The Best Pest Control Software for Businesses of 2023 - Bob Vila
From scheduling to service management, software can greatly enhance a pest control business's success. Businesses can stay ahead of the competition and serve customers well with the best pest control software.
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No one likes pests in their homes—that's why pest control services exist. Homeowners rely on the best pest control companies, best termite control companies, and best bed bug exterminators for fast and reliable service to make their residences comfortable and prevent pest infestations.
On the flip side, pest control companies rely on finding the best pest control software so they can provide excellent customer service and perform their jobs well. Leading such a company includes finding the pest control tools that enable employees to schedule both one-time and maintenance services, communicate with customers on the go, and find the support they need from their leaders.
Whether it's a franchised company looking to switch or improve upon its digital tools for pest control or an entrepreneur searching for the best pest control software for small businesses, see our list of best picks below.
- BEST OVERALL: Jobber
- RUNNER-UP: mHelpDesk
- BEST RESOURCES: ServiceTitan
- BEST MOBILE EXPERIENCE: Service Fusion
- BEST SOFTWARE EXTENSION: Smart Service
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What to Consider When Choosing One of the Best Pest Control Software Options
As business owners search online for "software for pest control," they'll want to consider factors such as the functions and features of the software, the price and scalability, whether it supports mobile use, and its integration capability. Just ahead, business owners will find an in-depth look at the factors they will want to take into account when choosing pest control scheduling software and the best pest management tools.
Function and Features
Exterminator tools don't stop at the best insecticides, best termite treatments, and best ultrasonic pest repellers. Digital tools for pest control, including pest control invoice software and pest control routing software, improve employees' workflow by compiling customer service duties in a central platform.
At its most basic, the best pest control software should have an interface for employees to interact with customers and handle service requests. Ideally, the software can also facilitate a customer-facing end so clients can schedule services and manage their accounts. Other available features can vary from fleet tracking to automatic invoice generation, messaging, and more. Unique functions and features of these software programs may include subscriptions, customer relationship management, and pest control programs for customer loyalty.
Mobile App Availability
Utilizing an app as part of their daily operations can improve exterminators' efficiency by 100 percent. When considering the adoption of new software for a pest control business, it's wise to factor in whether there is a complementary mobile app for technicians and office staff to use on the go.
These pest control apps should ideally work with both Android and iOS operating systems since these are the two operating systems that lead the market. Having functionality on both operating systems ensures every employee can use the mobile app, which is especially important if technicians don't have company-supplied mobile phones.
Price
As is the case with any new software adoption, two significant factors to consider are the price and the scalability as the business grows.
Software companies may charge monthly or annually for their products, depending on the suite of features it offers. Other software companies may charge per user. Some will offer discounts for users who purchase an annual membership instead of paying monthly.
Users will want to choose a software that fits the company's current budget—and one that can scale as the business grows. While opting for a less-robust pest control software may make sense for an entrepreneur now, the headaches that come with data migration and shopping for a new solution once the business takes off aren't worth it in the long run.
Software Integration Capabilities
Similar to pricing, integration capability and scalability are important to consider when choosing the best digital tools for pest control. For example, software that offers invoicing should integrate with tax or finance solutions like QuickBooks to make the process as simple as possible.
When evaluating excellent pest control software, users will want to research whether the tool in question actively works toward more integrations with other industry tools. This indicates how well the software may scale with a company's established suite of tools.
Our Top Picks
After a thorough evaluation, we chose the following as the best pest control software solutions available for large or small pest control businesses nationwide.
Best Overall
Why It Made the Cut: Jobber is a home service industry platform offering businesses an easy-to-use and professional solution that lets them estimate, quote, schedule, invoice, and get paid, even without previous software experience.
Created in 2011, Jobber was created by two software developers and a painter when they realized their simple framework could fill a market gap for a way to streamline paperwork, scheduling, and other administrative tasks and fix the system in which home service businesses operated.
Jobber has a wide breadth of features unique to the platform, including referral programs, the ability to send thank-you notes, and optional automated feedback surveys for customers—all of which increase a company's ability to maintain and grow leads. It provides a professional and convenient client hub without requiring businesses to code software. Along with its generous 14-day trial, Jobber has seamless integration with Stripe to allow technicians to take payments in the field. Some reviews claim they could not add or change scheduled events through the mobile app; however, business owners just need to change the permissions to allow events to be modified on mobile.
