The Goal

CRS is looking for new ways to process our order and booking system from start to finish. Simplifying and making our system current with the rest of the service industry is key.

Software Currently Used

• Office 365 inc. Outlook 2018, Word 2018 and Excel 2018
• Quickbooks Premier 2015

How We Do It Now

Our system as it stands right now follows a very simple but cumbersome process:

1. Order is Taken - This can happen either via Phone or Email.
2. Schedule Check - The order taker checks the master schedule for availability.
3. Work Order Generation - The person taking the order fills in a Work Order to reflect the details agreed upon. The Work Order is attached to an appointment page in Outlook.
4. Job Costing - On an Excel spreadsheet we track upcoming sales and historical labour entered manually; daily
5. Job Confirmation - An Administrator will call the day prior or day of to confirm the booking.
6. Production - The production staff will print the Work Order and perform the cleaning as described.
7. Site Reporting - When the job is completed the production staff will complete a 'Site Report' via a platform call JotForm's describing the cleaning and the results.
8. Appointment Update - An administrator will create a PDF of the 'Site Report' and post it to the same appointment page the job generated.
9. Approval for Invoicing - Once the job is completed and the Site Report has been confirmed an administrator will approve the work order for invoicing and pass it on to the accounting department.
10. Invoicing - An invoice is generated in Quickbooks. The invoice is either PDF'd and/or printed.
11. Remitting - The invoice generated is emailed or mailed depending on the customers request.
12. Filing - File all paper copies.

What About Those Custom Pages?

Good question! We use two custom made items that help convey information pertinent to the job(s).

Outlook - Public Folder Calendar Custom Form

• Site Notes
• Location
• Time
• Labour Cost
• Attachments (Work Order, Site Reports and Misc)

Word - Work Order

• Site Notes
• Pricing
• Descriptions of Service
• Access Instructions
• Billing Info
• Representation Info
• Phone Numbers

Our Problems

CRS has operated on this system (to varying degrees) for years. While the old saying goes "if it ain't broke don't fix it" we would like a more streamlined, accessible process. The current process allows for the office staff to access the system everyday but handcuffs the technicians to paper.

The main issues are:

• Outlook Public Folders don't work on mobile platforms (Android, iOS)
• Paper gets passed around far to often causing multiple points of failure
• Order takers have no access to the same system accounting uses
• Accounting has to transcribe the Work Order in to text the end customer will understand on an invoice
• Personal scheduling differs from production scheduling.
• Unlike home service industries, ours cant simply book times on their own online. Different jobs require different time and investment.

Limitations

As it stands, none. We would like to maintain the use of Quickbooks but everything else is open to change.