Moving off legacy field service software: what to compare first
Before you sign with anything new, line up the seven things that decide whether a switch goes smoothly, and get the answers in writing.
When the old system stops fitting
It's usually a renewal notice. Or the third time this month the tech app froze in a basement with no signal, and someone re-typed the notes at 7 PM. Or you hired two techs and the bill jumped more than you planned. That's when most owners start looking at field service software alternatives.
The trouble is that every product page looks alike. Scheduling, invoicing, a mobile app, a customer list. The differences that hurt later sit in pricing-page footnotes, the terms and the help article about exporting your data. This page covers what to compare, then gives you a switching checklist you can use with any vendor, us included.
If you're still scoring products against each other, start with how to choose field service software. This page is for the next step: you've got a system, it isn't working, and you want to replace it without losing a week.
Seven things to compare in field service software alternatives
1. Pricing model
Field service platforms price in several different ways: per user, per technician, flat tiers with a set number of included users, flat tiers with no user cap, and pricing by quote, where you talk to sales before you see a number. None of these is wrong on its own. What matters is how the bill moves when you hire.
Ask who counts as a billable user (office staff, part-time techs, seasonal crews), what happens when you pass the included headcount, and whether the price you're shown is a monthly price or an annual price divided by twelve. For a deeper look, see field service software pricing models.
2. Contract terms
Some vendors bill month to month. Others ask for a one-year commitment, sometimes billed monthly, sometimes paid up front and not refundable. Read the cancellation and auto-renewal language before you sign, and put the renewal date somewhere you'll see it two months out.
3. Set-up effort and onboarding
Ask what onboarding includes, whether any of it is priced separately, and how long before your techs are working from the app. A longer implementation can be fine for a big operation. You just want to know the timeline before you give notice to your current vendor.
4. Data export and ownership
This is the one people skip. Find the help article on exporting before you sign anything. Check which records come out (customers, service locations, open work, service agreements, equipment, invoices), in what format, who on your team is allowed to run the export, and whether it's limited to certain plans. Ask every vendor on your list, us included, to put export terms in writing.
Then run a test export during the trial. The day you need that file is a bad day to find out what's missing.
5. Mobile app and offline work
Your techs live in the app. Test it on the phones they actually carry, in a mechanical room or a crawlspace with no signal. Does it keep working? Does everything sync when the signal comes back without anyone re-entering notes?
6. Plan limits
Look for caps that bite later: users per plan, invoices per month, photos per visit, customers you can import per day, custom fields. Entry plans almost always have some. Write down the ones that touch how you actually work, not the ones on the feature grid.
7. What's an add-on
Phone systems, answering services, marketing tools, fleet tracking, card readers and premium support are often sold separately. Add up the plan you'd really need, the add-ons, and the payment processing fees before you compare any two totals.
How FSM Navigator answers those questions
Short answers, so you can line them up next to the alternatives you're weighing. Full plan details are on the pricing page.
Priced per user
Pro is $34.99 per user per month, or $27.99 per user per month billed annually, and every active user counts, office staff included.
No user limit on paid plans
Pro and Enterprise have no user limit, from 2 technicians to 200 and beyond; see running larger teams.
A Free plan, not a countdown
The Free plan covers up to 5 users with no credit card and no time limit; see free field service management software.
Try a paid plan first
Pro and Enterprise each come with a 14-day free trial. Sign up free, then start a 14-day Pro or Enterprise trial from your account. A payment method is collected when the trial starts and isn't charged until the trial ends.
No setup fees, cancel from your account
No setup fees. Monthly or annual billing; cancel any time from your billing settings. Your plan stays active until the end of the period you've paid for, then the account moves to the Free plan and keeps its data.
Your data comes out
On every plan, the Owner can export the whole company as a download of data files. Customers and invoices also export as CSV files, and invoices download as PDFs. There's no spreadsheet-format export and no fee to export.
The app comes with every plan
Native iOS and Android apps are included on every plan, Free included, and they're offline-first, so techs keep working without signal and changes sync when the phone reconnects.
A board on every plan, intelligent dispatch on Pro
Every plan has a visual dispatch board for manual dispatch, and Pro adds intelligent dispatch, which matches technicians automatically and keeps rebalancing through the day.
The plan limits we'd point out ourselves: Free is capped at 100 invoices a month. Customers and their service locations import by CSV on Pro, up to 50 customers a day, with no daily cap on Enterprise; the pricebook and service agreements are set up in the app. Custom fields are 10 per record type on Pro and 50 on Enterprise. One plan applies to every user in an account; plans aren't mixed.
