CarpetBossPro Blog — Tech App

Choosing a Carpet Tech App: What to Check Before You Switch

Switching software is a real cost. You move your customers, train your techs and change habits that have worked for years. So before you pick a tech app for your carpet company, it is worth checking whether it actually fits the way carpet work is done, not just whether it has a nice login screen.

Start With the Customer in Mind

The customer side of the system is covered in The Customer Side of the Carpet Cleaning App: What Homeowners See While Your Tech Works. Keep it in mind while you shop, because any tech app you choose should connect to what the customer sees.

Below is a checklist of questions to ask about any tech app, whether it is generic field-service software, one of the big franchise systems, or a carpet-specific tool.

Does It Know What a Carpet Job Is?

Generic field-service apps treat every job as an address and a notes box. A carpet job is more than that. Ask:

• Can the job show which areas are being cleaned: bedrooms, living room, hallway, stairs, basement, whole house?
• Does it show square feet and number of rooms?
• Can it show carpet type and cleaning method?
• Does it handle upholstery, area rugs, mattresses and tile & grout as part of the same job?
• Are add-ons like pet odor treatment, stain protector and deodorizer on the job, not buried in a note?
• Are there real access notes for pets, gate codes, van parking and hose routes?
• Does a new job at a home fill in from the last one, and does an approved estimate carry its details onto the job?

If the answer to most of these is “you can type it in the notes,” your techs will be back on paper within a month.

Is There a Real Carpet Checklist?

A checklist built for carpet work is one of the clearest signs an app was made for the trade. Look for the steps your techs already follow, from the walk-through to the final walk-through with dry time explained. Then check whether add-on steps appear only when sold, and whether the tech can record rooms cleaned, estimated dry time, stains that did not come out, a condition and a note for the customer. Finally, ask whether the office sees the finished checklist on the job. See The Carpet Cleaning Checklist in the Tech App, Step by Step for what that looks like in CarpetBossPro.

Does It Run the Day Without Phone Calls?

The tech app should replace the calls between the van and the office, not add to them. Check for:

• Jobs in route order, matching the office's dispatch board.
• One-tap navigation.
• Start, Skip with a reason, and Complete.
• Before-and-after photos saved with the job and visible to the customer.
• Automatic on-the-way and arrived texts, with customer-chosen alerts.
• Replies going to the office, not the tech.
• Crew GPS on the office map and a time clock in the same app.

Does It Get You Paid?

Payment should happen at the job, not a week later. Ask whether completing a job creates the invoice, whether a card on file can be charged at completion, and whether customers can pay online. For commercial and property manager work, ask whether a client can get one monthly statement covering every address. Payment at completion is covered in Charging the Card on File When the Carpet Tech Taps Complete.

Will It Work on Your Crew's Phones and Budget?

Practical questions matter just as much:

• Phones: Does it run on both iPhone and Android? Does it need an app store download, or does it run in the browser and install to the home screen?
• Logins: Does each tech get a personal PIN? Can you turn off access when someone leaves?
• Pricing: Is the tech app included or an extra charge per user? CarpetBossPro plans are Start at $59, Pro at $89 and Crew at $199 per month, with the tech app on every plan.
• Moving in: Can you bring your customers over with a CSV import, with addresses placed on the map automatically?
• Where you work: CarpetBossPro works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, billing customers in their own currency.

Test It Like a Tech

The best test is a real one. Click through a sample company in the live demo at my.carpetbosspro.com/demo.html with no signup. Then start a 14-day free trial with no credit card, add a few of your own customers, give a tech a PIN and run a morning with it. Watch how many times they call the office. That number tells you more than any feature list.

This guide wraps up the tech app series. To go back to the overview, or to look at how the tech app connects to estimates, routing, repeat cleanings and billing, visit the CarpetBossPro carpet cleaning app page.