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
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/469201
32 SPRING 2015 n ARBOR AGE www.arborage.com PRODUCT ROUND-UP 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 e-mail or print out for prospects instantaneously. The Cloud-based system allows for real-time integration with office 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 firms, flooring specialists, legal offices, caterers and more contractor types each day. EXAKTIME ExakTime's number- one-selling mobile app tracks field-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 verification at the office. GPS-powered geofencing lets you confirm 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 efficient with ExakTime Mobile on any iPhone, iPad or Android device — no additional hardware required. NEXTRAQ FLEET TRACKING SYSTEM The NexTraq fleet tracking system is a Cloud- based, comprehensive fleet tracking solution with a number of features that increase productivity, reduce costs and simplify fleet 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 field. Included is the NexTraq Job Schedule Board, which offers a drag-and-drop feature that accelerates and simplifies 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. 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 notifications that a quote has been sent. Additionally, the application comes complete with GPS auto-fill functionality and a quote summary/close-out feature. ARBORGOLD There are two ways to increase profit; grow sales or reduce costs. Arborgold does both. It's a powerful Cloud-based tool specifically designed for the tree, lawn and landscape business. Created to help you schedule, manage and market your business, it simplifies and streamlines your business, making it easy to grow more efficiently. All phone message and appointments entered are immediately available to sales reps in the field. Just one click to organize all of your jobs in the best possible route/order showing your crews the fastest way to each job site. It's an easy way to save time, money and gas. Filter unscheduled work by area, type, equipment, and inventory. Visualize unscheduled work on map, select and schedule. Simplify invoicing, cash receipts, and statements, and sync to QuickBooks with no double entry issues. Shorten your sales cycle and close more sales that would have otherwise been lost. Automate renewals and pre-pay letters for repeat services. Track all of your direct job costs including employees, equipment, and inventory so that you can easily see each job's profitability. Crews can view and update daily work order and job information from a phone or tablet. TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE