What system are you using?
I used TCF for a couple of months, it’s a good program to keep track of customer data which is something every single business should do.
Actually the only negative comments I had were: 1. The layout and UI was very plain and boring. 2. It was easy to forget to switch to “New” or “existing” customer and you’d fill out all your info only to switch at the end and lose your entered data. Those two problems were literally the only ones I had. Eventually I decided it wasn’t the best solution for us, mainly because I send a lot of mail campaigns to existing customers and it wasn’t easy to keep track of in TCF so we needed a second database anyway.
When I went to cancel, I got an email maybe an hour later saying my account was cancelled and thanks for my patronage. I had no problems at all.
Not here to defend Steve, But I must say he has been very professional, patient and polite with me. I just subscribed this week and he’s been on the phone walking me thru everything, answering all questions and doing some of the complicated things for me. Just setting it up he’s been very open minded to idea’s I feel would make it better (Kind of funny coming from me when I haven’t even started using it yet).
The software is going to make my normal scheduling, callback and invoices well worth the $67 a quarter. As far as losing data, everything is transfered back to QB using web connector. So correct me if I’m wrong, but what data could you ever lose?
Call backs - I’ve never had a good plan, always depended on notes in QB and my write in calendar. I missed a lot of repeat business last year because of this. I’m excited knowing I’ll have a streamline Reminder on when to call everyone.
Invoicing - When I started invoicing thru QB 4 years ago, that was a major time saving change for me. Especially for route where I have 20 to 40 businesses a day. Easy steps thru QB - I invoice each customer plugging in the name, (dates already changed) description, amount - then batch print all of them. With Steve’s software I simply set up reocurring customers, and it groups everyone together. Still very new and not sure if you can Invoice them all at the same time. If you can’t, Steve has been very open minded and seems to be open for constructive critisizm, perhaps a change he will make. Either way it’s still faster than what I was doing and if you can batch invoice, then batch print = WOW, what a time saver that will be for me.
The software has a lot more than just these two features, just two that are going to be huge for me. I also like the prospect callback option. Beats my folder with business cards I always forget to look at.
Again, I am just getting it set up and haven’t seen it in action other than a couple days of invoicing. But I’m confident and feel really good about my choice. I’m also very comfortable with the customer service I got from Steve and his ability to tweak or fix any problems in the software. I’m Pretty excited really!!
Ive had it since the Fall and it’s been great.
Another company to check out is Service Sidekick. I’ve used both side by side. They both do a great job so check it out for comparison.
Just found out today Customer Factor lets you Batch create invoices as well as Batch printing (one click). Talked to Steve and suggested a Batch Pay invoices option. He’s going to work on it and said it’s definately an option they can include. If this happens I don’t know of any software that does all three. For me having close to 400 monthly accounts which in the past I’ve had to Invoice and Pay invoices thru QB by doing each individual action 400 x 2 - WOW - The time it will save me will be incredible. I called Service Side kick to see if they also had these options and they didn’t. I’m stoked!!
Customer factor rules!
Tcf is the booommmb!
I just wanted to take a second and say something about The Customer Factor’s customer service. I mistakenly deleted some customer information while trying to change somethings. I am not computer savoy at all. When I noticed them gone I called Steve and we discovered what I had done in the reoccuring screens and he spent another 30 minutes or so going over some other things with me. He said he wanted to investigate a little further and he would call me first thing this morning, which he did. I was at Guard drill and really couldn’t focus so he said to call him this evening when I got off and could get to my computer. He walked me through several things tonight including how to switch my browser from opera to fire fox. I felt like that was above and beyond. I checked out service sidekick and another program and neither offered the benefits that the customer factor does. I like the fact that I can use one program for scheduling and accounting. The P&L feature keeps me in tune on how I’m really doing. He is now working on a way to place pictures on estimates which will be a great selling tool for roof add on estimates. I would say just try it out and see how you like it.
I use The Customer Factor and love it! It’s a fantastic bargain and simply a killer program for window cleaners.
this is the kind of feature that would make WCRA a no-brainer…coming soon I hope?
A $10,000 guarantee of new business isn’t enough?!?
Can you record credit card infp and accept cc payments with the program? I would like to set up my commercial route customers with a recurrent credit card payment.
