service sheets

[murdock]

i need to find an easy way to do service sheets electronically...to cut back on paper and diaries etc...and so i have better records which will force me to do the paper work on the spot and not leave it for when i get back to the office or later in the week and i forget half the things i did.

i want to be able to visit a site get the customer to verify the visit sign off that the work was done and time spent on site and if the work work is not complete sign somehow so the service sheet can be included in the invoice.

or if i complete the work the same day i want to be able to invoice and email the invoice form their office or dinning room table...so that the extra 10/15 minutes to do the invoice is costed in while on site...

[Dave A]

Last time I looked at going down the hand-held PDA route, there was about a R50k outlay just for service industry compatible software and quite a hefty running cost too. And the software products were still bleeding edge quality. My view was it wasn't financially viable for a typical SA small business yet.

That was about two years ago though. Things might have improved since.

[murdock]

i believe if someone came up with a system which worked at an "affordable price" in this country they would make and absolute fortune.

the technolgy allows for it...someone just needs to develop it and not be greedy.

[Neville Bailey]

I'm not sure if I'm missing the point here, but surely all you need is a laptop with the relevant software installed?

When I finish a consultation, I open up my accounting system (Pastel of course!), generate an invoice and email it to the client using my 3G modem, before I leave the premises!

Done and dusted - no admin to do when I get home.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

[murdock]

i agree with you for the invoice...but the service sheet is a little more complicated because it sometimes needs to be open for a day a week or even a month... and each day you work on site...you need to get the customer to acknowledge your presence and what work you did time of arrival and departure etc...and most important sign it...the problem is the customer is not always the person you are dealing with it could be an employee of a big company...i dont know if this explains it a little better?

[Neville Bailey]

What about looking at Dropbox, an online document sharing utility?

You could create a shared Dropbox folder, which can only be accessed by you or your client, and you can store Word templates of your service sheets.

I know that Word has a facility to record and log input from more than one user, so that could be a means of recording your input as well as the client's consent / comments.

When it comes to invoicing, you can simply print out the completed service sheet directly out of the Dropbox folder.

I'm just thinking at the top of my head here - am I on the right track?

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

[Dave A]

I expect you don't have much trouble with clients questioning whether you were actually there, Neville.

In the trades, particularly when dealing with bigger companies, you often need to have signed off proof of service, pretty much like a delivery note when it comes to product deliveries.

[Neville Bailey]

Hi Dave,

Now and then I get a client asking me if they need to sign anything before I leave their premises, but most don't, and I have never had any disputes about my time spent and charges.

I'm doing more and more remote desktop consulting (with clients all over the country and beyond), so I am never at the premises at all! However, my remote access software records my session time, as well as a video of my activity on their system. Here again, I have never had any disputes.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab