Fergus Software

Time savings and flexabilty

Pros

Flexibility to do things on the go. Don't need to be at the office to send invoices etc don't miss invoices as it's all online

Cons

It's made now a full time scheduler. As as admin u really need it on a laptop or computer. No one on training in person was offered

Saved the planet of paper. Increased profitability

Pros

No paperwork. Photos able to be attached to jobs. Fergus talks to xero and merchants. Good calendar system.

Cons

No stock file. Photos are no longer able to be enlarged on phone. Notes on quotes cannot tag a persons name at the end of the list. Cannot pick out a supplier to look up a stock item like we can on the desk top

Pros

Ease of use. We are a company that does small and medium sized jobs. When doing smaller jobs there are more of them so fergus makes it easy to keep track of everything

Cons

- Cant have multiple colours for employees jobs. For us this would make it easier to organise the teams day as they would be able to differentiate an urgent job from a job that be done at any time throughout day

A working software than we can rely on

Pros

It is user friendly and there is continuous work to improve the user experience. It has an easy to read format and uses commonsense.

Cons

That you can't go back to a category page in the dashboard ie invoices you have to go home and then into that category and then the next item.

Pros

Amazing system, it really has helped me organise my business and manage my workload in a much more efficient way.

Cons

Nothing so far! If there is something I will feed this back to the team and I am confident they would do something about it.

We have more time to do billable work and the peace of mind to know we haven't missed on charging for materials or time.

Pros

The automation with accounting services, employees and trade suppliers so we never miss charging on materials or hours.

Cons

Some fiddly bits like trying to change margins on materials in invoicing ; I also have trouble going 'back' a screen or move if i make a mistake.

Pros

How easy the system is to learn. Having not used Fergus before I found it very easy to learn.
The back up support is great.

Cons

No stock control as such. Would be good to be able to allocate stock to vans and not just to a job.

Pros

Ease of use for office staff and guys on the road from their phones. Can access it anywhere with internet.

Cons

Nothing really is wrong with this systems it is all working pretty well for us and makes our live easy to get jobs sorted.

The biggest benefit I get from Fergus is the abililty to have all of my information in a central location, plus it integrates with Xero so I no longer have to do double entry!

Pros

Its a true all in one service management software. The program is user friendly and has the best configuration Ive used so far. The price point is perfect. The apps for iOS and Android are seamless with the browser.

Cons

I would like the ability to upload different certifications. The standard is for electrical services. Please add support for FireFox and Microsoft Edge.

Pros

keeps all the jobs in order and helps give me an overall picture of how the job is going with a click of the button

Cons

The time sheet user can't search for created jobs if not assigned or add photos (not sure if that is a setting issue) . Feels like they are very limited but yet a full user is too much for their position level.

Scheduling of jobs
Helps determine work flow

Pros

The customer support
The scheduling
The look of the quote/invoicing
Credit card payment option
Automatic reminders

Cons

The inability to customise a health and safety form for staff to access on site and link to the client file.
The inability to attach any general files/photos to the client rather than a specific job. For example a subdivision site plan for multisite developers.

Steamlined our workload. One point for all information about all jobs. Great scheduling and calendar functions, as well as communication tools for clients and staff.

Pros

Photos in the jobs, tracking where the workers are, favorites for quoting, notes and communication trail in each job.

Cons

The inability to modify parts of Fergus to better suit our business. We operate differently from most sparkys and plumbers, and the mobile app could be simplified for our use.

Speeding up invoicing, better tracking of old jobs via photos/notes etc.

Pros

Entering time sheets, phone tracking, integration with our suppliers csv files, linking to xero, favourites lists with materials, photo attachments. Staff reply relatively quickly to any queries and seem happy to help. System seems to constantly grow, many new features since we first signed up.

Cons

Compliance's could do with some more auto-fill features like drop downs on frequently submitted parts. Off-line ability when it comes to filling in times on a job when you're out of service and searching jobs. Apprentice on entry level subscription cant search for jobs unless he is assigned to it which is a pain (has no search bar option at all). Quotes and estimates could do with being a bit more separate as we have a different blurb at the bottom for quotes than estimates and I have to alter it if its an estimate because we use the quote template blurb. Be nice if on the desktop version you could add multiple people to a time entry like you can on the mobile version

Pros

Ease of use, customisable, extensive features, customer support, price. No downtime, local and fast support, able to run my business off an iPhone and iPad. Integrates with Xero brilliantly, no need to manually transfer files over.

