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Best Dispatch Software

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No one enjoys dispatch management. Until now. Proper dispatch software will change your mind. We spent hours researching the top providers to narrow it down to the six best. Our recommendation for most users is Samsara. With it, you are going to discover how you can manage your entire fleet with no kinks in the productivity chain. Specialized dispatch tools? Samsara has those too, and they’re extremely efficient and effective, and that’s not all.

The Best Dispatch Software for Most

Samsara Logo

Samsara Financial

Best for most

Looking for something that covers all aspects of fleet management? Samsara is our top recommendation with an advanced dispatch tool that allows you to assign routes and reroute vehicles mid trip if you need to. Drivers receive automatic SMS alerts when things change so everyone’s always in the loop. Includes an AI dashcam, asset tracking, fleet maintenance, wifi hotspots, and more.

Samsara keeps your drivers and field service technicians alerted to changes and updates with customizable, automated SMS messaging. The state-of-the-art technology can manage your reps in real time and reroute them if need be.

If you are looking for the technology that keeps everyone connected and simplifies fleet maintenance, you get it with Samsara. You also get powerful AI features and 360-degree visibility of both your workers and assets.

The Best 6 Dispatch Software Options to Consider

  1. Samsara – Best For Most
  2. Verizon Connect – Best For Vehicle Maintenance
  3. Synchroteam – Best For Large Dispatch Service
  4. Housecall Pro – Best For Small Contractor Teams
  5. Routific – Best For Local Delivery Business
  6. FieldPoint – Best For Managing Subcontractors  

When It Makes Sense to Invest Into Dispatch Software

If you continually face driver shortages, dispatch software can help you efficiently assign jobs.

The software gives you a full calendar view of each technician’s daily, weekly, or monthly schedule so that you can assign jobs accordingly. Since the software keeps a history of all deliveries or services, you can better anticipate peak delivery periods going forward.

It might also be the case that you are struggling to manage communication between dispatchers and technicians. Dispatch software also improves communication between dispatchers and technicians with in-app communication, allowing real-time contact between teams.

Technicians can update their progress throughout the day, allowing dispatchers to organize upcoming jobs better. 

Additionally, if you’re dealing with outdated spreadsheets and whiteboards that are inefficient and hard to adjust to real-time changes. Dispatch software allows you to change jobs, assign jobs based on location and skill sets, and access a host of other crucial decision-making information like delays, weather, and traffic in real-time.

If nothing else, dispatch software offers improved oversight. You can monitor asset or team movements in real-time using GPS tracking. You always have a handle of where teams and assets are, where they need to be, and when. This software is crucial for optimal asset management.

 #1 – Samsara – The Best For Most

Samsara Logo

Samsara

Best for most

Looking for something that covers all aspects of fleet management? Samsara is our top recommendation with an advanced dispatch tool that allows you to assign routes and reroute vehicles mid trip if you need to. Drivers receive automatic SMS alerts when things change so everyone’s always in the loop. Includes an AI dashcam, asset tracking, fleet maintenance, wifi hotspots, and more.

Samsara is a versatile tool that can handle dispatching and much more. Deploying vehicles and tracking their progress in real-time is just a sliver of what this software can do. If you need more solutions than fleet management, Samsara has great add-on options to consider.

With an advanced dispatch tool, Samsara allows you to assign routes and re-route vehicles mid-trip. Plus automatically send SMS alerts directly to drivers with any changes. This type of freedom and flexibility is ideal for most business owners that need to manage drivers.

Samsara offers advanced analytics and reports, allowing you to compare your planned path versus the actual route.

Additional dispatching features include incorporating dashcams and asset tracking, deploying WiFi hotspots on vehicles, and managing electronic logging devices.

Plus, you can even incorporate Samsara’s fleet maintenance management tools to further bolster this solution for your vehicles and drivers.

Samsara offers a customized pricing plan. You choose the assets and features you need, and Samsara will calculate your price. You only pay for the features you use, perfect for people who have a clear idea of what they want; or business owners on a strict budget.

#2 – Verizon Connect – Best For Vehicle Maintenance

Verizon Connect Logo

Verizon Connect

Best for Vehicle Maintenance

Despite being known as a phone service provider, Verizon Connect is an industry-leading dispatch software designed to help you manage vehicle maintenance so you can prevent breakdowns and unexpected downtime before it occurs. Plus, you can easily set up service reminders for each vehicle, schedule jobs with a drag-and-drop calendar, and leverage smart suggestions to optimize your schedule.

It’s impossible to dispatch drivers if your vehicles aren’t on the road in the first place. If you are continually needing roadside assistance and having trouble maintaining your fleet, you should look into Verizon Connect.

This software helps you manage vehicle maintenance to prevent breakdowns in the first place. You can easily set up service reminders for each vehicle.

Additionally, Verizon Connect offers roadside assistance as an add-on feature. Services include towing, fuel delivery, battery boost, locksmith services, tire changes, and winch service.

