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.

Flexible, Feature Rich, Mobile User Support for Field Techs, Great Value, Solid Support

I have installed numerous, integrated software systems for various type of companies (manufacturers, professionals, educational organizations, service companies, insurance, etc.) over the past 30 years. I understand the VALUE they bring to the table, and I understand the difficulty of launching company-wide software systems. The long-term gain is well worth the cost of short-term pain. TOM is a tool that will enable you to examine many aspects of your business. It will provide you with data that allows you to make informed decisions regarding your company's current performance and future direction. The most important benefit that TOM brought us is the ability to perform job costing. It has enabled us to truly figure out what types of work we perform well, and what types we don't perform well. Additionally, the ability to stop using multiple pieces of non-integrated software from different vendors to manage our business dispatching, quoting, inventory control, financials, field service tech invoicing and handle all of those functions in one package is a HUGE advantage. There is a steep learning curve with a software system this complex, but the end results is very, very good. Aptora is a great company with which to partner, especially when you are working to grow your business as we are. I highly recommend Total Office Manager and it's companion products such as Mobile II and Form Builder. Their system is a great value.

Pros

Total Office Manager (TOM) is a feature-rich software system. It is a fully integrated system that won't require me to run multiple, discrete pieces of software to manage my business. We can manage our inventory in multiple warehouses, process our financials (including job cost analysis), link our field techs directly into our financial and inventory systems in real-time, handle all of our dispatching and scheduling needs, and easily export data into Excel for in-depth analysis. All that and more wrapped up in on package!

Cons

Because of the flexibility of the system, it takes a while to get all of the settings and features figured out in order to best fit your business. It was a bit of a long-term struggle, at times, to get there, but we are now pleased with the end result (have been using TOM for 15 months).

Aptora, good and not so good.

I still like the program because I see the potential. After having the program over 5 years, we still only use a percentage of the program that we should but again, that is mostly on us. I have hired a few people that their main objective was to learn and utilize the program. We are getting better but it is taking too long. We did look at other software this past winter that was far easier to use but is limited in what it could do. I do wonder if sometimes we are too optimistic in thinking one day we will use it as it should be. But were not ready to quit yet.

Pros

It has a ton of potential but is not for everyone. If utilized as designed, it is a great tool to help run your business efficiently and track financials.

Cons

My bookkeeper and wife, who used to do our books before she was deployed with the US Navy, are not to thrilled with the accounting portion. They are ok with it, but like QB a lot better. I have no say since I am not versed in either. As well, we are too slow to utilize many of the functions due to lack of training, which I blame mostly on us. Your cost to train is rather expensive so I would like to see either a 3rd party trainer available or even an open forum amongst other users of your product. You do have a lot of glitches also but to be fair, seem to take care of them rather quickly.

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.

Oh how things change! Was great while paying the money, but now, crash and burn sucka!

At the beginning TOM was great, sure it had small issues that I was certain would be addressed and everything would improve, but that is all wrong.. They spent lots of time and money making a stupid message reporting system so they could search if anybody was texting a bad word to somebody else, and you could make a pie chart of how many times somebody said one stupid word or another LoL. Meanwhile, TOM continued to get more bloated, top heavy, and cluttered with more crap and less organization. I made countless pleas to consolidate and organize menu's to be more consistent with each other even gave detailed mathematical examples of how many hours over the course of a year could be saved to make the software better and how to better streamline menus, but excuses were made to avoid any improvements after I proved without any doubt efficiency could be increased. Aptora wasnt interested. Eventually I was having problems with my TOM and I wanted to upgrade to the latest version. The rep I talked to was a nube, It was a Friday and I had a lot of catch up work, so they took my money and had no more interest in making sure anything worked.. I told nube dont run off till the registration error is fixed. Nube told me it will be later, after everybody is gone. Well no it didnt. I was screwed all weekend scrambling with work arounds and Monday they called ready to help, but I was up all night all weekend and demanded a refund, now they are pissed and dont want to take my money anymore..

