Quotes that become invoices
When the customer says yes, the quote should become the job without being retyped, and hours, driving and materials should carry over to the invoice.
Guide
How to choose software for your moving company.
Good moving company software brings the quote, crew and vehicle scheduling, the crew’s work on site and the invoice together in one job. Here are the three approaches moving companies usually choose between, what the software needs to do and what to ask the vendor.
Three approaches, and what they mean day to day.
Most moving companies start with spreadsheets and the phone. As the business grows, the choice is usually between a general scheduling tool and software built for the moving trade.
| Point | Spreadsheets and phone | General tool | Moving company software |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote and invoice | Written separately, often in different programs. | Often a quoting module or an integration that has to be set up. | The quote becomes the job, and the job becomes the invoice. |
| Crews, vehicles and equipment | A sheet or a shared calendar, with changes phoned through. | Usually schedules people, less often vehicles and equipment alongside them. | Crews, vehicles and equipment are put on the job in the same calendar. |
| Crew time and damage | Notes, texts and photos in a group chat. | Time tracking is common, damage reports on the job less so. | Time and damage with photos are logged on the job in the app. |
| Driving and mileage | Estimated or written up afterwards. | Varies from tool to tool. | The route and the real mileage are on the job. |
| Terms and setup | Your own, but only in the heads of those who know them. | General terms like resource, order and project that need translating to moving. | The moving trade’s terms from the start: job, crew, vehicle, equipment and damage. |
What the software must do before it is worth switching.
Use this list when you see a demo. Ask to see each point on a real move, not on a slide.
One calendar for crews, vehicles and equipment
Dispatch is three things at once: who, which vehicle and which equipment. If the software can only schedule people, the vehicles end up in a spreadsheet again.
An app the crew actually use
The crew should see the day’s jobs, the route and the customer’s details, log time and report damage from their phone. Ask whether the app is available in the languages your people speak.
Damage with photos on the job
Damage reported with photos from the site, while the crew are standing next to it, is easier to settle with the customer than a message that arrives the next day.
Driving you can invoice
If you charge for driving, the route and the mileage should be on the job, so they reach the invoice instead of being estimated.
Accounting integration
The invoice should reach your accounting software, for example e-conomic or Dinero in Denmark, without anyone typing it in again.
Profit per job
When hours, driving and materials are on the job, the software can show what each move earned. That is the basis for pricing the next one.
Data processing agreement and data in the EU
The software will hold your customers’ names, addresses and phone numbers. The vendor is therefore a data processor, and Article 28 of the GDPR requires a written data processing agreement.
Ask the vendor before you sign.
- 1Do the movers cost the same as the office, or are there two kinds of licence?
- 2Is there a lock-in, and what happens to the price after an introductory period?
- 3Can we see the software with our own jobs, prices and vehicles?
- 4Which accounting systems are integrated today, and which are only on the way?
- 5Where is our data stored, and can we see the data processing agreement and the list of sub-processors?
- 6How do we get our data out if we leave?
- 7Is the app available for both iPhone and Android and in the languages the crew speak?
Where Movea fits, and where it doesn’t yet.
Movea is software for the moving trade: the web platform for the office and Movea App for the crew. This guide is written so it can be used to assess any software, ours included. Here is what Movea has today, and what it doesn’t.
Has today
- Quote and invoice from the same job
- Calendar with crews, vehicles and equipment
- App for iPhone and Android in English, Danish and Swedish
- Time and damage with photos on the job
- Routes with real mileage
- Integration with e-conomic and Dinero
- Profit and margin per job
- Data processing agreement and data within the EU/EEA
Doesn’t have yet
- Online booking on your website (on the way, no date)
- Integration with Billy (on the way)
- Customer signature in the app
Questions about choosing software.
- What does moving company software cost?
- Most software is priced per user per month. Check whether the movers count as full users, whether the accounting integration costs extra, and whether there is a lock-in. Movea costs €17 per user per month excl. VAT for the first 15 users, with office staff and crew at the same price and everything in the system included.
- When does it make sense to move off spreadsheets?
- When keeping the sheet up to date takes longer than planning the day, when changes have to be phoned through to the crew one at a time, or when invoices go out days after the move.
- Do we need a data processing agreement with the vendor?
- Yes. When software stores your customers’ personal data on your behalf, the vendor is a data processor, and Article 28 of the GDPR requires a written data processing agreement. Ask to see it, and the list of sub-processors, before you choose.
- Should the crew be able to use the software on their phone?
- Yes. The crew’s part of the work happens at the move: time, damage, photos and messages. If it can only be done on a computer, it gets filled in afterwards or not at all.
- How long does it take to get started?
- It mostly depends on how much has to be set up: prices, crews, vehicles and equipment. Ask for it to be set up with your own data during the demo, so you see the software as it will look for you. At Movea, that is exactly what the 20-minute demo is.
Sources
See Movea on your own jobs.
20 minutes online, where we set up your rates, crews and vans and run a real move through the system. No lock-in, no installation.