Specs
- Function: Service scheduling and management
- Features: Client management, scheduling and dispatching, invoicing,
reporting, messaging, online booking, client hub, job forms, quoting, marketing - Mobile app availability: iOS and Android
- Price: $21, $49, $119, or $245 per month
- Software integration capabilities: QuickBooks, Stripe
Pros
- Generous 14-day free trial
- Standout features include referral programs, thank-you messages, and feedback surveys
- Convenient customer-facing client hub
- Seamless integration with Stripe for easy payments
Cons
- Reports of potentially confusing mobile app experience
Runner-Up
Why It Made the Cut: mHelpDesk, an all-in-one service company software solution, consistently ranks as one of the top field-service management software and mobile apps in the home care and home services industries.Why It Made the Cut: mHelpDesk, an all-in-one service company software solution, consistently ranks as one of the top field-service management software and mobile apps in the home care and home services industries.
As a powerful solution for service businesses, mHelpDesk was founded in 2007 by two former Lockheed Martin engineers. Its many features make it a robust tool that allows users to track inventory between multiple locations and enables technicians to estimate when work will be completed. The mHelpDesk staff also expertly leads new users through software onboarding. With mHelpDesk, technicians can process payments on the spot without the use of another software or device.
Though some customers have complained about consistent updates for software bugs, mHelpDesk has extensive customer service options, including phone and live chat, as well as an expansive library of resources, success coaches, and an engaged customer community.
Specs
- Function: Service scheduling and management
- Features: Client management and scheduling, quoting, dispatching, staff communication, GPS fleet tracking, inventory tracking, invoicing
- Mobile app availability: iOS and Android
- Price: Not specified
- Software integration capabilities: QuickBooks
Pros
- Live multilocation inventory tracking
- Comprehensive staff-led onboarding and data transfer
- Payment processing integrated with mobile app
Cons
- Reports of software bugs
Best Resources
Why It Made the Cut: Built exclusively for the trades, ServiceTitan is an all-in-one platform intended to help pest control businesses with route optimization, payment management, and more.
Founders Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan created ServiceTitan in 2005 after realizing they had the skills to write a software tool kit to help their family businesses. Now, it's a nationally known brand ranked among Inc. 5000, Forbes' Cloud 100, Inc. Best Places to Work, and Deloitte Fast 500.
ServiceTitan provides a robust library of resources for customers to learn how to maximize the use of its software and better run their business. It also provides users with a sleek-looking client hub that allows customers to book appointments, message the company, and get quotes. In addition, ServiceTitan makes a la carte "pro" options available for business-specific functionality (such as phones, marketing, and payroll systems) to support the areas where businesses most need help without having to pay an inflated price for a suite with services they might not need. Thanks to its expansive library of resources, customers may be able to find answers on their own if ServiceTitan's customer service is slow to respond.
Specs
- Function: Service scheduling and management
- Features: Client management, scheduling and dispatching, invoicing, reporting, messaging
- Mobile app availability: iOS and Android
- Price: Not specified
- Software integration capabilities: QuickBooks
Pros
- Robust library of calculators, blog posts, webinars, and podcasts
- Convenient customer-facing client hub
- "Pro" options available for added business-specific functionality
Cons
- Reports of unresponsive customer support
Best Mobile Experience
Why It Made the Cut: Service Fusion gives entrepreneurs the ability to "run [their] service business from anywhere with enterprise-level features at a small business price." Its field- management service software's mobile app offers easy setup and use.
Service Fusion has over 40,000 active users, and it operates with the goal of helping businesses create repeat customers.
Service Fusion's breadth of mobile-app features provides the most user-friendly and helpful tool for pest control employees. The features, including expanded communication solutions with customers and the ability to create service catalogs, make technicians' lives easier in a central, easy-to-use app.
Though the monthly price to use Service Fusion might seem a bit high, the cost does account for zero setup fees, no contract requirements, personalized onboarding, data importing, and unlimited training—plus a 15 percent discount if paid annually.
Specs
- Function: Service scheduling and management, fleet tracking
- Features: Client management, quoting, scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, GPS fleet tracking
- Mobile app availability: iOS and Android
- Price: $149, $219, or $399 per month
- Software integration capabilities: QuickBooks
Pros
- Powerful, highly functional mobile app for technicians
- Integrated ability to easily set up a customer-facing app
Cons
- Relatively high monthly price
Best Software Extension
Why It Made the Cut: Created as a way to eliminate double data entry for service companies, Smart Service adds scheduling and dispatching to QuickBooks to create a central and seamless software system.
