Rapid growth and stellar service goals meant Matrix HG needed more than just file cabinets and spreadsheets in their service department.
Matrix HG, Inc. is a California HVAC company that serves industrial and commercial clients. Their services include whole-system design/build, building automation, piping, installation, repair and maintenance.
Though Matrix finished hundreds of projects per year at the time, they were missing out on their full revenue potential. The culprits were paperwork and slow billing. Over the years, Matrix learned that using just papers and Vista didn’t help their business operations go smoothly. Matrix met with MSI eventually to show them how Service Pro field software eliminates paperwork in and out of the office. Matrix was a growing company, but MSI helped further enable their growth.
BACKGROUND
Matrix HG, Inc. was seeking a software solution to automate their billing, invoicing and administrative processes.
“There was a lot of paperwork and drawn out processes from start to end. Billing didn’t move fast, and there were many unnecessary steps,” said dispatcher Brittany Myers.
In the office, dispatchers used Vista by Viewpoint to create schedules and billing spreadsheets, but they needed better technology than that. Matrix leadership learned that Service Pro would fulfill their operational and clerical needs after just two training sessions with MSI.
CHALLENGES
Matrix’s old paper based system was messy, which resulted in low cash flow for the owners. Service technicians would log their work orders, purchase orders and requisition in books all day. Service managers and dispatchers struggled to keep track of where technicians traveled all day by just phone and e-mail.
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Double data entry:
- Every day, more than 30 field techs tracked their work hours by hand. They would take photos of their work order sheets and texted large attachments to their bosses after finishing their jobs. Dispatchers spent too much time entering everyone’s hours and purchase orders in the system. Even worse, they found it impossible to enter all data on busy days.
• Slow billing: It would take up to three weeks after service orders were finished to bill customers. Sometimes, billing sheets would get lost and so would work hours, which led to profit loss.
• Poor organization: The office got many calls per day, which took priority over data entry. The unfinished paperwork continued to build up, which made the entire business less efficient. “We were losing service work orders. Between that and coming back to the office, the papers would get lost,” said Controller Mike Volan. “Bottom line, loss of money.”
ACTION TAKEN
Matrix employees struggled to write out and enter so much paperwork every day. MSI helped the office go paper-free. We provided a two day Service Pro training session for Matrix leadership, which made them confident that their large field team could buy-in and quickly learn.
Matrix co-founder Dan Greeson found it convenient to know that Service Pro works with their Vista system. This was an easy sale for him, which he could sell to even his most skeptical business partner.
“I don’t like it when customers have to wait over two hours for any service no matter how minimal,” he said. With Service Pro, on and off-site employees exceed his expectations.
RESULTS
Since integrating Service Pro and Vista, field techs have all the information they need to solve problems via iOS or Android while they’re on the road all day. Employees no longer lose important documents or have customers fill out any paperwork, which gave them an even better reputation.
Dispatchers use a Vista visual calendar to send field technicians their work orders and schedules. The field techs view their assignments via Service Pro, which includes customer contact information, history, parts and model numbers, and detailed problem descriptions with urgency level. After a service is done, the customer gets an invoice and receipt by e-mail and can pay by card. “Business has gone up 15% on the service side,” Volan said. “Our desks are clean, and everyone works only 40-hour weeks.”
• User-friendly mobile integration
Service Pro is a native mobile app that works on laptops, tablets and smartphones. The HVAC techs at Matrix find it convenient to use a Smartphone to take photos on rooftops, enter and submit labor time. Service Pro also includes a mobile inspection checklist, which technicians complete and email to the office as a PDF attachment.
“When a tech completes a work order, we set it up so dispatchers get an email with a work order attachment. Each technician cc’s the completed work order to the customer’s email,” said Controller Mike Volan. “This replaces that same sloppy handwritten thing customers couldn’t read before.”
•Better labor and miscellaneous cost tracking
Before Matrix had Service Pro, HVAC techs couldn’t charge for welding costs with their old system. The unbilled welding services further reduced profit. Matrix has entered a fixed welding cost into Service Pro to automatically bill each customer.
Dispatchers and service managers use Vista to create schedules and work orders. Field technicians use Service Pro’s clock app to track and send labor time to managers. Vista also has a “Work Completed” feature which separates time entry by task. Dispatchers no longer have to re-enter field techs’ work hours, which frees time to answer more phone calls.
•Instant billing
Before Service Pro, Matrix dispatchers only used Vista to assign work orders. Now, they report a reduced error rate and need for data entry. Most importantly, techs no longer issue bills in messy handwriting, which presents a professional image. Customers receive invoices on the same day of service and e-sign on the spot via the technician’s mobile device. The system automatically e-mails receipts to customers after they pay.
CONCLUSION
Matrix HG had a customer-centric strategy that helped their service sales go from $600,000 to more than $1 million with the help of Service Pro. MSI is proud to have helped Matrix streamline their business operations to drive further revenue.
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