Pros

Local server, can do a lot, have loads of things on one screen by having line items occupy a small space rather than most cloud or others that little information occupies much screen real estate.

Cons

Cluttered, chaotic GUI with the right click menus inconsistent with each other. Mobile app operates differently than Total office manager. For example, when making a change to an invoice in TOM, TOM then goes behind our back and completes the invoice without saying or asking if we want the invoice to be completed.. I have constantly suggested to fix the problem, it has cost us much, but they said thats the way it is suppose to operate while Mobile on the other hand, will ask you with a pop up window, if you want the invoice to be completed, I suppose thats the way mobile is suppose to operate as well, completely different than TOM, When I say "mobile" its like a new arm to TOM that likes to slap you in the face occasionally.. TOM and Aptora mobile compete with each other rather than integrate with each other.. The schedule board for example, there is a new and an old, you can use either one, they work quite differently from each other.. There is an old schedule board, which is a lot faster than the new one and integrates well with TOM, and the new one seems like its a completely different transition into a completely different operating system. The SQL server setup utility is pretty much a complete fraud by claiming capabilities it does NOT have.. Not sure why that utility keeps getting worse over time, but not a single attempt has been made to fix the "enterprise server utility" but rather work arounds have been created without instructions..

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.

T.O.M. over all program use age for end user

We had T.O.M. then went to another program and recently returned to T.O.M. With any program there are pros and cons but T.O.M. is so much more adaptable/customization than the other programs we research or used.

Pros

T.O.M. is an all in one program that you don't need add-on programs. The customization for the user is a gem that is over looked unless you have used other systems. This is a tool that should be much more highlighted verse being at the mercy of the program creator and have to adapt to their way of thinking your business should be run. Search ability for inventory is another gem is not used in other programs and seeing the history of an item. That is such a over looked needed item that other programs do not have. The reimbursable feature is AWESOME and very needed for special jobs

Cons

Customer:Job List Search you have to select specifically what you want to search for. Example: If you are looking for an address, you can't just enter the address and it searches the data base. You have to specify if it is a work address or a billing address. This hinders the CSR for assisting customers quickly as the customer calling is a new owner of the property and not sure who the information falls under. This is especially a problem when the property is sold at auction or has new owners and not had service in a few years.

All Inclusive

I have been using TOM for almost 7 years now, and I am still learning little things to make the program go a little simpler. I have been teaching the other people in the office all the tricks that tech support has given me, and it has really uped our production (office wise). A great product, well worth the purchase!

Pros

I like the fact that it has everything under one program. Dispatching, estimates, A/P, A/R. Letters, I could go on. It really is helpful in all the behind the scenes of our business.

Cons

Not a big fan of not being able to set certain preferences on how things are done. I'd like to be able to go to an invoice on any given day then hit a button to go forward or back. Same with Work orders.

COMPLETE PROJECT

FOR THE MOST PART MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN VERY POSITIVE WORKING WITH TOTAL OFFICE MANAGER

Pros

ABILITY TO TIE YOUR PROJECTS TO TOGETHER FROM QUOTING TO SELLING TO PURCHASING TO INSTALLATION. IT MAKES IT VERY EASY TO TRACK YOUR PROJECT AND SEE WHERE IT IS THRU OUT THE LENGTH OF YOUR PROJECT. VERY EASY TO TRACK AND RESEARCH SOMETHING WITH YOUR PROJECT

Cons

WHEN CHANGING SOMETHING ON YOUR ESTIMATES YOU ARE NOW ASKED TO LOOK UP AND RE-LOOK UP WITH A NEW SCREEN WHERE BEFORE YOU COULD JUST CHANGE AND MOVE ON IN THAT SAME SCREEN

All in one, fully loaded

As Somebody who has been dealing with dispatching software since the mid 90s and then management software as a whole from 2001, I have tried many many different options. Aptora is my personal favorite. It has a very easy 3rd party billing like Ive never seen. Over all, even with the little things that bug me, I cant see ever changing. Updates are good and improvements are continuous and enhancements are well thought out.

