WPJ Heating Testimonial

"A service invoice used to take 5 to 10 minutes, now it literally takes 30 seconds. We get invoices out much quicker and get paid faster too."

A & S Kingdon Ltd have been in business for 40 years, proudly serving the communities around Sidmouth, Devon. The company has grown significantly from when Alan and Sue Kingdon first started out, now employing a further nine technicians and three admin staff. However, while experts in their respective field, effectively managing the growing number of technicians, customers, and invoices had become challenging. A friendly recommendation and piece of advice from a fellow plumbing company would change everything. They knew that software helps plumbing business grow but never anticipated how much.

Lisa, who manages the office, explained how they found out about Commusoft:“We got chatting to a really friendly company about the challenges in our business – and they said ‘Oh you need Commusoft!’ Somebody else in the room then turned around and added, ‘Yeah, it’s amazing!’”

“It was really nice to get a personal recommendation, knowing that there’s nothing in it for them.” However, the team weren’t ready to make the jump, worried about how much time it may take to move onto such a system. Lisa will later tell us how wrong she was about that concern: “It was easy to be honest!”

Before Commusoft

At this stage A & S Kingdon Ltd weren’t using a job management software at all. Lisa refers to their process for handling work orders and their schedule as being in many different places, with “lots and lots of paper”.

“I tended to use an online calendar, but my boss already had a paper calendar established that she preferred, so we used both. We’d give [technicians] printed work sheets, but sometimes they would just use scraps of paper to track what they were doing”.

The challenges that A & S Kingdon Ltd were having were very similar to other field service businesses their size:

• Losing papers and documents and having no backup records. “You lose that piece of paper and you knew nothing”.
• Wasting time with inefficient processes was also a problem. “We used to have service reminders in an Excel sheet, gas safety checks in another, and we had some on paper – we had it 3 times for one thing – it was really bad!”
• Finally, over-reliance on individual staff. “We also had the issue that only the person who was dealing with a job would know what was going on with it.” This was detrimental to working as a team and for bringing on new staff members. “My boss, Sue, could look at the paper calendar and know exactly what was what, but we couldn’t understand it”.

Before coming aboard with Commusoft, A & S Kingdon Ltd had hired a new member of the office team who had used a job management system in the past. Lisa elaborates, “She really gave us the push, telling us we’ve got to do it now. ‘You’re doing things five times for one task – you can’t go on like this!’ she said – and she was right”.

They took the advice and decided to make the move. “I’d heard many good things [about Commusoft] and I’d read some reviews online, so I gave their team a call”.

6 Months After Implementing Commusoft

Lisa describes the impact Commusoft has had on the business: “It’s now so much better, everything is in one place. It saves so much time and everyone can see what’s going on. It’s even reduced some of our bills for things like stationery, stamps, and certificate pads. But really it’s mainly about time!”

A & S Kingdon Ltd estimate that by reducing paperwork they’ve managed to save 80% of their admin time per week, allowing them to become a more effective team. “We are so much more efficient with our time”, explains Lisa. “The amount of hours we used to spend just putting work order sheets out on the old system!” Thanks to mobile notifications and real-time job status updates, office staff can simply drop a job in a gap in the tech’s calendar without having to call them first to confirm. Lisa adds, “I know if they’ve accepted a job and can see when they’ve arrived too. Once I add the job, I don’t think much more about it – I kind of take it for granted now!”

Invoicing Customers Faster Than Ever

The business has also saved significant time on invoicing, “One service invoice used to take 5 to 10 minutes, but now it literally takes 30 seconds. It’s so quick and easy with the Sage accounting integration”. This in turn has given the business better cash flow, says Lisa: “We get invoices out much quicker to customers and get paid faster too – sometimes paying the same day”. If you happen to be using an accounting software and you’re not sure if Commusoft supports it, just contact us and we can look into it.

Better Tools For Technicians

Office admin isn’t the only area that has radically improved. Technicians now have access to everything they need through the mobile app too. Despite the techs being a little apprehensive, Lisa thinks it went down really well with them. “It’s great that they can see what’s in their calendar and it gives them a little more control”. They’ve also found success with checklists and automatic timesheets (a technician favorite): “They all use the checklists really well. Plus, they told me they no longer have the dread of doing their timesheets at the end of the week, or on a Sunday night, if they haven’t done it when they should have”.

Intuitive and Straightforward Implementation

Lisa too had been nervous about the change to start with, but Commusoft’s training team made getting up to speed with the system simple. “It was easy to be honest, Nisha, who did our training, was fantastic. I definitely thought it would be harder and take more time than it did”. The team also found Commusoft intuitive and straightforward, “It basically teaches you itself, it’s that obvious how it works. I was scared I’d have to hold my team’s hand the whole time, but I haven’t had to at all!”

