Started using this software 5 years ago when I created this new landscape, lawn maintenance and irrigation business. Wanted to have a solid foundation for scaling up and this was the perfect solution. Before this I used four other software programs and nothing even compares to the ease of use and multitude of features Service Autopilot offers. One great example is our irrigation winterizing and spring turn on list. We have about 300 clients and it only takes an hour or so to sort them and schedule them for the appropriate day. We never miss a client because we have them set up in a "package" that automatically generates the routing and jobs are broken out by neighborhood. As soon as the irrigation technician completes the job on their mobile, it generates an invoice and we have it sent out via email at the end of the day. Sometimes our clients get their invoices before they come home and realize the service has been completed. Just the time savings alone on this project is worth the Service Autopilot cost. Before it would take 15 hours or so to organize the jobs and multiple hours just to enter and send out the invoices. Also, the techs can take pictures and leave notes for the office for repair follow ups that are attached to the job.

Absolutely wonderful for repeat maintenance jobs and one time jobs. We never miss any billing because the employees only go to places on their mobile schedules.

It is a little cumbersome on large multi-day landscape projects. They do have a "Projects" option for these types of jobs. I even printed out the instructions on how to use it but it's not as easy and intuitive as the rest of the software.

It was great the first 1 1/2 years, then the customer service issues hit and made us less excited about the software. The pricing change was the last straw for me. We still use the software for a small portion of our business but honestly just waiting for a better option to come our way.

The features of the system and integration with other software

The customer service made me feel like our account wasn't a priority. They also removed with tiered pricing without notice. When I inquired why our pricing was higher, I was told about the tiered pricing and because it only affected a few clients, they intentionally didn't notify us about the change.

Much easier than using a spreadsheet and hand inputting info into invoices and estimates.

The estimate, invoice templates and customization for letters is awesome. Other companies need to take a look at making easily customizable forms for invoicing and estimates. The software is excellent for emailing detailed estimates and letters. Converting leads/estimates into active customers is very simple. The pricing matrix conversions (size or piece per job into prices) is extraordinarily well done. Honestly, the software setup shows a ton of promise. I believe it could easily be the best out there if they would fix the basics listed below.

They do not have the basics down. Payments that are applied to balances are constantly unassociating from accounts. I spend 10-15 hours per week rechecking this error which causes serious billing problems and has cost me customers. Payment check boxes also tend to dissociate every once in a while. I spend another several hours per week on routing because single accounts cannot be pulled. If I have to add a customer into the route for that day the entire days work has to respool for printing. This takes up to 2 minutes to load and then another minute or two to scroll through the pages to print the necessary work. Routing, Call Logs, and To Do's are all scheduled for route printing. This costs a ton of time sorting it all out and paper costs add up quickly. My business (lawn care fertilizing and pest control) runs on renewing accounts each year. There is no way to auto-renew and send updated pricing and service schedules to existing customers. Each year I have had to input entirely new estimates for every active customer and send them individually. I then have to delete the prior years services and convert the estimate (pre-pay letter) into a whole new package. For a few hundred customers this process takes 90 hours! Customer information is split up between multiple screens and the jobs history for each has to be manually looked up by pulling up prior invoices. Support answers the phone but has not fixed even one of these issues nor has answers.

This totally eliminates paper route sheets. Helps with end-of-month billing streamlining although not perfect.

Auto billing, tracking of jobs dispatched, dispatching jobs, APp for foreman works well, work tracking, time tracking are good

Has issues with QuickBooks sync, has some glitches when it comes to adding jobs in the field, very little mobile capability from an owner stand point

Service Autopilot (SA) is the hub of the entire business as it contains all lead, client, and employee information.  All the business’ services are scheduled and dispatched through Service Autopilot.  The technicians use the SA app to receive their jobs notes and punch in and out of their jobs.  Cleaning estimates and invoices are distributed through SA.  We use the reporting feature to pay Sales Tax and keep our eye on Key Performance Indicators.  SA is our Customer Relationship Management tool used for email marketing and chat messaging.  We also use automations in Service Autopilot to send reminders before cleanings, after-job quality surveys, and client onboarding emails. 

Service Autopilot is the hub of the entire business as it contains all lead, client, and employee information.  The automations are a huge step up for productivity and ease of systems.

Service Autopilot is not easy to use or set up. It is less intimidating if you are the kind of person that likes to jump into a new software and just poke around. There are so many aspects that even once you know the basics, there is always something to tweak in the workflow. Unfortunately, after SA was purchased by Clearent (a credit card merchant) a couple of years ago, the customer service and general functioning has gone downhill. There are often slow days (everything slow to load) while working in the software that make it unusable for a period of time. They also have a closed API and so don't integrate with other programs. There is a version 3 in the works for a couple of years now (always beta, not complete), but it seems less intuitive and worse laid out than version 2.

