Service based business software is what a small company searches for when it does not yet know the category's name: the plumber with three vans, the appliance repair shop, the locksmith who has just hired a second tech. The best software for service business of that kind does three things, works the hourly rate the business has to charge from its own costs, produces the invoice for the call on site, and keeps every customer and job on a record. This page says what service software for small business has to do when the service is delivered at the customer's premises, works the rate and the invoice on an example, and points at the free tools on this site that do the arithmetic now. It publishes no labor rate and no ranking.
The rate: what an hour of a technician has to bill
A service business sold by the hour lives or dies on one figure: what an hour of a technician has to bill to carry the loaded cost of the tech, the overhead of the office and the van, and the margin the owner wants. The free field service pricing calculator on this site works it from the company's own figures, the loaded technician cost, the billable hours a tech actually bills in a year, the overhead and the target margin, so the rate on the invoice is the company's arithmetic rather than a neighbor's number. This site publishes no rate.
The invoice: the call priced on site
Small business service software that cannot write the invoice in the driveway sends the office home with a pile of paper. The free field service invoice works a call from the tech's figures: 1.5 hours at the company's $90 rate is $135, $60 of parts at a 40% markup bills at $84, sales tax at the company's 8% rate on the parts is $6.72, a $49 trip charge makes the invoice $274.72. The markup and the tax rate are the company's own; the tool applies them and prints the customer's copy.
The record: every customer and job, kept
The third thing the best software for a service business does is remember. Which customer, which job, what was done, what it was priced at and what the follow-up needs: FlatRateBook Pro keeps that record, brands the paperwork and exports it at one flat price. A business run from a shared calendar and a folder of invoices can use the free tools indefinitely; the record is for the day a customer calls about a visit from two winters ago.
Service software for small business when the service is not in the field
Service software for small business is also searched by salons, studios and consultancies, whose service is delivered on their own premises by appointment. Their software is a booking book and a till, and it is another venture's subject; this site is written for the company that sends technicians out and prices the call. If the van is the office, the tools here fit; if the customer comes to you, the scheduling and booking hubs are the place to look.
Field team management software, and what changes when the team is not in the field
Field team management software exists to answer two questions about people rather than jobs: who is available, and what does an hour of each of them cost once the overhead is in it. Both questions outlive the field. A company whose work happens in a workshop or at a desk still has to know who can take the next job and what that person's hour has to bill, and the arithmetic is identical: the loaded cost, the overhead per head spread over the hours actually billed, the margin on top. What changes off the field is the capture, not the sum. There is no drive time, no signal problem and no signature at the door, so the record can be written in one place when the job is finished instead of in a van, and a product sold on its mobile app is selling you the half you do not need.
Field team management software, and what changes when the team is not in the field
Field team management software exists to answer two questions about people rather than jobs: who is available, and what does an hour of each of them cost once the overhead is in it. Both questions outlive the field. A company whose work happens in a workshop or at a desk still has to know who can take the next job and what that person's hour has to bill, and the arithmetic is identical: the loaded cost, the overhead per head spread over the hours actually billed, the margin on top. What changes away from the field is the capture, not the sum. There is no drive time, no signal problem and no signature at the door, so the record can be written in one place when the job is finished instead of in a van, and a product sold mainly on its mobile app is selling you the half you do not need.
Questions people ask about service based business software
What is the best software for service business owners who send technicians?
This site publishes no ranking. Whatever works the hourly rate from the company's own costs, writes the invoice for the call on site and keeps every job against the customer has done the job; the free tools here do the first two with no account.
Does service based business software need to be field service software?
If the service is delivered at the customer's premises by a technician, yes: the rate, the invoice and the report are the field service arithmetic. If customers come to you by appointment, a booking tool is the product and another venture's subject.
Is the small business service software here free?
The pricing calculator, the invoice and the report are free with no account. FlatRateBook Pro keeps the record at one flat price.