PestBossPro Blog — Pest Control Software

What to Look for in a Pest Control Software Demo

Software demos are built to impress. Smooth clicks, a dashboard full of sample data, a feature you didn't know you needed. Thirty minutes later you're excited and not much wiser about whether it will work for your company on a Tuesday in July. The fix is to walk into the demo with your own checklist and make the software show you your work.

Bring Your Own Day

If you're coming off paper, Getting Off Paper Service Tickets: Moving a Pest Control Company Into Software lays out what each piece of paper should become. Use that as your checklist.

Before the demo, write down one real day: five or six of your actual stops, with a quarterly account, a mosquito customer, a commercial account and a call-in like a wasp nest. Ask to see that day in the software, start to finish. If the demo only shows sample data, you can at least follow along with your day in mind.

1. Recurring Service

Ask: How does a quarterly account come due? You want to see it happen on its own, from the plan, not by booking the next appointment manually. In PestBossPro, plans are set by minimum days between visits (90, 60, 30) and due accounts land on the Waiting List map, colored not due yet, due now or overdue.

Then ask: How do I turn a cluster of due accounts into a route? Watch how many clicks it takes. Circling an area on a map is a good answer.

2. Application Records

This is where generic field-service software usually falls short. Ask to see a completed treatment's record. Does it include the products, active ingredients, EPA reg. no., rates and amounts, area treated, target pest, site, equipment, tech name and license number, weather and re-entry interval?

Then ask: How do I find treatments missing a record? and How do I pull records for a date range? PestBossPro answers with the “need a chemical record” button and chemical reports. Be wary of any software that says it makes you “compliant” — no software can promise that. Your state's rules and the label decide what your records must say.

3. The Tech App

Ask to see the tech app on a phone, not a laptop. How does a tech sign in? Is there an app store download, or does it run in the browser? What does a job card show? How many taps does it take to complete a stop and record what was applied?

Imagine your least patient tech using it with gloves on in the sun. If it needs a form for every stop, they won't use it. More on the tech side in The Pest Control Tech App: What Your Technicians See on Their Phones.

4. Customer Communication

Ask what the customer sees and when. Are night-before, on-the-way and arrived texts automatic? Can the customer choose which ones they get? Can they reply, and where do replies go? Is there a customer app where they can see invoices, pay, update a card and request service? Are post-treatment instructions sent automatically?

Also ask how texting is counted. PestBossPro plans include 500, 1,000 or 2,000 segments sent and received each month, depending on the plan.

5. Billing and Commercial Accounts

Ask to see an invoice created from a completed job and charged to a card on file. Then ask about a commercial account: If a restaurant group has four locations, what do they get each month? The answer you want is one statement covering every location. Also ask about sales tax, online payment, past-due follow-up and prepayments for a mosquito season.

6. Getting Your Data In

Ask: How do my customers get into the system? A CSV import that places addresses on the map automatically is what you want. Ask who does it, how long it takes, and what happens with addresses that don't place correctly.

Questions About the Deal

• What does it cost per month, all in? PestBossPro is $59, $89 or $199 a month.
• Is there a free trial, and do I need a card to start it? PestBossPro's trial is 14 days with no credit card.
• Is there a long contract? Know before you start.
• Can I try it with my own data? A demo shows you the software. A trial with your accounts shows you your business in the software.

Try the Demo Yourself

PestBossPro has a live demo you can click through on your own time, without a salesperson. Then start a trial with a few real accounts and run one real day. For an overview of everything to check, see the PestBossPro pest control software page.