Arbor Age

Green Media Technology and Software Special Edition - Aug'14

For more than 30 years, Arbor Age magazine has been covering new and innovative products, services, technology and research vital to tree care companies, municipal arborists and utility right-of-way maintenance companies

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24 Green Media / August 2014 www.greenmediaonline.com PRODUCT ROUND-UP PRODUCT ROUND-UP Technology and Software Estimate Rocket Estimate Rocket allows mobile estimators and contractors to use tablets or any mobile device to calculate service/repair costs for any industry. Users insert their own pricing model and the system creates itemized estimates, with photos of proposed repair areas in a digital format, which estimators can instantaneously e-mail or print out for prospects. The Cloud-based system allows for real-time integration with offi ce personnel. Additionally, the system interfaces with custom maps and provides plotting of all pending estimates, as well as driving directions. The system's enhanced features include estimate and work scheduling and a built- in customer relationship management system to support continuous communication with prospects and customers before and after acceptance of the estimate. Estimate Rocket is being utilized by insulation professionals, landscapers, painters, sign producers, concrete repair fi rms, fl ooring specialists, legal offi ces, caterers and more contractor types each day. ExakTime ExakTime's number-one-selling mobile app tracks fi eld-based workers, transforming any smartphone or tablet into a feature-rich time tracker. The robust ExakTime mobile app allows workers to clock in with cost codes or supervisors to punch in a whole crew. It also provides effective remote oversight with tools like FaceFront Biometrics, which snaps a photo of each worker at clock-in and clock-out for later ID verifi cation at the offi ce. GPS-powered geofencing lets you confi rm that workers have punched in and out on-site, and Team View shows you the location of every clock-in that has occurred that day. With Field Notes, crews can send quick updates of important job-site data in the form of photos, audio or text comments, which are safely stored for review at your convenience. Keep your workforce honest and effi cient with ExakTime Mobile on any iPhone, iPad or Android device — no additional hardware required. NexTraq fl eet tracking system The NexTraq fl eet tracking system is a Cloud-based, comprehensive fl eet tracking solution with a number of features that increase productivity, reduce costs and simplify fl eet and business operations. NexTraq Fleet Dispatch is a powerful tool that allows users to easily schedule jobs, dispatch them to vehicles, and send messages to and from workers in the fi eld. Included is the NexTraq Job Schedule Board, which offers a drag- and-drop feature that accelerates and simplifi es other time-consuming methods of assigning jobs — all from one screen. It also shows all pending jobs and appointments, as well as employees' availability and status of their current jobs. ClearPath optimized routing is an easy-to-use feature that takes all locations and stops in a vehicle's route and orders them to create the shortest route, which can then be sent directly to the driver's device via NexTraq Connect or Fleet Dispatch. SprinklerMaps software San Diego-based software company Groundskeeper Tech (GT) is challenging the status quo with its mapping software SprinklerMaps. Introduced at the STMA National Conference in January 2014, the software application has already sparked signifi cant interest from turf managers worldwide. GT Founder Mike D'Ascanio began developing SprinklerMaps in response to a pressing need he identifi ed in his years of experience in turf maintenance. Working as head groundskeeper at the University of California, D'Ascanio grew frustrated with printed paper landscape maps, which were routinely outdated, inaccurate, or fl at-out inaccessible. As an alternative to ineffective paper landscape maps, SprinklerMaps gives users the ability to plot their irrigation and utility systems with pinpoint precision on a live satellite map, transforming an iPad into a practical landscape management tool. Additional features include a handy square-footage estimator, Sprinkler Radius Viewer, GPM tallies, and the ability to "fl ag" markers for repair. Vermeer Arbor Quote Arbor Quote is an application designed for iOS and Android smartphones that allows tree-care professionals to create and manage quotes for their tree-care business, giving them the ability to send quotes from the jobsite directly to the customer's e-mail. This estimator gathers, stores and shares key data about tree-care jobs and customers — both past and current — including things like project name or number, customer information, job location using GPS, job detail, cost and supporting imagery. Arbor Quote not only streamlines the quoting process, but it also stores customer history that may be useful for future jobs, as well as e-mail notifi cations that a quote has been sent. Additionally, the application comes complete with GPS auto-fi ll functionality and a quote summary/close-out feature.

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