The Best Contractor Management Software in 2023

What are the best contractor management software solutions?

The contractor workforce is growing. Over 30% of Americans currently freelance, and the freelance-worker economy is currently worth $1.3 trillion. Considering the breadth and depth of the skills these workers command, this figure is only expected to grow. 

Of course, working with contractors comes with its own set of complexities. But using a contractor management system helps companies avoid the most painful pitfalls of working with contractors, like missing customer appointments due to shifting schedules or tracking down invoices. A comprehensive platform not only eases the burden of contractor management—it saves you money, too.

In this article, we’ll review the following Contractor Management Software based on published reviews compiled from third-party review sites:

• Skedulo
• Field Service Lightning
• Zuper
• ServiceTitan
• Jobber
• IFS
• Oracle Field Service

Skedulo

Best for: Simplified scheduling and actionable insights

Skedulo helps you significantly simplify scheduling, gain greater control of workforce utilization, and get actionable insights from analytics. The intuitive interface makes it easy to adjust and reschedule on the fly. You can add contractor availability right into the system so you can match jobs to contractors already on the clock. Plus, Skedulo’s mobile app allows contractors to easily access their schedules, which gets updated in real-time, so your workers never miss a beat.

You can even ensure that your contractors come to jobs fully equipped: Any relevant details that your contractor might need can be uploaded into job requests. Plus, Skedulo easily integrates with maps and GPS, meaning your contractors take the most effective route to the job, meaning technicians reduce windshield time whilst you cut operational costs.

If you also need an intuitive mobile app, then Skedulo has you covered. The app’s simple interface makes it easy for any contractor to adopt and use. The app also integrates with map apps and GPS so you can always take the most optimized route. Skedulo can also manage billing, tasks, and invoices for you, too.   

Field Service Lightning

Best for: Integrated work orders

Field Service Lightning is Salesforce’s field service management software, which is an add-on solution to their overall cloud services. With it, staff can create work orders that are integrated with accounts, contacts, and other data from the Service Cloud. This makes it easy to dispatch mobile workers, schedule contractors, and manage inventory, since all of your data lives on the cloud. 

Field Service Lightning automatically optimizes routes, thanks to its geo-locational and navigational capabilities. Salesforce’s analytics allows users to gain insights into their operational and employee performances, as well as other data like customer complaints. Users enjoy the easy-to-use interface that is responsive and intuitive. However, this interface can take a long time to get-up-and-running, and even longer to successfully implement without bugs. Plus, as it’s an add on product you’ll need to buy the basic platform if you don’t already have it – so it can be pretty pricey. 

Zuper Pro

Best for: On-demand customer service

Zuper Pro is an intelligent contractor management software that lets you offer on-demand customer service. Zuper can help you save time by managing invoices, contracts, tasks, and more. With Zuper’s mobile app, you can optimize routes, send invoices, and even confirm customer bookings by SMS text.

Users like Zuper’s ability to review tasks on the mobile app, as well as how responsive it is. However, integration complications can cause reporting errors within billing systems, which might even need developer intervention to get fixed.

ServiceTitan

Best for: Service industry

ServiceTitan is a contractor management software specifically designed for the service industry. Since it covers one industry, ServiceTitan incorporates best practices within the app, which makes it easy for you to streamline services, lower costs, and manage your business better.

ServiceTitan is easily customizable to any business within the service industry, and still manages to have many software integrations available. But, if you struggle to get ServiceTitan working properly, don’t expect much from their support team. Many users note that, due to the size and growth of ServiceTitan, quick customer service isn’t prioritized. 

Jobber

Best for: User-friendly and simple app

Jobber is a user-friendly app that makes managing contractors simple. Designed for small businesses, Jobber allows you to manage contractors, optimize routes, and will even send automatic reminders to customers for you. 

With Jobber, payouts occur within 24 hours, automatically near the end of the month, or instantly after a job is completed in-person. The easy-to-use interface makes it simple to customize the app to your specifications. However, the reporting and automation features on Jobber tend to be lackluster. 