Pros

I like its completness, and the fact I can buy it and not rent it except for the map, I dont rent that, but I think there is a very very small single digit rental fee just to pay google last time I checked. Business coaches and franchises always say when you start a business think of an exit strategy, but if they recommend something like service Titan which screwed up my entire business, I was forced to use it for franchise by dwyer group, dont get me started, or any other cloud based service management software, then they are hypocrites. Cloud based software had my business hostage, I dont care what they offer, nothing is good enough to allow someone else to posses and charge me rent for my heart of operations. I could infiltrate a cloud based software company, set up shop next to a successful business, spy on everything they do, and then put them out of business because they might have been smart in business but stupid with software by using the cloud. Dont get me started. With aptora it has its own exit strategy built in, when u execute exit strategy Aptora adds a serious value to the business as a whole to be an asset and NOT a cloud based liability. I suspect franchises dont say that because they want to watch your every move. If I had a business coach recommending cloud based software, I would get a different one. Yeah they say u can download database but just wait till u try it, then try to organize it or do anything with it LoL. I can also see profit per tech

Cons

There are a few lose ends with so much going on, no big deal, just a little bit of too much stuff on the mobile for techs to look at, much of the menu items will never be used by techs, but thats not a deal breaker. Picture upload from mobile should be a background operation rather than having to wait for upload to complete.. Total office manager still has a little bit of a DOS feel to it and doesnt have the option to save the desktop so when signing in we can get all of our favorite windows up and in place. And when making adjustments to an invoice, even just the memo, total office manager will complete the work order without anybody knowing unlike mobile will ask first if u want to mark work order as complete with a pop window, so a little inconsistency in operation. And renting the mapping goes against non cloud based concept in my opinion.. I think Aptora should set up a deal with Garmin and dump google maps completely. Garmin owns the skies in gps, they arent going anywhere. At least all the cons are minor small things.

Have Been Using It For Over 7 Years

Our overall experience has been incredible, and I highly recommend it.

Pros

Total Office Manager has drastically improved the efficiency of our business. The all-in-one functionality is the biggest advantage. We previously used 3 different programs before switching years ago. It is extremely user friendly, and we have found that new employees catch on very quickly. If you have a desire to learn more about any feature there are numerous training videos available. Their tech support staff are easy to get in touch with, and the people great to deal with, should an issue arise.

Cons

As others have indicated already the frequent updates periodically cause an issue with other functions. However I greatly appreciate that they are continuing to make the software better for the users, and they are quick to respond and correct the issues.

Updates are Rough

It seems to be a good system and has many capabilities. But the constant issues with each update can be crippling, and takes us extra time to back track and find the issues and point them out so we do not mess up the data in the software. Knowing that at any update something can change the data or how a feature works is very concerning.

Pros

There are many options for this software.

Cons

I dislike that every single update changes something in the software. The coding always has some sort of adverse change in the software. And we have to find out what happens after things have changed through the update, where we are always questioning the validity of the data inside the software. Then when we call, the answer is always.... have you updated to the next current one? It should be fixed through that.

Love Aptora - heavy user - know the shortcomings as well as the many, many advantages

Pros

Access to data in reportable, usable formats is superior to Quickbooks, ESC, and many other contractor service/construction industry programs. Get around the system lightning fast with logical links to all things customer. Data mining is so simplified, can find the needle in the haystack with minimal effort and can perform complex analysis from the logically organized data records. True multi-user systems - no kick-outs (unless performing a major data upload) several people can work on payroll at once allowing group/batch processing. We are an extremely busy and growing office and the flexibility and depth is just fantastic.

Cons

Not thrilled with canned reports - mostly the financial level. Lack flexibility but have been able to overcome most issues with no problem. Wish customer support was 24/7 or had a tiered service-level, but we make it work.

