How to choose the best gas engineer software

Gas engineer software makes planning, tracking, and monitoring jobs a total breeze. 

With a range of features like job scheduling, real-time job tracking, and automated invoicing, job management software is a no-brainer for gas engineer businesses.

But because all tools aren’t built the same, it’s critical you choose the best software for your business.

In case you need convincing, an estimated 48% of field service businesses use job management software. Many of these are boosting growth by 35%. Additionally, businesses that invest in job management software boost productivity by 40% – and waste less money than businesses that don’t.

These stats are hard to ignore. 

With that in mind, let’s dive into how you can choose the best software for your business.

WHY GAS ENGINEER SOFTWARE IS A GROWTH MUST-HAVE

In short, gas engineer software gets rid of the headache caused by scattered and chaotic paper-based operations and replaces it with an all-in-one solution that has everything you need and is easy-to-use.

The end result? Unshackled from the burden of admin, you can free up your team to take on more jobs. You get paid faster and boost your cash flow by invoicing in seconds — not days or even weeks. And you can reduce operational spend by optimising travel routes, reducing fuel, and resource costs.

But don’t take our word for it. Take a look at this handful of real results:

• 90% improvement in admin time 
• 25% efficiency improvement
• 30% increase in productivity
• 25% boost in customer service ratings

So, how can you get results like this?

Ultimately, with the right job management software, you can:

Quickly find what you need, on-the-go:

✅ Access digital risk assessments, gas safety certificates, and COSHH sheets.

✅ Keep all contracts safe and in one place.

✅ Search and filter documents to instantly find what you need.

Update jobs in real-time:

✅ Storing everything on a secure cloud means your teams have full visibility of jobs.

✅ Optimise engineers’ time and instantly capture signatures, upload photos, and find full job details.

Keep customers satisfied:

✅ Send key date reminders to customers.

✅ Alerts ensure your teams never miss a deadline.

✅ Grow relationships by giving your teams a 360˚ view of every account.

Boost cash flow:

✅ Get paid faster by updating jobs and issuing invoices on-the-go (or by automating them).

✅ Only order the parts you need.

✅ Track engineers in real-time and divert them if there’s an issue.

✅ Intelligent reporting provides financial information, such as work-in-progress (WIP) reports and profitability forecasts.

Now we know why gas engineer software is a no-brainer, let’s take a look at the features to look out for when choosing gas engineer software. 

CHECKLIST: 6 BEST FEATURES FOR GAS ENGINEER SOFTWARE

You might have seen there are quite a few gas engineer software solutions out there. But not every solution is built the same. So let’s look at exactly what you need to gain streamlined operations and deliver superior customer experiences:

#1: IS IT AN ALL-IN-ONE JOB MANAGEMENT SOLUTION?

• Does it allow for easy job tracking, managing invoicing securely, and easily hold documents?
• Does it allow for live GPS tracking so that both you and your customers can see where engineers and parts are?
• Can all your team members access the solution for easy collaboration (with the option to prevent access to sensitive information)?

#2: DOES IT ALLOW ENGINEERS TO MAKE REAL-TIME JOB UPDATES VIA A MOBILE APP?

• Is there a mobile app for engineers to update jobs in real-time?
• Is the system user-friendly and visual?
• Can engineers access the safety documents they need and input new customer information, like the location of the gas meter and stopcock, while on-site? Or schedule themselves additional jobs when required?

#3: CAN IT EASILY AND SECURELY STORE GAS SAFETY DOCUMENTS?

• Does it provide an easily accessible digital library of COSHH certificates, essential health and safety documents, and more?
• Does it allow for easy completion of digital risk assessments and other compliance forms?
• Is the solution industry compliant?

#4: DOES IT PROVIDE AUTOMATION?

• Can it trigger alerts to notify engineers when new jobs arrive on their mobile device?
• Can it send customer reminders? 
• Can it send automated Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) reminders for jobs such as machine or boiler servicing and allow customers to book in their renewal?

#5: CAN IT STREAMLINE INVOICING?

• Does it enable you to issue an invoice and job sheet as soon as the job is complete?
• Can you send automated or batch invoicing directly through the software?
• Does it easily integrate with other systems like your accounting software to avoid double data entry?

#6: DOES IT GIVE YOU A 360-DEGREE VIEW OF YOUR CUSTOMER?

• Does it provide real-time engineer and job status updates?
• Can you view customer quotes and invoices?
• Can you view customer documents like signatures, gas safety certificates and photos?

👉In summary, the right solution for you is one that eliminates as many manual processes as possible from your day-to-day work, saving you precious time and effort. Determine which tasks you need automated and invest in a solution that can efficiently automate these features and much more. 

Psst. BigChange has all these features and more. Take a look here.

If you still need a little more convincing, here’s a real-life case study in action.

CASE STUDY: GAS ENGINEER SOFTWARE IN ACTION

Celsius plumbing and heating identified an opportunity to provide homeowners with the type of professional plumbing and heating service normally reserved for demanding ‘big contract’ commercial clients. 

The challenge was working out how to achieve the desired levels of service as a relatively small and new player in the market.

The solution

Moving away from the cumbersome paperwork that burdened businesses like Celsius, the company made the switch to digital working, leveraging cloud and mobile technology. This covered every step from engineer scheduling to completion — eliminating paperwork at all stages.  

The result?

Here’s what Celsius said:

• We used to average 6 jobs a day, but now we are doing 7 or 8, meaning that our engineers are often 30% more productive.
• Our service booking success rate increased from 20% to 90%.
• Customers love the system. It’s really easy to book a date and time online and with ETA notifications on the day they know when an engineer will arrive.

“In the office, the productivity gains are even greater. With a single, paperless system, BigChange has not just cut administrative work but, through automation, we have significantly reduced the customer calls we make. Saving all that wasted time – we are certainly 40% more efficient – it has in effect freed up two members of staff to focus on important things like customer service.”

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

As with any software solution, gas engineer software needs to be easy to use, accessible by all (and on-the-go) and with built-in features that take away the administrative burden of physical paperwork.

Otherwise, it defeats the object of having it: to drive efficiencies.

But to really drive growth, you need a solution that goes beyond that. With features like job tracking, real-time GPS tracking for engineers, automation and more — you can really start to drive cost reductions. This is everything from customer booking reminders, fuel cost reduction, and booking in more jobs, through to redirecting nearby engineers in a crisis.

The bottom line is the right software for gas engineers will pay for itself very quickly. Plus, it will improve customer experiences like never before.

Why Shacklocks, Celsius and Heatforce choose BigChange

Trusted by 130+ UK plumbing and heating businesses, BigChange’s paperless gas engineer software is specifically designed to enable business growth.

Say goodbye to chaos and hello to a boost in productivity 🚀

Our software for gas engineers gives plumbing and heating companies the power to do more, guarantees operational compliance and delivers winning customer experiences. (More on this in our brochure).

Ready to put BigChange to the test? Book a free demo here today to see how BigChange can help you grow stronger.