Inventory software for mechanical contractors (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, etc.) should be made with the field service operations in mind in order to be useful.
QR Inventory is this kind of a software. It provides an easy way for the field technicians to track inventory, as well as equipment installation and maintenance on site,
away from the office computers, using mobile devices. All information collected with the mobile devices is sent to a centralized cloud location in real time,
so all employees have an access to an accurate, real time inventory stock and equipment service log.
- Track parts, materials and inventory in the field, service trucks, on the job sites and warehouse
- Track work tools, know where the tools are and who is using them at any given time
- Use mobile devices (smartphones and tablets running iOS or android) for inventory and tools tracking in the field
- Use mobile devices for barcode scanning, processing inventory transaction, data entry and look up
- All inventory and assets transactions recorded on the mobile devices in the field update central database in real time
- All authorized employees have a real time access to inventory stock and tools location
- Review current and historic data using comprhensive reports. Review inventory transactions, usage trents, tool and equipment utilization data, and more.
- Use mobile forms to track HVAC equipment installation, repairs and maintenance
- Receive alerts when you are low on inventory, when warranty on the equipment is about to expire or preventive maintenance is due
- Give your employees instant access to equipment specs, documentation and service history in the field. All they need to do to access this information is to scan QR code label with a smartphone.
HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical Parts & Materials Management In The Field And Warehouse
Inventory management can be complicated for mechanical contractors (such as HVAC contractors, plumbers, electricians, roofers, etc.), since most inventory-related tasks must be done outside of the office,
away from the office computers. The requirement to track inventory between warehouse(s), service trucks and installation sites makes desktop inventory programs not very useful for HVAC, plumbing and other contractors.
With QR Inventory, mechanical contractors can easily track inventory in multiple location in real time, spend minimal time on the inventory tracking and still always have an accurate inventory stock information.
Field technicians can use their own mobile devices (smartphones or tablets) for barcode / QR code scanning, processing inventory transactions and inventory stock look up. They can easily control inventory
in their service trucks, request inventory from the warehouse when they are running low, track what parts or inventory was used on what project and for what client - all by scanning QR code / barcode on the inventory items and
filling out mobile form on a smartphone.
Processed inventory transactions are submitted to a centralized cloud location, and immediately become available to all authorized users. Field technicians use mobile devices to access current inventory stock, and find the closest
location where required parts are available.
Office employees access information on inventory stock in all locations, as well as inventory transactions history on the office computer.
Work Tools Management For HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical Contractors
All mechanical contractors (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, etc.) have work tools that field technicians check out for the job and then return back. Often technicians can pass tools to each other,
and if there is no tool management system in place eventually valuable tools are misplaced or lost.
QR Inventory will help you create an accountability system where you always know where the
tools are, how they are being used, who checked the tool out last,
and keep tabs on the tools which were not returned back on time.
Using a smartphone and QR Inventory mobile application HVAC / plumbing / electrical technicians will be able to check tools in and out of the warehouse by scanning QR code label with a smartphone.
When checking tools in and out, they can
record additional information: what job number the tool was checked out for, when it should be returned, document tool conditions and take pictures.
You define what do you want to track via the web dashboard, and field employees or warehouse
managers will be able to fill out this information on the mobile devices.
If technicians need to pass work tools to each other, no problems. They can record this transaction by scanning QR code label on the tool, and you will see who has the tool now, and will be able to review the entire chain of custody.
As soon as tools are transferred between locations or employees, central database is updated. All authorized employees have access to the real time information,
including current location of the tools and equipment, tools transactions and usage history, and tools inventory reports.
HVAC And Other Equipment Installation, Maintenance & Service Tracking
HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors are field service businesses, which means that field employees need to document equipment service, repairs and maintenance,
and conduct equipment inspections on the client's sites. QR Inventory makes this process easy by replacing paper forms with the mobile forms and checklists that field technicians can fill out on
their smartphones. Maintenance forms, service forms, parts and time invoices, inspection checklists - all your physical paperwork can be converted into the mobile forms for paperless data collection.