TOM review

We are processing all service call work orders and invoicing through TOM. It's been working fairly well and is nice to be able to email invoices direct to customers through TOM and Mobile application.

Pros

It has flat rate and t&m capabilities for techs in the field via Mobile application. We had used Aptora's flat rate program via printed books in the past, which was a plus for our techs, and TOM integrates with Flat Rate Plus.

Cons

Training of the techs has been rocky; I would recommend having an Aptora rep come to your business to train in person. We tried live training via web, but found it was difficult to keep all techs at same pace to keep up with trainer.

Very good program with lots of information and reports to pull from

The benefits of this software is the fact that we don't have to use several different programs for different departments of the company. Everyone can use the same program and it makes it easier.

Pros

I like how all the departments work together and everyone can use the same program at the same time.

Cons

The thing I like least about this program is after an update we don't realize the mistakes until we've used it for several days and sometimes weeks before finding a mistake in the data.

Total Office Manager Review

So far, the software has demanded a tremendous amount of time devoted to troubleshooting and fixing bug problems. There is lots of room for user error and redundant data entry. Support is hit and miss, depending on who responds. Very frustrating!

Pros

The flexibility to customize the software to operate around how you want your business to operate, not the other way around. Integration with accounting within the software.

Cons

Lots of bugs. They also dont test updates very well before sending them out, which only causes more frustrations with staff. Often times an update will fix one bug but create new bugs. Retail prices mysteriously change on their own which is very disturbing.

Service friendly

Pros

We love how well rounded this software is. To be able to have so much of the customer's information and history all in one place is vital for us. There is so much offered with this software and we have not begun to implement it all.

Cons

The accounting end is not as user friendly as other softwares.

I love our Aptora program

Our company used to track everything with paper and our memory. As you know, when you are growing reminders help your company run more efficiently.

Pros

Everything you need and more to run a successful, growing business is right in this software! Our company expanded and we could not have grown so smoothly without our Aptora program.

Cons

It is tricky learning all of the different options Aptora has because there is a lot of information, but technical support (especially our rep) is SO HELPFUL!

Review

Not pleased with this program at all. We are actually looking for another program that will fit our company.

Pros

Invoicing is simple. Writing checks is simple after they added customer vendor beside the name.

Cons

The program has too many bugs with updates. You cant have colored or bold text especially in customer notes. The spell check is horrible even after we have added our own words that are truly words. The layout of our invoices and estimate is horrible. After an update it may just start using categories we dont use.

The software covers everything our industry needs day to day.

It is a great thing to have the entire business operation in one software package.

Pros

The software is flexible and extensive, covers everything from service agreements to business reports that make sense for our industry.

Cons

The software is very large in what it offers so time commitment to learn sometimes is difficult.

Great Product

Great. I enjoy being able to connect to my guys out in the field with Aptora Mobile!

Pros

I like that it is an all in one HVAC service software. It is the only program I have to open for scheduling, and accounting. It is very nice!

Cons

The cost is a little high to maintain from year to year.

Total Office Manager Review

I like that everything is in one program.

Pros

The schedule board and the accounting/invoicing

Cons

Too many problems with updates, generating statements, reports. We would really like for the calls on the schedule board to be color-coded when invoiced in some way.

Easy enough

There are helpful people within company. I just wish that there were fewer bugs in the software

Pros

I like that it is designed for contractors.

Cons

There are multiple bugs, sales rep seems to be non existent and the yearly upkeep charge for no support but updates is high

Outgrowing Aptora

We started using TOP several years ago and while it was a good change at the time, we have outgrown it. Aptora is made for retail work, and is simply a bad fit for long-term commercial projects.

Pros

Aptora's greatest strength is how information dominoes. Once you have a client set up, making an estimate, work order, or PO with the same information is quick and consistent. I also like that there is a mobile platform for field employees.

