Count your trucks before you book demos. A solo operator or a crew of a few technicians will be up and running fastest on Jobber or Housecall Pro, which both publish prices and offer free trials, and Service Fusion’s flat monthly price starts to pay off once you have many users. Residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies with dispatchers and membership programs should compare ServiceTitan, FieldEdge and Workiz, while commercial contractors whose work revolves around inspections, deficiencies and projects belong on ServiceTrade or BuildOps. Salesforce and Microsoft make sense mainly when the rest of the company already runs on their CRM or ERP. During demos, ask who maintains the price book, what the technician app can do without a signal, how the accounting sync handles payments and refunds, and how much onboarding and add-ons will add to the first-year bill.
Do we have to tell technicians that we track them by GPS?
In some states you must give notice, and it is good practice everywhere. Since May 2022, New York has required employers that monitor employees’ phone, email or internet use to give written notice at hiring, have employees acknowledge it and post the notice where staff can see it. Connecticut requires prior written notice of electronic monitoring, which a conspicuous posting can satisfy, and Delaware requires notice before monitoring phone, email or internet use. These laws don’t all mention GPS by name and rules differ by state, so tell technicians in writing what the app tracks and when, limit tracking to working hours, and check with an employment lawyer before you switch it on.
Can the app’s mileage log support a tax deduction?
It can help. The IRS standard mileage rate for business driving is 72.5 cents a mile for January through June 2026 and 76 cents for July through December 2026, after a mid-year increase. IRS Publication 463 requires adequate records made at or near the time of each trip, such as a log or trip sheets showing the mileage, date, destination and business purpose, plus total miles for the year, and a log kept weekly counts. GPS mileage reports from a field service app can supply most of those details, as long as someone records the business purpose and keeps the reports.
How is commercial field service software different from residential?
Residential tools are built for speed with homeowners: online booking, flat-rate price books, good-better-best options on a tablet, financing, memberships and payment on the spot. Commercial contractors work for property managers and facilities teams, so platforms like ServiceTrade and BuildOps put more weight on equipment histories, inspection and deficiency reports that turn into repair quotes, project tools and links to construction accounting systems. Many companies do both kinds of work; if most of your revenue comes from service agreements with businesses, a commercial platform usually fits better.