Commusoft has also allowed staff more flexibility in how they spend their time and given the business chance to evolve. Lisa’s boss, Sue, who used to manage the paper calendar, now has time to chase up unpaid bills and has even been able to cut back on her hours. Lisa tells us this wouldn’t have been possible without Commusoft: “I wouldn’t be able to deal with the plumbers and take over Sue’s responsibilities without the software”.

The team benefits go further than that too, with other staff members now able to manage the office when required. “If I’m sick, the team can take over and know exactly what’s going on,” says Lisa, “they basically did my job for the day!”. With an intuitive all-in-one system it means hiring and training new staff is easier too. “I could actually teach someone my job now, which wasn’t really possible before. It gives us much more flexibility in how we manage the business and the team”.

We’ve seen how Commusoft has saved A & S Kingdon Ltd countless admin hours, improved technician communication, and given the team more flexibility, but how has it impacted their customers?

A More Professional Customer Experience

Lisa is certain, “It’s definitely better for the customer”. For example, “they love getting their invoices by email, which I didn’t think they would”. The same goes for digital checklists, “They love that they get their checklists a lot quicker now”. Ultimately, for the customer relationship, it comes down to professionalism. “When they call up, you know exactly what’s been going on in their work history”. Lisa continues, “From the customer’s point of view we look like a more modern business, moving with the times, which customers are increasingly wanting now”.

Where do A & S Kingdon Ltd go from here? With regular updates to the system and a readily available support team, Commusoft continuously has more to offer. As Lisa says, “There’re still features we haven’t started using yet, so there’s always more we can do and improve upon in the future”.

Lisa Southwell
Office Manager

"Commusoft has directly helped us take on more business and manage everything efficiently. We've seen so much growth!"

Director of Merit Facility Management, Ness Aguilar, sat down with us to discuss Commusoft’s impact on their operations since implementing our Customer Journey plan in 2022.

Why Commusoft?

From HVAC installations to plumbing repairs, pest control inspections, and more, Merit offers a wide range of services for customers. Ness outlines, “Our customer base consists of restaurants, apartment complexes, and commercial properties. We’re also getting into hospital facilities and some government facilities.”

To keep up with demand, Merit employs a variety of subcontractors. Ness and his team knew they needed a job management platform that could effortlessly organize their varied customer base and subcontractors.

He explains, “Out of all the demos that I did, Commusoft was the best and also the biggest. The deal breaker that made us go with Commusoft over any other software was the way the billing is set up.”

He continues,

“No other software has the ability for a Daily License, which was the most perfect thing. It’s the only thing that could work for us. Every other company wanted to charge us a set rate for the amount of users that were gonna be on the system. I wasn’t going be able to pay that because with how many subcontractors we work with right now. We work with 30 to 40.”

Commusoft differs by offering unique licensing options, including Daily, Rolling, and Contracted.

Offering Customer Self-Service Solutions

Facilities management is extremely competitive. After all, building managers want the very best communication and solutions for their facilities. Merit is able to stand apart by offering a self-service Customer Portal.

Ness explains,

“The biggest thing that really hooks them is the Customer Portal. Especially for restaurant customers that have multiple locations. For instance, we’re working with a company called Churches Texas Chicken, and they have multiple locations. I’m able to tell their regional manager, ‘Hey by using us you get a Customer Portal, and you can see all the different locations that you have. They’re all separate, but you can click into a specific location: Store Number One. And on there, it’ll show all the work that we’ve done at Store Number One, along with all the invoices and all the forms that you need.

‘You’re also able to give your managers access to that so they can also see what’s going on at that property. But the cool part about it is that you’re able to see all your different properties in one place’.

I tell them, ‘The more that you use us, the better. If you only use this for one service, you’ll still have all the information there, but it’s way more convenient if you’re using us for four different services instead of one because all the information is gonna be put into one place”.

Commusoft’s Customer Portal ensures Ness keeps commercial customers updated and encourages them to work Merit again and again.

He continues,

“The Customer Portal has allowed me to be able to focus on getting other jobs, opportunities, contracts and more. It’s freed me up from doing the bare minimum. When you’re stuck on responding to complaints or responding to simple requests that can be done in a more efficient manner, it takes away from your ability to grow or focus on other tasks.

I can focus on the things that really matter, like bringing us projects and talking to new customers. This is what will bring us more business, rather than just barely trying to keep up with the business that we already have.”

Ness is confident his team can stand apart from competitors: “Commusoft is able to put us ahead of everybody else that’s doing something similar because of the communication aspect alone!”

Perfecting Customer Communication

Updating and supporting customers is impossible without the right support. That’s why Merit Facility Management uses automated notifications and messages to keep each customer in the loop.

Ness outlines,

“Commusoft is so efficient when it comes to communicating for us, whether it’s emails, notifications, text messages, or the Customer Portal.

