The ServiceTask Blog

Manage and track your employees effortlessly.

Service Task’s newest feature, Timesheets, allows you to better organize your company’s employees. Find out how to start using the Timesheets Feature below!

To begin using the Timesheets feature, simply click the “Timesheets” link underneath the home tab (pictured below).

After clicking the link the page will be updated and you will see an individual time sheet this is where you will create and assign timesheets for your employees.

Create a Timesheet for an Employee

Above the timesheet you will see a drop down menu labeled Employee. When you click the drop down you will be prompted with a list of your employees in alphabetical order.

Select an employee.

Click Save.

You should be prompted with a success message that will inform you that you've created the timesheet (pictured below).

You've just created your first Service Task timesheet, wasn't that easy?

While on the Timesheet you can also change, add, and edit the hours inputted into the timesheet.

When you or an employee clicks within a text field for the timesheets a drop down will appear in which you can select a predetermined time or optionally you can manually type in the time.

For each day on the time sheet you can select the IN and OUT times. There is in IN and OUT time between the start of the day and end of the day to take into account any breaks or moments of inactivity. You can also select the specific timesheet by changing the date of the week ending field.

Service Task will update after every change in the timesheet fields and will calculate the totals for each day and the total hours for the week.

After you're done with your changes, click Save. You will prompted with another success message.

Enjoy our newest feature update!

Take control of your day.

Service Task’s newest feature, Tasks, makes it easy for you to create and manage your daily to-do list, collaborate with your co-workers, and stay in touch with your customers. You can use Tasks to remind yourself about meetings, office duties, or just to stay in touch with your customers. 

Ready to get started? Here's how!

To create a new task, select “Tasks,” click “Add New,” enter a short description of the task, select a date, and then assign yourself or another co-worker to the task. Then just click “Add Task.” You’re done!

  The Task you just added will appear on your Overview screen for easy viewing. When you log in to Service Task, you’ll see your daily task list, as well as upcoming ones. When you complete a Task, you can simply mark it using the box to the left.

If you want to create a Task for a specific customer, just go to your Customer View, scroll down to "Tasks," and select the + button.

From time to time, you may forget about one of your Tasks. Not a problem! We can remind you about Tasks and send you a daily summary.  Just click on "Company,"  "My Information," and "Task Settings." Select the appropriate boxes.

To summarize, Tasks helps you to organize your day, improve productivity, and communicate better with your co-workers and customers.

We hope you enjoy our new feature update. If you have any questions, please contact us!

Increase your company's productivity.

Service Task's newest feature, Service Plans, allows you to optimize your company's time. Find out how to start using the Service Plans Feature below!

To begin using the Service Plan feature, simply click the "Plans" tab and then click the "+ Plan" button to create your first Service Plan.

You will be prompted to provide a customer name, summary (of the job), the next due date, and the frequency of the job. Optionally you can choose between locations, add tags, or notes to the job (notice a crew is not assigned).

Once you've inputed all the information you can click the orange "Add Plan" button.

You've just created your first Service Plan job!

Some things to note about Service Plan jobs:

Service Plans are meant to be jobs that are are to be done on a regular schedule (Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, etc.)

Service Plans are also meant to be jobs that usually can occur on any given day and/or time during the week and that can be done without needing to give notice to the customer (because there may not be enough adequate notice).

Service Plans are meant to be "back-up" jobs that are meant to fill in the gaps between jobs, rain days, or cancellations. Service Plan jobs are meant to save your company on idle and travel time.

For example:

A crew is in Cranston and gets a cancellation for the rest of the day at 12 p.m. They call the office for more work. The office needs to quickly search for all “regular service plan” jobs in Cranston and nearby areas that are eligible to be done. They select the first available/closest Service Plan job. The crew is assigned to a regular service plan job in Providence.

Service Plan jobs will not appear in the Calendar. They will only be listed under "Plans."

Service Plans are not assigned a particular crew at the time of scheduling.

When a job is closed, the next Service Plan job will be generated automatically (based on its frequency).

Like with other jobs in Service Task, overdue jobs will appear in red. The Service Plan jobs are organized from oldest due to most current.

