With a little bit of help from Software Buddy, using the ServiceM8 job management system is as easy as easy ABC or 123. All you need to know is your A-Z. We’ll guide you through some of the most popular ServiceM8 features you can use to help you work smarter not harder. Saving you up to 30% admin time, meaning that you can work more efficiently, get paid quicker, and nurture your customer relations. Please note that all the names of Add-ons are in capitals so you can quickly see which ServiceM8 features are native and what you need to switch on.
Add-Ons
The basic set-up of the ServiceM8 job management system is relatively straight forward which makes it super easy to use. Where ServiceM8 really comes to life is with add-ons. These vary from integrations to adding extra functionality like job templates, forms, recurring jobs, and a whole lot more. Add-ons range from being free or third-party paid add-ons, if you want to unlock even more ServiceM8 features and addons you can by upgrading your price plan.
Asset Management
The ASSET MANAGEMENT add-on is a great tool for businesses that install, service, and inspect types of equipment.
With it you can create and track assets in the ServiceM8 job management system as well as saving where they are located on-site – so if you have 20 air conditioning units to service, you know which one is where. The asset manager locates the item with augmented reality and then all you need to do is scan it to register before working on it. Automatically generate asset reports and systemise follow-up inspections.
This add-on is available FREE from the Growing plan onwards.
Automation
The AUTOMATION add-on from ServiceM8 saves you time by allowing you to automate common tasks that you do all the time, like, automatically sending out emails and text messages. What’s even better is that that you can increase the level and quality of communications to your customers. This will not only save you time but can generate more work and even mean getting paid faster. This add-on is FREE and is available from the Starter plan onward.
Badges
Badges on job cards help you note information about them in a visual way. For instance, you can use BADGES to identify how a customer found you. Was it through Google, social media or Checkatrade? You can also link BADGES to FORMS and AUTOMATIONS so that the badge is automatically included in a job or email template that requires repeat annual work. This then triggers a follow-up email to be sent that reminds your customers to book their next service.
Checklists
By having a checklist for your jobs in ServiceM8 you can be sure that jobs are done correctly each time, even if you aren’t on-site to oversee your staff. As these items are completed, they are automatically added to the job’s work completed details, ready for invoicing. To create a checklist, first, open the job card on the desktop and type in the steps required into the description. Put a dash before each line to make it into a clickable item on the mobile app.
For jobs where Use ‘photo’ in the checklist to ensure a photo is added and using job templates mean there is no need to write them out for common job types.
Any forms to be completed will also show up in the checklist.
Client Sites
For your customers who have multiple properties, like landlords and business groups, set up CLIENT SITES within their client card. This means that you can keep all notes, badges, and photos specific to a particular site whilst invoices can be sent to the same billing address.
Custom Fields
Fields in ServiceM8 are bits of code that when you add them to your emails/templates etc. will pre-populate with the relevant job details i.e. customer name, site address or staff member on site.
By default, ServiceM8 has loads of fields for you to choose from, but if there’s a field you need that doesn’t already exist, create a custom field.
Each ServiceM8 account can have up to 10 additional fields to the job and client card, so we recommend that you map out your business workflow and customer journey before deciding which custom fields to create
Diagrams
Any photos on the job cards in ServiceM8 can be annotated with diagrams and text. Great for adding detail and showing your plans to your staff or customers.
Document Templates
Use the documents templates in the ServiceM8 job management system to make it quick and easy to draft up quotes, invoices, and work orders. These templates will automatically pull in all the company information that you entered in the settings tab. As a default, ServiceM8 already includes a variety of templates for you to choose from but for a bespoke template talk to Software Buddy today and see how we can help. See email templates and Invoice Templates for more details
Emails
You can manage all your email communications directly in ServiceM8. Keep track of your conversations as all emails that are both emails sent and received are kept in the job card for quick referencing.
If a customer calls and you are mid-way through writing an email, ServiceM8 automatically saves the draft so you don’t have to do anything. Later, when you reopen the job card, you can pick up where you left off with your email.
Email Templates
To really speed up your admin time, pre-write email templates. This is a great way of making sure that you have good communication with your customers but also ensures that there’s a uniformity to all correspondence. You can also use fields as previously mentioned to pull in information like customer name, address, and time the booking has been made without lifting a finger.