Customers are able to access everything; they don’t need to call us with any questions. I make sure I’m calling to touch base with them, just to make sure that they’re doing well. Even if there’s nothing wrong. I talk to customers in-person or over the phone and make sure that relationship is still there and going strong because Commusoft does such a great job of communicating with them.

It’s so smooth and convenient, it’s like the business is on autopilot! Honestly, I could not call them and they’ll still be fine because they’re getting all the communication they need. They’re almost self-sufficient, you know?”

Commusoft’s Alerts and Notifications remove the need to manually update customers. Automated reminders and messages ensure customers have access to the information they need, meaning Ness and his team can tackle higher-value tasks!

Capturing Data With Custom Forms

Ness’s contractors need to gather and record valuable information while on-site: “Custom Forms have been a massive help when comes to covering ourselves. It’s something that has been a godsend!”

Ness explains,

“For kitchen pest control, the restaurants are required to be given a form after the service has been completed for compliance reasons.

We, as a company, have to provide the Pest Control Report to the restaurant as proof of what we did. I was able to create a Custom Form listing all the chemicals somebody could use, the option for them to input the quantity of chemicals, and the different types of pests that they could be targeting.

Our pest control company goes ahead and does their service. Afterwards, they complete the pest control form. The customer, in their Customer Portal, can access that form when requested by a Health Inspector at any given moment.”

Commusoft’s Custom Forms empower Merit contractors to digitally capture valuable information, fulfill safety requirements, and complete inspection checklists directly from the job site.

Seamless Dispatching With Job Descriptions and User Groups

Stress-free job booking is essential for Merit’s operations. Ness walked us through two Commusoft features that have transformed scheduling and directly supported the business’s growth.

“Another feature is the ability to create job descriptions that are ready behind the scenes instead of having to input it manually. My scheduling department don’t have to worry about what the notes and price should be. Everything populates automatically whenever they select that job description.

The drag-and-drop ability on the scheduling has been so easy. Rescheduling something is the easiest thing ever because they can do it in two seconds. They just drag something and drop it!”

Commusoft’s Job Descriptions allow Merit’s office team to set details, like pricing for each service type they offer.

Pivoting to User Groups,

“Another thing that has helped us tremendously has been User Groups. We’re starting to not only do work in San Antonio, but also Houston. We’re also starting to do work in Austin because the word is spreading!

Commusoft’s User Groups allowed me to be able to separate these vendors and subcontractors per city. I have User Groups set up as ‘East Texas’, ‘West Texas’, ‘Central’, etc. Now, whenever my scheduling department get a dispatch call from Houston, they make sure they select the user group ‘Houston’.

“This allows them to see all the technicians only in Houston. That way they’re not dispatching somebody from San Antonio to do work in Houston. Some Commusoft features might be small. But if they’re not there, you realize how big of a problem it could cause!”

He continues,

“So in Houston, let’s just say for plumbing, I might get six to 10 calls per month. With Commusoft, I’m able to find a subcontractor out there who wants to do the jobs. I’m able to dispatch them just for those calls in Houston, and I don’t have to turn work down. Commusoft allows me to be able to take any ticket that I need because it’s so easy to add subcontractors with a daily license!”

Commusoft’s User Groups feature ensures the best technician is selected for the task at hand. This removes much of the guesswork out of scheduling, meaning jobs can get booked faster!

Expanding With Commusoft

Growth was always in the cards. However, with Commusoft supporting the team, Merit Facility Management was able to accelerate their growth, while remaining in complete control.

Ness details,

“We wouldn’t have been able to expand as fast as we have without Commusoft. It’s allowed us to get a foothold in other cities without having to wait until we have a lot of business there.

Everything’s just very efficient and organized. We’re confident in being able to take on more customers. Commusoft allows our sales team to help grow us. Also, with any word-of-mouth business, we’re able to take jobs on and not turn them down because we’re confident in knowing that we have a system that can handle a lot of customers.”

He continues,

“We had the idea, the goal, the ambition, and the drive. We had the team. But without this platform, we wouldn’t have been able to be as convenient to our customers. We wouldn’t have been able to do what we do without Commusoft. I’m forever grateful, and we plan on continuing to grow.

One thing that we love about Commusoft is that you’re always trying to better yourselves just like we are. That’s one thing you do that no other company that I know of does: nobody does that. Everybody says, ‘This is our software, this is our platform. Take it or leave it. We’re not making any adjustments’, and they just collect money on it. The fact that Commusoft is always willing and wanting to adjust, that’s one thing we just love.”

Commusoft is always working to better our solutions. We listen to our clients when developing new features, and regularly release requested tools and functions that our client base has suggested.