Service Plan jobs are meant to be set up to "Auto" (though optionally they can be set to "Needs notification"). A Service Plan job set to "Auto" means that the crew does not need permission or to give notice to the customer to start a particular job. Most Service Plan jobs are set up this way to save time for the company and the customer.

Enjoy our new feature update!

Increased Convenience for your Customers

Public Scheduling has recently been added as a new feature on your customizable web page! It allows your customers to contact you online to request a job. Find out how to start using your public scheduling below!  On your Service Task dashboard, press the orange button located below your name that is named 'Publicize' . Once you have pressed that, you will see three buttons; Dashboard, Website and Scheduling. When the Dashboard button is clicked you can see who has viewed your web page, how many people have contacted you through your contact form and how many people have requested a job. This information also provides the names and contact information of the most recent.

The Website button is there for you to build or edit your customizable page. Please see https://servicetask.tenderapp.com/kb/advanced/create-a-custom-site-to-market-your-business for help on building your web page.  The Scheduling button is where you will activate and customize your public scheduling. When the Scheduling button is pressed, two tabs will be there 'General' and 'Widget'. When the General tab is pressed you will have the option of either allowing the public scheduling button to show up on your web page or you will have the option of hiding it. Right below that option you will see an option to show or hide your free/busy information. If you choose to show, customers will be able to see when you are busy and when you are free. No customer information will be shown in the schedule, the occupied time slots will only be shaded.

Under the widget tab you have an option of adding the public scheduling on to your own site. All you have to do is copy and paste the code into the coding of your site.

Now that you have customized your public scheduling to your specifications you can view it on your custom web page or web site. The button will show up in the top right corner of your web page.

When a customer presses this button, a schedule will pop up on this page. Depending on the settings you have chosen they will either be able to see when you are free and busy or they will see a blank schedule that they can request a time on.

When they choose a time and fill out their information, an email will be sent to you that the customer has requested a specific time slot for a specific service. You may then follow up with your customer. When they request a job an email will also be sent to them telling them the time they requested and that your business will be in touch with them shortly.

Service Task will now allow you to market to your current as well as potential customers! You may now create a custom web page powered by Service Task through a very simple 7 step process.  Let us show you how!

Each custom web page allows you to include the following features:

Your company name

Tag Line

About your company

A company picture

A Twitter Feed

Links to your Twitter and Facebook pages

List of your services

A short portfolio to show off your work

A Contact Form

Options to style as you please

Log in to your Service Task account. On your company dashboard page you will now see in the upper right hand corner an orange button titled 'Marketing'. Click the orange Marketing button and on the left side of the Marketing page you will see two tabs; Dashboard and Website.  The Dashboard page shows you general information about how many times your site has been viewed, and who has contacted you through the contact form on your web page.  You will be able to save each new contact.

The Website tab brings you to a page where you can adjust your advanced settings to create the custom web page powered by Service Task. Click on the website tab to find a number of sub tabs listed on the left side.

Click on the General tab. To view your site, make sure that the "Publish" button is selected.  If you wish to hide your site, make sure to have The "Unpublish" button selected.  Enter the name you would like your websites custom URL name to be in the "Your website's URL" section. If you have a domain name that you would like to use to go to this custom web page, you may enter it in the "Website Custom Domain" section.  If you have a Google Analytics page, you can use your custom tracking ID to follow the activity on this new site.

 In the "Style" tab you can choose between 6 different styles.  There are 3 light styles, and 3 dark.  You can change your accent colors by simply clicking the color box and choosing a new color.

The About tab lets you add a tagline about your company, and a short description in the About text box.  Make sure to always press the orange update button to save all changes.

Use the Social tab to link your Facebook and Twitter pages to the social media icons on the new custom web page.  You may allow your twitter feed to show up by selecting the "Show" button next to the words Twitter feed. 

On the Portfolio tab you may show off the great work your company does. Here you can upload four images of your companies work.  Make sure to select the "Show" button for the pictures to show up on your page.

On the Services tab, add the services that your company offers and give a short description.  Select "Show" for them to appear on your page. 

Last step! On the contact tab simply select "Show"  to view the contact information you've provided in your company settings. Make sure to save these changes by clicking the orange update button.

You have now created your own custom site!! 

View this in our help section

and check out Service Task features here

Due to customer feedback, Service Task has now added the feature of being able to add attachments to customers and jobs. You may add up to two attachments onto a customer or a job. 

