16 Tips for Choosing the right Cell Phone Shop Repair Tracking Software

The right repair ticketing software can benefit your cell phone repair business. It can save you time managing your various device repairs. It can make you look more professional and inspire greater customer trust. It can dramatically reduce the amount of paper you generate. The right solution can even increase your sales and marketing efforts.

But these benefits can only be attained IF you choose the right cell phone repair tracking software for your business. This article outlines some for the important things your should look for when selecting a repair ticketing solution for your mobile device repair needs.

When looking for the right repair tracking service...

Determine what is the problem that you are trying to solve?

Many owners of cell phone repair stores look for a solution that will help them eliminate some of many headaches that come with running a cellular repair shop. Since many shop owners manage their businesses with spreadsheets and paper, the first thoughts can be that they need a solution that eliminates messy paper and the manual updating of spreadsheets. Before you jump in, take some time and determine the exact benefits that you hope to achieve for your shop. Is it simply the reduction of paper and spreadsheets? Are you looking to tighten up key business functions? Perhaps you would like to cut down on the number of phone calls you and your team make to customers with automated processes? Determine your needs and wants up front! Alvin Thompson, founder of CellStore Software which provides cloud-based repair tracking, point of sale, and inventory management solution for cell phone shops, shared in an interview “Every single business owner that we have provided services to each had their own unique challenges… When an owner of a repair store can share with me specifically what issues they would like us to help them solve through our software, I find that we can quickly help that owner overcome those issues and get them on the road to growing their business.”

Ask other repair owners what they use but...

While it is recommended that you ask other repair shop owners what solutions they use, it is important to remember that they may prioritising solving different issues that you. The solution they recommend may be…

• the best solution for them,
• or might have been the right solution for them when they implemented the solution,
• or they may be using a bad or inefficient solution that they have become accustomed to,

In any case it doesn't mean that their solution is a good fit for you!

Find a Solution that Can Solve Your Problem

When looking for the right cell phone repair tracking software, you need to focus on the problem that you want your repair solution to solve - and make sure that you keep that in mind during your entire evaluation process.

A Features Checklist can help

Alvin also suggested that owners take the time to create a must-have features checklist. This checklist will help keep your evaluation of a repair tracking solution honest. While it may be difficult to find a solution that offers all of your checklist features, you’ll want to keep track of any missing features and ask the repair tracking provider if they plan to introduce any of your missing features and their timeline.

Communicates with Your Customers

One feature, or set of features that should be on the lists of many cell phone repair store owners is automated customer communications. One of the key elements to running a successful cell phone repair store is effective customer communications. Be it a call to a customer to let them know that their repair is ready for pickup, ensuring that customers understand your terms and conditions, or asking them to provide positive feedback on your service on services like Yelp, Facebook and Google, these activities are important and takes time.

A good repair tracking solution will offer ways to automate customer communications. These can include email and text messaging clients that their devices are ready for pickup, the option to email customers their invoices, and even the option to ask happy clients to share their great experiences with your repair company online.

Look for Features that Will Save You Time...

One of the biggest advantages to having a repair tracking software for your mobile device repair business is its ability to save your time communicating with customers, reduce the amount of time you and your staff waste wading through paper invoices and tickets, and keeping you up to speed on the overall health of your repairs business on a daily basis. So make sure that your choice helps you achieve those goals.

Look for Process Automation...

There are many ways that you can save time with a repair tracking software one key feature to look for is the ability to automate key activities. It is this automation of activities that free-up your time and your staff’s time to focus on doing higher value things. An example of this can be to automatically send your customers a communication when the status of their repair ticket is changed to “Completed”, in this case eliminating the need for you to pick-up the phone and speak with your customer.

