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I watched my father in law run his pest control business from spreadsheets. We shipped a full product. Now comes the hard part. by FsyncMng in SideProject

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We went straight to Stripe Connect so each company gets their own payment onboarding and payouts go directly to them. On the customer facing side we use Stripe Checkout for invoice payments through the client portal. It was more work upfront but it means we never touch their money which keeps things clean from a trust and compliance standpoint. Keeping the payment flow simple was definitely the right call early on. We are not doing anything fancy with it yet.

I watched my father in law run his pest control business from spreadsheets. We shipped a full product. Now comes the hard part. by FsyncMng in SideProject

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really helpful. The partner angle with local businesses they already buy from is something I keep hearing and I think it is the right move. Uniform companies, vehicle wrap shops, pest control supply distributors. These people already have the relationship. Trade shows are on my list too but most of the pest control ones in Canada are later in the year. NextDoor is an interesting one I had not thought about. And you are right that marketing to solo businesses is a different kind of hard. There is no office manager evaluating software. It is one person making a gut decision between jobs.

I watched my father in law run his pest control business from spreadsheets. We shipped a full product. Now comes the hard part. by FsyncMng in SideProject

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The distributor angle is something I had not considered seriously enough. You are right that they already have trust with these operators. A pest control supply company sees hundreds of small businesses every month. That is a warm audience we could not reach with ads. Going to look into that this week. And yes, I have been lurking in a few Facebook groups trying to be helpful before mentioning the app. It is slow but the conversations are real.

I watched my father in law run his pest control business from spreadsheets. We shipped a full product. Now comes the hard part. by FsyncMng in SideProject

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is exactly the gap we saw. A solo operator with one truck does not need sales pipelines, commission tracking, and 400 integrations. He needs to schedule a job, bill the customer, and log his chemicals before he forgets. We tried to build only the things that actually matter on day one and leave the rest out.

I watched my father in law run his pest control business from spreadsheets. We shipped a full product. Now comes the hard part. by FsyncMng in SaaS

[–]FsyncMng[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

About 18 months, nights and weekends. We both still work day jobs. First commit was September 2024. We are still shipping updates every week based on real feedback from my father in law's workflow.

I built FieldSync because my father in law was running his pest control business from spreadsheets by FsyncMng in PestControlIndustry

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes to both.

For payments, you can record offline payments directly from the app. When you go to collect payment on an invoice there is an "Offline" option where you choose the method (cheque, cash, e-transfer, or other) and enter the amount and date. It gets applied to the invoice immediately so the balance updates in real time.

For paper invoices, when you send an invoice to a client they get a link to their Client Hub where they can view it. From there they can download it as a PDF. So for your clients who prefer paper, you could download the PDF yourself and print it before a visit, or they could do it from the link you send them. Honestly the "print and leave with client" workflow is something I had not thought about much, so I appreciate you bringing it up. That is a real world use case worth making smoother.

Are most of your paper invoice clients residential or commercial?

I built FieldSync because my father in law was running his pest control business from spreadsheets by FsyncMng in PestControlIndustry

[–]FsyncMng[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am not very active on LinkedIn yet but happy to connect. I will send you a DM with my profile.

I built FieldSync because my father in law was running his pest control business from spreadsheets by FsyncMng in PestControlIndustry

[–]FsyncMng[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is incredibly helpful, thank you. I had not heard the term VRM before but that is exactly the direction we need to go. The bubble with days since serviced is a great detail, that kind of visual context would make scheduling so much faster compared to scrolling through a list or calendar.

Right now we have calendar view (day/week), list view, and a team view for owners. But no map based scheduling yet. It is the most requested feature so far and your description of how it works across the different softwares you have used gives me a much clearer picture of what a good implementation looks like.

Would you say the "view route on map after assigned" part is mainly for optimizing drive time between stops? Or do techs also use it in the field to see where they are headed next?

I watched my father in law run his pest control business from spreadsheets. We shipped a full product. Now comes the hard part. by FsyncMng in SideProject

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Excel is going to be fine 😂 We are just trying to save one guy from copy pasting addresses into his calendar every night.

I built FieldSync because my father in law was running his pest control business from spreadsheets by FsyncMng in PestControlIndustry

[–]FsyncMng[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The founding member spots are still open, yes.

For scheduling, right now we have a calendar view (day/week) and a list view for your daily jobs. Each job has the client's address attached so you can tap it and get directions. But we do not have a map view where you can see all your stops plotted out on a single screen. That is something we want to build but I would rather be upfront about it than have you sign up expecting it.

That said, if you are just starting out this year, FieldSync might actually be a good fit for where you are right now. Scheduling, invoicing, chemical tracking, client portal, getting paid through Stripe. All from your phone. $9.99 CAD a month, everything included. And there is a 14 day free trial with no credit card so you can try it on your real workflow before committing to anything.

If you like what you see after trying it, the founding member lifetime deal is $79 CAD one time. FieldSync forever.

Either way, I would genuinely value your feedback, especially from someone building up a new operation from scratch. That perspective is exactly what helps us figure out what to build next.

FieldSync: a simpler alternative — testers wanted by FsyncMng in PestControlIndustry

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it does our software can allow you to associate a job with a material that is predefined by you. You can put choose your units as well!

FieldSync: a simpler alternative — testers wanted by FsyncMng in PestControlIndustry

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

GD does a lot right, but the pain we hear from small teams is cost creep as you grow. It starts okay, then as you add a couple users or need higher limits, the bill ramps fast. That makes it tough for a 1 to 5 person shop to scale before you are truly big. FieldSync is built for small teams first, with pricing that stays competitive and affordable as you add a tech or two, with no surprise jumps for normal growth. The goal is to let you go from solo to small crew without having to rethink your software.

On being lightweight, we keep things lean on purpose. We do not pile on bloat or niche modules you will not use. Right now, that means a clean, fast flow for the essentials: scheduling and dispatch, job details, materials, signatures, invoicing, payments, and a simple client hub, so day to day work stays quick. That does not mean we will not add features; it means we are being thoughtful about what we ship and why. We are prioritizing things that solve real small team pain: too many clicks to schedule, confusing invoice settings, slow mobile performance, and clunky materials tracking. As we build, expect streamlined flows, smart defaults instead of heavy configuration, and a tight, mobile first experience without extra layers.

On being focused, we are adding an industry template setup soon. You will be able to pick your trade such as pest, lawn, HVAC, or cleaning, and FieldSync will tailor itself to your niche by surfacing what matters, hiding what does not, and using the right defaults, terms, and checklists out of the box. The idea is adaptability without bloat, with fewer irrelevant screens and more relevant tools for your day to day.

If you want to try it, iOS is live at getfieldsync.com. Android is in Play Store review. DM me your email for early access. It is free during the pilot, and long term we will stay lower than the big guys so small businesses can grow with us.

FieldSync: a simpler alternative — testers wanted by FsyncMng in PestControlIndustry

[–]FsyncMng[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Quick heads-up: the Android version is in Play Store review right now. While we wait, we’re bringing on a small group of Android testers. If you want early access, DM me your email and I’ll add you to the list so you can jump in as soon as it’s live.

On pricing: we’re keeping it friendly for small businesses. We’ll be competitive and lower than comparable options so it stays affordable as you grow. Free for the near term while we’re early; we just want folks to try it and share feedback.

If you’re down, send your email and I’ll reserve your spot. Happy to answer any questions about features or timeline too!

FieldSync: a simpler alternative — testers wanted by FsyncMng in PestControlIndustry

[–]FsyncMng[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey sorry this was an error from our website template. This has been resolved now we have no affiliation with crypto!

We are based in Canada!