Trio Maintenance Ltd Testimonial

"Without Commusoft I would need at least another full-time staff member. Now I can spend time planning targets of our business."

“The main great thing about Commusoft is the fact that everything is in one. What is really important for us, is a software that delivers a great customer service and helps people out. If the software wouldn’t support us with this it would be a catastrophe. Because, imagine someone calls up because they’ve got no heating, no water – and you forget your appointment and they are sitting at home waiting for you. We need a software that’s reliable, keeping all of these things on record and Commusoft does exactly that.

What we love about Commusoft is the job scheduling, the customer database, and interaction with the engineers via the mobile app. The history that we’ve got – we know exactly what we’ve done at every customer’s house and we can see it in the office and engineers can see it on-site.”

“Before Commusoft, life was rather difficult. Keeping an eye on things when you’ve got hundreds of jobs going at the same time was an absolute nightmare. I am the office manager, and without Commusoft I would need at least another full-time staff member. Now I can spend time planning targets of our business and what strategic approach we’re taking for new things, because I don’t have to worry all the time about the on-going management, as a lot of it is done by the software for me.”

Julia Finch
Operations Director

"Commusoft has directly helped us take on more business and manage everything efficiently. We've seen so much growth!"

Director of Merit Facility Management, Ness Aguilar, sat down with us to discuss Commusoft’s impact on their operations since implementing our Customer Journey plan in 2022.

Why Commusoft?

From HVAC installations to plumbing repairs, pest control inspections, and more, Merit offers a wide range of services for customers. Ness outlines, “Our customer base consists of restaurants, apartment complexes, and commercial properties. We’re also getting into hospital facilities and some government facilities.”

To keep up with demand, Merit employs a variety of subcontractors. Ness and his team knew they needed a job management platform that could effortlessly organise their varied customer base and subcontractors.

He explains, “Out of all the demos that I did, Commusoft was the best and also the biggest. The deal breaker that made us go with Commusoft over any other software was the way the billing is set up.”

He continues,

“No other software has the ability for a Daily License, which was the most perfect thing. It’s the only thing that could work for us. Every other company wanted to charge us a set rate for the amount of users that were gonna be on the system. I wasn’t going be able to pay that because with how many subcontractors we work with right now. We work with 30 to 40.”

Commusoft differs by offering unique licensing options, including Daily, Rolling, and Contracted.

Offering Customer Self-Service Solutions

Facilities management is extremely competitive. After all, building managers want the very best communication and solutions for their facilities. Merit is able to stand apart by offering a self-service Customer Portal.

Ness explains,

“The biggest thing that really hooks them is the Customer Portal. Especially for restaurant customers that have multiple locations. For instance, we’re working with a company called Churches Texas Chicken, and they have multiple locations. I’m able to tell their regional manager, ‘Hey by using us you get a Customer Portal, and you can see all the different locations that you have. They’re all separate, but you can click into a specific location: Store Number One. And on there, it’ll show all the work that we’ve done at Store Number One, along with all the invoices and all the forms that you need.

‘You’re also able to give your managers access to that so they can also see what’s going on at that property. But the cool part about it is that you’re able to see all your different properties in one place’.

I tell them, ‘The more that you use us, the better. If you only use this for one service, you’ll still have all the information there, but it’s way more convenient if you’re using us for four different services instead of one because all the information is gonna be put into one place”.

Commusoft’s Customer Portal ensures Ness keeps commercial customers updated and encourages them to work Merit again and again.

He continues,

“The Customer Portal has allowed me to be able to focus on getting other jobs, opportunities, contracts and more. It’s freed me up from doing the bare minimum. When you’re stuck on responding to complaints or responding to simple requests that can be done in a more efficient manner, it takes away from your ability to grow or focus on other tasks.

I can focus on the things that really matter, like bringing us projects and talking to new customers. This is what will bring us more business, rather than just barely trying to keep up with the business that we already have.”

Ness is confident his team can stand apart from competitors: “Commusoft is able to put us ahead of everybody else that’s doing something similar because of the communication aspect alone!”

Perfecting Customer Communication

Updating and supporting customers is impossible without the right support. That’s why Merit Facility Management uses automated notifications and messages to keep each customer in the loop.

Ness outlines,

“Commusoft is so efficient when it comes to communicating for us, whether it’s emails, notifications, text messages, or the Customer Portal.

