Your best technician just texted you a photo of a completed job instead of updating the system. Again.
You spent $15,000 on field service software. You did the training. You made it mandatory. Yet your techs still write everything on paper first, then reluctantly enter it into the system later. Or they don't enter it at all.
Sound familiar?
Rebuild the workflow alongside Stop Using Excel for Scheduling, Field Service Route Optimization Guide 2026, and Van Stock Management Guide.
The Reality Check Nobody Talks About
Your techs don't hate technology. They stream Netflix. They use Instagram. They can figure out any smart home device a customer throws at them.
They hate your field service software because it was built for office managers, not for people working under sinks and in 140-degree attics.
What Actually Happens in the Field
Morning: The Login Marathon
it's 7 AM. Your tech is sitting in his truck, ready to start the day. He opens the app:
- Username and password (forgot password, reset it)
- Two-factor authentication
- Select company account
- Choose region
- Accept daily terms
- Dismiss three "What's New" popups
- Wait for jobs to sync
- App crashes. Start over.
Fifteen minutes later, he's looking at today's jobs. The customer he's heading to? The notes say "Fix AC." That's it.
On Site: The Data Entry Nightmare
Job complete. Time to update the system. Your tech needs to:
- Select job status from 12 options (none quite fit)
- Choose from 47 problem categories
- Enter start time (manually)
- Enter end time (manually)
- Add parts used (search doesn't work, scroll through 500 items)
- Take photos (app compresses them to potato quality)
- Get customer signature (crashes if screen rotates)
- Write detailed notes (on a keyboard made for ants)
- Submit timesheet separately
- Submit mileage in different screen
- Submit expense report in third system
This takes 20 minutes. For every job. While the next customer is calling asking where he is.
The £50,000 Question
If your software makes a 1-hour job take 1.5 hours, and your tech does 6 jobs a day, you're losing 3 hours of billable time. Daily.
That's £50,000 in lost revenue per tech per year.
Your "money-saving" software is costing you more than hiring another technician.
Why Enterprise Software Fails in the Field
Built for Committees, Not Teams
ServiceTitan has 500+ features. Your techs use maybe 5. The rest? Digital obstacles between them and their next job.
These platforms are sold to executives who never hold a wrench. They demo great in conference rooms with perfect WiFi and clean hands. They die in the real world of dirty screens, work gloves, and dead zones.
The Integration Trap
Your field service software integrates with:
- QuickBooks (sync breaks monthly)
- Outlook (but not the way you need)
- Some inventory system from 2003
- A CRM nobody uses
- Job tracking that drains phone batteries
Each integration adds complexity. Each complexity adds friction. Each friction makes your techs reach for pen and paper.
What Your Techs Actually Want
We asked 200 field technicians what they need from software. Not managers. Not owners. The people actually using it.
Their answers were surprisingly simple:
- See today's jobs instantly - No login maze
- Customer history that matters - Gate codes, dog warnings, actual problems
- One-tap job completion - Status, photo, done
- Parts that exist in real life - Not 500 variations of "filter"
- Work offline - Basements don't have 5G
- Readable on dirty screens - Big buttons, high contrast
- Send invoice immediately - While customer still has wallet out
Notice what's not on the list? Analytics dashboards. Automated marketing. AI-powered anything. Gantt charts. Custom workflows.
The Paper Test
Here's how to know if your field service software actually works:
Count how many techs still carry paper.
If the answer is more than zero, your software has failed its most basic job: being easier than the alternative.
Paper doesn't crash. Paper doesn't need updates. Paper doesn't require 17 fields to close a job. Paper just works.
What Actually Works
Software That Thinks Like a Technician
The best field service tools share these traits:
- Minimal required fields - Status and photo. Everything else optional.
- Smart defaults - Auto-fill times, common parts, typical solutions
- Thumb-friendly design - Buttons you can hit with work gloves
- Instant everything - Job updates, invoices, payments
- Works offline - Sync when convenient, work always
The 30-Second Rule
If a tech can't update a job in 30 seconds, your software is too complex.
Think about it: They just spent an hour diagnosing and fixing a complex HVAC issue. The job update should be the easiest part of their day, not another puzzle to solve.
The Hidden Cost of Bad Software
When techs hate the software:
- They find workarounds (that break your processes)
- They batch updates at day's end (making data stale)
- They enter minimum info (making reports useless)
- They make more errors (creating customer issues)
- Your good techs quit (to work for someone with better tools)
The Simple Truth
Your technicians are craftspeople. They solve problems. They fix things. They make customers happy.
Every minute they spend fighting software is a minute not earning money. Not helping customers. Not doing what they're actually good at.
The best field service software isn't the one with the most features. it's the one techs actually use.
Because software your team won't use is just expensive shelfware, no matter how many awards it wins or committees it impressed.
Software Your Techs won't Hate
Built by people who've actually worked in the field. Simple enough for real life. Works for growing businesses.
See How Simple Works