Smart Service Reviews

Pros

I've been using Smart Service and iFleet for nearly 4 years and I really couldn't imaging operating our service company without it. I've seen quite a few changes and feature upgrades throughout over the years which shows that the product has great support. When ever I have questions, they are answered right away. The only "complaint" I have if I had to make one would be that I would like to see the front facing camera be fixed within the iFleet app. I have been requesting this to be fix for the entire time that we have been using this product but it seems to go unnoticed. It must be a simple fix as every other camera app on iOS seems to work as intended. The pictures come in reversed which make reading numbers and words impossible. We use the front camera to take picture of product tags that are hard to reach. It would also be nice if the pictures were tagged with the job name and number so that we can easily locate and identify it. Thanks for a great product and all the support that goes into it. Looking forward to using this product for many years to come.

Cons

I've been using Smart Service and iFleet for nearly 4 years and I really couldn't imaging operating our service company without it. I've seen quite a few changes and feature upgrades throughout over the years which shows that the product has great support. When ever I have questions, they are answered right away. The only "complaint" I have if I had to make one would be that I would like to see the front facing camera be fixed within the iFleet app. I have been requesting this to be fix for the entire time that we have been using this product but it seems to go unnoticed. It must be a simple fix as every other camera app on iOS seems to work as intended. The pictures come in reversed which make reading numbers and words impossible. We use the front camera to take picture of product tags that are hard to reach. It would also be nice if the pictures were tagged with the job name and number so that we can easily locate and identify it. Thanks for a great product and all the support that goes into it. Looking forward to using this product for many years to come.

Pros

The ease of entering customers, service tickets, time keeping and the GPS tracking are great benefits of this system. For the most part our technicians have been easily trained on the process and it has cut down on a lot of their processing time in the field.

Cons

We have used the "Get Customer" or "Sync Customer" functions many times and since some of our office employees enter data directly into QuickBooks, we've lost a lot of email address and contact information on our customers. This information is critical to our database and it's very frustrating to try to rebuild.
We have several labor descriptions for our business and the work tickets can be set up correctly for the type of labor on a service call, the information transfers to the invoice in QB correctly, but defaults to ONE labor description on the time cards. So I end up having to revise nearly ever time card entry to correct the labor code. Also have to change the service or installation name from the sales rep's name to the actual technician that did the work. This has made the payroll processing a lot more time consuming than it used to be when it was entered directly through the time card entry in QB.

Pros

I love that it integrates with QuickBooks in real time. There are pros and cons to seeing every work order in QB but that also allows us to easily see how many times we have been to a customers house. As I said, the devil is in the details and if you just reach out to the customer service rather than struggle with the reports - they will teach you a lot and get you the report you need much quicker than you can do it yourself - until you learn how to do it yourself! The program is very customizable so that it can become what you need.

Cons

I would like the schedule board to act as a calendar too - the default search info isn't what i need but Smart Service can change the defaults - we just haven't it yet - I need to be able to schedule meetings/days off/ appts that are not service calls - in a manner that will allow them to be seen on the schedule without requiring that they be "Completed" 'cause then they disappear.....

Pros

Basic scheduling is very easy to learn, it only took me a couple of days to start scheduling basic calls. The rest involved mainly learning the service business that I work for in order to discover other needs within Smart Service. There is additional support via Smart Service's monthly webinars on various topics to assist with learning. I've attended 'Service Agreements' which I didn't know was possible until the webinar. I really like the reporting feature, it can generate useful data by request. For instance, pulling reports by customer location; if I want to view which customers live in South San Francisco I can easily create filters to do so. You really don't know how valuable a program is until your without it. We experienced our internet being down for half a day and had to go back to paper scheduling; that made us all realize how important Smart Service is to our business for sure!

Cons

If you misspell a customer name after selecting 'new customer/prospect' and make it to the main customer screen, you have to go into QuickBooks to make the corrections although it is a new customer. It would be better for new customers only to keep it unlocked until save is selected. That would save some time; I don't make constant errors but it happens occasionally. Also, tracking technicians does not seem to work 100%. I've made sure that their tablets are syncing but only have three technicians showing up on the map. Sometimes it can take a long time to load a customer and that delays a call and time. Other than those three minor problems, I can't really think of anything else.

Pros

It accomplishes all that we want out of a software without being complicated to use. It understands what we need to function and flow as a business. Using the software helps us be professional and profitable.

Cons

I can't really say anything negative about the software. I have heard others say they found a cheaper way to operate with software. It is usually people using several different software types or one program that is less quality. To me bad or clunky software/office operations cost money. Smart service is inexpensive when you realize the potential profits from a smooth running operation that is hassle free.

Pros

The layout and client fields and custom features

Cons

syncing can be an issue not being able.
That when re activating job it does not have a easy close option that does not re send invoice to QB and or it fills ifleet with all the past jobs

Pros

How easy it is to navigate through the work orders and customers. I like that you can post multiple invoices at one time if needed, or even skip multiple invoices at one time, simply by checking a box and then posting the first. I like that it connects so easily with our QuickBooks program.

