In service-based businesses like the landscape business, no doubt, managing field operations is a challenge. It requires a lot of planning and strategizing to keep various loops connected like client’s availability, field workforce availability, stocks and material, dates and schedules, workforce efficiency, timely delivery, budgets, etc. However, still many service providers and their managers are somehow managing to run their field operations by planning and doing things within the limitation of their capacity. Although functional, such businesses are not performing up to their full efficiency, and this hampers their profit-making also.

When it comes to managing field operational, you must have heard of landscape business management software, it is a field services management tool. If you have yet not incorporated such software in your business operations then perhaps:

  • You are not aware of its usability and benefits
  • You are apprehensive about the ROI from such a software
  • You feel that your business doesn’t require such a software

Taking the cue, this article will explain all about a landscape management app or software, so that you can include it in your business as early as possible.

What is the use of landscape business management software?

The primary use of landscape business management software is that it brings in automation in your field operations. As you offer your services, there are various operations that needed to be performed in the background to ensure the timely delivery of services. While some are core operations, some are supporting operations. These supporting operations are usually repetitive tasks, such as field agent’s scheduling and dispatching, route planning, tracking their field activities, timesheet filling, reporting with field data, communication among stakeholders, etc. Now, if you are doing these things manually, then too many productive hours are getting wasted. So this software replaces the manual methods with automation, thus saves you time, bring in more accuracy and transparency.

How to choose the right landscape business management software?
Now, there are too many types of landscape management apps available, so it may hard to decide which is the right software for you. Here is a list of the key features that should be present in a landscape business management software; if can find software with over and beyond added features, and if that software fits into your budget, you can go for it. However, the basic needed features are mentioned below:

  • Scheduling & dispatch
  • Route planning & tracking
  • Work order management
  • Customer management
  • Centralized Data management like RFQ & quote, Contract & warranty
  • Time-tracking & timesheet
  • Inventory management
  • Claims & reimbursement
  • Reporting & analytics

It should be highly effective as a landscape scheduling software and completely take-off the complications around job-scheduling. It should automatically track the location proximity, field agent’s availability, inventory stock availability, client availability, and allocate the jobs to the nearest available field agent. Appropriate scheduling is a pivotal step that automatically sets the subsequent things on right track.

Is landscape business management software cost-effective?
Almost all businesses are using some or other software to get technological aid for carrying out business operations. Landscape business management software is an all-in-one comprehensive software that multifunctions. So it is cost-effective as it mitigates the need to maintain multiple software subscriptions. So it is always a better choice to have a multi-functional software like this one. Also, by automating various field operations, it streamlines the field activities, makes tracking and performance analysis an easy fair, thus induces more productivity among the field landscapers. This helps with improved ROI at different level.

Author's Bio: 

Bhupendra Choudhary is the business head of FieldCircle - a landscape management softwareproviding company.