Table of contents:
Setting the stage
Digitalization has touched every facet of modern industry, even the trades. No longer just for white-collar office workers alone, integrated software solution systems now come in a variety of formats specifically for use in the trades.
Whether at headquarters or in the field, the goal of these software solutions is the same: simplifying daily operations and tracking goals to optimize your business performance.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the leading trades-oriented software solutions and their features—such as CRM, data visualization, accounting, and customer engagement tools—that are increasingly vital components of any modern HVAC company’s tech stack.
The software solutions listed below come with numerous indispensable benefits: increased efficiency and productivity, improved customer service, optimized resource and financial management, better data analysis and reporting, and—crucially—field mobility for essential access across locations.
With that in mind, let’s dive in and explore seven of the best software services for use in HVAC and home service.
1. ServiceTitan
Key Features
ServiceTitan is a highly regarded cloud-based, all-in-one service platform for the trades.
Probably the best-known and well-regarded of the HVAC software systems, ServiceTitan is a cloud-based, comprehensive all-in-one service platform designed specifically for the trades. It provides comprehensive CRM features, ideal for customer management as well as scheduling and dispatching technicians. It also offers features for field service, job, inventory and equipment management, as well as marketing, and financial analysis tools. The verdict is clear: ServiceTitan is a fantastic tool to help your HVAC firm optimize cashflow, increase productivity, and win more business.
Benefits
With its well-known position in the HVAC industry, ServiceTitan carries a reputation for reliability, flexibility, and trustworthiness.
- It’s a CRM tailor-made for the trades.
- It allows routine tasks to be streamlined and automated.
- It enables companies to centralize the bulk of their operations into one system, avoiding inefficiencies that come with relying solely on Excel and similar programs.
- With its communication and scheduling tools, ServiceTitan is also a great means for enhancing your customer service.
- Other benefits include in-depth financial insights and platform scalability to match your company’s growth.
Limitations
ServiceTitan is a complex and costly platform with a steep learning curve.
- ServiceTitan is a massive platform, and therefore requires a lengthy onboarding period to fully unlock its capabilities. The learning curve that accompanies it is likely to be quite significant.
- ServiceTitan is an expensive platform, due to its bespoke nature and orientation toward larger, well-established companies. If you’re a small business, you probably won’t match ServiceTitan’s customer profile.
- Free trials of ServiceTitan are not available.
Pricing
ServiceTitan has a three-tiered pricing scheme.
- Starters, Essentials, and The Works each increase the number of features offered.
- Pricing is available only upon request, dependent on your company size and field.
2. Plecto
Key Features
Plecto is a business performance platform that combines KPI visualization, gamification, and coaching tools.
Plecto is a business performance platform combining KPI visualization, gamification and coaching tools in one powerful solution. Frequently found in call centers and sales offices, Plecto is making rapid headway into the HVAC and home service industry—and for good reason. Its strength lies in tracking KPIs and performance in a way that is motivating and engaging for the whole team, encouraging a workplace culture of transparency, efficiency, and employee engagement.
Benefits
A highly customizable platform, Plecto can display a wide variety of data most relevant for your team or company.
- Data visualized publicly and transparently encourages employee motivation, accountability, and personal growth.
- On the management side, data transparency encourages optimized decision-making.
- Plecto offers over 150 integrations, including with ServiceTitan.
- Plecto is partnered with Powerhouse and Nexstar, expert consultants in the HVAC industry, to assist with ServiceTitan setup and general guidance.
- Finally, Plecto’s gamification features allow for friendly competition between individuals and teams, spurring on employee performance while encouraging a workplace culture of collaboration—and celebration.
Limitations
Plecto is best used with integrations in a customer service or sales environment.
- Plecto is optimized when integrated with a relevant system. If you rely on Excel or manual sources alone to supply your data for Plecto, you won’t be able to unlock the platform’s full range of benefits.
- As it has only three marketing integrations, Plecto is optimized for use in sales and customer service departments.
Pricing
Plecto comes in three price tiers.
- Under an annual billing cycle plan, Medium costs $230/month and $23 per additional tracked license.
- Large, the most popular option, costs $355/month and $35.50 per additional tracked license.
- If your business has over 100 tracked licenses, you’re invited to purchase the Enterprise tier for a custom price.
- Free trials of Plecto are available.
3. RingCentral
Key Features
RingCentral is a comprehensive, AI-powered VoIP system that centralizes communication for businesses.
In recent years, many businesses have shifted from traditional, on-premise hardware to cloud-based solutions. Cloud-based phone systems have become an essential part of any home service company’s tech stack.
RingCentral is one of these, a comprehensive, AI-powered VoIP (voice over internet protocol) system intended for companies who want to centralize and simplify their communication channels. With a VoIP system, you can make regular phone calls over the internet, send text messages, host video conferences, and more across different devices—physical phones not required.