Customers are able to access everything; they don’t need to call us with any questions. I make sure I’m calling to touch base with them, just to make sure that they’re doing well. Even if there’s nothing wrong. I talk to customers in-person or over the phone and make sure that relationship is still there and going strong because Commusoft does such a great job of communicating with them.

It’s so smooth and convenient, it’s like the business is on autopilot! Honestly, I could not call them and they’ll still be fine because they’re getting all the communication they need. They’re almost self-sufficient, you know?”

Commusoft’s Alerts and Notifications remove the need to manually update customers. Automated reminders and messages ensure customers have access to the information they need, meaning Ness and his team can tackle higher-value tasks!

Capturing Data With Custom Forms

Ness’s contractors need to gather and record valuable information while on-site: “Custom Forms have been a massive help when comes to covering ourselves. It’s something that has been a godsend!”

Ness explains,

“For kitchen pest control, the restaurants are required to be given a form after the service has been completed for compliance reasons.

We, as a company, have to provide the Pest Control Report to the restaurant as proof of what we did. I was able to create a Custom Form listing all the chemicals somebody could use, the option for them to input the quantity of chemicals, and the different types of pests that they could be targeting.

Our pest control company goes ahead and does their service. Afterwards, they complete the pest control form. The customer, in their Customer Portal, can access that form when requested by a Health Inspector at any given moment.”

Commusoft’s Custom Forms empower Merit contractors to digitally capture valuable information, fulfil safety requirements, and complete inspection checklists directly from the job site.

Seamless Dispatching With Job Descriptions and User Groups

Stress-free job booking is essential for Merit’s operations. Ness walked us through two Commusoft features that have transformed scheduling and directly supported the business’s growth.

“Another feature is the ability to create job descriptions that are ready behind the scenes instead of having to input it manually. My scheduling department don’t have to worry about what the notes and price should be. Everything populates automatically whenever they select that job description.

The drag-and-drop ability on the scheduling has been so easy. Rescheduling something is the easiest thing ever because they can do it in two seconds. They just drag something and drop it!”

Commusoft’s Job Descriptions allow Merit’s office team to set details, like pricing for each service type they offer.

Pivoting to User Groups,

“Another thing that has helped us tremendously has been User Groups. We’re starting to not only do work in San Antonio, but also Houston. We’re also starting to do work in Austin because the word is spreading!

Commusoft’s User Groups allowed me to be able to separate these vendors and subcontractors per city. I have User Groups set up as ‘East Texas’, ‘West Texas’, ‘Central’, etc. Now, whenever my scheduling department get a dispatch call from Houston, they make sure they select the user group ‘Houston’.

“This allows them to see all the technicians only in Houston. That way they’re not dispatching somebody from San Antonio to do work in Houston. Some Commusoft features might be small. But if they’re not there, you realize how big of a problem it could cause!”

He continues,

“So in Houston, let’s just say for plumbing, I might get six to 10 calls per month. With Commusoft, I’m able to find a subcontractor out there who wants to do the jobs. I’m able to dispatch them just for those calls in Houston, and I don’t have to turn work down. Commusoft allows me to be able to take any ticket that I need because it’s so easy to add subcontractors with a daily license!”

Commusoft’s User Groups feature ensures the best technician is selected for the task at hand. This removes much of the guesswork out of scheduling, meaning jobs can get booked faster!

Expanding with Commusoft

Growth was always in the cards. However, with Commusoft supporting the team, Merit Facility Management was able to accelerate their growth, while remaining in complete control.

Ness details,

“We wouldn’t have been able to expand as fast as we have without Commusoft. It’s allowed us to get a foothold in other cities without having to wait until we have a lot of business there.

Everything’s just very efficient and organized. We’re confident in being able to take on more customers. Commusoft allows our sales team to help grow us. Also, with any word-of-mouth business, we’re able to take jobs on and not turn them down because we’re confident in knowing that we have a system that can handle a lot of customers.”

He continues,

“We had the idea, the goal, the ambition, and the drive. We had the team. But without this platform, we wouldn’t have been able to be as convenient to our customers. We wouldn’t have been able to do what we do without Commusoft. I’m forever grateful, and we plan on continuing to grow.

