Total Office Manager is Awesome!

We have been using TOM since 2007, at that time i personally had no software training and was a working owner that still had my tool belt on. It was very simple to learn this program and that can be an issue i know for owners that transition form the field to the office.

Pros

The ease of the program is outstanding, we can be working on an accounts payable entry and within a couple of clicks we will be on our schedule board setting up a service call. The program has everything in one place so there is no importing or exporting to get your accounting to show up, truly a simple program that does everything we need it to.

Cons

I cant think of anything that we do not like, there are a few reports that we do outside of the program but we are working on our end to be able to do them inside of TOM. The ability is there but the way we setup our technician time tracking is limiting us form getting good billable reports, again this is something that we did when we set the program up.

Tough Selection In A Crowded Market

We took our time and investigated every single software on the market for a in home service business. In the end I arrived at a simple conclusion. Software is either flashy and sparkly with some serious back end problems - or solid and useful without the flash and glitz. Total Office Manger is the latter. The team at Aptora listens and works with you to make the transition as thorough as possible. It's not easy, but it's the right decision. They are always listening and creating new features to meet the ever changing demands of our business.

Pros

Total Office Manager is a robust solution to a complex web of business problems. We finally found a software that integrates all of the individual issues surrounding our business into one application.

Cons

Like any good addition to our business, this took time. I expected to take a full year to integrate such a comprehensive software into our lives. We were under the one year mark, but we are still adding more features and individual settings every week.

Administrative Review

We use the mobile application and has saves many hours daily for office and field staff. Needs work but Aptora is updating frequently.

Pros

I feel software is quit easy to train new staff in their field of use. Support is excellent and updates are very frequent. Seems that Aptora management is responsive to the changing requirements of clients

Cons

Inventory is the weakest section of Aptora. It has improved considerably over the past couple of years. Aptora does not have ability to buy in one unit of measure and sell in another. Pipe is often purchased by 20' length and sold by foot. this is not possible in Aptora. Managing specific vender part numbers for venders is difficult requiring multiple screens and many keystrokes. Viewing the different vender parts numbers is almost impossible. Pictures of product should be on main page of parts form, but requires several keystroke to view.

Easy to Use and Learn System

There have been some issues with e-mailing through Total Office Manager and Outlook. I know that it is being worked on and will be corrected soon but it has caused some issues in the office.

Pros

It is very easy to use and can be adjusted to how you want to use it. You create and set it up how it best suits you.

Cons

Some of the reports are difficult to find at the beginning. You have to play around a lot to find exactly what you are looking for.

Many Features, More Needed

With our previous software we could not view history of items or invoices with ease or even at all. Aptora we can find quickly if something hasn't been invoiced to a customer or anything else really. There are many features we have yet to start using even after almost 3 years, but within 6 months we were almost fully up and running when we first started. I feel the company listens to our requests for features, we would just like to see them come to life a little sooner.

Pros

My favorite thing about Aptora is it's ease. Within just a couple clicks you can find the history on almost anything. This abilities allows us to ensure everything is being taken care of from start to finish.

Cons

1) Average cost. The software does not allow us to chose a different method like LIFO and FIFO. Not every company works on Average Cost and it causes a LOT of extra work on our end to keep it "fixed" as we work off LIFO costs. 2) Proper inventory management between branches. It's a little convoluted the way we have to keep up with it.