On Pro, customers pay invoices online by card or bank transfer through the customer portal, and the money settles to your own Stripe account. A platform fee applies on online payments; it's listed on the pricing page. On Pro, customers, invoices and payments can also be sent to QuickBooks Online automatically or on demand. You can see everything else on the features overview.
A switching checklist you can use with any vendor
Before you give notice
- Find your renewal date and notice period. Put both on the calendar, with a reminder well ahead of the notice deadline.
- Export everything you can. Customers and service locations, open and scheduled work, active service agreements with their next-due dates, equipment records, the pricebook, and invoice and payment history. Save the files outside the old system.
- Check what didn't come out. Photos, signed forms and technician notes often sit outside the standard export. Download what you need to keep for warranty, inspection or tax records.
- Decide what moves and what gets archived. Customers, open work and active agreements need to move. Closed invoice history can usually stay as a read-only archive instead of being re-keyed.
Setting up the new system
- Clean the customer list first. Merge duplicates, fix addresses and standardise phone numbers before you import. Here's how to deal with duplicate customer records.
- Set things up in the right order. Customers and service locations first, then the pricebook, then active service agreements, so the next maintenance visits land on the schedule.
- Re-enter open work for the next few weeks. Anything further out can follow once the team is settled.
- Connect accounting and payments last. Wait until customer records are clean so you don't sync a mess into your books.
Running both systems
- Pick a cutover date and an overlap period. Keep the old system read-only through the overlap. A slower season makes this easier.
- Train the board first. Your dispatcher or office manager should run a full day on the new board before the techs touch it.
- Then put the app on every tech's phone. Walk through status updates and notes in the yard, then do one real visit together.
- Check the first week's invoices. Compare them with what the old system would have billed.
- Pull one last export, then give final notice. Do it before your access ends, not after.
Keep reading
Field service software pricing models
Per user, per technician, flat tier or by quote, and how each one moves when you hire.
Free field service management software
What a free plan should include before you trust it with real customers.
How to choose field service software
The questions that separate a product page from the product you'll live with.
Intelligent dispatch
How Pro matches technicians automatically and keeps rebalancing through the day.
All features
Scheduling, quotes, invoicing, service agreements and the mobile app in one place.
All comparisons
Spreadsheets, sales CRMs, free plans and pricing models, one decision at a time.
Questions Owners Ask Before They Switch
What should I compare when looking at field service software alternatives?
Compare seven things side by side: the pricing model and who counts as a billable user, contract and renewal terms, set-up effort and what onboarding includes, data export, the mobile app with no signal, plan limits, and which features are sold as add-ons. Product pages tend to look alike, so the real differences when you replace legacy software usually sit in pricing footnotes, terms and help articles.
How do I get my data out of my current field service software?
Look for the export article in your current vendor's help center. Check which records it covers, the file format, who on your team is allowed to run it and whether it depends on your plan. Export customers, service locations, open work, active service agreements, equipment, the pricebook and invoice history, and save the files outside the old system before you give notice.
How long should I run the old and new systems side by side?
Long enough for one full cycle of your busiest work, and keep the old system read-only so nobody books into it by mistake. A slower season makes the overlap easier. Train your dispatcher or office manager on the new board first, then the technicians, and pull a final export before your old access ends.
Do I need to move my old invoices into the new system?
Usually not. Customers, open work and active service agreements need to move so the business keeps running. Closed invoice and payment history can stay in an exported archive you can search when a customer disputes an old bill. Keep those files for as long as your accountant and your tax records require.
How is FSM Navigator priced?
FSM Navigator is priced per user. Pro is $34.99 per user per month, or $27.99 per user per month billed annually. Enterprise is $59.99 per user per month, or $47.99 per user per month billed annually. Every active user counts, office staff included. Paid plans have no user limit, and the Free plan covers up to 5 users. The pricing page has the full plan details.
Can I try FSM Navigator before I switch?
Yes. The Free plan covers up to 5 users with no credit card and no time limit, so you can set up your board and the mobile app at your own pace. Pro and Enterprise each come with a 14-day free trial. Sign up free, then start a 14-day Pro or Enterprise trial from your account. A payment method is collected when the trial starts and isn't charged until the trial ends.
Does the FSM Navigator mobile app work without signal?
Yes. Native iOS and Android apps are included on every plan, Free included. The app is offline-first: technicians keep working in basements, crawlspaces and rural sites without signal, and their changes sync automatically when the phone reconnects. Test it on the phones your technicians actually carry before you switch.
Put Our Numbers Next to Your Current Bill
Per-user pricing, no user limit on paid plans, and a Free plan for up to 5 users.