This will now allow you to add copies of checks, contracts, maps, or anything you would like onto customers or jobs! You will no longer have to switch in between your documents and Service Task; everything is in one central location. 

To add an attachment onto a customer:

Go to your Customer Dashboard

Click on the customer you wish to add the document to

Scroll to the bottom of the page until you see the attachment title

Press on the plus sign to the right of the title and upload your document!

The file may be up to 5 MB with no more than 2 attachments per customer

To add an attachment onto a job:

Go to your Job Dashboard

Click on the job you wish to add the document to

Scroll to the bottom of the page until you see the attachment title

Press on the plus sign to the right of the title and upload your document!

The file may be up to 5 MB with no more than 2 attachments per job

Different factors influence a service business owner and fleet manager’s decision to buy or lease vehicles: financial situation, model, performance, etc. Small business owners are usually focused on cash and recognize needs from an operational point of view. The most important factor when deciding to buy or lease a vehicle should be tax implications, though. Small business owners don’t usually focus on tax implications whereas this is exactly what they need to focus on. Tax consequence affect cash, which is something that a small business owner is always worried about.

Operating Lease and Capital Lease are similar in that they allow the business to use the vehicle. In an Operating Lease, the lessee (small business) does not assume any risks or benefits of the asset after the designated term. In a Capital Lease, the asset becomes a liability. Purchasing the truck requires the business owner to include the asset on the business’ balance sheet and any loan used to make the purchase is entered as a liability. So then business owners have to deduct interest paid on any loans.

In the end, the decision to buy or lease a vehicle depends on each small business, their cash balance, and their profitability. Businesses with higher profitability should buy vehicles because they can use the IRS section 179 as a deduction. Small businesses with a small profitability should take advantage of an Operating Lease to deduct monthly expenses and avoid the risks of ownership.

Small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) struggle with their social media presence, if they even have social media accounts at all. Either they don’t focus on it or they don’t know how to effectively use it to make an impact on their target market and promote their business. Thankfully social media adoption rates are on the rise, suggesting that there is an increase in users.

SMBs face difficulties with social media strategic implementation. Among small businesses, social media use has risen from 44% to 53%; and to 63% from 52% among mid-sized businesses (Nathan Eddy, EWeek). The gap is growing between those who are using social media platforms for informal purposes and those who are using a strategic, set approach. Most businesses are stating that they use social media in addition to other avenues such as direct mail, newspapers/trade journals/ magazines, and e-mail marketing. It is reported that the adoption of social media was more influenced by the age of the decision maker and the type of industry and less influenced by company size or type of customers.

In the world we live in, no matter how old you are, what you do, and what your needs are, not having a social media presence can hurt. Social media is extremely beneficial for every aspect of a business: building reputation, marketing, networking, sales, fun, etc. There is no loss in establishing yourself on social media platforms. Get into it!

As a service company, it is important that you establish trust so that your clients keep calling back. There are numerous sources of trust but not every business can draw on all of them. Businesses get stronger by drawing on some of them. Authority, Affinity, Longevity, Credibility, Frequency, Familiarity, Celebrity, Demonstration, and the list goes on...

You need to understand how people actually end up trusting in something to successfully establish maximum trust. People have anxiety about everything from the news they watch to the car they drive. Trust-based marketing is a powerful tool, rather than focusing on cute advertising and other product-centric presentations. The most mundane purchases involve trust. For example, when buying cereal, you go for brand name rather than the generic brand, even though the taste is 100% the same and the generic brand is cheaper.

For service businesses, customer trust will come mostly from reliability and performance. Make sure your customers can reach you when they need you. They come first! If a customer can’t reach you to make an appointment, ask questions, or make comments about a job, they can’t rely on you. Clients of service businesses like to make sure that they can reach them because they provide a recurring service. They need to be able to trust a business enough to have them keep coming back. Also, in terms of performance, if a window cleaner does a poor job the first time, it is highly unlikely that the client will call back to have them come again.

ServiceTask is constantly hard at work to meet the needs of its customers. Satisfaction is important to us and we take pride in keeping our customers happy. ServiceTask has introduced a web application and Quickbooks online integration.

