Dataforma Reviews

“Simple to add WOs

Pros

Our roofing service team uses this for our department. It's really simple to add work orders. The customizable dashboard lets me see the items I care about at a glance. Field crews receive their assignments through the DataForma mobile app. We can adjust their scheduled appointments instantly. It's simple to trace a work order's history from a customer record down to a building and even to an apartment or suite. Trainers and support staff are very helpful. We hardly ever experience downtime with the system.

Cons

Reports aren't configurable until I export the data. I've had to export multiple sheets of information I didn't need, only to delete those extra columns in Excel to get to the three to five fields I wanted. The platform can't pull an AR aging report to reconcile Balance Sheet AR balances properly. It's not a full accounting package, even though it does let you create invoices directly within the system.

“Keeps information safe

Pros

One thing I really appreciate is having every piece of my information stored in a system that can't be lost under any circumstances. It removes the stress of hunting through folders for paperwork from two or three years ago.

Cons

I'll admit the toughest part for me is committing the hours and the motivation required to learn and get comfortable with the program. Unless I fully change how I work and stop reverting to old habits, I don't get much value from it.

“Useful scheduling features

Pros

We're only just beginning to roll the software out but we've already made heavy use of the scheduling tools in our service department.

Cons

I'm not a big fan of the system opening a new browser window every time I click something, though I'm slowly getting used to it.

“Requires too much tweaking

Pros

As someone working in roofing, what I value is the roof-specific features and the way I can link buildings, companies, contacts and more while still keeping them separated when needed.

Cons

There's too much fine-tuning required because the system tries to be ultra-flexible. I would prefer clearer, more simple processes, since right now it feels quite disjointed.

“Great for tracking client data

Pros

I find it simple to use and to keep track of client information. It makes it easy for me to pull up work histories for specific buildings, clients and similar records without any issues.

Cons

I often feel like accomplishing tasks requires too many clicks for example, printing a work order usually takes several steps. Another frustration is that I can't update building information in bulk. Whenever I need to edit that data I have to go through and change each property one at a time which is time-consuming.

“Effective for team collaboration

Pros

It has cleared up many of the headaches we used to have when juggling different jobs. Now our team can actually collaborate and stay in touch much more smoothly with both sales staff and field techs thanks to the mobile app's tools. Being able to switch job statuses, add notes and upload photos straight from the field has cut down dramatically on the number of phone calls we needed to make before. There are still quite a few features we haven't rolled out yet but up to this point we're pleased with how everything works.

Cons

I'm frustrated that the software lacks a full accounting module which means I have to export and migrate invoices into our separate accounting system and sometimes that handoff runs into glitches or fails to transfer cleanly.

“easy to find data

Pros

Searching data and information is not hard. I appreciate that a new tab opens when selecting buildings, contacts, etc. That helps when several windows are required and really improves my productivity.

Cons

I realize this may be my user error but I'd like to be able to search for a company by entering its address into the "company" search bar instead of the options.

“They value feedback

Pros

Working in the roofing field, I find this software is built specifically for our needs. I don't have to reconfigure processes to get it running. Features that initially don't suit me can be customized so they do. I appreciate that the team listens to customers and evolves based on user feedback.

Cons

To be honest, I can't think of any real drawbacks to the program. If there's something we aren't thrilled with or would like added or altered, we can bring it up and it's taken into consideration. Most of our requests eventually get implemented over time.

“Allows for quick communication

Pros

As a cloud-based application, it lets me quickly send updates from the field back to my office and helps me expedite invoicing.

Cons

Because I'm running a small business, I can't fully take advantage of it since I lack the resources to properly build it out. It's not really plug-and-play and requires significant customization so it's only truly flexible if you have the staff and time to devote to it.

“Saves me time

Pros

I'm able to monitor every roofing job and all of my service tasks while running with a smaller office team. One tap lets me respond to any customer question instantly which saves a ton of time.

