ServiceTitan alternatives: platforms vs custom field service apps

Why contractors look for a ServiceTitan alternative, in Tepia's experience

ServiceTitan is a capable platform and for many residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies it is the right choice.

Before recommending anything custom, Tepia asks three questions. How many technicians do you run today and in three years? Which of your workflows would you refuse to change? And which systems must the field app talk to? The answers usually point to one of the platforms below, and sometimes to custom.

The platform alternatives Tepia compares most often

Each platform below fits a particular kind of contractor.

If you are under 20 technicians and your work is standard residential service, Tepia will point you at Housecall Pro or Jobber and wish you well. Custom software is not a better answer for that company.

When custom beats every platform, and when it does not

Custom wins when the workflow is the business.

Custom loses when you need everything on day one. Most Tepia field service clients start with one painful piece, usually the technician mobile app or the dispatch board, and keep the platform for the rest. For a more detailed version of this decision see custom field service app or ServiceTitan.

What Tepia builds for field service companies

The most common Tepia engagement in this space is a custom technician app connected to an existing platform. ServiceTitan and most competitors expose APIs, so Tepia builds an iOS and Android app in Swift, Kotlin or React Native that gives technicians exactly the screens they need: today’s jobs, a guided checklist for your service process, photo capture, parts lookup, and a signature and payment flow through Stripe or Square. Job data still lives in the platform.

The second most common engagement is dispatch and work order management for companies who have outgrown a platform’s board. Tepia builds a web dispatch console with drag and drop scheduling, skills and territory rules, real time technician location, and automated customer notifications through Twilio. Feature detail is on dispatch and work order features.

Tepia also builds full replacements for companies that have decided to leave a platform entirely, including data migration from ServiceTitan or FieldEdge and QuickBooks sync from day one. Maximum Controls, a gate control and access company, is one example of a Tepia build spanning iOS, Android and an admin portal for a field heavy business.

How Tepia approaches field service software

Tepia’s six phase process is the same for a technician app or a full dispatch system, with field specific details at each step.

Discovery (typically 1 to 3 months) starts with system investigation of your current platform and its API, ride alongs and interviews with technicians, dispatchers and office staff, and a review of third party integrations like QuickBooks and Twilio. Deliverables are an Investigation Summary, an Interview Summary and User Stories written from the technician’s point of view. Design produces a design questionnaire, moodboards, a style guide, detailed wireframes and sample designs, tested for gloves, glare and one handed use.

Development and Testing runs in Alpha and Beta schedules with functional, user acceptance and non functional testing, including offline sync and poor signal scenarios. Training uses in person and remote sessions built around real user story scenarios, since technicians learn by doing a job in the app. Launch covers data migration, transition from the old system and Tepia support reps on the rollout days. Read more at the Tepia process page.

Frequently asked questions