From Sales to Field Service to Billing: How Salesforce Benefits Eldredge Septic
Over the years, Eldredge Septic Companies has grown while remaining true to their roots as a family-run business dedicated to honest and dependable service. The Chester County company attributes much of their success to their steadfast commitment to exceptional customer service and their team of experienced field technicians.
As the company grew, they knew that they would have to turn to technology in order to continue offering the highest quality of customer service possible while leveraging their existing workforce. They needed software that could help them manage their septic installation and servicing business, as well as their workforce of field technicians, so they could provide an even better customer experience. And as a smaller business, they needed more than increased efficiency – the system had to bring cost savings, too.
Where could they find such a solution? They turned to the team at IT Edge CRM for help implementing and customizing the Salesforce platform and have been thrilled with the results. They’ve experienced a 30% growth in volume, which they have been able to easily handle with their new system.
“We recently implemented Salesforce.com with the IT Edge CRM team to systematize our business processes from new orders to scheduling and employee time tracking. Since then our business has grown 30%. We couldn’t have handled the growth had it not been for how efficient our new Salesforce sales and field service system made us!” – Jeremiah Eldredge
Here are just a few of the ways that Eldredge Septic has benefited from partnering with IT Edge and Salesforce.
Easy, integrated management of sales, field service, and billing (and everything in between)
With the Salesforce platform, Eldredge Septic can manage their sales and service process from end-to-end in one system. Simplifying the process cuts down on time spent on administrative tasks, allowing staff to focus on providing fast, high-quality service. And because employees have easy access to real-time information without needing to look in multiple places, the company can rest assured that time is saved and fewer mistakes will be made. For example, billing information is marked clearly in customer accounts and work orders, so there is no question of who to send the invoice to.
Let’s take a look at how this works in practice. A form on the Eldredge website allows customers to request more information online and their information is automatically transferred into the Salesforce system as a lead. When orders are placed, office staff can simply click on any available slot in the calendar to schedule a work order and assign a field technician. At the same time, Salesforce will automatically create an Opportunity, which houses all of the work orders, tasks, and time entries for this job. Technicians can view job information in real-time while out in the field. After work orders are marked complete, the Opportunity is closed and synced directly to Invoices in Quickbooks, where a customer invoice is automatically generated.
Streamlined communication between the back office and field technicians
Like many field service businesses, Eldredge Septic has several teams to manage its operations. In the office, some employees take orders from clients, while others dispatch field techs, and others still manage the finances. Meanwhile, technicians are out designing, installing, repairing, maintaining, and inspecting septic systems in the field. Needless to say, there’s a lot going on, and a lot of room for miscommunication. But at Eldredge, communication between the office and the field has never been better. They use the DayBack calendar implemented and customized by IT Edge to allow back office workers to dispatch field techs by scheduling and assigning work orders as they come in.
The field technicians can view their work orders for each day in the Salesforce mobile app. Relevant information is displayed within easy access, so they know exactly where to go, at what time, and for which type of service. The information is updated in real-time, so there is no risk of technicians relying on outdated information that may have been printed out earlier in the week or that morning. This way, they can arrive at each property fully informed of what needs to be done and provide even more effective service for their customers.
Once each job is done, the technician simply marks the work order complete, and the system creates and assigns a new task for the finance team to invoice the job. Or, if the job cannot be completed at that time and more work is needed, Salesforce will assign a task for the dispatch team to schedule a follow-up. At the same time, the online calendar is automatically updated and color-coded so that dispatchers can easily see which jobs have been completed and which are still pending. Now, both the office staff and field technicians have the information they need, when they need it, without needing to constantly make phone calls or send emails to each other – something which had previously taken up time better spent serving customers. The end result: better communication, better service, and a better use of everyone’s time.
Increased efficiency in the field
Eldredge knows that their field technicians’ greatest value is in their experience and skill in providing excellent service. Salesforce ensures that field techs can focus on their work, rather than sifting through emails to find information that may be outdated. IT Edge worked with Eldredge to configure a tool for easy scheduling, ensuring that field technicians’ time is used most effectively. Because everything is housed in one system, the techs always have quick access to the most up-to-date information about the jobs assigned to them. They can update the status of work orders as they go, which means that staff no longer need to spend evenings documenting what has been done and what is still awaiting attention. In addition, field techs can track their time spent on jobs in Salesforce, as well as the equipment and parts they have used. This provides the company with greater insight into their assets and helps them ensure that they will not run out of parts.
The end result: Success!
By partnering with IT Edge, Eldredge Septic benefits from a right-sized software solution that is customized to meet their needs, while saving them time and money. Since the implementation, the company has seen a 30% growth, and has been able to manage the greater volume of business with ease. They have found hours saved working on administrative tasks, and the technology enables them to continue providing a high level of service as the business has grown.