One thing that we love about Commusoft is that you’re always trying to better yourselves just like we are. That’s one thing you do that no other company that I know of does: nobody does that. Everybody says, ‘This is our software, this is our platform. Take it or leave it. We’re not making any adjustments’, and they just collect money on it. The fact that Commusoft is always willing and wanting to adjust, that’s one thing we just love.”

Commusoft is always working to better our solutions. We listen to our clients when developing new features, and regularly release requested tools and functions that our client base has suggested.

Ness concludes,

“The growth that we’ve seen in this past year wouldn’t have happened without Commusoft. It’s been tremendous. I’m curious to see where we’re gonna be at two years from now, three years from now! Every step of the way we’re gonna be growing. It’s exciting to see!”

Ness Aguilar
Director

"I can increase my revenue by 14% by the end of this year. When you look at that in terms of monetary value, it's a no brainer."

Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating, located in Bath, was started in 2016 by Managing Director, Nicola Seviour.

Nicola and her team were initially using a custom-designed job management software that was tailored to their business, however, this proved problematic. “It didn’t work. It wasn’t reliable and that hindered us right from the beginning,” says Nicola. She adds, “We were growing and I knew that we were in real trouble if we didn’t have a piece of software that could support us.” It was time for a change.

Moving to Commusoft

Nicola spent two weeks talking to people, searching the internet, and phoning software companies. She admits, “I wasn’t actually looking at Commusoft at all. But by chance I went on a review site and saw all the really good reviews and thought, ‘Let’s see what this is all about!’”

After speaking to the Commusoft team, Nicola trialed the software and before long, Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating were signed up and starting their training. When asked about the training process, Nicola replied, “It was amazing. I think your client services team are a real asset to the company. They were incredibly patient and their delivery was incredible.”

But it wasn’t just the training that got Nicola and her team off to a good start. Commusoft’s interface and user-friendly design helped too. “The thing that really grabs me with Commusoft is how it looks – it’s all very user-friendly and that helped me feel more confident on it right from day one,” explains Nicola.

Commusoft’s emphasis on after-sales service has also been critical. “I don’t feel that Commusoft has just sold me this software and told me to get on with it,” says Nicola, “I feel like you’ve backed us up and continue to support us as we grow. And that’s really important.”

Intelligent Scheduling and a 14% Increase in Revenue

From the start, Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating chose to implement Commusoft’s intelligent scheduling, which can radically improve job booking with optimised appointment suggestions.

For Nicola’s team, this has been one of the most important features, as she makes clear, “I love it –  I think for us and for me, it’s one of the best features”. Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating now use it 99% of the time when booking jobs into the diary. On the challenges of manual scheduling, Nicola elaborates, “If my engineers are driving all over Bath for their jobs, they’re going to cost me more petrol and they won’t be as efficient as I’d like.”

Nicola knew that to grow her business and revenue, she needed her engineers to fit in an extra job per day, which required a more efficient solution, “That means not travelling around so much… and it means I need an intelligent piece of software”. She explains further:

“As bright as my team are, it’s very difficult to manually find an appointment in the same area when the customer’s on the phone. So the intelligent scheduling has been amazing. It’s not disappointed us and it’s already made a difference.”

But just how much impact is intelligent scheduling having for Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating? Nicola’s done the maths on what one extra job per engineer, per day means for her business:

“I can increase my revenue by 14% by the end of this year. And that’s huge – that’s massive. When you look at that in terms of monetary value, it’s a no brainer. That far outweighs the cost of putting Commusoft on our machines.”

If you want to calculate your own possible return on investment for intelligent scheduling, try our ROI calculator.

Easier Scheduling, With Less Room for Error

Whilst intelligent scheduling is helping Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating improve revenue through greater efficiency, what role do supporting features like engineer skills and shift patterns play?

“They stop user errors… we all make mistakes, don’t we?”, admits Nicola. She explains how when a customer requires an oil service, the scheduling tool will only show the engineers who are qualified to complete that type of work, reducing the chance of sending the wrong person for the job.

Equally as important are shift patterns. As Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating’s engineers start at different times of the day, Commusoft won’t suggest appointments outside of those shift patterns. Nicola thinks this will be increasingly vital in the future:

“As we add more office staff and more engineers, it’ll be difficult to keep track of. If there’s a piece of software that’s just guiding us along the right track – that’s what we need. And that’s exactly what Commusoft offers us.”