Forms
A form on ServiceM8 like a checklist or procedure list is a great way of collating job information whilst on-site as well as a way of making sure that all jobs in your business are done correctly and to your exacting standards. These are then converted into professional-looking PDF reports before they are sent out to your customers. If you would like a bespoke form designing, book a call with us today for a quote or take a look at our Gas Form bundle.
Feedback
We can all agree that getting positive feedback from real-life customers is one of the best ways to get more referrals. Turn on the CUSTOMER FEEDBACK add-on on ServiceM8 to automatically prompt your customers to leave you a review when they pay your invoice. Then, choose whether to share it with others via your website, Facebook page and even request specific feedback to Google, Checkatrade, and Facebook reviews. You can customise your Feedback message to include links to Google, Checkatrade, and Facebook
Group
ServiceM8 Savvy is our private Facebook group where we offer advice and expert knowledge on how you can use your ServiceM8 system to its full potential. This thriving community a great place to share your experiences, ask questions and learn from others.
Help
If you need any help with your ServiceM8 system, there are lots of options for you. First, you can reach out to an expert ServiceM8 partner like us for consultancy and bespoke services. Join our ServiceM8 Savvy Facebook group or find support directly through ServiceM8 by reading their library of help articles, send them an email or request a new feature.
Inbox
Your inbox in ServiceM8 is a quick and easy way to convert your emails into jobs. First set this up by creating an auto-forward from your email provider into your ServiceM8 email address. Then, when you create a new job, all the details from the email (like customer name and address) are auto-populated in the new job card. Alternatively, if the email is about an already existing job you can attach it to the job card.
Invoice Templates
To be to able show only the total price on your invoice rather than each individual item you will need to make sure that you have selected the right invoice template for your business. Find document templates in settings.
As standard ServiceM8 includes a variety of invoice templates for you to choose from but if you can’t find what you are looking for, contact us for a bespoke design.
Job Templates
Job templates are a perfect tool for training your new staff members on how to complete jobs, even when you aren’t there to supervise them. Include checklists of what needs to be done for each job and in which order plus additional tips that will help them to complete the work efficiently.
Knowledge
With the KNOWLEDGE add-on, you can easily capture and share information with your team of staff. It’s ideal for sharing training articles with your team as well as updates in legislation and compliance.
Locating Staff
Use the ServiceM8 GPS tracking to be able to see where your staff members are in real-time. When they are traveling, ServiceM8 will show their ETA, then when stationary and checked in at a job, it shows how long they have been on site.
Materials and Services
Keep all your prices in one place by adding them to the Materials and Services section of ServiceM8. You can quickly select the parts that are needed for a job and make any adjustments to the price before creating a quote or invoice using the template that you’ve previously chosen in the settings. Any materials and services that haven’t been used in the last year will be automatically archived and won’t appear in searches.
Network Requests
Combine NETWORK REQUESTS with the Staff Schedule to be able to see jobs that are scheduled to sub-contractors and Android users even when they are not within your ServiceM8. Find out more about using NETWORK REQUESTS in our Can ServiceM8 be used on Android video.
Online Enquiry
Generate an online enquiry form through ServiceM8 and host it on your website. This makes it quick and easy to convert the booking into a job and processed. When a customer fills in this new form via your website ServiceM8 will automatically pull in all the contact details and pre-populate the job card for you so that you can hit the ground running and have a quote sent and booking made within just a few clicks.
Photos
Take photos directly from the ServiceM8 mobile app and they will be saved on the job card. To do this simply open a job on your app and tap on the camera icon on the ‘job bar’ at the bottom to start taking pictures. Once you are happy with the pictures you have taken, add tags to them.
Find any pictures in the job diary/ history section of the job card.
Process
Workflows and processes may look different from one business to another. After all, we all work differently. It pays to think about the way you work and what your business processes are before setting out on your digitisation journey with ServiceM8. Once you have these mapped out, you can use the job queues to organise them. Learn more on our FREE training course here. [LINK]
Queues
As previously mentioned, job queues in ServiceM8 are a great way of being able to organise your workflow. This makes it easy to see how far along the process each job is to help you work more efficiently. When you use the job queues correctly you can be sure that you will never lose track of a Quote, Invoice, Part Ordered or any other part of your process.
Recurring Jobs
If you have long term recurring jobs, for example, if you are working on a contract, or if you want to set reminders on ServiceM8 that will prompt you to follow up with a customer after job completion you can do this quickly and easily when you connect the RECURRING JOBS & REMINDERS add-on. There are two main areas where this addon can help. First, for recurring work where you make repeat bookings at regular time intervals. Reminders come more into play for recurring work that spans over a longer time frame. These will then prompt you to confirm a booking closer to the date that the work is due. For example, you can set a reminder to notify you that an annual service is due in a years’ time.
