea of how much you could save on your equipment purchases that you finalize before the end of the year.

You can find more info about the Section 179 deduction at www.Section179.org.

Have you used the Section 179 deduction in your business? Leave your story in the comments.

We are pleased to announce the official release of ESC Mobile Web for the iPhone/iPad and Android based phones. We have customized both applications to make full use of the device’s touch screens and feature the following abilities:

• View complete dispatch information
• Change dispatch status
• Track time spent on jobs
• Add dispatch notes
• Create new customer records
• Create new dispatches
• Send text messages to the office

The applications work with the ESC desktop software through a link to the Connections Server in your office, so you will need a connection to the Internet to use the software. The link is in real-time, so any changes you make, either from the office or from in the field on the phone, are instantly visible on the other. This gives you unlimited flexibility in scheduling.

Both apps include a connection to a demo database. This means that you can download the app today and see exactly how it will work for you in the field without any setup or commitment. Once you are ready to buy this add-on, just give us a call at 800-226-7529 and we’ll help you get everything working perfectly with your database for just a small monthly fee per user.

You can download the iPhone app directly from iTunes for free by searching for ESC Mobile or viewing this link. Please note this app looks fantastic on the iPad as well.

You can download the Android app for free directly from doubleTwist, the Android store, by clicking this link. You can also download the app by scanning the following QR code with a bar code scanner application on your phone.

DIY website, eHow, has a short tutorial on selecting HVAC Service Software for a service management company.

HVAC service software is an integral tool for mechanical service management companies. You will want to find a solution that helps coordinate your customers’ needs in such a way that maximizes tasks completed, customer visits, and gross revenue while simultaneously lowering overall costs. Follow these steps to help in identifying HVAC software for your company.

eHow suggests looking for HVAC service software that works on mobile devices and can handle functions like dispatching, invoicing, and communicating with the office. It also suggests looking for software that will integrate well with your current account package.

eHow encourages readers to make sure the HVAC Software provider has a quality phone and email support system that you can reach during your working hours. eHow suggest finding service software that is tailored to work with your HVAC business. Finally, they suggest choosing HVAC service software based on its ability to to give you good and relevant reports about your business.

You can read the full guide at: How to Choose HVAC Service Software | eHow.com.

Version 11 of ESC is here and available for upgrade. It’s packed with new features and functions to make managing your service business easier than ever. Overall, this release is about improving your workflow. From qualifying your customers, to creating quotes, to dispatching technicians to complete the quoted work, to creating invoices, the whole process has been streamlined even further and puts you in control of the process.

Sales Invoicing

The Sales Invoicing Module underwent a complete redesign, which made it even more intuitive, added time-saving functions, and made more useful information readily available.

• The sales invoicing module has a new and clearer design and is now in the .NET framework.
• There is a new “View Details” button, which lets users with the right permissions view the costs of parts and labor used on an invoice, making it easier to see the profitability of each invoice.
• You are now able to adjust the quantity of assemblies, which will automatically calculate the quantities and costs of all the components that make up that assembly.
• This version also lets you adjust the quantity of flat rate parts on an invoice.
• You are now able to make templates out of the invoices you create, which will dramatically reduce the time you spend on creating common invoices involving many line items. Rather than having to create each invoice from scratch, you can just load the template you created and make any necessary modifications before saving.
• A new search screen in the Sales Invoicing Module makes it easy to recall recently modified invoices without having to enter detailed search criteria.
• The Sales Invoicing Module now supports barcode scanning, letting you scan parts and items directly onto an invoice.
• You can now modify the details of equipment you sell from within the sales invoicing module.
• The “Tender” button is now available right on the Sales Invoicing toolbar.
• You can create a credit memo directly from a saved invoice’s activities menu.
• The credit memo function now has its own screen, making it simpler to create a credit memo from an invoice.

Quotes

ESC now has an independent quotes module that allows you to enter, edit, and manage quote status in its own screen.