It’s not only Nicola who is pleased with the improvements that intelligent scheduling is bringing to her company. The engineers themselves are also benefiting from the optimised proximity and travel distance between their jobs. Nicola recalls how an engineer rang her shortly after implementing this new feature:

“He called me up and said, ‘Today I’ve had a brilliant day! I didn’t feel stressed… didn’t feel like I had to race to the other side of town’, and he felt it worked much better for him. When I looked at it, I could see he’d done much more work that day than any other.”

Customer Satisfaction and Improving Communication

From the outset, Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating wanted to offer a service that’s different to other companies. Nicola explains, “We answer our phones until 10 in the evening and we always turn up… customer satisfaction is an absolute priority.”

Commusoft enabled the company to double-down on their commitment to customer satisfaction through tools like the online booking form, which allows work to be requested through the company website. Nicola details why this is essential for them:

“We live in a world where everything needs to be done online. Customers can go to the front page of our website now and book an appointment at their leisure, any time of the day. We’ve found that it’s really popular.”

It’s not only job bookings that can be done online, but accepting quotes and paying invoices too. When discussing the estimate portal, Nicola remarks on its simplicity, “The customer gets an email saying you need this part, it’s going to cost this much money, and all they need to do is click to accept the job.” Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating always back up their quotations with an automated SMS message too, “It’s just polite – and we’re making sure that they’ve got the information they need in a timely manner.”

The whole process is quick and easy for the customer, thinks Nicola, “It’s really to do with the speed and the fact that they can do it online –  from their phone, even when they’re on the bus going to work. It’s all done seamlessly.” As a result, Nicola says, “We get more sales. It’s that simple.”

A Wide Breadth of Benefits

Implementing Commusoft has led to a variety of other benefits for Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating too.

Saving Admin Time for Everyone

“Commusoft on a whole saves us a tonne of admin time.” Nicola remembers how engineers used to bring handwritten notes into the office for staff to decipher and type up into the software. “We don’t do that anymore. Everything is much speedier.”

Faster Invoicing and Improved Cash Flow

With Commusoft, Nicola’s team can get invoices out much quicker. “Before, it would take 4 to 5 days to send out an invoice. Now we get an invoice out to a customer within 10 minutes of finishing the job, which means we are much more likely to get paid quicker.”

It’s Easier to Train New Staff

Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating are a growing company, recently hiring a new pair of hands in the office. Nicola explains how Commusoft has made that process smoother: “When we take somebody new on, we need a piece of software for them to be able to pick up and run with. Jane, our latest hire, is already picking it up quickly.”

Engineers Are Happier

It’s expected when adopting any new system that there will likely be some scepticism. Nicola tells us how this was initially the case for her engineers, “They didn’t want to use it to start with. After 48 hours of launching though, I was getting messages saying, ‘This is brilliant. This is saving so much time!’”. It was apparent that the Commusoft mobile workflow was proving better for the team. Nicola adds that, “Previously, they would leave the customer’s house, sit in the van, and do their paperwork. Now, when they leave the customer’s house, both the job and paperwork is finished.”

Quickly Import Supplier Invoices

“I was manually entering our supplier invoices the long way round… these great big lists my supplier would send over.” Commusoft solved that issue with the automated supplier invoice import, allowing users to drag and drop them into the system in seconds, as a result Nicola says, “We haven’t looked back – we use it all the time.”

Future Growth With Commusoft

Looking to the future, Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating are planning to expand their geographical service area. As Nicola summarises, “We’ve got a model now that works and Commusoft supported that really well – all we need to do is expand into new areas and take on additional engineers.”

On top of that, Commusoft still has further functionality to offer and new features in development, which Nicola is eager to try. “I want to start using other tools you’ve got, like the stock control software. Plus, any new features that you introduce, I will be right there as your guinea pigs to try them out!”, laughs Nicola.

When asked for any last remarks, Nicola concludes, “Overall, I am really thrilled with Commusoft and I know it’s going to make a big difference to the business.” With a predicted 14% increase in annual revenue from intelligent scheduling alone, we couldn’t be happier about the clear and positive impact Commusoft is bringing to Ace Energy Plumbing and Heating.

Nicola Seviour
Managing Director