I've switched to SA from operating on paper notes and without much systems and trackable processes. Main reason opting for SA was Jonathan's track history of lawn care operations and software. But biggest selling point was his vision on an all automated platform. A very detailed price matrix and estimate templates plus the easy to navigate dispatch board are just two of the many features that have helped my company to send out proposals quick, efficient and with the desired profits and making sure no job gets missed. The mobile app is a sure game changer for everyone that used to work with paper route sheets. Customer Support when needed is finding a good solution most times. Many times they will go the extra mile finding a good solution. Occasionally you may find a representative who is not up to speed with some issues but hey...there's new people in any business that can't be perfect from day 1. The people behind the company and the leadership is outstanding as I know Jonathan (co-owner) on a more private level. The progressive approach to today's fast changing technology and demanding customers is second to none. Capabilities of SA are simply staggering and will require at least one full time person in order to utilize the power. One area of suggested improvement is the snow dispatch functionality. Although it works you can sense the immediate lack of insight due to their location not being exposed to real winter service environment . If you're looking for a business software that can grow with your business as well as provides great inside information into your numbers you will not be disappointed.

no jobs missed anymore marketing potential templates

Service Autopilot has not just been another CRM to hold customer information and track sales. As a $5MM+ service company with a database of over 55k contacts and their related records, choosing the right software company to transition to was very critical. We had long outgrown our previous CRM and until Service Autopilot we had almost given up on finding a real solution that would fulfil our needs to help us continue to grow and improve our system in the process. Service Autopilot has brought the whole spectrum of a service business together in an easy-to-use format for us. From incoming leads to re-marketing to previous customers and everything that happens in between Service Autopilot is a complete solution that saves times, increases efficiencies and pays for itself. Their awareness of the swift technological changes, attentiveness to member's needs and rapid/timely upgraded solutions is what separates them as the dominant player in the service-software market. In addition, everyone from the support staff to the leadership team of Service Autopilot has proven to be extremely receptive and helpful to provide answers and solutions to its member's needs. This is one of the most valued partnerships we have ever established and are looking forward to a long-lasting relationship as we both grow together.

The fact that it seamlessly moves every activity of a lead from one phase to the next, from an incoming lead generated through an advertising campaign all the way through the sales process, follow-up, scheduling, invoicing, payment to re-marketing and upselling.

The reporting has admittedly been their weakness, but they have recently dedicated more resources to improving and adding reports as requested and needed.

Superb. We have looked at other software alternatives and nothing can touch SA in terms of comprehensive capabilities, flexibility and automations. The price is outstanding for all of the funcionality.

We completely run the business using Service Autopilot. Without it I would have to hire at least two more office staff and shudder at the thought of all the mistakes that we would potentially make since SA does a lot of our work automatically.

I really wish I could build custom reports easily.

We had to 'jump right in" and start using Service Autopilot in May of 2012 after our old scheduling software crashed during the middle of our busiest season! The customer service department had us up and running in a few days and we were on our way to making schedules again. They helped us set up our entire company, build packages, and train us all at the same time, understanding that we were in an emergency. However, that same urgency for customer service has continued to be provided to us after almost 3 years! It is hard to determine what is Service Autopilot's best feature, but their customer service department is certainly up at the top. Quick response times and the helpful attitude of each customer service agent makes it obvious that this company's priority is their users. As a middle-aged user, I tend to get set in my ways with how my screens look, the process I use to do daily tasks, and am a little slower than I used to be in picking up new ways of doing things. It is probably easier for the younger user to catch on when new updates are made and features added, but in the end the realization that the software is only getting better makes the updates worth it. And as mentioned before, the customer service agents are always there to help those who are "a little slower" than the rest! My most favorite feature is the fact that I can control my business from anywhere in the world. As a frequent out-of-country traveler, I am now able to schedule, close jobs, keep track of my employees, and send out bills all while in another country. I no longer have the feeling that my business is crashing down while I am gone, and I can be enjoying my time outside the country and only my staff knows I am gone! I can confidently say that this software is one of the most powerful tools a business owner can have to organize, streamline, and take control of their business. I have used 2 other big-name scheduling programs, and Service Autopilot has exceeded my expectations in what a piece of software can do. My business is running more efficiently and I have been able to back away from daily operations and concentrate on the 'big picture' instead. I am excited at where my company is going and I finally have time to plan and take it there!

It does the most of the basics and has an awesome upside. Like the cloud based, the vision of it, and potential to make a huge difference. The customer service is pretty good and responsive.

It is somewhat buggy but had gotten a lot better. They work on it a lot to improve. The reports have a lot to be desired. It would be nice to have ToDo and Job notifications / texts based on time / date. Tracking and feedback on suggestions for improvements and requests would be nice.

I plan on changing after this landscaping season

The map measure feature works well. Everything in one place

The integration to Quickbooks on line always has issues balance between programs are always wrong. There is no consistentce between functions. Instead of helping manage my business I spend my day managing the software. The issues with this program would take me all day to list. Then they try and sell you additional stuff when the current stuff does not work right. Here is one example if you pause a customers service from the Master job but the job was already dispatched it would still go out to the field even though the Master job was on pause.

