Complete Utility in the Palm of Your Hands: The Best Helper Apps for Field Service Technicians

Round out your field workforce automation software with convenient apps for travel, measurements, assets and more.

You originally invested in a mobile field service solution to organize your field service department, perform repairs and inspections, and keep track of service performance. But now that your organization has transitioned to automation, how can you further optimize your mobile efficiency in the field? The answer lies in your new mobile devices, but more specifically, your device’s app store. Mobile applications have been surging into a multi-billion dollar industry, as cited by Business Insider. This means the opportunity to find helpful apps is endless, especially for technicians in the field. By taking advantage of the new ecosystem of tools available on your mobile devices your techs have access to a complete utility belt in the palm of their hands. Below we have listed several applications that will complement your field workforce automation app and make your service technicians more powerful than ever.

On the Road

1. GasBuddy

The GasBuddy app crowdsources the cost of gasoline and uses phone location data to direct field-service reps to the closest and least expensive gas stations.

2. aCar

ACar can track several vehicles and provide statistical reports, reminders and automatic data backup. A pro version can also export data to spreadsheets and import data from other sources, among other functions.

3. AceRoute

The AceRoute app optimizes travel routes and makes schedule recommendations that best satisfy clients’ needs. The app can even provide notifications that enable team members to address time-management issues before they get out of hand.

Numbers and Measurements

4. BuildCalc

An advanced construction calculator, BuildCalc is consistently voted one of the best for iPhone and Android and is constantly updated to work with the latest phone-operating systems.

5. PhotoMeasures

PhotoMeasures allows you to take photos with your device’s camera and then use the app to add measurements on the image. Measurements are presented in clear type and with directional arrows. This tool can help you document measurements while in the field, and allows you to pass along visual measurements to team members and clients.

6. Air Lite Psychrometric Calcs

Air Lite Psychrometric Calcs is an all-in-one calculator for HVAC engineers, designers, technicians and maintenance personnel. The application calculates wet bulb temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, vapor pressure and much more. The user screens are easy to use with simple lists and fill boxes. Calculations are returned fast and are easily scanable.

7. Office Lens

With Microsoft’s Office Lens you can simply use your smartphone or tablet's camera to take a picture of a document, whiteboard, or photo and the app automatically detects the corners and automatically shifts perspective, resizes, crops and enhances receipts, documents and more for a perfect scan.

For Working With Assets

8. Electrical Toolkit

The Electrical Toolkit application will help your feel techs recalculate circuit values when a user edits any input data. This gives your techs access to quick calculations using various formulas that can help them solve problems in the field.

9. HVAC Buddy

HVAC Buddy is perfect for the diagnosis stage of any repair with tabs for leaks, overcharge, contaminants and more. It quickly determines the proper refrigerant charge for more than 73 options including Freon and Puron. HVAC Buddy contains generic charts for target Superheat and Subcool as well as pressure-temperature tables.

10. KoolApp

KoolApp provides a convenient, easy-to-use pressure-to-temperature refrigerant converter. The app currently works with 76 natural and traditional refrigerants, and also offers additional information such as dew- and bubble-point data for refrigerants with glide.

11. WowClowd Cable Testing

Technicians can use the WowClowd app to test the ping, distance to fault, delay skew, trace route, network scan and speed testing within the cables and send the data through the cloud to reduce paperwork and lugging around multiple testing devices.

For Everything Else

12. Voxeet

Voxeet improves the communication experience with team members elsewhere in the field and back at the office. By emphasizing clear sound, the app removes the frustrations from mobile group conferencing. Voxeet also includes an instant messaging feature that allows chatting with single or multiple teams.

13. Square Register

Square Register allows field-service reps to accept credit card payments, thereby turning mobile devices into mobile point of sale tools.

14. AppAdvice

If you’re really on the hunt for that perfect app for the field, you can find it thanks to AppAdvice. Its AppGuides and AppLists help search app categories and even ranks apps by similarity in order to help you find the best ones.

Conclusion: Helper Apps for Field Service Technicians Add Unlimited Versatility to the Toolbox

Having mobile workforce automation software means you’re already invested in the most important aspect of modern field service: mobility. But it’s important to realize that the mobile advantage doesn’t stop there. Taking full advantage of your mobile platform also means diving into the expansive world of mobile apps. By adding these tools to complement your field service app, you’ll be well on your way to all around efficiency in the field.

A Buyer’s Guide to Mobile Field Service Software: 9 Tips for Choosing a Mobile Solution that’s Right for You

In the market for a cross-platform or cloud-based mobile app for your field service organization? Learn important tips, guiding questions, and to-dos in our free, educational whitepaper: “A Buyer's Guide to Mobile Field Service Software.”