Cons

Keeping pace with all the frequent feature additions has been a struggle for me. There are countless updates and new tools rolling out so fast that I often can't figure out how to make use of everything effectively.

“Job costing made easy

Pros

It's a single place where I can gather and store every project detail from pre-construction through to closing documents. I find job costing and keeping expenses aligned with the budget much simpler!

Cons

It�s a bit tricky to handle because it has so many features. It also offers little to no accounting functionality and I'd really like a QuickBooks integration.

“convenient for creating proposals

Pros

I find it really simple to upload photos, create proposals and add new customers. We also rely on the reports feature to monitor sales and calculate commissions.

Cons

Reports area still needs improvement because we end up manually editing every proposal and on top of that the proposal images don't always attach properly to the proposals.

“Lets techs see work orders and add pics

Pros

It is amazing that my technicians can view work orders and project details, upload pictures in real time and access the warranty section.

Cons

We wish we could edit the descriptions we add to pictures and we'd also love the option to upload videos through the customer portal.

“Can be accessed from anywhere

Pros

I appreciate that it's browser-based and reachable from anywhere. The support team is very cooperative and always available to respond to our questions. Another feature I value is the option to adjust various elements specifically to meet the needs of our roofing business.

Cons

From time to time the site will go offline or act up, especially when our internet is unstable. I'd also prefer they would send out detailed instruction sheets ahead of releasing updates rather than relying solely on videos. The tutorials are helpful but having step-by-step printouts would save us effort and at the moment we create our own after each update.

“Has complete record of everything

Pros

This software keeps every record like service calls, maintenance notes and photos all linked to a specific location. Because of that I have a continuous timeline showing when we visited a site and exactly what we did on each visit which makes tracking past work simple and reliable.

Cons

One major headache for me is creating, printing or exporting reports. The default reports are rigid and include every item from the module so you end up with far more data than you need. To get a customized report I have to go through the Customer Service team and have them generate it for me. I would much prefer a way to choose the exact details I want in a report and then export only those fields.

“Unable to send emails through the software

Pros

We can follow a call and a job from beginning to end which is really helpful. The calendar features make scheduling across all of our departments simple and effective. Running our service department becomes simple to monitor.

Cons

I can't send emails directly through the software which is a major limitation. I also can't edit the templates myself and there's no way to change those hard-coded options when products are updated frequently.

“Shows everything in real time

Pros

It not only stores all the data but we can actually watch everything happen in real time which is a huge advantage. It's especially useful to track how each team member progresses through a sale and as a result we've been able to seize many more opportunities than before.

Cons

Not sure if this is a downside but there are so many different ways to accomplish the same task. Because of all the varied methods for entering data, I ended up building a standardized process that everyone in our office must follow to keep things consistent.

“Complex system

Pros

Being an owner myself, I really appreciate having complete information about every project in my company literally at my fingertips. I value the ability to quickly access projects and all related data.

Cons

The system feels complex and unfriendly. We've been using it for several years now and my team and I still feel like we're only getting about fifty to seventy percent of its capabilities. With many project managers and sales reps on staff, it's a real challenge to train everyone. Personally I wish the software guided users more instead of assuming they already know where to go. Separating projects from work orders should be much simpler in my opinion. It would also be hugely beneficial if more features were available on mobile because our project managers spend roughly eighty percent of their day in the field and asking them to return to a desktop to enter or look up things like the schedule is really burdensome.

“Collects pics smoothly

Pros

On the mobile platform I can reroute my crews instantly while it automatically gathers all their photos and job notes without any hurdles.

Cons

Simple actions often take too many clicks across multiple screens and I have to depend on support to customize forms and checklists because it's not user-friendly. Plus I still end up managing maintenance contracts separately in a spreadsheet.

“Easy to get the hang of

Pros

I find the software very easy to pick up and operate. It quickly generates invoices and keeps track of payments and it also monitors outstanding work orders.

Cons

At first it can feel puzzling until you get the hang of running reports. After I received training on the report and query features, it became a simple and valuable tool.