Let's be honest here. Buying lawn maintenance software is an investment. It's an investment worth researching even if you may not be fully convinced at this moment in time. There are so many options and aspects to software in the green industry that we recommend starting as soon as the thought crosses your mind. We have decided upon these 5 tips to help you buy smart.
1. Understand What Aspects of software you will use most
Before making any big purchase, it's essential that you understand exactly what you need. A good lawn maintenance software will have two aspects to it. An office side and a field side. The reason these two are so important is because these two sides of a lawn maintenance business must be able to communicate and always be on the same page. The biggest issue coming from maintenance businesses these days seems to be focused around scheduling and billing. Just as an example, the ability to schedule recurring maintenance services with software makes the scheduling issue all but disappear.
2. Know what questions to ask
To me, the most important questions are based around cost and setup. Purchasing lawn maintenance software is a big investment. Once you know that you want to take the plunge, it’s time to start researching vendors. This is potentially the most important step in this whole process. The most important question you could ask yourself is ‘how will this benefit my business?’. Because that’s the entire reason for installing a software. You will also need to know things like: who is going to be responsible for training? What’s the internal communication plan?
3. Research the pricing models
We have mentioned the importance of understanding pricing and price models for software. The reason this is so important is because fully understanding the cost of your purchase lies in the way it is priced. On the next page are some typical pricing options you’ll see in the marketplace. Pricing models can get quite complicated after all the add-ons, maintenance fees and the like. If you do your research, you should be on track to knowing the best model for your company.
4. Compare server-based and cloud-based software
Typically, there are two options when buying software. One is installing on premise software to your server or local computers and the other is to purchase cloud-based software, like Gmail. Just as with everything, you need to research which type of software will work best for your business.
There are always pros and cons, you will not find a perfect software in itself, the goal here is to find a software that is perfect for your particular lawn maintenance software.
5. Weigh the pros and cons
We are constantly talking about the benefits of software, but like with anything, there are cons to everything. If you don't do your research and know what commitments you are ready to make, you should start weighing your options. Some things to keep in mind are the monetary investment, time commitment and implementation challenges. These are things that will come along software implementation. Don't let this throw you however, if you are fighting an uphill battle towards efficiency, software could be your answer.
For a full guide on buying lawn maintenance software, download our ebook!