Cons

The software is extremely unreliable. With every update, a new feature (a needed report, for example) becomes unusable and disrupts our SOP. Job costing is slow and tedious, and does not give PMs accurate, real-time job performance.

TOM = Total Office Mess!

Very, very poor. We're been using this program since 2011 and they still haven't solve basic inventory accounting problems/bugs. We totally regret going with this company.

Pros

Advertised Inventory Features - unfortunately most are inaccurate and/or do not function properly or accurately.

Cons

- WIP account value changes for past locked out date - Inventory Trial Balance does not match Inventory Valuation Reports. (We cannot trust our inventory financials with this program!) - For the longest time their Inventory Assemblies Module did not work and have false inventory values. In working with Technical Support they admitted that they had a fundamental flaw in their programming that they were struggling to identify and fix. - We spent tens of thousands of dollars using out Accountant and in-house bookkeeping to correct doctors values reported by this program. - After all this, Aptora is making us pay for Technical Support to correct bugs in their software that we've identified.

Aptora is a fantastic system for our business

Total office integration

Pros

We like most the mobile version for our technicians to use in the field. The form builer options are very helpful. The desktop version is powerful and robust and handles all aspects of our office integration

Very User Friendly

Pros

The ease of use and how quickly the software operates. As soon as I have a concern it gets addresses. Customer service is very efficient.

Cons

Sometimes when updates are released I feel like they sometimes cause problems.

TOM Review

My total experience with TOM is good, however, there are some areas that require extra effort to learn and are not that user friendly.

Pros

How Technical issues are resolved quickly

Cons

Do not like Navigating through the Mobile II

Overall really pleased!

Pros

Any thing you want to get to is just 3 clicks away

Cons

Need more help, training for such a robust product cant send all 30 employees to training and group training is always productive

Total package, well worth it.

Pros

Accounting included, rather than "integrated". Drill down reporting. Logical flow of all major processes.

Cons

Software releases are common to other packages in the amount of errors.

Good stuff

Just quickly sets calls. Keeps track of Tecks and calls.

Pros

Run without me. The benchmarking is very good

Cons

Mobile is 10% there. Every time updates are done locks up

Great software

Great folks to work with

Pros

flat rate, schedule board, and maintenance agreement consolidation is awesome

Cons

There is nothing that we do not like about this software

Total Office Manager Review

Pros

Multi function ability, ease of use and reporting

Cons

AP part such as paying bills is slow, updates ultimately causes information to change

Aptora Review

Pros

Easy to use. Scheduling is great. Very convenient.

Cons

Spinning wheel of death once you start to type. Software easily confused

Support

Pros

The software in itself is a good product. Easy to use

Cons

Freezing, speed and customer support. Response time for tickets is slow and paid for a product 5 months ago and still do not have it finished

SLOW

We'll stick with APTORA since we're so invented in it. There are other softwares available but none do everything that APTORA does. You'd have to use at least two different ones.

Pros

This software can do SO much! For a service company with multiple field techs it is great! It brought us up to the modern age with digital invoicing in the field and real time inventory management.

Cons

It is slow! The queries, reports, item lists, just about anything that has to do with a data base is horrible! We've got so really high horsepower machines running this and it is always either crashing or hanging!

Aptora TOM

Pros

Ease of Use & Functionality easy to navigate well thought out

Cons

Support is slow to respond. When support is reached they are helpful. One time I waited most of the day, did not get to the call fast enough called back immediately and had to wait another half day!

Can not use the software

Terriable

Pros

I have nothing go to say about this software and the tech support is no good.

Cons

It is on such old code 3 IT guys could not get it running. It has been sitting in a box since we purchased it. We were offered to send out the owner to get it going but it cost a 1/3 of what the software cost which was very expencive.

HVAC company user

Pros

Easy to navigate and learn. For the most part it is user friendly.

Cons

There are speed bumps, definitely needs some work but with some adjustments can be a great product.