IFS

Best for: Those with needs beyond contractor management software

An enterprise resource planning software (ERP), IFS delivers cloud solutions to global companies that distribute goods, build assets, and manage operations. As an ERP, IFS is capable of far more than just managing contractors. An ERP suite can have features that range from program management and risk management to compliance and operations management. This means that IFS is far more customizable than the typical contractor management software.

However, the endless customizations available come at an extra cost. Customizations might also require help from customer service to implement, which could cause delays during a project. Additionally, these features are far too robust for small businesses.

Oracle Field Service

Best for: Enhancing your customer service

Oracle Field Service allows you to enhance your customer service offerings. It supports you with call routing, onsite invoicing, and asset management. Plus, it integrates with its own vast selection of software, as well as third party applications. This makes Oracle Field Service significantly more customizable than other options.

Users dislike the clunkiness of the platform itself, though. The platform also freezes frequently, and requires an entire system reboot to get back online. 

FAQs

What is contractor management software?

Contractor management software is a type of field services management software for managing contracted workers that also provides special support for those workers. This could be through robust data and resource libraries, or special diagnostic capabilities for contractors in the field. For example, while you schedule multiple contractors with ease, your workers can simultaneously use the same software to access complex diagrams that they need for a remote job.

Of course, a contractor management system goes beyond just scheduling workers and providing them with documents. The best software enables businesses to manage the workflow of contractors, assign tasks to certain employees, optimize scheduled maintenance, and even more. This means that your contractor management software keeps tasks on track for completion and lets you view their progress through the pipeline.

Good contractor management software should also help organizations with document management. New and renewed contracts and field service agreements can be stored within one of these systems, as well as insurance information or 1099s. 

Contractor Management Systems: Key Features

When you’re searching for the right contractor management system, there are some key features to keep in mind before you make a purchase. These include:

• Contractor database: Ensure that the contractor management system has a database for contractor information. This makes it easy to identify the right contractor for the right task.
• Job scheduling: A contractor management system should make your job scheduling simple.
• Billing and invoicing: Make sure that the software you select helps calculate projected costs for projects, as well as creates invoices upon project completion. 
• Reporting and analytics: Robust reporting and analytics are a must for any software you’re considering. Otherwise, you won’t be able to determine the efficiency of your contractors.
• Compliance management: Software should help workers understand the terms of their contracts, as well as comply with any industry policies and regulations.

What are the benefits of using contractor management software?

Once you’ve purchased and implemented your contractor management software, here are some of the benefits you can start looking forward to:

• Accurate project tracking: This type of software tracks metrics like project completion rates, project hours logged by a contracted worker, equipment and material costs, and more. 
• Qualified contractors: Contractor documents, certifications, and work experiences can be easily verified. This helps businesses put contractors to work faster.
• Multiple projects managed simultaneously: By managing multiple projects and scheduling jobs, contractor management software reduces downtime between projects and gets more work completed. The software also lets the user adjust schedules or assign work orders to contractors quickly and easily.

How much does contractor management software cost?

The cost of contractor management software varies, depending on the size of the solution needed. The cost may also increase based on the number of employees who require access to an enterprise-wide software. This means that the cost of plans can range from a low monthly cost for one person, to thousands of dollars per month for an enterprise solution.

Of course, most companies simply do not advertise the cost of their software. Rather, they simply request that interested parties reach out for a quote.

This data was compiled on June 13, 2023 with data provided by G2 and Capterra.

Skedulo’s Field Service Management Solutions help businesses streamline operations for greater workforce efficiency and satisfaction, superior customer experiences, and maximum output. With cloud-based tools for automated scheduling and dispatching, route optimization, real-time communication, and more, Skedulo can help your contractor operations thrive. 

Learn more about the Skedulo approach to managing contractors and field service workers, or book a demo today.