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To all those who are looking for help in regards to which software to use to help run their business, feel free to call me for free consulting. Ask for Jonathan. (913)-492-9930

Originally Posted by mark beiser

We are also interested in something for dispatching and invoicing using an iPad, that isn't part of a software package that costs thousands of dollars.

Currently we are using Google calendar for dispatching. It works really well for a very small company.

Have you tried the CalenGoo App? It syncs with Google Calendar. I think I paid ten for it, and absolutely love it for keeping track of my schedule and work done. Customer Service is excellent.

Anyone try Zoho or Xero? I'm looking at QuickBooks online verus those two. Going independent soon and plan to start as 1 man operation at first.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

We started to use Invoice ASAP this year. Works on both android and iphone. Main reason, it syncs to quickbooks desktop, which my boss wants to keep.

Originally Posted by Answer-Man

I'm small time only one man show now, I've built my own from MS Word, Excel, Outlook and recently added a desktop "Neat Scanner". Laptop, hand scanner, Mobile Hot spot and smart phone go with me. I've got a printer/scanner/fax in the office, I scan everything. I also got religion, meaning I automatically back up the information every day. Learned the hard way when I had to rebuild records from hard copies for a 5 year IRS audit about 10 years back.

Good luck

You may want to consider QuickBooks online, it does all this automatically and is stored in the cloud.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm small time only one man show now, I've built my own from MS Word, Excel, Outlook and recently added a desktop "Neat Scanner". Laptop, hand scanner, Mobile Hot spot and smart phone go with me. I've got a printer/scanner/fax in the office, I scan everything. I also got religion, meaning I automatically back up the information every day. Learned the hard way when I had to rebuild records from hard copies for a 5 year IRS audit about 10 years back.

Good luck

Originally Posted by R Mechanical 49

What quickbooks edition are you using

Just updated to the newest version of Quickbooks. Cost was high as could be but gives us waaay more options for parts listing and modifying. Looked into Fleetmasters and that looks to be a very well thought out system. We will pay monthly for it but we will get unlimited use and modifying of program with (as they put it) great customer service. We have not pulled the trigger on it yet cause I have not looked into the TSheets system. We use Fleetmasters for all our truck GPS systems and have had no issues with it up to this time. (Roughly a year in service)
If we suspect a mechanic is using the vehicle after hours we can put a circle around the vehicle parked at their house and if the vehicle leaves that circle it will send us a message on our phone. This is how we confirmed our thoughts on a person that started having a jump in his gas receipts cost. After a meeting with him and a print out of his activities in our truck it was clearly indisputable information and it has not been a problem since.
The sales guy reviewing the program for paperless showed us offsite through our computer how his setup worked and it looks really nice. With the ability to change program as we see fit at no additional cost looks like a system that we can't go wrong with.
I will let you know which one we chose and how it is working out for us.
Thanks for everyone's help in locating and reviewing multiple systems.

Originally Posted by R Mechanical 49

What quickbooks edition are you using

The Online version is great for 1 or 2 man shops.

Take a picture of the receipt and it is stored forever in the cloud. The software will automatically check your bank account/credit card account for matching transactions. Automatic accounting as you enter sales receipts or invoices. Inexpensive and highly effective.

Not good to track multiple technicians.

What quickbooks edition are you using

Fleetmatics and TSheets

We do supermarket refrigeration and small amount of their AC work only. We run 8-12 people and currently using Quickbooks. Looking for a paperless setup to make billing easier for front office and less of a hand cramping issue for mechanics in the field. I know technology changes on the daily and wondering what system other companies are using and what the upsides and downsides are.

For a small company, you cannot beat Quickbooks online. We have a two man operation and it is perfect. It does have limitations for tracking multiple technicians, so you really need something else to do that.

Just keep some writable receipts for the elderly. If they are that old, write it on a napkin. Everyone has email here.

Any other companies out there using a paperless system? I know it has been awhile since this has been brought up. Whats the pros/cons of what is being used? How long has it been running? We are researching this step for us to be brought up to present day technology.

Ours is stand alone. I don't know that you can use it with existing software, but it might be worth a call.

Originally Posted by Carbon

We have a system from a company named Data Basics. It handles every aspect of our service department from estimating to dispatching to work tickets to billing, all paperless. The tech hardware is an android.

Does Data Basics work stand alone or does it work with existing accounting software that you run?
Miike

We have a system from a company named Data Basics. It handles every aspect of our service department from estimating to dispatching to work tickets to billing, all paperless. The tech hardware is an android.

We are also interested in something for dispatching and invoicing using an iPad, that isn't part of a software package that costs thousands of dollars.

Currently we are using Google calendar for dispatching. It works really well for a very small company.

I am interested in this topic also. We have considered this as well and going to paperless invoicing. I am afraid that some of our senior customers will not like it. Any experience with that?

Electronic Work Orders and Mobile Devices

I was jus looking to see what electronic work order programs are out there and what your experiences are with them

also what devices do you use for these programs??

thanks
Mike