PlumbingBossPro Blog — Dispatch & Scheduling

Choosing Plumbing Dispatch Software: What to Check Before You Switch

Every field-service software company says it does scheduling. Most of them do, in the sense that you can put a job on a calendar. Whether it actually helps a plumbing company get through a day of short calls, long installs and emergencies is a different question. Here is what to check before you commit.

Start With Your Own Mistakes

The list in Plumbing Scheduling Mistakes That Cost You a Day, and How to Avoid Them is a good place to begin. Look at which of those mistakes your shop makes most often, and judge software by whether it makes the fix easier. A tool that looks great in a demo but does not help with your actual problems is the wrong tool.

The Board

• Can you see jobs by day and van? That is the core of plumbing dispatch.
• Can you filter to one van quickly? Most decisions happen at the van level.
• Can you move a job between days and vans without it getting lost?
• Can you save the views you use every day?
• Can you print a route sheet for techs who want paper?

Routing

• Does it auto-route from your shop? Closest First and Furthest First cover most needs.
• Can you override the order by hand? You will need to, constantly.
• Does the tech's phone show the same order as the board? If not, you have two schedules.

For how routing should work, see Auto-Routing Plumbing Calls: Closest First or Furthest First From the Shop.

Emergencies

• Can you see where every van is? Crew GPS on the office map.
• Can you add a job to a van mid-day and have it show on the tech's phone without a phone call?
• Can you move a stop to next in a couple of clicks?

Try this during the trial: pretend a burst pipe just called in and time how long it takes to get it onto the right van.

The Tech App

• Does it run on the phones your techs already have? iPhone and Android, ideally without an app store hassle.
• Is it simple? Route order, navigation, Start / Skip / Complete. If it takes more than a ride-along to learn, techs will avoid it.
• Does it show plumbing information? The water heater's type, size, fuel and location, the main shut-off and access notes, not just an address and a notes box.
• Can techs skip with a reason and take photos?

The Customer Side

• Are on-the-way and arrived texts automatic from the tech's phone?
• Can customers choose their alerts?
• Can customers see where they are in line?
• Does two-way texting come back to the office, not a tech's personal phone?
• How many texts are included? Check the allowance and whether replies count.

Recurring Work

Plumbing is not only service calls. Check that the software handles yearly water heater flushes, softener service, backflow tests and restaurant jetting, and that due visits show up somewhere you can see them, ideally on a map next to your routes.

Price and Fit

The big enterprise platforms are built for large shops with full-time dispatchers, and they are priced and set up accordingly. Generic field-service software may be cheaper but not know what a water heater is. Spreadsheets and paper are free until you count the phone calls.

Look for plain pricing with dispatch included, not sold as an add-on. PlumbingBossPro plans are $59, $89 and $199 per month (Start, Pro and Crew), with the dispatch board, routing and tech app on every plan and a monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 segments.

Setup and Switching

• Can you import your customers? CSV import, with addresses placed on the map automatically, saves days.
• Is there a free trial with no credit card? You need to try it on real days, not just a demo.
• Can you run it alongside your old system for a week?

Ask Your Office Person and Your Techs

The owner usually picks the software, but the office person and the techs use it all day. Let them try it during the trial. Ask the office person to book a few real calls and move a job between days. Ask a tech to work a morning from the tech app. If they both find it easier than what you have now, that matters more than any feature list.

Try It on a Real Day

The best test of plumbing dispatch software is one real, messy day: a few short calls, a water heater swap, a skip and an emergency. If the software made that day easier, it is worth switching. PlumbingBossPro has a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and a live demo you can try first. To see the full set of dispatch tools, visit the PlumbingBossPro plumbing dispatch software page.