Hi Rudner,
We don’t have credit card capabilities in [I]The Customer Factor[/I] yet, but we will be incorporating this pretty soon. I have a company that I’m talking to now which provides seamless cc integration with web based software like ours. So please check back. Thanks for your inquiry. Have a great day.
Regards,
Steve
Steve,
I love the program. My suggestion, and I’m sure this is not a new one for you, is to provide some sort of calendar viewing/editing (at a minimum) for mobile devices. I know many of us are away from a computer much of the day. As it is, we either have to carry around printouts of our daily and monthly calendars that we print every single day, or we have to use a separate calendar (e.g. google calendar) which requires us to double enter every single event. Can you tell us if a mobile app is in the works?
To me, accessing the calendar in the field is infinitely more important than any of the other tweaks and updates to the program.
Thanks,
Hi Rob,
It’s great to hear from you. It’s been awhile since we spoke.
We absolutely have mobile capabilities coming. It’s a bit of a challenge trying to convert screens that are made for 15 to 18" monitors into a small mobile device screen, but we are working on it for sure.
I did want to make a general statement that we have many members of The Customer Factor using and accessing the software out in the field from their iphones, ipads, blackberries, and other mobile devices. Being web based, any device with internet access can access The Customer Factor. It’s just that currently there is more left/right and up/down scrolling then there will be when you access The Customer Factor in a specific app.
Anyway…we have some incredible features being released over the coming weeks. Yesterday, we just introduced a statement feature where you can print or email statements to customers either individually or in bulk. So if you have let’s say 20 customers with outstanding invoices, you can easily email all 20 customers at one time a personalized email with a statement attached showing job history, what’s paid and what’s not, and what the balance due is. I’ll be sending out an email to all members sometime today with more info. on it.
But back to your request for a second. we’re committed to introducing more mobile related functionality into The Customer Factor, so various apps will be introduced soon. As a side note, the tweaks and updates that are introduced into the software are completed by our main programming team. The mobile device work is being done by a different group of programmers. So when we introduce non mobile related functionality and features into The Customer Factor, that doesn’t mean that the mobile device functionality isn’t being worked on. Both types of functionality are being worked on simultaneously.
If you have any other questions, please let us know. You can call 256-546-2446 directly or email us at [email protected]. Take care for now and have a great weekend.
Regards,
Steve
This is just my input, but I would prefer NOT to have the entire software on a mobile device. I don’t need the capability of pulling reports and making follow-up calls in the field.
What I need is a simple calendar, customer name, address, phone # and job history. The calendar can be as simple as the Google calendar app. Please don’t try to condense all the data from a 15" screen down into an app!
Hi Rob,
Good morning. Not all functionality will be available in the mobile version as it is in the regular program, but I would think that users would want the ability to make follow up calls in the field. I’ll do a survey and ask what folks primarily want to do. I know that searching for reports, adding expenses, or things like that probably are not that important where it needs to be done out in the field, but again, I would think users would definitely want the ability to make follow up calls. If they have some downtime and they’re looking for something to do while they’re out and about, they might want to click on “due to be called” prospects and customers on the quick summary screen, get sent to the search results screen, and make the calls.
But this shouldn’t affect what you ultimately want. For example, we’re going to be introducing a “set up” screen (mobile and regular version) where you can choose what landing page to get sent to upon login. So you can bypass the quick summary screen entirely and get sent straight to a calendar screen if that’s your preference. So if we do provide follow up capabilities, it won’t get in the way of what you primarily want to do.
If you have some additional input or thoughts on this, please let us know. Our office phone is 256-546-2446. Thanks for the input so far. Take care and have a great week.
Regards,
Steve
I used this software for years when I owned my business. I found it great for my needs on most things. There were some things that I wished the technology had allowed, but for the price, it was great for me. And, BTW, I never ever had issues with Steve. He answered my calls directly or called/emailed right back. This kind of talk is a bit confusing to me…But I haven’t been on her in months.
Hi Bert!
How are you doing? And how’s hannah doing? It’s been awhile. If you ever get back in the biz, feel free to look us up. We’ve introduced a slew of new features since you’ve been a member, so a lot has changed. Anyway…I hope all is well. Take care for now and have a great day.
Regards,
Steve
