If you buy from Amazon, it’s likely that at some point you’ve looked at the reviews to see how good the product is. You can do the same when you’re choosing an FM software. Any good company will have testimonials from satisfied customers on its website—and if it doesn’t, that may be a red flag. Ask the sales team if they can provide any. Better yet, see if they have references that you can reach out to. That way, you can talk to a customer firsthand about their experiences with the software.
What are the terms of service? If you’re looking at software as a service, would you be signing up for a set period of time, or is it month-to-month? Can you pick and choose the features you need, or will you get the entire range? Here it’s important to know what your needs are, because while a program that does many different things might be a good fit for one company, another might need (and may be able to afford) only a few.
The point of purchasing FM software is to save money, not lose it. But if the program takes a lot of time to set up and implement, the loss of hours could also result in a loss of revenue. If it’s too complicated, then staff may not even use it. For that reason, you want to avoid a program that takes hours of setup, plus even more hours for staff training. This is a good thing to ask about when you’re talking to references. If the sales team promised an effortless set-up and quick user adoption, see whether that statement is true for the company’s clients.
A software program is only as good as its support team. After all, what good is a program that you don’t know how to use? Quality customer service means better value, so ask about the hours customer support is available. Customer reps should be easy to reach, with multiple points of contact—phone, email, customer support forum, etc. A readily available support team shows that the company values their clients.
There are several options to choose from when it comes to FM software, and the process of narrowing the list down can be daunting. These four tips can help make the choice easier. If you have any other questions about how to choose the right program or red flags to watch out for, email us at [email protected].
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