Web apps combine the power of the Internet with the simplicity of Multi-touch technology, all on your device. Smartphones let you easily flick through your apps with a finger tap. Once you add the app to your phone screen, the ServiceTask mobile web app brings convenience to service contractors that are out on the field, needing constant access to their scheduling and customer information. Get it now! Check out the Help section! There is also a QR code you can scan!

There are certain characteristics that are found in self-made men that are not found in other men. Do you notice the characterisitics? Creativy? Tenacity? A head for numbers? A nose for deals? SBA.gov defines an entrepreneur as “a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of a profit”. See the opportunity. Make a plan. Start a business. Manage the business. Receive the profits. That sounds easy!

What type of entrepreneur are you? Check out these categories.

1. Heart _ Passionate, Big Picture, Founding Visionaries that may not necessarily make rational and research-based decisions. Ex: Steve Jobs, Apple Co-Founder.

2. Gut _ Seek out uncertain business ventures with the possibility for high reward (risk takers) or are capable at managing situations with heavy consequence (risk tolerators). Ex: Richard Branson, Virgin..

3. Luck _ Strategically expose themselves to luck by developing strong connections with a group of people and having an optimistic look at life to be able to take advantage of opportunities. Ex: Tony Hsieh, Zappos.

4. Smarts _ Rational, Makes decisions based on facts, Sets Goals, Delegates Responsibility, and knows how to hold people accountable. Ex: Warren Buffett, Billionaire Investor.

Here at ServiceTask, we never stop innovating and making your life easier. ServiceTask now allows users to send e-mail reminders for job appointments to customers!

Users are now able to set custom e-mails with the company name, customer name, date, time, and details of the job.

With the e-mail reminder settings, users are able to set what date or deadline they would like to send the e-mail by, and the frequency (repeat, week, day, hour, etc.).

E-mail reminders are sent to the customer’s first e-mail address, and from the e-mail users set in their company information. The customer has to have an e-mail address in ServiceTask in order for the -mail to be successfully sent.

Visit our Help Center for more details and step by step instruction to use the e-mail reminder tool! Do not hesitate to contact us about questions at [email protected] or call us at  1-888-536-8275.

ServiceTask launched a contest two weeks ago, Coolest Vehicle Contest 2012, to allow businesses to show off their service vehicles. Shawmut Metal Products won the contest with 18 ‘Likes’! It was nonstop. Shawmut has been committed to customer needs for over 40 years! Check out a fun interview we did with Mike Kelley, who continues to run his family’s business.

Company Name: Shawmut Metal Products Inc.

Year Founded: Founded in 1965 Incorporated in 1968

Why was Shawmut Metal Products Founded?  

My grandfather was a steel salesman for a structural steel supplier and decided there was money to be made in structural steel fabrication.

About Shawmut Metal Products: Suppliers, Fabricators, Erectors. We are a structural and miscellaneous metal subcontractor servicing the New England area.  Under 2nd and 3rd generation family management, our facility is located on 28 acres off of Rte 6 in Swansea MA. Our work force of 35-40 can accommodate our customer needs in an efficient manner, whether the project is large or small. Come and see us if you need an entire building, exotic railings, or just small bracket or piece of stock. We are more than happy to help.

Are there any special projects that the company has or is currently working on?   

One that comes to mind is the entrance canopy for the New England Institute of Technology campus in East Greenwich. There are custom made arched trusses.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?   

There is always something new and challenging.

What is the most frustrating/common problem you encounter on a daily basis?

“RUSH” jobs.

What made you choose this industry?  

3rd generation. Started hanging around the shop as a young boy and never left.

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?

Fripp Island South Carolina. My grandfather, since passed, retired to a beach/golf resort in the low country of Carolina about an hour from Savannah, GA. It is a very beautiful place, although it may be a bit warm for my New England blood in August.   

Does your company have any traditions/ special events?  

Formal Christmas party yearly as well as Memorial Day and Thanksgiving cookouts.

What has been your biggest personal accomplishment to date?  

Personally, being a husband and a homeowner and being all about family.  No accolades can match that.

Do you have any pets?  

Odd story. Part of our land is wetlands/farmland. We used to own Scottish Highlander steer on the property, essentially as pets.  They have all passed on. I do have 1 cat and 1 dog at home.

