Fergus

Vorteile

We went from a single person operation to 4 people on the road and one office based team member. The old program we were using didn't have enough quite do every thing we wanted and was quite clunky on site. The way in which Fergus flows and easily displays information regarding jobs means there is no confusion on site and when used correctly office staff can collate the data to create invoices easily, meaning we can get invoices out faster and hopefully paid faster. Now with the additional benefit of Fergus offering our customers credit card payment, we have found even less reason for customer not to pay. The schedulling calander on Fergus gives us the best forsite we have ever had to see potential lead times and alsogives us a better look at keeping things ahead of jobs wth regards to ordering materials and organising other important parts to any given job. Our guys on site love it as it is super simple to use for them and realistically cuts down there paperwork too. Time sheets created off all there job data is done automatically meaning the office is not trying to get times off them each week to do payroll.
In general Fergus has made our business run smoother and less things get forgotten about, missed or overlooked.

Nachteile

The biggest thing that we find as a downfall would only be it is not that simple to see what price you have sold a product for previously. (Well not that we are aware of).
In saying that Fergus seem to be very dedicated to listening to what their customers want and make updates regularly, I''m sure that it will only be a matter of time until they create a tool to help with this.

Vorteile

- Easy
- Very visual
- custom emails responses & templates
- supplier invoice downloads (JA Russell)
- field staff find easy to complete COC's and job cards
- forms is easy to use for internal audits and tailgates

Nachteile

- WIP doesn't download very well would be great if PDF Option
- unable to custom status's
- unable to create credits for invoices have to void then recharge
- quoting reporting would be great if we could filter to groups
- hazards need to be mitigated by all staff however not all staff are scheduled on works?

Vorteile

intuitive nature of this system ease of use

Nachteile

nothing seems to fit our model and work in well

Vorteile

Desktop and mobile sites are easy to use. Integration with suppliers and accounting software is key. Scheduling is simple and easy. Just starting out with forms but that seems like a really good option. Invoicing is easy. Customer support are always knowledgeable and get the answers needed

Nachteile

Sorry guys 2 things

I know you have integrated with google calanders but I think just a calander similar to google calanders would have been suffice. I would really like to be able to look at a month display (like a widget on android) and see the upcoming work. When customers ask me when we can come back or when are we available, often I am in the field when I get asked this and being able to draw up a quick calander display would really help me.

2nd thing No inventory list of stock. Ideally I would like to have an accurate list of what is in staff members vehicles and what our holding stock is, just makes it easier when ordering or servicing breakdowns.

Vorteile

- User interface is very easy for the staff to use, mobile app is very usable to for the field staff. It's really basic but does exactly what we need.

Nachteile

We are a facilities maintenance plumbing - so an asset management portion of the software would be good as well as the Re occuring function would be very practical for us.

Vorteile

I love the Dashboard view. Once you've done some training, it's really simple to use and you can't really make an unfix-able error in Fergus.

Nachteile

The response time from the support team is much slower than a few years ago. I guess that's progress as they're a much bigger company now. However, the personal support and reaction time was fantastic a few years ago.

Vorteile

Great technical back up in layman's terms and we feel that we are being listened to.
Your people who answer questions do a great job.
I also like the information in "Notifications" about any problems that Fergus may be experiencing.

Nachteile

There is a lot of information and procedures that are a bit daunting at the start

Vorteile

The chat bot is very effective and informative.

Nachteile

There are alit of features. Know how to use Fergus to its full capacity I think there could be a more simpler version for tradesman who may not be tech wise or prefer simpler tech.

Vorteile

Fergus software is easy to use and integrates exceptionally well with Xero accounting software. It doesn't matter where I am in the world I can have immediate access, and with one look can see from start to finish how my business is progressing to ensure great cash flow.

Its simple to use and easily helps all of my staff to achieve their daily goals. Fergus has helped to systematise our work flow to ensure the best benefits for our staff and our clients. An exceptionally good tool.

Nachteile

whats not to like? how many companies can you call up and if its practical, and helpful to all users, will alter their software to suit

Vorteile

Easy to use, dashboard easy to navigate, able to manage job status at a glance, easy assigning of jobs to plumbers, able to export to payroll system, import Creditor invoices directly to job, easy importing of price book catalogues, able to access from anywhere as cloud based, quoting in seconds, and so much more.

