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We use jobber for scheduling and little else.
I love the fact that the guys can add notes in to jobs for visits in the future and we can schedule things on the run. We combine this with the 'find my iPhone' app and can track where all the guys are at any given time.
Would be happy to meet up with a coffee and show you what we are doing with it.
Jobber customer service is also excellent. Had an small last week offering me some free training and when I've emailed them in the past the response is usually quick and helpful.
I can't comment in SAP though.
Nick, I have not gone live with Jobber due to pressure of work, but during discussions on here a LJN member said SAP worked in the UK and was better/more flexible than Jobber.
So,I felt the need to do a bit of Due Dil on it by seeing if anyone else used it. I've spoken to SAP in the US and I do not believe it is fit for purpose in the UK market (that does not detract from it's effectiveness in the US)
Every iteraction I've had with Jobber has left me impressed. I've spoken to Landen @ Jobber and I plan to talk further to Broc about our migration issues from Qxpress etc.
Would be great to meet up for a coffee (probably a while since we did) and see how you now find it
Anyway, currently I can see no reason not to go with Jobber :-)
How many crews/staff do you have Gary? One potential issue with the Jobber calender/schedule is that it doesn't flag up if you double book a crew or team member. You can colour code individuals but if you have two on the same job, one colour takes preference so it's not obvious if it's the other guy that is double booked. It's not really an issue for me as we are small, but might be as we grow (hopefully).
Maybe Nick overcomes it in some way?
I'm happy with Jobber so far, but there are a few tweaks needed (that are probably in the pipeline anyway). On the whole they are quick to respond and give good service.
Good to see we are still in the running Gary :) Also good to see you doing your research. We are happy to help people but sometimes it is not a good fit and its better is they use another provider so looking around is a good idea to be sure before going ahead.
If Nick got to show you around Jobber that would be awesome. There is no better way to know the product then with a demo, and even better from someone who runs a similar business to your own. Thank you Nick for offering to do that!
As for how Jobber can work in the UK, we have not heard any issues for compatibility. If there are any we would be open to making the needed changes. Just last week we added some currency changes so that a company in some remote country could use Jobber, it was pretty weird.
Darren we have heard about that issue. It does not come up often but we are aware of it and plan to make some improvements that area. I just don't know exactly when for that specific change.
You three (and Robbie and Phil) have been especially awesome to us here on LJN, so if you need anything just ask :)
I suspect we have a simialr issue in QX although QX pops a 'generic messge' up, but doesn't pinpoint the conflict.
Currently, I don't believe we would ever have gone with SAP given their comments about suitiability for our market. So it's probably Jobber !
I just have to look at what we can migrate over from QX, ie losing our service history etc is a concern I need to assess and a look at where we go with Quickbooks (ie go to the online product or jump ship to Xero - both of which our accountant's support and use ). In many ways the same issue Robbie is deliberating about ....
Darren Walters said:
Gary is it not possible to sign up and have a play about with SAP before committing or would you need to be running it at full speed with all data inputted in order to make in informed decision? Did the guys at SAP give you any sort of time scale for making it more compatible with UK operations? I had thought they had said sometime in 2014? And is it a more all encompassing system than jobber or do they offer similar things in terms of scope?
Hi James, SAP appears a do or die initial approach and a more expensive solution for less easy "useability".
The issues relating to support of our locale (ie +44 setings) is at least a year away. They have no current UK users. A major issue would be 'legally conforming' VAT invoices (ie VAT wording etc) as they only support 'Sales Tax'. You cant not modify the layout or customise or produce bespoke reports. The system is well received in the US as it grew out of a desktop product. It has gone online, but still aimed at US market.
QXpress fully supports USA, Canada, UK, Aus & NZ, but is effectly 'frozen' with no more enhancments/bug fixes (however supports all relevant versons of Quickbooks)
There a number of simple, basic US systems available that handle simple scheduling, but with no integration.
That leaves Jobber. It's a well constructed thin client system, adaptable & updgradable, has better integration options as standard, good support, but importantly does support the +44 locale.
I think we can flip-flop data into Jobber by syncing with Qucikbooks to start with and may be possible to run both side by side.
The above is a basic summary of my investigations to date.
Hi Gary.
You know they do have one user in the UK.
I have told you many times that we have used it for about 5 years.
If that's the real case, perhaps you can expand on your business size, how you use and get around the issues that SAP Support state exist for use outside of the USA?
Would love to see your share your real life experiences on LJN.... So many could learn.....
I just talked with Broc quickly at lunch about QXpress, and I don't think they have an export for your data.
You are correct in that you would just sync with QuickBooks, then sync that with Jobber and your Jobber account would be populated.
I also asked about support for the +44 locale, and he said we have a lot of companies from the UK using Jobber, so compatibility should not be an issue.
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