This is a pretty ideal setup for HVAC companies that operate across multiple locations, and where flexibility, mobility, and remote work are essential aspects of the job. RingCentral also offers collaboration tools (such as RingCentral Glip), integrations, call center solutions, and analytics tools, covering all the bases to deliver maximum efficiency for your business.
Benefits
RingCentral offers cost efficiency by eliminating on-premise hardware and offering hundreds of integrations.
- Probably the most prominent benefit RingCentral offers is its cost efficiency. With its cloud-based technology, RingCentral eliminates the need for expensive, on-premise hardware and maintenance costs.
- Its mobile access gives it a high level of dynamism and flexibility, encouraging cross-location collaboration with ease.
- Finally, RingCentral is highly scalable, easily able to accommodate changes in your business structure over time.
- RingCentral has over 300 integrations, including ServiceTitan and Plecto.
Limitations
RingCentral’s extensive features could be a drawback for businesses seeking a more basic solution.
- RingCentral comes with an immense array of features and offerings that could be overwhelming for new or inexperienced users.
- Navigating the platform’s numerous features can be a complex endeavor, and will require a period of learning and adjustment before use.
- RingCentral’s cost might also be a drawback for businesses who want a solution platform with just the essentials and minimal add-ons.
Pricing
RingCentral offers a three-tier pricing system.
- Core is $20/month per user, Advanced is $25/month per user, and Ultra is $35/month per user.
- Core is best for small organizations requiring only a phone system, HD video, and messaging.
- Advanced and Ultra both offer more extensive sets of features ideal for larger organizations operating on a multi-locational basis.
- Free trials of RingCentral are available.
4. QuickBooks
Key Features
QuickBooks is designed to streamline financial management for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Developed by Intuit, QuickBooks is among the best-known accounting software and is particularly popular among the trades, including the HVAC industry. Its primary purpose is to simplify and streamline accounting tasks in a unified system, helping small and medium-sized businesses manage their finances and increase their overall efficiency. A highly user-friendly and scalable platform, QuickBooks comes in online and desktop versions, and even has special formats for self-employed and Mac users.
Benefits
QuickBooks offers a variety of features and integrations compatible with payment processors and e-commerce platforms.
- QuickBooks supports double-entry bookkeeping and tools for managing ledgers, accounts payable, and accounts receivable.
- It can generate professional invoices and financial reports, monitor expenses, manage payrolls, and track work hours.
- It has a wide variety of integrations available with payment processors and e-commerce platforms.
- QuickBooks offers several taxation-related services. For example, it can organize your tax data, help ensure compliance with tax laws, and has TurboTax as one of its integrations.
- Finally, QuickBooks allows multi-user access.
Limitations
QuickBooks can be expensive, and its advanced features could be difficult for new users to learn.
- Among QuickBooks’ biggest drawbacks is its subscription cost. Additional user licenses and feature upgrade costs will definitely add up. Plans that offer advanced features are priced at a premium, and might not be compatible with the budgets of smaller or newer businesses.
- Some of QuickBooks’ advanced features may require specialized training or professional expertise, and may not be suitable for novice or casual users.
Pricing
QuickBooks comes in four tiers: Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced.
- SimpleStart costs $35/month.
- Essentials costs $65/month.
- Plus, the most popular option, costs $99/month.
- Advanced costs $235/month.
- As opposed to other softwares which offer monthly and annual plans, QuickBooks has only one pricing scheme.
- All QuickBooks product subscriptions come with a free 30-day trial period.
5. Housecall Pro
Key Features
Housecall Pro is a comprehensive software platform designed for small- to medium-sized trades businesses.
An all-in-one solutions platform designed for small- to medium-sized businesses, Housecall Pro is another well-known software platform intended for use in the trades. It has numerous features intended to make life easier for hardworking business owners by streamlining their regular operations. These features include a CRM system, invoice and customer quote generation, payment processing, inventory management, and an online app—and these are only a few!
Benefits
Housecall Pro enhances customer experience with multiple specialized features.
- Many of Housecall Pro’s unique features are directly tailored to the customer experience. These include on-my-way texts for technicians to stay in touch with customers; automatic weather updates, so jobs can be scheduled in accordance with weather conditions; and GPS tracking, so technicians can find the best and fastest routes to jobs.
- Housecall Pro offers a mobile app not just for technicians, but for customers too.
- Special billing features, such as consumer financing and instant estimate approvals, can streamline the payment process and encourage sales.
- Finally, Housecall Pro allows postcard marketing. While definitely an “old-school” method of advertising, it’s still a fantastic way to reach certain demographics such as the elderly, who might rarely or never engage with digital advertising.
Limitations
Housecall Pro’s capabilities in certain areas are more limited and may require additional integrations.
- With a wide range of features but considerably lower price offerings than platforms such as ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro’s capabilities won’t always match those of its more expensive alternatives.
- Offerings in categories such as inventory management and data migration are more limited, and will require additional, external integrations to optimize the user experience.
- Of course, there also remains a learning curve that will accompany first-time usage of this product.