• The updated Quote List Report gives a number of different sorting options as well as summary statistics (such as quote status and closing ratios) for each individual sales person.
• There is a new screen that allows you to selectively cost out the parts on a quote when making it into a dispatch, making dispatching from an accepted quote an easy one step process.
• There is now a “Status” drop down, which allows you to keep track of whether a quote is pending, accepted, or rejected. ESC automatically updates the status to “Accepted” when you create a dispatch or invoice from the quote.
• There is a new search screen in the Quotes Module that makes it easy to recall recently modified invoices without having to enter in detailed search criteria.
• You can also make templates from the quotes you create, reducing the time you spend on common or reoccurring quotes involving many line items.
• The Quotes Module also has a new “Markup%” field, which allows you to adjust your markup percentage on individual line items as you create the quote.
• Any equipment or service agreements you attach to a quote will also carry over to the dispatch you create from the quote.

Qualification Screen

The Customer Qualification screen is the most visibly modified screen. It underwent a complete redesign with drag and drop functionality that provides the ability to modify your screen layout so it displays the information that is most important to you.

• You are able to choose from a number of our included layout templates, or create your own templates.
• There is a new “Refresh” button on the Qualification Screen tool bar which allows for a quick view of how the changes you made in different modules affected the customer.
• A “Create Quote” option is now under the Activities menu.
• There are three new columns of information in the Invoices/Quotes panel of Qualification Screen: Billed %, Associated Quote, Quote Status.

Dispatching Module

The Dispatching Module and the Dispatch Ticket Layout Designer both have new features to put you in control of the information that appears on printed tickets and what shows up in your customers’ history.

• The dispatch ticket layout design now has multiple grow-able body fields and grouping so that all the information you need on your printed tickets will appear.
• There is also a line spacing option to make your customized tickets fit onto pre-printed forms.
• The ticket designer provides the option to print the customer’s entire equipment list or only the equipment that is attached to that dispatch.
• You can now decide to post dispatch notes to the invoice and to the customer history.
• There is a new pull down menu to select which billing code to use in posting dispatch notes.
• There is also an option to select which billing code to use for dispatch notes that are posted to the invoice.

ESC Accounting Software

The ESC Accounting Software package also has some expanded features and updates, including recurring credit card transactions and “work-in-progress” options.

• You can now set up automated, recurring credit card transactions from several screens; including: “Enter Customers”, “Enter Agreements”, and “Sales Invoicing”.
• There is a new “work-in-progress” option, a WIP Enabled checkbox, and Closing Account drop down in Enter Chart of Accounts for asset and liability accounts.
• If you set the status of a job that has money in WIP accounts to “Closed”, a journal entry screen will come up that moves money from the WIP accounts to the closing accounts when you save.

Miscellaneous

• A new data structure makes auto-fill searching much faster in large databases.
• There is now a summary page that shows which invoices posted after you use the “Post Monthly Invoices” screen.
• ESC Version 11 is now compatible with Peachtree 2011.
• Version 11 works with the new HST Canadian tax.
• History and billing codes can now be up to 36 characters long, and you can make them inactive.
• There is a new billing code type called “Agreement” that maps to the Agreement column on the sales reports.
• Version 11 supports job classes in the ESC Mobile Client and ESC Front Office.
• We improved grouping in the layout designers, making it easier to create custom layouts.
• When you modify parts on an invoice that post to equipment, it automatically updates the information in the Equipment tab in the customer’s information screen.
• The inventory module now has spell check and date\time stamp for the Inventory Entry Notes tab.
• Also, inventory part adjustments are now date sensitive.

The ESC Mobile Client Support a Wide Variety of Windows Smart Phones with Touch Screens

The ESC Mobile Client works on a wide variety of devices. It works on most laptop, netbooks, and tablet PCs running Window. The Mobile Client also works on a wide variety of Windows Mobile Phones with Touch Screens.

Microsoft has a list of all the mobile phones they currently support that run Windows Mobile and that will work with ESC Mobile. You can view them here. This is not a comprehensive list, and it is still a good idea to check with dESCO if a particular phone will work with the ESC Mobile Client.

Owners, employees, and customers all benefit from Mobile Computing.

Customers are able to receive more timely service from technicians who have better access to the information they need to get to the job with the right parts and tools, and to get the job done.

Technicians benefit from having the information for their dispatches at their fingertips rather than having to call the office for each update.

Office personnel benefit from having technicians in the field with mobile devices because it means they don’t need to re-enter all the information the tech brings back with him.

Finally, owners benefit from the increased efficiency of their operations which means a bigger bottom line!

Mobile computing is an effective way to bring a new level of professionalism and accuracy to your business. To find out more about how mobile computing with ESC can change your business and to see a demo of the ESC Mobile Client, schedule a demo with a dESCO product specialist.