Frequently Asked Questions

ServiceFirst OnDemand is a completely new customer management and dispatching system that is offered as a subscription-based service over the Web, instead of a locally installed, client-server application, such as ServiceFirst Windows. The culmination of several effort-years of planning and development, ServiceFirst is using its 24+ years of experience in the service software industry, combined with the latest database and software technologies, to offer a cutting-edge, next-generation platform for managing your customers, technicians, work orders, and sales opportunities.

ServiceFirst OnDemand represents a groundbreaking development in service management software. The software industry in general is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation toward what is known as an "application service provider" ("ASP") or "OnDemand" delivery model. As more and more companies take advantage of the availability of cheap, high-speed Internet access from their offices, homes, or field locations, software vendors are beginning to offer customers the choice of using software on a subscription basis over the Web. In this model, the software is installed on large, secure, high-powered servers in a managed datacenter, staffed and monitored 24/7, so customers can access their data and applications anytime, from anywhere, using a simple Web browser with a secure connection.

In addition to anytime, anywhere access to your data, the OnDemand model has the attraction of freeing customers from the huge upfront investment and ongoing expense and hassles of buying, installing, managing, and upgrading server hardware and software at their own premises. Such costs are often unanticipated by customers and difficult to quantify, which is why they are often seen as "the part of the iceberg you can't see" when implementing software. In the OnDemand model, these expenses "go away", since everything is managed by the service provider. The service provider even manages the automatic, daily backups of all customer data.

The service advantages and economics of OnDemand are compelling for both vendor and customer. Over time, as customer demands and software complexities continue to rise, it is expected that virtually all business software applications will be offered in this manner in order to provide the best combinations of features, speed, security, availability and price.

With the release of ServiceFirst OnDemand, ServiceFirst places itself and its customers at the vanguard of this exciting movement. With ServiceFirst OnDemand, the future of service management software has indeed arrived.

The term "Customer Relationship Management" (CRM) refers to the practice of strategically identifying, acquiring, serving, and retaining customers, a company's most valuable asset. CRM means putting the customer first. Companies with satisfied, loyal customers have more repeat business, lower customer-acquisition costs, and stronger brand value in their respective markets, which all adds up to better business and higher profits.

In the context of highly-competitive service industries, a keen focus on CRM can provide contractors an important competitive edge. By keeping thorough, accurate records on all customer interactions, including such things as comprehensive service history, warranty information, and equipment on-site details, as well as phone calls, emails, notes, drawings, quotes, etc., your staff is empowered to make timely, accurate decisions when they are most needed--at the point of service.

Such is the philosophy behind ServiceFirst OnDemand. By providing the means to manage and coordinate all your customer interactions, from the birth of a new sales lead all the way through years of your high-quality installation and service success with that customer, ServiceFirst OnDemand is designed as the central tool in your CRM strategy for putting customers first!

ServiceFirst OnDemand is 100% all new, from the ground up! Using our cumulative knowledge gained from 24+ years of listening to customers in the service industries, we started with a completely redesigned data model, extending and enhancing nearly every data table and data element to offer you capabilities far and beyond anything ever offered before. Quite frankly, you're getting the best of the best--effortless tracking of all the details you care about, while being very simple to use.

Importantly, we are using Microsoft SQL Server as the underlying database, an enterprise-class, industrial-strength, database server that manages some of the most demanding software applications in the world. SQL Server handles millions and millions of records effortlessly, with a sophisticated design that allows us to easily enhance and innovate to rapidly keep up with your changing needs.

As for the application itself, ServiceFirst OnDemand is built using "ASP.NET", one of the most sophisticated and widely supported development languages on the market today. What this means for you is that ServiceFirst OnDemand is built using the latest and greatest technologies, so we will be able to offer you industry-leading features faster, putting technology to work for you and helping keep you one step ahead of your competition.

This is a tough question to answer without going into some technical detail, but it may be important for you to understand the differences in the market when evaluating which solution is right for you.

As more and more customers have begun to demand anytime, anywhere access to their business data and applications over the Internet, some vendors are choosing what might be called "quick & dirty" approaches to providing a "Web-enabled" product, which may include one of two paths:

One approach uses Remote Desktop, Terminal Services or Citrix to provide a virtual terminal session to their legacy Windows product. The downside to this approach is its relatively inefficient use of server resources, which makes it inherently less scalable than a true Web application, and does not take advantage of the benefits of newer, Web-specific architectures.

Another approach is to offer a Web "portal", which usually means Web-enabling just a small subset of the screens of an existing Windows application. This approach typically requires the customer to buy, install, setup and manage a specialized machine--a Web server--in their office just to provide this narrow, added functionality. Obviously, this is going in the opposite direction of the OnDemand world, which aims to lighten the costs and administrative burden for customers.

The above alternatives are mere stopgap measures that require little or no extra engineering effort or investment on the part of the software vendor, but ultimately do not answer the call of the OnDemand future or the needs of its Internet-savvy customers.

ServiceFirst, on the other hand, has chosen what we believe to be the right answer. We decided that anything worth doing is worth doing well. Far from being a "Web face on a Windows product", ServiceFirst OnDemand is a 100%, true Web application, newly designed and engineered from the ground up to meet the needs of the most demanding, technology-forward customers, both now and long into the future.

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We are currently developing an interface to automatically exchange information with QuickBooks. Please call our Sales Department (866-244-5771) for further details.

Once you have logged-in through your web browser, virtually all your interactions with ServiceFirst OnDemand are done using encrypted transmissions with industry-standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. 128-bit SSL encryption is the highest level of encryption currently supported by commercial web browsers. SSL helps ensure that your information is protected during transmission over the Internet. This is the same technology used by banks and online trading companies when transmitting data over the Internet.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and above for Windows XP already include 128-bit encryption. If you have Windows 2000, you need to download the Windows 2000 High Encryption Pack to get 128-bit encryption. To find out which version of Internet Explorer you have and whether you have 128-bit encryption, go to the Help menu of your browser, choose 'About Internet Explorer,' and see what is listed under 'Version' and 'Cipher Strength.'

Your data is stored on firewall-protected servers managed by ServiceFirst and our hosting partners. You have control over who accesses your data and what they can see and do. Once you sign up, only the people whom you explicitly invite can access your data. Each user has a unique login and password, and you can track everything that goes on through the comprehensive audit trail functionality.

You can access your data from any computer with a broadband Internet connection. Any PC with at least Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 for Windows installed and a working, broadband Internet connection will let you access your ServiceFirst OnDemand data. A high-speed Internet connection, such as DSL, a cable modem, T1, or wireless broadband is required.

Yes. ServiceFirst OnDemand protects your business by storing your critical business data on firewall-protected servers. In addition, we automatically backup your data every day so that your critical business information is protected.

Yes. First, most any of the main "lists" of information, such as customers, personnel, equipment, agreements, etc., can be instantly exported at any time by clicking on the Excel icon on the toolbar of their respective list screens. This gives you the powerful flexibility of exporting whenever you want, either for your own business purposes, such as doing spreadsheet analysis or a "mail-merge" of letters to your customers, or to keep additional, personal backups for your own peace of mind.

Additionally, if the need arises, ServiceFirst can prepare and deliver to you a comprehensive, full backup of all your ServiceFirst OnDemand information for an additional nominal fee which can be tailored to your needs.