Rated among the top pest control software, Smart Service is an add-on that enables QuickBooks to schedule and dispatch jobs, track equipment, monitor employee progress, and track chemical usage. It also eliminates the need for physical paperwork, digitizes forms, generates invoices, and has GPS tracking capabilities.
Although Smart Service can only be used in tandem with Quickbooks, it makes the accounting software much more usable by enabling it to schedule and dispatch services. PC users can use Smart Service on their desktop, while the mobile app is available for both iOS and Android. For new and existing customers who have questions, Smart Service runs a weekly group training for the software. Customer service is available through a website form and virtual-assistant live chat.
Specs
- Function: QuickBooks scheduling add-on
- Features: Scheduling and dispatching
- Mobile app availability: iOS and Android
- Price: Not specified
- Software integration capabilities: QuickBooks
Pros
- Customer information and schedules seamlessly imported to QuickBooks
- Weekly group software-training sessions available
Cons
- Only compatible with Windows/PC
- QuickBooks required for use
Our Verdict
Jobber is our pick for the best pest control software because of its standout features and convenient customer-facing client hub. The company also offers a 14-day free trial. Our runner-up, mHelpDesk, is a top option because it provides live multilocation inventory tracking and comprehensive staff-led onboarding and data transfer.
How We Chose the Best Pest Control Software Options
When choosing the best pest control software, we conducted extensive research on the software functions needed for pest control companies. We considered services, features, mobile app availability, price, and software integration capabilities. Jobber and mHelpDesk both caught our attention because of their unique features and schedule and management services. To help companies in need of a software extension option, we chose Smart Service, which offers a QuickBooks scheduling add-on for customers. For pest control companies seeking to use mobile devices to manage their pest control needs, we also included Service Fusion on the list, as the software offers a thorough mobile experience.
Before You Use One of the Best Pest Control Software Options
Before choosing one of our top picks for pest control software, it's recommended that pest control companies consider their unique situations, needs, and budgets. For instance, some pest control companies might look for an add-on to a program they already use. In contrast, others might want to primarily rely on a software's mobile app (in which case companies will want to choose a software that offers the best mobile experience). Additionally, while some of our top picks provide unique features that will benefit companies, some of these options might be too expensive for current budgets. Pest control companies will want to evaluate their priorities and what expenses they can manage when deciding which option is best for their situation.
Cost of Using One of the Best Pest Control Software Options
The cost of using one of the top picks for pest control software varies. In particular, appointment scheduling software costs range from $30 per month to over $200 per month. Some software offers add-ons, special features, and bundled payments, while others will provide different payment options or plans to make the service more affordable.
The Advantages of Using One of the Best Pest Control Software Options
Pest control companies can use software to organize their operations and streamline processes such as billing, customer communication, and route optimization. Specifically, the right software will offer features like client management, quoting, scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, GPS fleet tracking, reporting, messaging, and more.
It's recommended that companies invest in pest control software that integrates with any existing software they use. For instance, some scheduling or billing software can integrate with pest control software, allowing those operations to be managed seamlessly in a centralized location.
- Pest control software organizes pest control operations in one place.
- The best pest control software integrates with other software (like billing or scheduling) to ease a company's other processes.
- The best exterminators can take advantage of unique features like billing, customer communication, and route optimization.
FAQs
Here are a few frequently asked questions and answers to help a range of pest control pros, from the best mouse exterminators to the best cockroach exterminators, decide which pest control software is best for them.
Q. How much does pest control software cost on average?
On average, pest control software costs between $30 and $200 per month.
Q. What are some of the functionalities I get with pest control software?
Some of the functionalities that come with pest control software include client management, scheduling and dispatching, invoicing, reporting, messaging, online booking, client hubs, job forms, quoting, and marketing.
Q. Do I get customer support with pest control software?
Yes, pest control companies receive customer support from the pest control software.
Q. Do I get mobile access for pest control software?
Depending on the platform, customers can receive mobile access to their pest control software.
Q. Does pest control software require special setup?
No, pest control software does not typically require special setup. Rather, it is usually easy enough to set up without assistance. However, many companies do offer learning resources or customer service to make setup easier.
Sources: Workwave, Lawnstarter
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