Technician utilization rates just got easier to track – and with greater accuracy – for Tigerpaw Software-enabled shops. The CRM and service software company used its annual conference forum to announce the release of a mobile app that makes on-the-road dispatch and reporting easy.
Built as a hybrid HTML5 application, Tigerpaw Mobile enables technicians to log time, expenses, update tasks, document completed work, create and revise service tickets, and even acquire signatures for immediate invoicing.
“We had thought about taking our Web portal and just creating a slimmed down mobile web page for it,” Tigerpaw president and CEO James Foxall told ChannelPro-SMB in an exclusive interview at Tigerpaw Conference 2012, “but after taking some time to do the research we decided to take a whole new approach with a whole new technology.”
Hence, Tigerpaw Mobile. “We’ve done something that is really ahead of the pack,” Foxall says.
Mobile Dispatch Features
The new Tigerpaw Mobile app provides technicians with an easy-to-access daily agenda. The feature “helps them plan their day and finish jobs more effectively,” according to a release statement from Tigerpaw.
Additional Tigerpaw Mobile features include:
- Start/Stop Travel Timer – Commuting can be tracked with the tap of the finger. The timer can be paused and re-started, too. Times are fed to Tigerpaw.
- GPS Integration – While en route, technicians can tap the customer’s address to access the navigation application.
- Work Started/Finished Timer – Once a technician arrives, he or she can start a work timer, which can also be paused and restarted (times also feed to Tigerpaw).
- Camera Support – Technicians can take “Before/After” images of work to be attached to service tickets.
- Signature Capture – Clients can use their fingers to sign service orders.
- Automatic ‘Dispatch Board’ Integration – The technician’s whereabouts, ticket work, and status information is updated and displayed within Tigerpaw’s “Dispatch Board” feature.
- Multi-Platform Support – Tigerpaw Mobile will work on a variety of mobile devices, including Apple, Android, Microsoft, and Blackberry.
“It’s almost right,” Foxall says of the new Tigerpaw Mobile app. “It’s entering Beta phase.” He adds, “We’re also looking to add some sales and marketing features to it.”
