The problem
In a July heat wave, no-cool calls pile up faster than trucks can reach them. The dispatcher reshuffles a whiteboard all day and fields calls from homeowners asking when the tech will arrive. If that costs the dispatcher 1.5 hours a day over 22 working days, that's 33 hours a month; at $22£17€20A$32C$31 an hour, about $730£549€653A$1,054C$1,032.
What the AI does
Service Fusion includes scheduling and dispatching on every plan, with drag-and-drop scheduling, technician availability at a glance and an unscheduled pool you drag new calls from. Customers can track their tech, with an ETA, the tech's name and photo, which answers most where-is-my-tech calls before they're made. Text alerts are included on every plan, and every plan has unlimited users, so every tech and the office are on it at no extra cost.
A worked example
An illustrative example built from typical figures, not a named business.
A five-truck HVAC company in Houston dispatches 40 to 60 calls a day in summer from a whiteboard and the dispatcher's phone. They move to Service Fusion Starter, put every tech on the mobile app and send customers the tech-tracking link when the tech heads out.
Before
About 1.5 hours a day of whiteboard reshuffling and ETA calls
After
Calls dragged from the unscheduled pool to whoever is free; ETA calls down, saving about 1 hour a day
What it's worth
About $480£361€429A$693C$678 a month of dispatcher time saved, against $208£156€186A$300C$294 to $245£184€219A$354C$346 for Service Fusion Starter. That's 1 hour a day over 22 working days at an assumed $22£17€20A$32C$31 an hour. Fitting in an extra call on busy days comes on top.
How to set it up
- Choose Service Fusion Starter ($208£156€186A$300C$294 a month billed annually, $245£184€219A$354C$346 monthly), with unlimited users.
- Load your techs and their normal hours, and decide which call types go to which techs (installs, commercial, residential service).
- Put every new call into the unscheduled pool first, then drag it to the tech who's free and closest.
- Send customers the tech-tracking link when the tech is on the way, and only to customers who agreed to texts, following the TCPA.
- After the first month, ask the dispatcher which calls still come in about arrival times and fix the gap.
What goes wrong
- GPS fleet tracking is an add-on with no public price. The tech-tracking link depends on the tech's phone, so check it works before relying on it.
- Annual billing is one payment up front. Try monthly first if you're not sure.
- A schedule board doesn't fix a short-staffed week. Decide in advance which calls take priority (elderly customers, no cooling at all) and tell the dispatcher.
- If your techs won't update job status on the app, the board shows the wrong picture and the ETA link is wrong too.