{"id":7110,"date":"2017-03-31T15:23:59","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T19:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundationsoft.com\/?p=7110"},"modified":"2024-05-21T15:26:45","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T19:26:45","slug":"future-brightens-solar-service-contractor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundationsoft.com\/learn\/future-brightens-solar-service-contractor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future Brightens for a Solar Service Contractor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"gdlr-button medium without-border\" href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/foundation_in_action\/FOUNDATION-in-Action-12.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"  style=\"color:#ffffff; background-color:#000000; \"  >Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With a busy service department handling around 5,000 calls in its peak seasons, <a href=\"https:\/\/solarcraft.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SolarCraft Services Inc.<\/a> depends on their software keeping up with its pace of business. And business has been strong \u2014 totaling over 6,000 solar thermal installations in Northern California. But in 2015, when controller Pat K. was a dispatcher for SolarCraft, their construction software was struggling to deliver across the board.<\/p>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/construction-accounting-software-ebook\/\" class=\"blog-cta-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2024-05-FSL-blog-post-ad-5-ways-ebook.png\" alt=\"eBook Download\" title=\"eBook Download\"><\/a>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CA_Service_Module_Was_an_Absolute_Necessity%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>\u201cA Service Module Was an Absolute Necessity\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cIt was the software you get at the bottom of a cereal box,\u201d Pat jokes now. \u201cIt was buggy to say the least. We learned to work around it, but it was difficult to get the solutions they gave us to work consistently. Their support was terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A consultant for SolarCraft, Jeff, was in the midst of an exhaustive software search. Meanwhile, Pat was scheduling up to six technicians each day, with between 10 and 12 calls each. Their current system may have been far from perfect, but whatever they might replace it with couldn\u2019t be allowed to slow them down. As time passed, however, no single software package seemed to tick all the boxes for SolarCraft\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA service module was an absolute necessity. There was a lot of software we looked at that didn\u2019t have it, or else it was very weak.\u201d Pat remembers, \u201cWe needed something that was strong and reliable.\u201d They also wanted the option to go with traditional on-premise software instead of being forced onto the cloud. Finally, having a system that used an <a href=\"\/software\/microsoft-sql\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SQL database<\/a> was a big factor too.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff then got in touch with Foundation Software. He began communicating with one of their sales representatives about <a href=\"\/software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FOUNDATION\u00ae<\/a> and its optional <a href=\"\/software\/service-dispatch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Service Dispatch Module<\/a>. Pat was brought into the conversation too, he says: \u201cI got to ask him questions from the service end of things. I was really interested in the functionalities of contracts and service histories. As soon as I saw I had what I needed, I was all for FOUNDATION.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CIt_Was_Seamless%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>\u201cIt Was Seamless\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>SolarCraft describes their transition as smooth. They even took the lead, taking advantage of their ability to format and import past data into FOUNDATION themselves, though Foundation Software\u2019s training team was ready to step in when needed. \u201cOur trainer, Ryan, guided us from the beginning, and the support we got from Foundation was helpful,\u201d Pat says. \u201cWe were able to do a lot of the process ourselves, and it went well. It was seamless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since they\u2019ve been up and running, Tricia C., SolarCraft\u2019s accountant, has certainly noticed a difference. \u201cOur processes are definitely more streamlined. On the accounts payable side, being able to see POs as they\u2019re received and easily matched up with invoices is great, and it\u2019s good to know that <a href=\"\/software\/accounts-payable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A\/P<\/a> has a variance you can set so invoices aren\u2019t continually kicked back.\u201d She\u2019s seen internal controls improve as well. They can now restrict users to only the functions and reports they need in order to do their job: \u201cThey\u2019re only allowed to do what they\u2019re allowed to do. They can see what they need to see without making changes they shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now the controller for SolarCraft, Pat also sees additional benefits from the software he helped to pick as a dispatcher. \u201cFor me, I love the DataGenie and all the different genies they have,\u201d he says, referring to FOUNDATION\u2019s series of <a href=\"\/software\/construction-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">custom report, invoice and import designers<\/a>. \u201cThose are great. I love how FOUNDATION allows you to do different imports like journal entries and to import data into different places throughout the different modules.\u201d Here\u2019s where that SQL database they were after pays off. \u201cBecause I have experience with SQL, I can easily build tools for us as we use the system.\u201d<\/p>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/demo-video-player\/\" class=\"blog-cta-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/FSL-blog-post-ad-fsl-in-action.png\" alt=\"Watch a Demo\" title=\"Watch a Demo\"><\/a>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Looking back too, Pat\u2019s still pleased with how the software fits their needs as a labor-intensive service contractor. \u201cIn general, I like the way everything in FOUNDATION ties together very well. The service module is designed well. I love the dynamic filtering so you can see which dispatches are available where, with who and what \u2014 it\u2019s a very powerful feature. Yeah, I\u2019d say I found it very easy to get used to and to get our new service manager and dispatcher to use them. I think the service module is a great addition.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a busy service department handling around 5,000 calls in its peak seasons, SolarCraft Services Inc. depends on their software keeping up with its pace of business. And business has been strong \u2014 totaling over 6,000 solar thermal installations in Northern California. But in 2015, when controller Pat K. was a dispatcher for SolarCraft, their construction software was struggling to deliver across the board.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":21601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-7110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-study","tag-case-study"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Contractor Accounting Software Brightens SolarCraft Services Future<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With busy service &amp; dispatch, SolarCraft Services Inc. depends on FOUNDATION SaaS contractor accounting software to keep up with its pace of business.\" 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