Cons

After using this app for almost a year I am yet to find a con, I have used similar programs in the past which are much larger and more expensive but don't have the Features that Fergus has. Brillant App.

Time sheet Tracking for me and staff, organised and nice looking quotes, quote acceptance via email, Mobile invoicing if needed, a way of back costing jobs fast and easily.

Pros

Upto a few years ago a big part of my business was running blind so I went hunting for a software management program to get us sorted. I tried nearly every program on the market from Tradify, Workflo Max, Service m8, GeOp and many more, I even doubled back and trialed some of them again. I ran through several jobs in each software program but just couldn't find a program that would do what I needed. They all had helpful features but none of them were as fitting as Fergus. Fergus just works well, and is getting better all the time. Quotes are a breeze and invoicing takes me about 30 mins a day. I love using fergus and recommend to any business as a must have.

Cons

The software does everything I need to run my business so cant see any cons. Would be nice if the software had a faster GPS tracking system but I am sure this will come in time.

A good way to track work in progress and schedule Labour. Would love to see more customised features around the Favorites setup for invoicing and quotes.

Pros

The ability to quickly change data, move info from Jobs, correct errors, share data with the rest of the team, update staff quickly via mentions, Especially Love the way FERGUS keeps improving features and adding on new functions to constantly improve the way we do things.

Cons

From the Home Screen if you type client in the search bar, it flicks to a sub-screen then to the job screen, the sub screen is too quick to click your client sometimes, it would be good if there was say an extra 2-3 seconds here.

Pros

The fact that we now miss no invoices from the guys forgetting , cashflow much better , office work cut in half

Cons

There is nothing I do not like about this product . It is the best product on the market for plumbers to use

Pros

simple to use and ease of use. makes my business much smoother. typing this message is now annoying me.

Cons

would be nice if customers had access to post notes on a job , so as we can monitor all correspondence.
would be good if one person could insert hours for multiple persons on the online version and not app version (one click does all workers)
being able to insert your own test certificates and compliance certificates (Australia) is a massive miss.

when creating an invoice and importing workers hours it would be good if the description of what each worker did next to their hours so the client can understand what each worker has done, at the moment the hours and the job description are in different areas.

Ipad pro does not let you type in lower font when entering materials to a job

Pros

It is a one stop shop "power house" that runs our electrical and heat pump contracting business. It integrates seamlessly to Xero which has made it very simple to implement. We like the ability to track staff when required and the fact that it has a full health and safety component also. The customers enjoy the interface through email and we regard the ability of the system to track and record site related information to be very valuable for all users. By adopting this system we are now seen as professional and progressive with in our town. We are now capturing better information about job costs before we send invoices which has helped us to raise our overall profit margin. We no longer have jobs falling through the cracks at invoicing time either. The scheduling features are fantastic, all staff can see what is on for the week, not just those in the office that can see the whiteboard! The workers on the ground have access to client details which allows them to make contact without input from the office, they also have full job history and quote/estimate information which makes their job easier also. The App runs on any mobile platform which solves the android vs IOS debate, we just use the platform that we like. No software to manage is also a bonus, if we have internet access... were in business! This has been the biggest leap towards a paperless office that we've made so far. We enjoy the friendly knowledgeable helpdesk staff who always answer the phone promptly. Awesome!

Cons

Once you have published a quote, you can no longer edit it... if you find a mistake or want to add something extra to the quote. The search engine on electrical items can be abit poor, maybe it could show frequently selected or used items at the top of the search results list. The financial summary has too much information in it, it is so busy. There could be more price options, we would like to bring on another administrator on a 3 hrs per day basis and another electrical worker on a 2-3 days basis, it is quite expensive for part timers. There is no drawing software in the system for quoting, some others such as Simpro, System fox and Katipult have this on-board. (I think these are usually based on Visio). J A Russell don't API to the system like Corys and Plumbing World do, could be easier for us if they did the same.

Streamlines our operations, payroll, records all customer info etc

Pros

Its functionality - it does a lot.
If we don't know how to use it, Fergus support is always only a call away with the solution.
Fergus is continually developing the software and is very user-centric in that it takes on development suggestions from its users.

Cons

I've always found GPS location is quite patchy - unreliable