We started using this in 2015. Many of the features that were rolled out since are not useable by us, or are too expensive for the value. Known bugs have not been worked out, such as the 5+ year problem with download XLS files on a Mac. The biggest problem is that the mobile app hasn't been restructured in the time we have used it. Even in 2015, the mobile app was nearly unusable, and it really hasn't changed. The potential for making mistakes in scheduling jobs is high. These user mistakes can lead to jobs simply disappearing, or unable to be found. We run a fast and furious company, and software needs to be bulletproof and easy to use; but Service Autopilot takes a lot of concentration and time to be sure you are doing things correctly. It is a complex piece of software, and has many awesome features. But if the features don't work properly, then. it is unusable. In fact, their latest release, V3, is a disaster. The interface is unforgivingly bewildering. We have tried to use this software effectively, but can no longer wait for the 5 years old bugs to be fixed.

Full set of features, complex customizations, good form builder; complex scheduling; great customer service;

Poor execution of good features; atrocious mobile app; buggy interface; slow loading interface; downloaded xls reports don't work with OSX or iOS; style sheets look 20 years old; frustrating to work with in the field ; Service Autopilot is partially owned by a payments company that does not have a competitive fee structure for small companies.

After submitting a solid dozen or so "Trouble tickets" for them to look into "Fixing" issues.... nothing ever comes of them. Its become quite the joke. It gets old. They are always pushing new features, in order to up the amount they can charge. They are fairly expensive compared to many others, but I was willing to pay whatever I needed to, in order to run an efficient company. With all of the issues they have, they fall flat. Oh, and they are upping their prices again in 2 months. I can't even justify the thousands I pay them already per year! So we are changing companies. Hopefully we will have better luck this go around.

Feature packed, routing, assigning jobs to crews, client data etc

Theres too many to count. Its become a joke around the office. The software is glitchy, and after 3 years of using it, we continue to find issue after issue. Payments that were entered somehow vanished, basic things such as being able to search for payments or other data is sometimes lacking as well. They seem to be in a HUGE rush to push the latest NEW FEATURE, that they never get any of the old features solidified. The snow plowing side of the software is completely different than the lawn side, which is very odd and requires learning 2 different ways of creating routes and dispatching crew etc.

False promises sums up SA. They a company break almost once a day week and always seems to be when you need to call them. And every time you do call them they are condescending like nothing could ever be wrong or incorrect about SA.

Hard to find what I like about it now. Every feature I liked in 2014 is either not completed or half way working

Without writing a book. SA is full of broken features that never get finished and they move on to the next shiny buzzword like 'Automation'. Reports have to be the 2nd worst of the software, my excel is better. #1 is invoicing. If a customer pays a partial amount to an invoice I can't apply that amount only a full amount. So when the customer applies the remainder. I create another invoice for that amount, and applied the previous amount to the original invoice that I lowered to show it was paid. etc etc

I was first attracted to this company because they are very experienced in my line of work and do understand what we need from a very hands on point of view. There attitude toward customer service has taught me a lot about what it take to keep clients happy and coming back for more.

The dispatch board is laid out so you can customize the view you need of your work by client, status, resources assigned etc. It allows you to read notes and see pictures from the field in real time and correspond with your supervisors efficiently. The custom invoice templates are great and the fact that it syncs with Quick Books has reduced the time we spend billing customers. The Client screens allow us to keep track of every estimate, service and communication. Service Autopilot is capable of retain detailed info about each property and all job history. The training videos are great and the help staff is very polite and patient when you call with questions.

There is not much to dislike about Service Autopilot. It has been a little slow, but since it is cloud based software it could be my ISP or something else. They have made great improvements in this area.

We started using Service Autopilot in January 2016. Service Autopilot has been a wonderful tool for streamlining the maintenance aspects of our business from scheduling to billing. The integrated mapping service makes it a breeze to modify existing routes. Scheduling changes are accomplished with just a few clicks. I love the budgeted vs actual job hours feature as it allows us to see which jobs and or crews are most profitable. My favorite feature is that billing is literally done with the push of a button. No more long weekends or translating spreadsheets to send out invoices! The mobile app has been an invaluable tool for logging labor in real time and tracking crew location. I love the United States based customer service. The Service Autopilot customer support unit is always courteous and knowledgeable. Additionally, there are online training videos available which are always continually updated. Service Autopilot made implementation of their software as easy as possible with their extremely helpful and patient launch and implementation staff. I look forward to learning more features of Service Autopilot to help make our company even more profitable in 2017! Renee Linkner Lawnovations Office Manager Tulsa OK

Dispatching Crew Management Mobile Reporting

When we started our lawn care company, everything was manual. We made our mowing routes in excel spreadsheets, hand wrote our invoices, were not very good at tracking accounts receivable (we likely lost a lot of money on this), etc. Since using Service AutoPilot our company has made a 180. We are able to use the app for our crews, invoices are created automatically when the job is completed, our A/R is better than it ever has been (with help from also being able to accept credit cards through the program)! Service AutoPilot has helped us tremendously and while there are small things that could be improved (certain reports being available is the biggest thing), the positives outweigh the negatives. I would 100% recommend this company to any service based business.