If you use Housecall Pro, you can now integrate Force Fleet Tracking into it and take advantage of the vehicle location sharing feature. This lets you automatically generate an SMS text message to your customers with a link that will let them track your service vehicles en route to a job in real-time (similar to Uber).
Not a Housecall Pro user? Learn more...
Here is what your customers will see when they open the link
NOTE: In Housecall Pro, you can update your "On My Way" messages to let your customers know they will be getting this real-time location tracking link. For further instructions, see this Housecall Pro article.
Getting started with Force Fleet Tracking integration into Housecall Pro
To integrate Force Fleet Tracking into Housecall Pro, use one of the SET UP/GET STARTED prompts in the Force app. These appear either below the left navigation or as a "New Feature!" pop-up on your screen. You can also get started by going into your Account Preferences (tap your name/image upper right) and, under Share Vehicle Location - Housecall Pro, set the toggle to ON.
Getting set up
To get set up, you just have to follow the on-screen instructions. Here is an overview of the steps:
- Once you tap one of the getting started prompts, you will then be asked to log in to Housecall Pro to authorize access.
- After that, your Housecall Pro employees will be imported into Force in the next two steps:
- First, where there are exact or close matches, they will be matched to your existing Force drivers. Confirm the matches and tap NEXT.
- Second, you will be asked if you want to add any additional employees (that did not match up in Force already). Select those you wish to add as drivers in Force and tap NEXT.
- You will be prompted to assign a vehicle to your drivers. This is required for the vehicle location sharing feature to work. Once that is done, tap NEXT.
- Next, enable the vehicle location sharing feature. This is done using the toggle to the right of "Automatically text customers a link so they can track your service vehicles en route."
- You also need to select at least one trigger (or both) from the two options: Send text when “On My Way” is clicked in Housecall Pro" and Send text based on scheduled “Job Start Time” which will generate a text message two hours before the scheduled job start. (NOTE: the customer will only get one text message, not two; also, this feature only works with jobs, at the moment, not with estimates.) Once that is done, tap SAVE.
Congratulations, you will now have integrated Force Fleet Tracking into Housecall Pro and enabled real-time vehicle location sharing!
For your records, you will also be able to see a history of the generated links via the Reports tab in your Force Fleet Tracking dashboard.
Managing vehicle location sharing after set up
To disable (or re-enable) the share vehicle location function:
- Go to the Preferences tab (tap your name/image upper right)
- Under Share Vehicle Location - Housecall Pro, set the toggle to OFF
- On the screen that pops up, tap STOP SHARING (or START SHARING if you are re-enabling the feature)