Administrator(s) can create all necessary forms and checklists via the web dashboard. You can use current paper or pdf forms to create mobile forms, or create completely new forms from scratch.
All forms that you create will be available to the technicians in the field to fill out on their mobile devices. Optionally, you can pre-fill part of the form in the office and push it to the mobile devices
for completion.
Once technicians fill out any of the forms in the field, they submit it to the central database, and the record becomes available to all authorized users. If you need a customer signature, a customer can sign off
on the mobile device and the signature becomes part of the record. Technician can create pdf report based on the collected data, and e-mail it from the mobile device to all involved parties (customer, supervisor, etc.).
Pdf report may contain your branding, information on the equipment, collected data, images and signature. You define pdf look and layout via custom template.
As a result, technicians have an efficient way to document their work, office employees have immediate access to all records, and all documentation is securely stored, available on demand to authorized employees and is easily searchable.
Instant Access To The Equipment Information In The Field
Instant access to the equipment specifications and past service history leads to better and more efficient field service. QR Inventory makes all necessary information easily accessible in the field.
All your employees need to do is scan QR code or barcode label on the equipment with a smartphone - and they can instantly access equipment specifications, pdf documentations, installation
instructions and past service / maintenance history.
You define what information technicians should be able to access in the field via the web dashboard. Field employees with the right permissions can update equipment information on the mobile devices and add pictures.
Time Tracking For HVAC / Plumbing / Electrical Field Projects
Your employees can track time they spent with a specific customer, or working on the specific equipment using the same mobile application that they use for other field tasks (tracking
inventory, recording equipment maintenance and service, accessing information and inspecting equipment). All they need to do is to scan QR code on the equipment / location, press
"Start Time Tracking" button when they start, and "Finish" button when they are done with a specific job.
When an employee clicks "Finish" button, the time information (including employee, GPS location, equipment or customer location, start and stop time, and when / where start / stop was recorded) is sent
to the server.
Office employees can review and group time sheets by any parameters they need for payroll, billing and reporting. You can review raw time data by employee / customer / equipment, as well as total aggregated
time for selected time period by employee, equipment, customer, location or any combination of the above (e.g. how much time an employee X spend during last month fixing equipment A).
Warnings And Alerts
QR Inventory will make sure you are on top of everything in your HVAC / plumbing / electrical business, and nothing slips through the cracks.
You can create customized alerts to warn you when parts or materials inventory is running low, and optionally (with accounting module) automatically create purchase
orders. You can create alerts on preventive maintenance / routine inspections, and receive automatic e-mail with the list of equipment for which preventive maintenance is due.
Create alerts on warranty expiration and other important dates. Receive an alert if value in the number field (temperature, pressure, etc.) falls below or raises above a threshold.
As with everything else, QR Inventory is very customizable. You can create custom fields for anything that you need to be alerted about, and configure when you will receive an alert, who will receive
an alert and what will e-mail message say.
Parts And Materials Invoicing
Using QR Inventory accounting module, you can quickly create parts and materials invoices based on recorded QR Inventory transactions. You can then keep track of invoices and payments,
and receive alerts for overdue invoices.
If you are using QuickBooks Online, you can create invoices in QuickBooks with several clicks.
New: Real Time Automatic Equipment Tracking With Bluetooth Beacon Tags
If you want to go a step further in the field tools and equipment tracking, we now offer an automatic real time tracking option with bluetooth beacon tags.
Bluetooth asset tracking does not require your employees to scan tools and equipment in and out, yet you will know equipment location, if it is being used and who is using it at any given time.
As long as field technicians have a smartphone in their pocket with a mobile application running in the background,
a location of the equipment and assets tagged with the bluetooth beacons will be reported automatically. A cloud-based asset tracking platforms collects data from the mobile devices and creates real time reports
(both map based and tabular), available on demand to all authorized employees.
In addition to the real time assets information, you have historic reports of assets and equipment usage: on what sites and projects equipment was used, by which employee(s) and for how long.
Use these reports for monitoring equipment useful life, clients billing and as employees timesheets.
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