Nachteile

Nothing to report - This software does not have any "Cons" to report back on, everything about Fergus is user friendly and yet Fergus are continually updating the system in an effort to make even more user friendly.

Vorteile

Amazing Scheduling, Map functions and Job tracking for field staff and Finance Division

Nachteile

The reporting functins for quoteing especially is lacking. We want to know how succesful our sales team is and this software needs to elevate to make it function in the CRM department.

Vorteile

Entering time sheets, phone tracking, integration with our suppliers csv files, linking to xero, favourites lists with materials, photo attachments. Staff reply relatively quickly to any queries and seem happy to help. System seems to constantly grow, many new features since we first signed up.

Nachteile

Compliance's could do with some more auto-fill features like drop downs on frequently submitted parts. Off-line ability when it comes to filling in times on a job when you're out of service and searching jobs. Apprentice on entry level subscription cant search for jobs unless he is assigned to it which is a pain (has no search bar option at all). Quotes and estimates could do with being a bit more separate as we have a different blurb at the bottom for quotes than estimates and I have to alter it if its an estimate because we use the quote template blurb. Be nice if on the desktop version you could add multiple people to a time entry like you can on the mobile version

Vorteile

A complete all round package you only need this and your accounting package. I use Fergus and Xero which integrate seamlessly together and the system can be accessed any time anywhere. Now that everything has moved from paper to cloud - nothing gets missed! Everything is loaded directly against the job and you can track your profitability throughout the project. NO more backcosting! Plus, all the timesheets are loaded for payroll - everything in the one place. But best thing is being able to call and talk to someone on the other end of the phone. Its great to be able to talk through a process and solve a problem quickly so I can return to business and get the job done.

Nachteile

That you are unable to change the colour of the text to make a point. For example it would be great if we could use red printing for the customers that are bad debtors and therefore when they phone a job in - it would be noticeable and easy to see.

Vorteile

simple to use and ease of use. makes my business much smoother. typing this message is now annoying me.

Nachteile

would be nice if customers had access to post notes on a job , so as we can monitor all correspondence.
would be good if one person could insert hours for multiple persons on the online version and not app version (one click does all workers)
being able to insert your own test certificates and compliance certificates (Australia) is a massive miss.

when creating an invoice and importing workers hours it would be good if the description of what each worker did next to their hours so the client can understand what each worker has done, at the moment the hours and the job description are in different areas.

Ipad pro does not let you type in lower font when entering materials to a job

Vorteile

The fact that every job is easily managed and can be traced back when required by clients. If all information is loaded on to each job, it makes life so easy to manage, service, and invoice all at the click of a mouse.

Nachteile

Not a lot really, just minor things when allocating jobs to staff. When changing a job to another staff member, you then need to physically need to go back inot the job and physically delete them from that job, as it will show up on the system that they have not entered time, or need to attend site.

Vorteile

the ease for my employees to use with time sheets and seeing what jobs they are allocated too. invoicing structure to jobs makes life easy.

Nachteile

I have a lot of builders using fergus to run there businesses, and all really enjoy it. the one thing we would all really like to have on fergus is Gantt chart system for us to run our jobs in. doesnt have to be to technical to start with but it would really benefit us in programming our jobs and passing onto clients. Id love you guys to have one as i currently have to pay for it through another company and it gets rather annoying and confusing.

Vorteile

Can do the basics that helps my business function.

Nachteile

Couldn’t work out how to set up favourites.

Vorteile

We really like the software as it keeps all job files, materials, labour and communication in one easy to reach system.
Its great for all staff to be able to have access to the same job information and progress.

Nachteile

The favourites and custom price book features seem to need a lot more work to make them easier to use, for example it would be much easier if we could add a line item or multiple line items from a quote into either favourites or the custom price list by selecting the line items in the quote. Also if you could save a favourite/ custom price book item, then edit it slightly and save the new favourite under a sub heading.

Vorteile

There is so much I like about Fergus, but probably my favorite is that I know EVERY expense incurred by a job will be accounted for in the Job's invoice. Nothing is missed.

Nachteile

It would be good to be able to enter "Due By" dates when entering Supplier Invoices. Or have a default "Due at end of next Month" setting.

Vorteile

The software keeps getting better and better and my team find it easy to use. The photos on the job are invaluable for sorting out all kind of questions.

