GarageDoorBossPro Blog — Technician App

Choosing a Garage Door Tech App: What to Check Before You Switch

Switching software is a real cost for a small garage door company. Customers have to be moved, techs have to learn something new, and the office has to change habits. It is worth taking an afternoon to check whether a tech app actually fits how garage door work is done before you commit.

Start From the Customer's Side

The customer app, covered in The Customer's Side of the Tech App: Live Map, Alerts and Paying Online, is a good test of any system: does what the tech does in the field show up for the customer? Here are the other questions worth asking.

Does It Run on Your Techs' Phones?

• iPhone and Android? Your crew probably carries both.
• App store required? A browser app that installs to the home screen avoids accounts, approvals and version mismatches.
• Special devices? If you have to buy hardware, add it to the real cost.
• Personal logins? Each tech should have their own PIN so work, photos and hours are credited to the right person and access can be turned off when someone leaves.

GarageDoorBossPro runs in the browser on both, installs to the home screen, and uses a company login plus a personal PIN. More in iPhone or Android, No App Store: Putting the Garage Door Tech App on Phones Your Techs Already Carry.

Does It Know What a Garage Door Is?

This is the big one. Generic field apps give a job an address and a notes box. Garage door calls need more:

• Can each house keep a list of doors, openers, springs, cables, keypads, remotes and sensors?
• Does each item carry brand, model, serial, year installed, size, drive or material, and bay?
• Do those details show on the tech's job card?
• Do changes on a job, like a new opener, flow back to the house?
• Can equipment be filled in on an estimate and carry onto the job?

If the answer to most of these is no, your techs will keep calling the office and keeping notes in their heads.

Does It Record the Inspection?

Tune-ups and safety checks are where garage door companies build trust and recurring revenue. Ask:

• Is there a door safety checklist covering springs, cables, rollers, hinges, tracks, balance, auto-reverse, photo-eyes, opener force & limits, lubrication, seals, emergency release, keypad and remotes?
• Can techs record readings like door size, spring turns, balance and ages?
• Is there a condition rating and space for recommendations?
• Can the office print an inspection report for the homeowner?
• Do yearly tune-ups come due again on their own?

Does It Run the Day?

• Calls in route order on the phone, matching the office's dispatch board?
• One-tap navigation?
• Start, Skip with a note, and Complete?
• Before-and-after photos saved with the job?
• Automatic on-the-way and arrived texts, with customers choosing their alerts?
• A time clock and crew GPS on the office map?

Does It Get You Paid?

• Does Complete create the invoice?
• Can it charge a card on file at completion or on a schedule?
• Can customers pay online and update their card themselves?
• Can a property manager or HOA get one monthly statement covering every address?
• Is there past-due follow-up?

What Does It Really Cost?

Read the pricing closely. Is the tech app included or an add-on? Are there per-tech fees? Are texts included? GarageDoorBossPro plans are Start at $59/month, Pro at $89/month and Crew at $199/month, with the tech app on every plan and a monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 texts sent and received. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no credit card.

Also ask about moving in. A CSV import that places addresses on the map automatically saves days of typing.

One more practical question: does it work where you work? GarageDoorBossPro works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and bills customers in their own currency. If you service across a border, check that before you move anyone over.

Ask about support during the switch as well. Moving customers, setting up techs with PINs and getting equipment onto the busiest houses goes faster with help. And make sure the trial lets your techs use the real tech app on real calls, not just a sales walkthrough, so the people who will use it every day get a say before you decide.

Try It Before You Decide

The best test is clicking around. GarageDoorBossPro has a live demo with a fully stocked sample garage door company, no signup needed, at my.garagedoorbosspro.com/demo.html. Open a job card, look at the equipment, try the checklist. Then start a free trial with your own techs on a real day. For the full feature list and every guide in this series, visit the GarageDoorBossPro garage door technician app page.