Pricing
Housecall Pro has a three-tiered pricing scheme: Basic, Essentials, and Max.
- Billed annually, the Basic plan is $49/month, ideal for a single user.
- At $129/month, Essentials is ideal for 1-5 platform users.
- Max is intended for established companies with 1000+ platform users. Max is available only with custom pricing.
- Free trials are not available.
6. FieldEdge
Key Features
FieldEdge is an all-in-one solution designed for the trades, with its core promise to help businesses complete more jobs faster, streamline operations, and increase profitability. Key elements include performance tracking, financial insights, access to customers’ work history, price books and on-the-go invoicing, and scheduling features. One of FieldEdge’s most noteworthy features is its ability to integrate with QuickBooks—a vital integration tool for any HVAC company, allowing managers to access and manage financial information even while in the field.
Benefits
- FieldEdge’s primary benefit is the high degree of flexibility and convenience it offers management and technicians alike.
- Its numerous features allow for a wide range of activity to be carried out even while in the field—whether customer payment and invoicing, GPS dispatching for technicians, QuickBooks syncing, and even sales enablement tools to upsell customers and drive profit in real time.
Limitations
- Similarly to ServiceTitan, FieldEdge is intended for larger companies and thus won’t be suitable for smaller “mom-and-pop” businesses.
- With this in mind, FieldEdge is a significant investment, and depending on your budgetary limitations and individual needs, the high expense of the platform might outweigh its benefits.
- Furthermore, FieldEdge offers only a functional and “old-school” aesthetic that isn’t particularly trendy. While a small consideration, this might not be compatible with your marketing or customer service goals.
Pricing
FieldEdge comes in three tiers: Select, Premier, and Elite.
- Each tier offers an increasing number and variety of features.
- Pricing for all tiers is available only upon request.
- Free trials are not available.
7. Jobber
Key Features
Jobber is an all-inclusive software solution for HVAC and trades professionals, offering several features to enhance job efficiency and customer service.
Last but not least, Jobber is another well-known software service platform, intended as an all-in-one solution for HVAC and trades personnel. Its key features revolve around job efficiency and customer service: scheduling, booking, dispatching, and invoicing. Among these features are a dispatching tool to help technicians find the best route to jobs; batch invoicing; reminders and notifications; a card reader for automatic payments; and a mobile app.
Benefits
Jobber’s flexible pricing makes it an affordable and high-quality option for businesses of all sizes.
- One of Jobber’s biggest benefits is its unique pricing scheme. With both monthly and annual pricing plans, free trials, and tiers suitable for companies of any size, Jobber offers a high-quality product at a range of prices.
- Due to its customer-focused profile, it’s an especially beneficial platform for those businesses—especially smaller ones—who wish to improve and optimize their customer-related processes without breaking the bank.
Limitations
Upgrades within Jobber can become costly, with some valuable functions restricted to only higher-tier plans.
- Despite Jobber’s diverse pricing scheme, features and upgrades within each tier can get expensive quickly.
- Some of the more useful integrations (such as QuickBooks) are confined to the upper-tier plans.
- Jobber also appears to have issues with certain accounting features, such as partial payments and entering customer information.
Pricing
Jobber has a three-tier pricing scheme: Core, Connect, and Grow.
- Users have the option of being billed either monthly or annually, with significant savings for those who use the annual billing plan.
- Under the annual billing plan, Core, ideal for just one user, starts at $40/month and increases to $49/month after the first year of use.
- Connect, ideal for 1-5 users, starts at $104/month and increases to $129/month after the first year of use.
- Finally, Grow is ideal for up to 15 users and starts at $200/month, increasing to $249/month after the first year of use.
- Additional users can be added for $29 at each tier; special pricing is available for those who require more than 15 users.
- Free trials are available for all tiers.
Choose the best software—for you
Technicians know the importance of getting the job done: delivering great service in a fast turnaround time, eliminating office tasks so you can get to the real work you need to do. A great software—with CRM features, scheduling abilities, and professional payment solutions—is just one aspect of simplifying your workflow. A platform with data visualization and gamification features is another.
You can use Plecto’s powerful data visualization tools such as real-time dashboards to track KPIs, sales revenue, and short- and long-term goals, allowing for an unprecedented level of convenience and eliminating excessive office time. With Plecto’s gamification features, you can motivate technicians to perform at the highest level, all while celebrating their accomplishments along the way. Best yet, you can integrate trades-based CRM systems—such as ServiceTitan and RingCentral—with Plecto to optimize your workflow and performance.
The opportunities for personal and professional growth are boundless. Give us a call—and start outperforming in HVAC, today!
Build your first dashboard.
Start your 14-day free trial today
JAMES NIILER
Content Specialist
An in-house content writer and specialist at Plecto, James brings an academic touch and journalistic flair to his marketing copy. Having worked and studied on both sides of the Atlantic, James is a great believer in the importance of communicating across cultures and industries. Catch his work here on the Plecto blog, or as a guest contributor on other B2B websites.