Nachteile

The inability to output multiple revenue streams. ie see profitability for small, medium and large projects. Would like to have three profit centres in Zero. However I am restricted to just labour & materials.

Vorteile

I use this on every aspect of my day to day month to month job plan. It syncs with my accounting package and I never have to go to any other software package.

Nachteile

To be honest I have yet to find anything I would call cons. You dream of great software to help you, well here it is. people who understand and have created exactly what we need

Vorteile

Its functionality - it does a lot.
If we don't know how to use it, Fergus support is always only a call away with the solution.
Fergus is continually developing the software and is very user-centric in that it takes on development suggestions from its users.

Nachteile

I've always found GPS location is quite patchy - unreliable

Vorteile

Fergus is a great system we are using to help with job scheduling and management of our workers and also great with invoicing jobs once completed, as it links with our xero account as well. Its also provides us with good analytical data on jobs, so we can see our margins and net profit we are making. Very happy with the service provided.

Nachteile

Set up was interesting and we got some advice from a local virtual assistant company to help with it. It would be great if Fergus had a local contractor to help with this in our area.

Vorteile

keeps all the jobs in order and helps give me an overall picture of how the job is going with a click of the button

Nachteile

The time sheet user can't search for created jobs if not assigned or add photos (not sure if that is a setting issue) . Feels like they are very limited but yet a full user is too much for their position level.

Vorteile

Fergus is great and easy to use. it allows a range of services that make running a business much more manageable. it also has clear instructions and helpful customer service who are always a lot of help.

Nachteile

There aren't particularly any issues that i have found

Vorteile

How simple and easy it is to use and communicate to my workers.

Nachteile

Nil

Vorteile

It is a one stop shop "power house" that runs our electrical and heat pump contracting business. It integrates seamlessly to Xero which has made it very simple to implement. We like the ability to track staff when required and the fact that it has a full health and safety component also. The customers enjoy the interface through email and we regard the ability of the system to track and record site related information to be very valuable for all users. By adopting this system we are now seen as professional and progressive with in our town. We are now capturing better information about job costs before we send invoices which has helped us to raise our overall profit margin. We no longer have jobs falling through the cracks at invoicing time either. The scheduling features are fantastic, all staff can see what is on for the week, not just those in the office that can see the whiteboard! The workers on the ground have access to client details which allows them to make contact without input from the office, they also have full job history and quote/estimate information which makes their job easier also. The App runs on any mobile platform which solves the android vs IOS debate, we just use the platform that we like. No software to manage is also a bonus, if we have internet access... were in business! This has been the biggest leap towards a paperless office that we've made so far. We enjoy the friendly knowledgeable helpdesk staff who always answer the phone promptly. Awesome!

Nachteile

Once you have published a quote, you can no longer edit it... if you find a mistake or want to add something extra to the quote. The search engine on electrical items can be abit poor, maybe it could show frequently selected or used items at the top of the search results list. The financial summary has too much information in it, it is so busy. There could be more price options, we would like to bring on another administrator on a 3 hrs per day basis and another electrical worker on a 2-3 days basis, it is quite expensive for part timers. There is no drawing software in the system for quoting, some others such as Simpro, System fox and Katipult have this on-board. (I think these are usually based on Visio). J A Russell don't API to the system like Corys and Plumbing World do, could be easier for us if they did the same.

Vorteile

CSV uploads for invoices saves so much time from having to manually enter every. single. piece of gear! Having everything on a job number to easily find. Times, materials and anything to do with a particular job is in one place. Being able to Pin notes on jobs for any updates or special information. As long as everything is put on the job number nothing is forgotten. Ability to have a different client and site contact and address. Ease of finding client details.

Nachteile

We find the health and safety a bit clunky to use - but haven't looked into it really well as our main health and safety is done through someone else... Would be great if PS3s and As Builts could be done using Fergus. We need these for almost every job and we have to do them and upload as files on the job. The gas certs are awesome though. Also, we pay time and a half after certain amount of hours are worked, so would be great to have the possibility for fergus to pick up this cost after certain hours are worked or any work logged for a Saturday as this is a manual cost I need to take into account when back costing.

Vorteile

The pricing and Quoting feature is fantastic, with integrated supplier price books and search bars makes quoting a breeze. Also great to have pricing templates for larger common jobs in "favorites" section.

