What is Field Service Management Software?

An introduction to field service management software in 2025

Let us take you through the What, the Who and the Why of field service management software.

• What does field service management software do?
• What sort of businesses use field service management software?
• What are the benefits of using a field service management tool?
• What are some examples of field service management tools?

What does field service management software do?

In a nutshell, Field Service Management Software is a tool that helps businesses manage their engineers out on the road, or in the ‘field’, where they are typically servicing and repairing equipment. FMS software also commonly helps businesses to manage their assets and parts too.

Standard functionality includes:

• Managing work requests as they come in
• Scheduling work and allocating tasks to the right engineer
• Engineer mobile app with job details and data capture
• Stock and parts management
• Managing purchasing
• Preventative maintenance scheduling
• Customer management including billing and invoicing
• Reporting and analytics on activity and operations across the business
• Time tracking of engineers
• Compliance and safety check-lists

For more information on standard FSM features, take a look at our article: Key Features of Field Service Management Software.

Examples of other features more advanced tools might have are:

• Integration with other software and tools (such as telematic systems for equipment)
• Inbuilt modules for managing hire equipment contracts
• Mobile engineer location tracking
• Ability to track part requests, progress and delivery
• Modules for managing sub-contractors
• Customer portal

What sort of businesses need FSM software?

Any businesses that need to allocate service jobs to engineers in an efficient way. These tend to fall into two common categories.

Equipment Servicing

Firstly, commercial equipment manufacturers or dealerships who offer after-sales servicing. Customers will typically buy a service plan from these companies which covers repairs and regular maintenance. In terms of the type of commercial equipment we are talking about – here are some common examples:

• HVAC
• Lifts
• Materials Handling Equipment
• Plant equipment
• Doors & Security Equipment
• Warehouse automation equipment
• Building maintenance
• Agricultural equipment

Hire Companies

Secondly, and closely linked to the example above, companies which offer the hire of commercial equipment will also have similar maintenance and repair needs. For example, a forklift hire company will need to manage the servicing of the whole fleet of forklifts to make sure they can be hired out reliably. If a breakdown does happen, the company will also need to co-ordinate sending an engineer out to fix it.

This group of businesses typically also needs FSM tools to help them manage their hire contracts and asset availability. Knowing the whereabouts of each asset and the hire status is a must when a customer calls up wanting to make a new booking.

To read more about how field service management tools can help hire companies, read “What to look for in a Field Service Management Tool as a Hire Company”.

Fixed Routing

The final group of companies who often use field service management software are businesses who require fixed routing software. Businesses such as shredding companies, hygiene companies, healthcare, and any other business where staff are sent on the same route regularly might also benefit from field service management software.

What are the benefits of using a FSM tool?

Less Paperwork and Room for Error

One of the main benefits people told us of using a field service management tool was reducing paperwork and improving operations.

Take job notes, for example. Engineers would traditionally hand write job notes, maybe take some photos on their phone, and then pass the job notes back to the office. Someone in the office would then type the notes up, add them to the right file and (if the engineer had also sent the images across) attach the photos. The report would then be attached to an email and sent with an invoice to the customer.

As well as being a time-consuming process, there are so many opportunities within this flow for mistakes to be made. From handwritten notes not being legible, to images still sitting on an engineer’s phone months later.

With field service management software, the engineer would input their notes, usually following a specific format within the mobile app (with prompts for images where needed). This would then be sent to the office and straight onto the client, without any opportunity for misinterpretation or errors.

Here is just one example of FSM software helping to reduce paperwork and room for error, for more take a look at our article: How to Reduce Paperwork with Field Service Management Software.

Improved First-Time-Fix Rate

A key metric for many service companies is their ‘first time fix rate’. Essentially, this is the percentage of issues that were fixed within the first engineer visit.

Having a high first time fix rate is beneficial in a number of ways. Firstly, the customer’s (or businesses’) equipment is fixed quickly, and normal operations can continue sooner. In a situation where the running of that piece of equipment is directly linked to profit, you can see why this is so important. (For example, warehouse automation equipment and hire equipment.)

Secondly, the fewer journeys and less time the engineers spends on the job, the sooner they can move onto the next job.

To read more about first-time-fix rates and how FSM software can help, take a look at our article: How Field Service Management Tools Can Help You Increase First Time Fix Rates.

Fewer Equipment Breakdowns

One thing companies without service management software tend to struggle with is being proactive when it comes to servicing. Keeping track of when hundreds of assets require their next service, and which service is due, can be an almost impossible task if done manually. And if not impossible, at the very least, time-consuming and vulnerable to human error.

Field service management software helps businesses schedule planned preventative maintenance at the required intervals. This means equipment is much more likely to be kept running smoothly an avoid any unnecessary breakdowns.

This in turn, often equates to an increase in revenue. For example, a retail company using a FSM tool to maintain their warehouse equipment begins to lose revenue when equipment is down. So, avoiding breakdowns is key to their financial success.

Happier Customers

One thing we get asked a lot is whether we can help companies communicate to their customers that they are now using a FSM tool. Why? Because improved servicing efficiency means customers get a much better experience. Improvements in this area depend on what the company were doing previously, but generally, customers are likely to see the following improvements:

• Faster response from engineers – resulting from streamlined scheduling and improved comms between office and engineer
• Better engineer efficiency (refer back to FTFR for more info)
• More preventative maintenance conducted
• Fewer breakdowns (refer back to Fewer Equipment Breakdowns)
• Improved communications

For more benefits of using field service management software, take a look at “19 Benefits of Field Service Management Software You never Thought of”.

What are some examples of systems out there?

The best field service management tool for you will depend on your business needs, your industry, and the size of your workforce.

Here are ten examples of field service management software. We’ve included which industries they are prominent in, and ideal engineer band.

1. Service Geeni – All Industrial and Commercial Equipment servicing, e.g. Conveyor systems and other Materials Handling equipment, HVAC, Medical Equipment, Lifts, Packaging Machinery…and more (20 – 200 engineers).
2. ServiceMax – Medical Equipment, Energy, Telecom, Manufacturing (50+ engineers).
3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service – Utilities, Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing (10 – 500+ engineers).
4. Salesforce Field Service – Retail, Consumer Goods, Healthcare, Utilities (20 – 500 engineers).
5. ServiceTitan – HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Garage Door (5 – 100 engineers).
6. FieldEdge – HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical (1 – 200 engineers).
7. Jobber – Landscaping, Cleaning, Home Services (1 – 50 engineers).
8. Zinier – Telecom, Utilities, Energy (50 – 500+ engineers).
9. Kickserv – HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical General Contracting (1 – 100 engineers).
10. Housecall Pro – Home Services, HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical (1 – 50 engineers).

The above list should give you a rough idea of which tools may work for you, but has been generated with the help of ai, so make sure you do your own research before making a decision!

The most reputable FSM software providers will have a demo you can explore, giving you an idea of how the tool could integrate with your existing operations. Want to find out more about Service Geeni and what our tool could do for you and your team of engineers? Book a free demo today!

For tips on how to decide which field service management software is right for you and your business, take a look at “How to choose a field service management tool“.