Think of Your Business Holistically

One mindset that many repair shop owners have when looking for a repair tracking solution is that they are looking for a tool that does one thing. A tool for repair tracking. When you look at your business from a wider perspective you’ll see that repairs and repair tracking is only one part of your business that is tightly connected to many other important elements of your business. Repair tickets that are completed turn into invoices. Invoices and the repair details are associated to customers. Repairs that require parts need to be tracked against your stores inventory. And more…

For many cell phone repair store owners the right repair tracking and ticketing software will actually include or connect to other store systems like the point of sale (POS), Inventory Management, and your customer database.

Look for a Repair Tracking System that works fast...

Your repair shop can get very busy at times. When evaluating a repair tracking software be sure that it works in a way that supports your current activities and does so in a fast manner. The best systems will allow you to jump into the software and jump out without much thought once you’ve become familiar with the solution.

Look for Business Intelligence features

Repair Tracking systems collect a lot of data about your key activities. Good solutions will provide you with analytics around your business that is actionable and makes you more money. For example, dashboards can give you an overview of repairs and sales, low inventory alerts can let you know when parts and other inventory is low, and reports can give you insights into your most profitable activities.

Can you Navigate Through The Software?

The best software in the world is useless if you cannot figure out how it works. Usability has to be a key element of your repair tracking software evaluation. A system that is not easy to learn and use will frustrate you in the short term and will be expensive in the long term as you’ll need to take more time and resources to training new staff.

To get a good feel for a repair solution for your cell shop you need to spend some time inside the application. Most repair tracking software will provide you with one or two weeks trial periods. If a system is overly complicated or just doesn't work with your repair process and workflow then you’ll lose a lot of the time saving benefits that it will provide.

Will It Work With Your Team

Chances are you don’t work alone. From smaller cell phone repair shops to larger operations there are almost always more than one person working in the business. Typical titles will include the owner, store manager, repair technician, salesperson, and others. A good software will enable each member of your team to access their specific activities within the software. The owner should be able to grant specific store users access to parts of the system they need and no more.

Will it Grow With You

Chance are your business will change as you grow and offer new services over the years to come. When evaluating repair ticketing software for your cell phone store make sure that you don’t see any limitations or restrictions that will inhibit you as you grow. Look for the ability to create your own product categories, that there are no limits to the number of repairs or parts or invoices you can generate, and check if there are any limitations on the number employees you can have.

What are Your Customer Service Needs

Another important aspect of a repair ticketing service for your cell phone store is the support options. Some services will offer priority support, standard support options, live chat, telephone only, email only, and other options. Also review if 24/7 support is available or at least that the support times cover your business hours.

Setup Assistance is Important

One of the most important stages of starting a new repair tracking system once you’ve selected the service provider is the setup assistance. In most cases, you’ll need more assistance during this stage that any other time. Be sure to ask how your provider will assist you. Some providers will charge extra for setup assistance. Some providers may be able to import your existing customers database and import your products depending on how that data is organized.

Choose a Pricing Model that Fits Your Business Needs

Price is always an important consideration for any cell phone repair business owner. Different pricing models includes monthly subscription (most popular these days), quarterly and yearly variations exist, and one-time software purchase (similar to how you would buy Microsoft Windows). There are some other payment models, but these other options are much less popular.

Are there Hidden Costs and Fees

Be aware that sometimes the price displayed for repair tracking services do not include all features or their may be usage limits (for example you can only add two staff users on a given plan). Ask if there are any additional charges that you may encounter through daily use. At the end of the day you need to make sure you understand exactly what you are paying for.

Wrap-Up

If you are the owner or manager of a cell phone repair shop and you don’t currently use a repair tracking system you are probably working too hard. The right system can allow you to better manage your repairs, reduce the amount of paper floating around your shop, improve your communications with customers with automated emails and sms, and much, much more. But to ensure you select the best solution you’ll need to do some reflection on what you need most and the tips listed in this article will improve your chances of selecting the right repair tracking software for your cell phone repair shop.

This article was sponsored by CellStore Software, a provider of repair tracking software built specifically for the owners of cell phone repair shops. You can find out more about CellStore Software by visiting www.cellstore.co