With the add-on, your team gets 24/7 roadside assistance that drivers can call right from the app’s live map on their mobile device.

From a dispatch perspective, Verizon Connect is intelligent software. The drag-and-drop calendar allows you to schedule jobs easily and manage technicians. This feature also offers suggestions for scheduling technicians based on their skill set, location, and availability.

You can also automate reminders and customer appointment notifications. Additionally, you get an alert in case the technician has not viewed the job you scheduled.

You can also track vehicles in real-time, communicate with field technicians, and automatically alert customers of delays based on real-time GPS data.

Additional features include:

  • Job management
  • Multi-technician and multi-visit
  • Proof of service
  • Technician status
  • Customer ratings & reviews

Verizon Connect has a very flexible pricing plan. You choose the feature set you want, and the company prepares a customized quote for you. The features to choose from include:

  • Dispatch and scheduling
  • Roadside assistance
  • GPS fleet tracking
  • Dashcam
  • Electronic logging device (ELD)
  • Proof of delivery

Verizon Connect provides a demo of the tool on their website.

#3 – Synchroteam – Best For Large Service Dispatch Business

Synchroteam Logo

Synchroteam

Best for Large Service Teams

Mobile field team management presents dozens of new challenges when it comes to dispatch management. However, Synchroteam delivers everything you need to manage your large team with ease. It includes GPS tracking, job management, a field service CRM, a customer portal, time tracking, and more. Pricing starts at just $22 per user per month paid annually.

If you have a mobile field team providing services, it can be hard to keep up with client demands. Synchroteam is full-feature software, allowing you to do a lot more than simply manage service dispatch.

Synchroteam has an interactive daily schedule, where you can easily see all your staff’s appointments and booked time. You can easily schedule new jobs and change existing jobs using a drag-and-drop feature.

Aside from daily scheduling, you can also view weekly and monthly schedules for a more long-term approach. The in-depth job scheduling tool allows you to assign jobs based on skills required, availability, and travel distance, among other parameters.

You may prefer that your team assign themselves jobs. The Job Pool shows all unassigned jobs where technicians can pick a job based on their schedule.

Additional features include:

  • Mobile app
  • Map & GPS tracking
  • Job management
  • Field service CRM
  • Time tracking
  • Custom forms
  • Invoicing
  • Inventory management
  • Customer portal
  • Payment processing

Synchotream supports a wide range of service industries. It has one plan with all features included, and you can choose to pay monthly or annually. For monthly subscribers, the price is $28 per user per month. If you pay annually, the cost goes down to $22 per user per month.

#4 – Housecall Pro – Best For Small Contractor Teams

Housecall Pro Logo

Housecall Pro

Best for Small Teams

Get everything you need to manage your small mobile service team with ease. Includes the ability to create new jobs using a drag-and-drop scheduler, create bookings online, track dispatched employees, make changes on the fly, and check payment statuses across all your appointments. Pricing starts at $49 per month for one user and $109 per month for up to five users.

Housecall Pro serves more than 16,000 home service businesses and is a perfect solution for managing a small team of contractors. This software is like Synchroteam but much better suited for smaller teams with basic field management requirements.

Dispatchers can easily create new jobs using the drag-and-drop calendar. You can also edit jobs, view job dates, check payment status, and keep track of dispatched employees, among other crucial information.

The software also allows you to schedule recurring jobs and set estimated arrival times. Team members are notified immediately when they are assigned work or if there is a change in the job details.

Contractors also have access to an in-app chat to guarantee seamless communication between teams and dispatchers. The software also has GPS tracking, so you always know where your team is and where they are headed.

Other features include:

  • Online booking
  • Follow-up marketing
  • Job Management
  • Invoicing
  • Estimates
  • Payment
  • Card Reader
  • QuickBooks integration
  • Advanced reporting

Housecall Pro has four pricing tiers, including:

  • Start – $49 per month for one user
  • Grow – $109 per month for up to 5 users
  • Manage – $199 per month for up to 9 users
  • XL – Custom pricing for up to 100+ users

You can try out the software before purchasing with the free trial.

#5 – Routific – Best For Local Delivery Business

Routific Logo

Routific

Best for Local Deliveries

Get everything you need to manage and plan local deliveries at your desk and on the go. All users get a free mobile app that makes it easy for drivers to access dispatch information, including routes and custom notes. Dispatchers can also easily track drivers via GPS in real-time, import delivery addresses, and plan routes in advance. From there, drivers can mark finalized or skipped deliveries with proof-of-delivery signatures. Pricing starts at $39 per vehicle.

Routific has a driver mobile app that you get for free with your subscription. Here, the driver can view detailed dispatch information, including routes and custom notes. The software also allows you to track drivers via GPS in real-time.

Additionally, drivers can mark completed and skipped stops. The dispatcher can view the reason for the missed stop and access captured proof-of-delivery signatures.

