Finding the Best Invoicing Software for Your Contractor Business: ServiceTitan
Finding the Best Invoicing Software for Your Contractor Business: ServiceTitan
ServiceTitan is invoicing and business management software we commonly see used in the trades, but when is it the right fit for your business? We have many blogs on how to use ServiceTitan, as well as common integration and setup issues, but we haven’t really covered who should be considering ServiceTitan.
To give you a little background on ServiceTitan, we have to go back to a program called Wintac. Wintac was a business management and field service software that specialized in contractors, especially HVAC, plumbing, and electricians. It was local software for its time, which meant it was desktop-only. It offered features like invoicing, scheduling, and dispatching, while also functioning as a CRM and inventory system that integrated with QuickBooks Desktop. ServiceTitan is a modern, cloud-based version of Wintac (FieldEdge). When Wintac was shut down, many users turned to newer cloud-based software solutions like ServiceTitan.
ServiceTitan encompasses many different features to create an all-in-one program. Note that the base program does not include all listed features, and many are available as add-ons for an additional cost.
The core platform includes CRM for customer records, scheduling and dispatching for appointment management and technician routing, work order management, service agreements, reporting, and pricing features.
ServiceTitan Add-Ons
ServiceTitan also offers several additional products designed to expand the platform.
Marketing Pro allows you to manage email, text, direct advertising, PPC tracking, audience building, and marketing analytics.
Scheduling Pro provides a 24/7 booking engine that connects directly with ServiceTitan.
Dispatch Pro adds dispatch tools, including AI-powered features designed to match incoming jobs with technicians.
Contact Center Pro provides tools for centralizing phone calls, texts, emails, and web inquiries.
Pricebook Pro provides flat-rate pricing tools to help contractors manage and standardize pricing.
Fleet Pro includes GPS tracking, geofencing, driver scorecards, and SmartView with a dual-facing AI camera for in-cab video.
Field Pro adds AI-powered sales coaching designed to improve technician-customer interactions in the field.
With these options, it is easy to see why ServiceTitan can appeal to a growing contractor. You can build a very comprehensive system around your business.
But that brings us to one of the biggest questions: Is your business actually ready for ServiceTitan?
ServiceTitan Is Highly Customizable
One of ServiceTitan’s biggest benefits is how customizable it is.
You could have six different businesses in the same zip code using ServiceTitan, and each could have a different baseline setup, modules, extensions, and workflows.
That flexibility is a major advantage.
Unlike other systems where you may have to adapt your existing business processes to the software, ServiceTitan lets you adapt the software to your business processes. When you’re implementing new software, maintaining some of the processes your team already knows can make adoption much easier.
Think about it from your employees’ perspective. If you completely change the way they do everything while also introducing a new software system, you’re asking them to learn two things at once.
Keeping some existing processes while teaching your team the new software can make it easier to drive utilization and buy-in.
However, that customization can also make implementation more involved.
ServiceTitan offers a lot of flexibility, but you need to spend time setting it up correctly. We recommend setting aside more time than you think you will need to implement ServiceTitan and get it fully ready.
Some companies also specialize in ServiceTitan implementation, build-out, and onboarding. If you don’t have the internal resources to handle the setup, bringing in someone with experience can be helpful.
How Big Should Your Business Be?
Historically, ServiceTitan was very focused on larger contractors. Plenty of smaller businesses reached out to ServiceTitan only to be told they weren’t the right fit because they were a one-, two-, or three-truck operation.
While the company has expanded its reach over time, we still think business size matters.
In our experience, ServiceTitan tends to make the most sense for businesses doing around $250,000 or more in monthly sales and operating at least five to ten trucks, although every business is different.
If you’re significantly below that size, ServiceTitan may be more software than you need.
And that leads to another important point:
ServiceTitan is an all-in-one system, but it isn’t necessarily meant to be run by one person.
You Need the Staff to Support It
A common issue we see is smaller businesses buying ServiceTitan without the staff or bandwidth to implement and operate it properly.