Remote Signatures
Remote Document Signing means that you can collect customer signatures on your ServiceM8 forms, even when the customer is not on-site. This is ideal for accepting quotes, getting approval from landlords, and signing off extra work.
Scan and Pay
Allow your customers to pay through their phones with the ServiceM8 scan and pay feature. Simply have them scan the QR code on the job and they will be taken to a secure payment screen where they can choose whether to pay via Apple pay, Google pay, with their card details or via contactless.
Security Roles
When a new team member joins your staff you add them to your system allocating them security roles so they only see what you want them to within ServiceM8. If they leave just remove them and they will no longer have access to your ServiceM8 account. This is an easy way of ensuring security for your account.
Services
SERVICES are similar to forms as they enable you to capture to a set of questions from the customer when they first book in the job. However, the main difference between the two is that you can attach time and a monetary value to the service. Making it possible for your staff to be able to quote and engage with your customers without having any industry-specific knowledge. They are ideal for business where you do a lot of similar work – e.g EICRs or Annual Boiler Services.
SMS Messages
Do you communicate with your customers via SMS/text messages? ServiceM8 will automatically send out booking reminders and on the way messages to your customers. When you implement the TWO WAY SMS add-on your customers can even reply directly to any SMS messages that are sent out from ServiceM8
Speed
One thing that’s really great about using ServiceM8 is how much admin time it saves you. When you are searching for material or services to add to a job, ServiceM8 will suggest items based on the frequency in which you use them. If you don’t use certain material or service for over a year, it will be archived and no longer comes up in searches.
Stripe
Integrate STRIPE with ServiceM8 to be able to take card payments whilst out in the field. While the add-on is free, Stripe offers pay-as-go pricing.
Staff Licence Number
Does your line of work require your staff to have an ID card or accreditation number? Add it to the Staff section of ServiceM8 so that it can be included into any templates or forms.
Tasks
Set tasks for your team members and they will receive notifications about any actions required. These can be found in the ‘My Tasks’ and ‘Actions Required’ list as well as on the home screen of the desktop.
Tagging
Make sure that a specific member of your team sees a job note by tagging them. To do this type the @ symbol to bring up a drop-down menu of all of your staff members, select their name and they will receive a notification.
Track My Arrival
Notify your customers with their engineers ETA with the TRACK MY ARRIVAL add-on. The ‘On The Way Message’ from ServiceM8 will let your customer know when they are en route but you can take it a step further by allowing your customer to track the engineer on a live map.
Unassigned Jobs
The staff schedule view on the dashboard lets you see side by side what your staff are working on throughout the day. There is a line for each person as well as an additional row for unassigned jobs. Use this row as a planning tool to organise when you want work to be completed by. You can then assign the job to the specific staff member nearer the time.
However, if this not useful to you, either choose to hide this completely or with the security roles you can choose whether or not this is only visible to your management team.
Video
Use before and after videos and photos to record your work progress for your customers and/or in your marketing to showcase what your company does.
Alternatively. taking photos and videos whilst you are on a job site is a great training tool as it allows you to show your staff members what needs to done and in which order. With ServiceM8 you can take videos of up to 30 seconds on the job card.
Weekly Reports
Use the reporting section in ServiceM8 to give you a great overview of your business performance. The Weekly Report can show what type of job has been done the most as well as the areas that have been the most profitable.
Years of Experience
ServiceM8 has been making it easier for us all to work smarter not harder for over 10 years! They make it possible for you to digitise your workflow, save time, win more work, and get paid quicker. Improvements year on year means that ServiceM8 is always adapting to your business needs! Software Buddy has been helping trades businesses get the most out of ServiceM8 for 6 years and are 1 of only 3 Gold Certified Partners in the UK and have also been named Partner of the Year in the UK for 2021.
Zapier
The amazing variety of ServiceM8 add-ons and integrations means that the features and things that you can do within the job management system are endless. However, if you have additional needs or requirements, use ZAPIER to integrate third-party add-ons.
There’s a whole alphabet of features within the ServiceM8 job management system, both natively and those that can be switched on through Add-ons. Share with us in the comments what you use the most and join the ServiceM8 Savvy group on Facebook for more top tips and expert knowledge. To learn more about the consultancy service we offer, visit our How We Help page.