Where this software shines is its route-planning features. Dispatchers can import customer delivery addresses, plan routes, and add stops. The software also offers automated email and SMS notifications to let your customers know when to expect the delivery.

You can also schedule routes and deliveries based on detailed data, including driver shift times, priority stops, delivery type, vehicle capacity, time windows, driver breaks, and much more.

Finally, the delivery analytics feature helps you keep track of the diver’s performance, complete with ratings.

Routific plans include:

  • Essentials – $39 per vehicle
  • Professional – $59 per vehicle
  • Premium – Custom pricing

Routific also offers a free seven-day trial of the tool.

#6 – FieldPoint – Best For Managing Subcontractors

FieldPoint Logo

FieldPoint

Best for Subcontractor Management

FieldPoint makes managing subcontractor projects a breeze. Manage third-party vendors and various subcontractor teams from an intuitive, user-friendly interface designed to help streamline the process so you can guarantee consistency and high-quality work… every time. Includes checklist creation, work order assignments, scheduling, subcontractor availability, dozens of built-in integrations, and more.

Managing an in-house team is hard enough, but keeping tabs on subcontractors can prove frustrating. FieldPoint allows you to manage third-party vendors and subcontractors from a straightforward interface.

You can streamline the processes all your subcontractors use to guarantee consistency and quality assurance. You can also assign jobs with checklists that third-party vendors tick through as they go along.

Vendors can see assigned work orders and accept jobs from their mobile devices. The dispatcher sees the subcontractor schedules, work status, availability, and location. The software also alerts dispatchers in case of any delays.

Additionally, you can post jobs on the app, allowing subcontractors to bid or place quotes. FieldPoint also integrates with other third-party workforce management tools such as Service Channel and WorkMarket.

Additional features include:

  • Invoice verification
  • Payment processing
  • Customer data history
  • Take and upload photos
  • Collect signatures on-site
  • Auto-assign and dispatch to contractors
  • Project and job costing
  • Reporting

The software serves a wide range of industries, including HVAC, security systems, medical industry, industrial equipment, and oil and gas.

You have to contact FieldPoint to get a quote.

Methodology For Choosing The Best Dispatch Software

The trick to choosing the best dispatch software lies in the features. There are a handful of must-have features that lay out whether the software is worth buying.

We used this methodology when creating our best dispatch software review. We recommend using the same criteria when picking out the software to fit your business’s needs best.

Scheduling

Arguably the most crucial part of dispatch management, the software’s scheduling features can revolutionize how you handle workflow.

A drag-and-drop feature is incredibly useful in this case. Most software allows you to drag and drop jobs onto a calendar, but some don’t, so check to see if the software you are considering has a convenient scheduler. Automated scheduling can also reduce manual labor, especially for recurring tasks.

Assigning jobs to technicians should be easy and seamless. Some software even allows you to assign jobs based on technician location, availability, skill set, performance, and other metrics. 

GPS Tracking and Route Optimization

GPS tracking is more or less standard with dispatching software. Dispatchers must know where teams and assets are at any given time. GPS tracking supports scheduling, allowing you to assign jobs based on driver location.

GPS tracking also helps with route optimization. You can select the best routes based on current traffic conditions, distance, estimated timing, and other factors.

Most of this type of software tracks the driver’s progress along the route and monitors speed, stop times, ETA, and other crucial data you can use to plan future routes effectively.

Communication and Notifications

In-app communication helps to manage technicians and service teams seamlessly. Dispatchers can send updates to technicians and vice versa. Most software supports at least text communication between teams.

Additionally, notifications when technicians receive, view, complete, or skip jobs can help with quick decision-making. Some software also allows you to send automated alerts to customers, including ETA, delivery windows, and possible delays.

Reporting

Dispatch software collects a lot of data that can help with internal decision-making. It helps if the software automatically compiles and outputs this data in a way that makes sense to you. Some software compares estimated delivery times to actual delivery and tracks technician performance in addition to other actionable insights.

Samsara Logo

Samsara Financial

Best for most

Looking for something that covers all aspects of fleet management? Samsara is our top recommendation with an advanced dispatch tool that allows you to assign routes and reroute vehicles mid trip if you need to. Drivers receive automatic SMS alerts when things change so everyone’s always in the loop. Includes an AI dashcam, asset tracking, fleet maintenance, wifi hotspots, and more.

Summary

The question of the best dispatch software boils down to your specific industry and business needs. While Samsara is an excellent choice for managing small to medium fleets, it may not work as well as Routific for a small local delivery business.

The first step to choosing the best software is to analyze your dispatch needs. Look at the challenges you face, then compare the software’s features and how it promises to solve these issues. It also helps if the software serves your specific industry. Otherwise, you might find that you are paying for features that you will never use.

Dispatch software can be a gamechanger, so be sure to take advantage of free trials where they are available before committing to a software provider.


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