Nachteile

One Idea I thought would be great is a section to be able to write out plumbing reports for customers which could have photos etc added to them and would just generate out with the letterhead and customer info attached similar to the invoices would be great.

Vorteile

Fergus is a User friendly software. Right from the start, from importing & transferring existing data, through to the day to day use. The initial training was great - targeting each area we needed assistance with, to ensure we get the most out of the system. The ongoing support is good with a useful help button directing us to documentation, as well as the helpdesk team and one-on-one with our CS Manager, when needed. Really friendly and approachable team.
Working within a Job is easy through the app or online . We enjoy the flexibility with quoting and invoicing - being able to present these in various formats for individual customers. The Status Board is useful as this gives an overall view of where all jobs are at. It's then easy to drill down into these for a deeper look.
Being able to do variations within a job has been invaluable to us - our previous software didn't allow this.

Nachteile

Fergus are pro-active in continuing to develop their software, and we appreciate that not every single thing we would like is available, but they do listen and send our requests through to their development team. One small thing is being able to charge out 'unpaid' time on a job, within timesheeting. We can work around this, but it's a bit clunky for us.
It would be good to have a quicker turnaround on the online support at times. However, after mentioning this, we have experienced a good improvement.

Vorteile

Tracking and entering costs (both labor and materials) has made our invoicing and quoting much more accurate. Being able to set up favorite item lists makes quoting much less of a chore than it used to be as items can be just selected from a pre made list and added where needed.

Our wholesalers send us daily CSV files with our purchases which are then uploaded directly to Fergus. The Job numbers are all linked already so its just a matter of clicking a button and the materials are automatically assigned to the job and corresponding site visit.

Pricelists are also uploaded from our wholesalers so prices for thousands of items are available instantly and are up to date. This means jobs can be invoiced quickly and on site if need be.

We also use Xero for our accounting software and Fergus integrates perfectly with it.

Nachteile

Integration with the Xero employee pay function is the only thing lacking. At the moment all our employee times are entered into Fergus for each job then each week their hours need to be enetered into Xero again for the pay cycle. It would be great if they talked to each other so we didnt have to do it twice.

Vorteile

How it keeps track of 99% of everything I need to run the day to day side of my business. I dunno how I managed with out it. Everything is attached to the job electronically and you can go back and look up what you need.

Nachteile

There’s no inventory to track the left over materials from a job to reassign them to another

Vorteile

I love that I have every detail of each job file in one place, from the first call of a potential client, to the last invoiced, all the job history, ie correspondence between Us and the client or Us and a supplier or any account detail relating to the job. I really like that it is locally owned.

Nachteile

Our accountant struggles with certain aspects when needing to retrieve financial information and do reports. I personally wish that in order to show to and fro correspondence in any specific job, that I wouldn't have to copy and paste replies from Outlook back to Fergus. Keeping a paper trail is vital in our business.

Vorteile

It's easy to use and track everything you have done. The functionality for importing supplier documents and attaching files and photos to jobs is great.

Nachteile

I would like an undo button for when you make a little error on an invoice and don't want to have to go back and start the whole thing again.

Vorteile

Upto a few years ago a big part of my business was running blind so I went hunting for a software management program to get us sorted. I tried nearly every program on the market from Tradify, Workflo Max, Service m8, GeOp and many more, I even doubled back and trialed some of them again. I ran through several jobs in each software program but just couldn't find a program that would do what I needed. They all had helpful features but none of them were as fitting as Fergus. Fergus just works well, and is getting better all the time. Quotes are a breeze and invoicing takes me about 30 mins a day. I love using fergus and recommend to any business as a must have.

Nachteile

The software does everything I need to run my business so cant see any cons. Would be nice if the software had a faster GPS tracking system but I am sure this will come in time.

Vorteile

The fact that it interlinks with your suppliers, and that the app shows you your tracking, that's good for invoicing and making sure the right times get added.

Nachteile

not any cons but adjustment or improvements, that can be made, on the maps if it can show you all your clients , and on the invoices if it could show that its been paid or voided or so would be nice.