What has been your favorite customer experience so far?   

Being complimented for a job well done.

What would you be if you didn’t become a business owner/ employee?   

Civil Engineering UMass Dartmouth Class of 2004

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?  

A number of us including the two owners (my father and uncle) are members of the volunteer fire department in town.  When the whistle blows, we rush to the aid of the public. Other than that neat fact, check out our website and Facebook page for more info and some photos of our work.    

Shawmut Metal Product, Inc.

1914 Gar Highway

P.O Box 543

Swansea, MA 02777

Phone: 508.379.0803.

Fax: 508.379.0810

Those who were smart and eager enough to pre-order Google’s Nexus 7 tablet will be receiving their shipments soon! The Nexus 7 is the first tablet from Google. It comes with all your favorite Google Apps and has great features. It is powered by Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, which is the latest version of the world’s most popular mobile platform.

1. Thin and light. The package is slim and portable, and fits right in your hand.  

2. Amazing 7” display. Your entertainment comes to life on a clear detailed 1280 by 800 hi-res display protected by scratch-resistant glass.

3. Do more with less charge. Over 9 hours of HD playback, 10 hours of web browsing, 300 hours of standby time.

4. Designed with gaming in mind. Tilt, touch, and tap your way to the top with over 600 apps and games on Google Play.

Google is doing their best to meet the demand for the pre-orders of the tablet. It is even shipping overnight so customers can get their orders sooner. 8 GB versions of the Nexus 7 have been shipped in the United States. All 16 GB that were pre-odered will be shipped by the end of this week. Orders in the UK and Australia will be shipped later this month. Retailers have reported that they’ve already sold the Nexus 7s that they ordered, and are now expecting more shipments. All of this news points to huge sales, but Google hasn’t announced how many tablets they’ve actually sold yet.

Early reviews are positive for the Nexus 7. Wired Magazine called it, “the best Androit Tablet yet”. Did you order a Nexus 7?

We are excited to announce that ServiceTask has relocated to an office in Providence, Rhode Island! Our new office is located in the historic district of downtown Providence. Downtown, also known as Downcity, is the central economic, political, and cultural district of the city of Providence. Incidentally, we are located at 10 Weybosset St. and the area is originally known as ‘Weybossett Neck’ or ‘Weybossett Side’. The ServiceTask team is excited about being closer and more connected to the businesses of Rhode Island. Pictures will come soon!

Come visit us at:

10 Weybossett St.

Suite 305

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, it’s important that your “creative juices” are always flowing so that you can take advantage of opportunities when they come and to think of new ideas to keep your business growing and running smoothly. Creativity is defined as “the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships; and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.” Creative ideas come from unusual combinations, called “remote associations. Do this fun exercise!

Here are a few ways to get those juices flowing again:

1. Alter your routine. You should shake up your routine not only in the workplace but also outside work by making sure there is variety in what you eat, where you hang out, what you see, where you travel, or what you read.

2. Reward your curiosity. “Curiosity killed the cat”? Rather than reprimanding yourself, reward yourself when you get curious about something. It gives you the opportunity to openly explore different things.

3. Take risks. You need to be willing to take risks in order to advance your abilities. You may not be successful every time, but you will be boosting your creative talents and building skills for the future.

As a result of the economic downturn, businesses are looking for ways to make sure they get the maximum return on investment (ROI). ROI is the judge of every marketing attempt. With SEO giving you huge ROI, it’s not surprising that people are turning to search strategies for their businesses. Online search marketing is now the go-to marketing strategy as marketers shift away from traditional marketing.

SEO is short for “search engine optimization”. SEO is the process of improving the visibility of a web-site or a web page in the ‘organic’, or free, search results. The basic idea is that the higher your rank and the higher the frequency of the web page, the more visitors the web page receives from search engine users. SEO may target different search types such as image, video, local, news, industry-specific, and academic search. SEO, as an Internet marketing strategy, identifies how search engines work, what people search for, actual search terms and keywords typed into search engines, such as Google, and which search engines a business’ target market prefers.

There are numerous ways to optimize your website:

-Do your keyword research.

-Edit content, HTMl, and associated coding to increase relevance to specific keywords.

-Promote your site to increase backlinks, or inbound links.

-...and more!