How You Can Boost Your Field Services With Planado and Zapier Bundle

While process automation has now become a must-have for sustainable business growth, many companies are still struggling with developing a unified and transparent system that would spare them from the curse of manual labor.

Often, business owners would adopt a number of tools or solutions, each tailored to a specific process or task — which certainly makes sense — but then, it all might end up in a horrific mess of detached data streams that one can hardly make use of. To really add value, all your tools need to be integrated into a single workflow, allowing for seamless information exchange and connected operations.

Zapier offers such integration opportunities for businesses by providing an easy way to establish connections between different apps and tools. And the good news is that Planado has become a part of this whole ecosystem, which means you can now connect your FSM system to thousands of cloud services! Here are just a few examples:

• Helpdesk systems: Zendesk, Freshdesk, Jira
• Content & files: Google Docs, Sheets, and Forms
• CRM systems: Salesforce, Zoho, HubSpot

These and 3000+ more integrations are available out of the box and can be set up without the help of an expensive tech specialist. And here’s how.

No-code integrations

If you have used Planado before, you already know that it enables integrations via API. However, to connect tools via API requires a tech guy who will do the coding part. We’ve also had a few no-code integrations with some popular CRM systems.

With Zapier, the number of apps you can connect to Planado has increased manifold, opening endless opportunities for automating your field processes. Most importantly, you no longer need to hire a software engineer to integrate tools — Zapier provides a friendly and easy-to-use interface for no-code automation.

To automate a process, you’ll only need to create a rule, or a Zap, consisting of a trigger (an event) and an action (what should be done once the event occurs) — as simple as that! So let’s take a look at how you can automate some processes and save time and money with your FSM system.

CRM-free solution

If you’re currently using a CRM system to manage your client records or just thinking of adopting one, here’s the trick that can help you do without it and thus save lots of money.

Instead of implementing sophisticated CRM software with excessive functionality (which is often the case), small or medium businesses can use this simple bundling scheme: Planado as a primary FSM tool + Google Forms as an entry point for the client requests. With Zapier, you can easily connect these two and sync clients’ data with the Planado app for technicians so that they receive job assignments straight away.

There are at least three tangible advantages of such a method.

• First, you no longer need to pay for CRM software since all clients’ data is now gathered with Google Forms and immediately transferred to Planado, where your field workers can make use of it.
• Second, you no longer need a dedicated manager to manually create orders in the FSM system, since they are created automatically.
• Third, you can easily customize the request forms for different types of work (i.e., water tap repair, carpet cleaning, equipment installation, etc.) so clients don’t need to spend time describing the issue — they can just tick a few options in the corresponding form and maybe upload a few photos. So this is quite convenient for clients, too.

How much can you save?

Let’s do some calculations.

Average CRM software costs range between $50–150 per user per month. Let’s round that up to $100 for, say, two users — so that makes $200 per month and $2400 per year.

The basic Zapier plan is limited to 5 Zaps and 100 tasks/month and is free of charge, while a more advanced version with 20 Zaps and 750 tasks costs $20 per month. Google Forms are free, so here we pay as little as $20 per month, or $240 per year — a ten times economy compared to using a CRM! Looks like a good pennyworth, isn’t it?

Automation + quality control = sustainable growth

So, instead of paying for the not-so-necessary CRM software, you have an option to invest that money into your business development. Scaling up field services can be a really tough thing that requires excellent management and severe quality control.

Here’s where FSM solutions like Planado can help. We’ve already talked about how you can automate turning client requests into job assignments, but of course, there’s a lot more this tool can offer for growing businesses.

For instance, you can achieve and maintain the high quality of your field services by using checklists and photo reports. To close a task, a technician is required to follow all the steps listed in a checklist and take multiple photos of the completed work, which is a very effective way to maintain high-quality standards.