Vorteile

Quick and easy assigning of staff to jobs each day

Nachteile

I originally tried to do use it with MYOB, but that did not work well so had to shift to Zero at the same time as setting up Fergus

Vorteile

I can now manage my time much better with the jobs costings completed in a timely manner for invoicing and can track jobs so much easier.
The reduction in data entry for invoicing is huge for me, as is the reduction of paper I had to juggle!!!. There is less chasing up of staff as to what parts they used, makes the staff much more accountable and so great to be able to see how much of their time is chargeable/nonchargeable
Also what made this system easy for me to pick up was the excellent training provided by their customer support has been awesome.
I'd fully recommend training sessions soon after you sign up, the tutorials are good too, as is the chat button when I had a query.
I wish we had gotten onto this software ages ago.....
I do so love it, thanks, Fergus!!!

Nachteile

Some parts weren't that user-friendly for starters until you knew what was what from Training sessions.
eg where it looks like the box is already ticked, but it means you have to click on it, I'd rather the box was empty and then you tick it for completion.
Also some of the font colours - grey - do make things a bit tricky, don't know why it couldn't all be black and the more important bits in bold??

Vorteile

The automation with accounting services, employees and trade suppliers so we never miss charging on materials or hours.

Nachteile

Some fiddly bits like trying to change margins on materials in invoicing ; I also have trouble going 'back' a screen or move if i make a mistake.

Vorteile

ALmost everything. It saves us a heap of time with scheduling and processing jobs. It is easy to use and reliable. There is alot of capacity to communicate with both customers & employees within the app. Reporting is a breeze and at a click of a button. Excellent

Nachteile

There are only two things - sometimes it takes more clicks than necessary to navigate around the website which is a bit of a pain. And the invoicing/statements functionality and payments process could be improved - I currently can't select for a statement for a certain time frame within a customers account and it would be good to be able to record payments at the time of invoicing instead of ok'ing the invoice and then having to process the payment.

Vorteile

Its a true all in one service management software. The program is user friendly and has the best configuration Ive used so far. The price point is perfect. The apps for iOS and Android are seamless with the browser.

Nachteile

I would like the ability to upload different certifications. The standard is for electrical services. Please add support for FireFox and Microsoft Edge.

Vorteile

It covers having a customer file, GPS logs, H&S, jobs, calendars, quoting and invoicing. So I like that we only have to have one system that works really well with our accounting package.

Nachteile

When you get used to using something and really like the way it was but then it changes. For example, the new map.

Vorteile

Seamless connection from the suppliers to Fergus and then to Xero.
Labour hours can be allocated, inputted they the boys and then invoiced and pays.

Nachteile

There are some little thing in the calender that are a bit clumsy, very limited app use for an apprentice and inputting material onto a job card though the app.

Vorteile

The software is so easy to learn and use. It's accessible on my phone & Ipad so I can check information and jobs anywhere. It works perfectly with Xero.

Nachteile

There's no way to track van stock. And recently I could add another customer who had the same name as an existing customer.

Vorteile

Ease of use, customisable, extensive features, customer support, price. No downtime, local and fast support, able to run my business off an iPhone and iPad. Integrates with Xero brilliantly, no need to manually transfer files over.

Nachteile

After using this app for almost a year I am yet to find a con, I have used similar programs in the past which are much larger and more expensive but don't have the Features that Fergus has. Brillant App.

Vorteile

easy to use and great for customization

Nachteile

cost !!! when i first started using the software it was free for businesses with 1 employee

Vorteile

Easy to use and all in one place. Great how csv files integrate so no downloading and data processing of invoices from the major firms (hopefully one day all firms will be integrated!) Reporting good.

Nachteile

Not quite suited to a commercial plumbing firm, lacks in some areas such as retention payments, large on-going jobs and not repairs and maintenance type work.

Vorteile

Fergus talks to our accounts package.
It enabled our business to invoice out sooner and pick up all the costs.

Nachteile

I do not have any dislikes about Fergus. It works very well for our business

Vorteile

It is a great tool to grow your business. I am able to track my workers on the field at any time. I am able to save a lot of time processing paperwork.

Nachteile

You are not able to edit/ add to a published quote.

Vorteile

It has everything I need to use on a daily basis and allows me access to all my site notes, photos, and day sheets remotely so I can always access what I need to know about any job quickly. This program allows quotes/estimates, invoicing, supplier documents, day sheets and employee trackers all in the one program.
Fergus sends all sales and purchase data entered directly to some accounting software. Easy importing of supplier documents.

Nachteile

I have found the GPS to be a little slow to load. Also the fact invoices can't be easily edited after approved can be a little frustrating.