Ness concludes,

“The growth that we’ve seen in this past year wouldn’t have happened without Commusoft. It’s been tremendous. I’m curious to see where we’re gonna be at two years from now, three years from now! Every step of the way we’re gonna be growing. It’s exciting to see!”

Ness Aguilar
Director

"It was huge, Commusoft was like going from a tricycle to a Ferrari!"

Carlisle Corp is a restaurant and hospitality company based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Owning over 200 Wendy’s franchise locations spread across the southeast United States, Carlisle Corp found they had many IT and system maintenance needs, from cash registers to payment terminals and beyond. Instead of using a third party to handle that maintenance, they decided to bring it in-house. And to do that, they needed the right system.

IT Manager Ashton Holton joined us to discuss his company’s expansion since implementing solutions from Commusoft’s Customer Journey plan in 2022.

He explains, “One of the biggest reasons we went with Commusoft was the tracking”. Whether tracking vehicles on the road, specific jobs, or technician timesheets, Commusoft ensures Ashton’s team has everything they need.

Confident Onboarding With Commusoft and Technicians

Choosing and implementing a new software package can feel like a roll of the dice. Ashton remembers working with Commusoft’s trainers:

“They held our hand through so much. It was huge, Commusoft was like going from a tricycle to a Ferrari! The trainers went at our pace, so we really enjoyed it. This helped whenever we had to ‘sell’ Commusoft, such as to technicians or other departments. We could say ‘hey look, this is why you’re doing it’.

He expands,

“Some of the techs were very hesitant to Commusoft at first, because it was a new way of learning to do things. But once they came around to it, it made sense and they saw the value added.. So that’s been pretty nice.

Accurate Timesheets

To make sure Carlisle Corp could be as efficient as possible, it was important to them to keep an eye on technicians and any unexpected detours.

Ashton explains,

“The timesheets feature is great mainly because anytime you clock in and out, it’s on your phone. The huge eye-opener for us is the time traveled versus the time worked on a ticket. Technicians hit ‘travel’ and then we have that travel time and can compare that with what the installed vehicle trackers recorded. If they took a crazy detour or something, we’d know.

“Or”, he expands, ”we see they hit ‘arrive’, they work the issue, resolve it, get a signature, and boom, Bob’s your uncle.”

Commusoft’s technician timesheet software enables teams like Carlisle Corp to accurately monitor their mobile workforce. With this digital solution, technicians can easily log their hours, without involving the office. Furthermore, admins can ensure field crews are accountable and follow company procedures.

Comprehensive Service Scheduling

With so many jobs and franchises to oversee, Ashton and his team need a reliable way to build out technician calendars. He explains,

“The scheduler and the visual aspect of it is fantastic because I can see at a glance and see that everything looks good. I can see the store numbers. I see the color-coded calendar of who’s going where and what’s happening. We can see technician drive times. Utilizing this system, we were able to create a more efficient program, allowing our technicians to hit multiple issues throughout the day, instead of traveling, working an issue, and traveling home.”

Optimized scheduling not only benefits his team, but their customers too. Streamlined calendars are most successful when customers are kept up to date. With their technician tracking portal, Ashton’s team shares live crew ETAs with customers. Ashton explains, “Both our field techs and our customers enjoyed the communication aspect of knowing when that technician was going to be on-site to address the issue.”

Commusoft enables service dispatchers to build time and cost-effective schedules, this means Carlisle Corp can boost their productivity and profits without additional administrative strain.

Planned Preventative and Reactive Maintenance

Staying ahead of issues is essential. Ashton outlines, “We do preventative audits, where we visit each site every month and take photos of their equipment.”

While preventative care is a keystone, Commusoft enables Ashton’s team to incorporate reactive maintenance too.

He explains,

“Every now and then there will be a technician on their way to a job, and we’ll find out ‘a certain restaurant is completely down. They can’t accept credit cards. They can’t serve customers right now’. So we’re losing money from this point. We can easily divert the technician, cancel a job, assign them the new one, and have them fly over with it.”

Real-Time Reporting

Ashton relies on Commusoft’s reporting software to confidently oversee and track the outcomes of the many maintenance jobs logged across their 200+ restaurants.

He states,

“The reporting feature pulls everything together with what was already built in. From the main reporting dashboard, I can see SLA breaches, job statuses, and drill into everything I need to. It gives us a 10,000-foot visibility of the business. And then whenever you look at Commusoft, you know green means good: everything’s fine, we’re doing great.”

Commusoft’s reporting dashboard software offers 40+ reports and customizable widgets, empowering managers like Ashton to gain full insights into their business. This way, Carlisle Corp can organize all aspects of daily operations, and expand the business with confidence.

Ashton summarizes,
“I would 100% recommend Commusoft to any company with a field tech program that is looking to resolve more jobs, improve visibility, and increase operations.”

Ashton Holton
IT Manager