Think about everything that goes into a larger service business. You may have customer service representatives taking calls, dispatchers scheduling and routing technicians, technicians completing jobs, service managers reviewing work, and office staff cleaning everything up and handling accounting.
You can quickly have several different people and departments interacting with the same system.
As a general guideline, we typically like to see at least two office staff members, one service manager, and four to six technicians in the field before a business seriously considers ServiceTitan.
That isn’t a hard rule, but it gives you an idea of the organizational structure that makes a system like ServiceTitan easier to implement and use.
If you’re a two- or three-truck company and the owner is also the dispatcher, service manager, salesperson, and accountant, you may not have the bandwidth to implement the system properly.
The problem isn’t necessarily the software. The problem is that the business doesn’t have the people, time, or processes required to get the most out of it.
ServiceTitan Can Be Expensive
Another major consideration is cost.
ServiceTitan is one of the more robust systems available to contractors, but you’re paying for that level of functionality. Some competing platforms may offer many of the features you need for a fraction of the price.
That doesn’t automatically make ServiceTitan a bad investment. The real question is: How many of those features will you actually use?
Consider this during the sales process.
Make sure you understand exactly what is included in the price you’re being quoted. We have seen businesses sign up excited about all of the features ServiceTitan offers, only to discover during implementation that some of the features they expected weren’t included in their package.
That can create an unpleasant surprise when a feature you really wanted requires an additional fee.
Before signing anything, ask:
- What features are included?
- What features are add-ons?
- What will the total monthly cost be with the features we actually want?
- Are there implementation or onboarding costs?
- How long is the contract?
- What are the cancellation terms?
Don’t just look at the initial price. Look at your actual monthly cost once you have everything your business needs.
Make Sure You Understand the Contract
Another important consideration is the length of your commitment.
ServiceTitan agreements can involve multi-year commitments, so don’t assume you can cancel if the software doesn’t work out as expected.
Before signing, make sure you understand the contract length and cancellation terms. More importantly, make sure everyone involved in the purchase understands exactly what you’re getting.
If you discover three months into implementation that a feature you expected isn’t included, you don’t want that to be the first time you look closely at your agreement.
Do your homework before you sign.
Who Should Consider ServiceTitan?
So, who is ServiceTitan really for?
ServiceTitan can make a lot of sense for larger home service and trade businesses with established processes, multiple employees, and enough job volume to justify a robust all-in-one system.
It can be especially useful when different departments and roles need to work together. When your CSRs, dispatchers, technicians, service managers, office staff, and accounting team all need access to the same information, having everything connected can be extremely valuable.
It is also a strong option for businesses that want a high level of customization and are willing to invest time in implementation and training.
However, if you’re a smaller contractor, you’re very price-conscious, or you’re looking for a simpler solution, ServiceTitan may be more software than you need.
You may only need invoicing, scheduling, dispatching, customer management, and basic reporting. If so, other software options may provide what you need without the same level of complexity or cost.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, ServiceTitan is a powerful, highly customizable platform that can be a great solution for larger contractors with established processes and the staff needed to run it.
But don’t choose software simply because it has the most features.
Choose software based on how many features your business will actually use.
A system with 100 features isn’t necessarily better for your business than a system with 20 features if you’ll only use 15.
Before choosing ServiceTitan, take an honest look at your business. Do you have the staff to support it? Do you have established processes? Do you have enough revenue and job volume to justify the cost? Will you actually use the features you’re paying for? And do you understand exactly what is included in your contract?
These questions will help you determine whether ServiceTitan makes sense for your business.
As always, thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below. Any interaction with this article helps it reach other contractors who can use the information, and we appreciate it.
If you enjoyed this article, check out our other content. We put out information every week to help you better understand different software, financial topics, tax considerations, and other important aspects of running a home service or trade business.
And if you need help with your business or financial assistance, we’re here to help. Call us at 864-357-8000 or email us at info@waterfordbusiness.com. We’d love to help you better understand your numbers and make informed decisions for your business.