Cons

I wish it would automatically reset a customer's price information for the following month. We have to change the amount of rooms serviced each month in various hotels. Our previous program would set the amount of rooms back to the base amount of rooms, but this program leaves it at the amount you post each month, so the following month it will show the amount of rooms and price from the previous month. Sometimes our customers get confused.

Pros

the scheduler, the ability to post multiple invoices at a time, the ease of adding a new customer

Cons

if I have to change the price on a regular customer service for one service that is the price that remains for the next months service. A previous program we used would automatically reset the price back to it's basic price for the following month when it was a recurring customer.

Pros

It's a great value and does so much of what other more expensive and complicated softwares do plus even more in some cases. Service System is so user friendly and very easy to learn as well as teach to new employees as the company grows. We highly recommend it to anyone who asks.

Cons

The support at My Service Depot for SmartService is great. The biggest complication and downfall, which is a big one, is that you can never get support except during standard working business hours Monday through Friday during the day. Being a small company, you can't afford to spend the time down and on the phone with tech support and failing to answer your phones for paying customers looking for service when you are in the trades like plumbing.

Pros

GSI loves how easy the program is to use and the customer service department. Whenever we have a problem the customer service representative fixes it as quickly as possible.

Cons

Overall Smart Service is a great program my biggest complaint would have to be charging for add-on programs.

Pros

The integration with QuickBooks - Eliminates double entry.

Cons

The inability to handle larger customers - ability to see previous work within those customers is not functional. Forms created in the program are not very good

Pros

Love how easily Smart Service and Quick Books integrate. It has cut our billing time by hours.Thrilled to be able to include our service notes from SS on our QB invoices.
SS is quick to resolve any issues and are constantly improving on the software to make things more detailed and efficient.
iFleet is amazing! I love that I can see where our technicians are to track their routes.
Customer support is excellent and if your concerns always addressed.
Tracking inventory is a breeze.
Vehicle maintenance can be tracked by the office so that we don't have to rely on technicians for oil changes and other maintenance issues.
Software is fully customizable so we can enter our services and descriptions exactly as we want them to appear. .
Being able to email the customer his service order at time of service with his signature on it.
Recording history of past services so that the technicians can review what notes and materials were recorded at each prior service.

Cons

A lot of data entry is required to get the software like you want it. It takes dedicated man power but is well worth it once it is entered in.
Some software glitches can disrupt things for a bit but what software doesn't have these?
Making sure that Smart Service, Quickbooks and iFleet are reflecting the same information for the technicians using the devices so you need to familiarize yourself with where the information is pulling from.

Pros

That it integrates with quick books; is a good reoccurring database of our client with reoccurring work on semi and annual basis. no need for a separate data base anymore. When use with iFleet all work orders come back to the office electronically along with any photos taken, and can be processed immediately if desired; although some customers complained the guy was still in the parking lot when they got the invoice; LOL
the tech also has the ability to make estimates and email to the client right on the spot with our custom made form.
Has reduced our paper consumption by 80% in the first year.

Cons

Sometimes there is a long lapse between windows; generally it is several seconds but at time it can be 15 to 20 seconds.
Having to update the customer list almost everyday; it tedious and with over 10K clients can take a long time.

Pros

User Friendly; broad functionality in scheduling for tri-State area

Cons

Cannot to job times in timeframe needed-- our technicians work at night -- we can't show job times past 11:55pm

Pros

What I like most about this software are the easy to understand interface screens and help available to make entry and maintenance a breeze.

Cons

I'm still learning the software, but so far I have not been able to see a way to change mass records with an import feature.

Pros

tracking (time stamps and history) and easy to view color coding, the reports feature

Cons

Integrated mapping and routing

Pros

I like the ease of scheduling and tracking where my driver is. I also like the fact that my driver can take a picture for future reference when needed. Especially if we are waiting to do a repair at a later date and need to know which part is needed when we return.

Cons

I wish in the instruction section you could use bold and highlights when you want to make sure something stands out. I would like to be able to schedule a repeating phone call, for example, We have customers that we have repeating jobs every month but need to call the day before to remind them to put up animals or leave a gate unlocked. I would like for the reverse route the schedule when needed.

Pros

We use Smart Service to dispatch our team of 14 Plumbers and Apprentice Plumbers. This would be a Herculean job without the Smart Service technology. With Smart Service, our two dispatchers are able to orchestrate our work orders to match up skills of plumber with customer needs and minimize drive time. If there is a technical problem, Smart Service is very responsive and helpful. The best part of Smart Service software is that it integrates with QuickBooks and I-Fleet Phones.

Cons

Our Plumbers do have a suggestion to improve Smart Service. When the Work order information shows on the Plumber's I-Fleet phone, he sees the main contact name and phone number plus an alternate phone number. It would be helpful if he also could see an alternate name.

Pros

Being able to schedule the field guys is fantastic. I can look at the screen and immediately know if I have a worker available or not. If a person takes the time to learn it the scheduler can be your new best friend. Some of the men really LOVE that they can take photos of the job site, the work, parts that need to be replaced and it stays with that job forever. I love that too. It is very handy.

Cons

Since Smart Service makes a new, unique job in Quick Books every single time you make a job, it makes more sense to have QB in single user mode all the time so a job can be deleted if necessary but my employer uses QB in his office to do his bids and the invoicing so it can be a pain in the neck. There is no way to tell Smart Service to print ONE work order if the jobs are assigned to the department and to the person (indicates who is doing the job) it automatically spits out one for the office that I don't need, one for the job, and one for the human. Once a person's name is entered as a customer there is no way to change it. It is wrong forever. Once it is used in QB it can only be made inactive not deleted. It might be a Quick Books interface problem which is not really Smart Service's problem but if Quick Books runs into a problem and has to close (but they always apologize for the inconvenience ;) ) then I have to close Smart Service, re open QB, start Smart Service, wait for it to go through it's acrobatics (gathering data) before I can use it.

Pros

For the regular dispatching features, I was able to learn completely on my own with no instruction, becoming our in-house "expert." It is intuitive enough that I found solutions for problems that tech support thought had no work-around.

Cons

The program as a whole is outdated and clunky, built around Microsoft Access, limiting its modern application. For example, if you have a customer with 10 locations and 15 total jobs, and they change their billing address, you have to manually go change it 26 times, in a clunky system that is not fast at all.

Adding a new customer takes forever, especially if you have a location and job to enter as well. There is also no feature to have an AP email for their default QuickBooks email, while still have primary contact's email prevalent.

Scheduling is nice that a job can recur indefinitely, but if a job cancels, you have to change its recurrence pattern PRIOR to inactivating the job, or it still comes up on the schedule. It also has no features for a job to occur for a certain period of time, or to recur on a seasonal basis.

If your customers have multiple services per invoice, it is a huge pain. The "Batch invoices to Quickbooks" feature requires the user to post each individual batch one. at. a. time. Again, on a slow, clunky system.

Many of the advanced features have not worked for us at all, or were not as advertised in the demo. Granted, the most annoying part (the scheduler does not work for us) is largely due to our painfully slow cloud system, making it inoperable.

If you want to print a schedule for each employee, be prepared to pay for an upgrade (ours was $600) so they can program a custom report for you, that is iffy on how often it works on the first attempt. (Ours works on the second attempt every time.)

The "Prospect" feature is useless... it doesn't transition over to "Customer" well at all.

It is also impractical to use many features integrated with Quickbooks-- it requires syncing for anything useful, and with a large customer database, that is completely impractical for the frequency required.

Bill your customer a flat rate each month? Forget about it, unless you cheat the system and create two jobs-- one that is the real job for your employee and charges nothing, and one that only your accountant uses.

Bottom line: It's intuitive to figure out basic functions, but there is SO much room for error, and something simple like an updated address once took me 2 hours to complete for our largest customer. They need to do a complete overhaul of their programming and add some basic features before I could recommend Smart Service to anyone. We've found that to make it work, it requires constant ingenuity to come up with a work-around for design flaws.

Pros

It's easy to work with, easily adjustable to what I want to see, the new copy function is a huge time saver. iFleet is a tremendous aid for increasing productivity and reducing the amount of paperwork with our service techs.

Cons

The wait time when it's communicating with QB. I get "not responding" and it slows me down.

Pros

The ease of entering customers and service calls. Integrated live with QuickBooks. Easy to attach pictures and documents to service calls. Easy to run reports for department or service technician. Easy for technicians to complete work order/collect payment at the time of service call.

Cons

Tech support is great, but usually had to call and wait for a return call. Sometimes in the service industry those few minutes/hours can cost a lot of money.

Pros

It integrates with the google calendar and Quickbooks. It holds pictures of jobs and really makes recurring jobs a breeze to setup and keep up with along with storing equipment mn and sn as well as warranty info.

Cons

nothing to really complain about. Sometimes the google calendar can be a hindrance because technicians can see 3 days out out and may be concerned about projects they are not on yet. Some may even develop a sickness they did not know they had in advance of a project they want to avoid.

Pros

Easy to use. The different screens can be confusing so you have to pay attention to what you're doing and what screen you are in. Lots of information can be entered into the system and utilized properly.

Cons

It creates errors in Quicksbooks and we constantly have to repair our database. The different screens which look identical, you have to be careful with. If you don't put the information into both sides, it does not transfer over.

Pros

It helps ease the burden of communicating jobs and details with our technicians and helps build our value to our clients with an out of the ordinary service and job quoting/invoicing experience. Very professional.

Cons

Sometimes the updates make it do weird things and it would take a good long tutorial or two to really get used to the functionality. All in all I have nothing bad to say about it.