Service Autopilot Reviews

“feels like it's slipping

Pros

It packs more features than any similar platform I've used. It handles everything from simple scheduling tasks to advanced automation, functions that other providers force you to purchase as separate add-on projects.

Cons

Lately I've noticed the company has been slipping since it was acquired by a credit card processing firm and it feels like they purchased it more to lock customers into their payment system than to maintain a quality software business. I think it's a real shame because it used to be an excellent company before the takeover.

“Transormed our operations

Pros

Been using this software for about a year and it can do an incredible number of things. I still haven't discovered all of its capabilities. The automation features, in my opinion, completely transformed how we operate. It also simplifies routing and scheduling dramatically, making those tasks far easier and more efficient than any other programs I've tried before.

Cons

This isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. For a tiny outfit with just a few people or a couple of crews out on the road each day, it probably feels like overkill. From my perspective, it's ideal for mid-size to larger teams. That said, I've noticed the app can be a bit glitchy at times. It isn't instantly user-friendly for everyone and requires some time for the team to learn. Once you get past the learning curve though, it becomes simple and very effective to use.

“Saves me money

Pros

It's cutting my costs and letting me avoid hiring extra staff, thanks to so much automation!

Cons

I honestly have no complaints. I enjoy every feature and often tell others to try it.

“Stores leads and staff record

Pros

I rely on Service Autopilot as the central point for our whole operation because it stores every lead, client and staff record. Its automation features have noticeably boosted our efficiency and simplified many processes, making system management much easier and more productive.

Cons

In my experience, it isn't simple to set up or use. It becomes less daunting only if you're the kind of person who likes to dive into new software and figure things out by poking around. Even after I learned the basics, there are so many moving parts that I'm constantly finding something else to adjust in the workflows. What frustrated me most is that since Clearent (a credit card processor) bought SA a couple of years back, both support and the platform's overall reliability have declined. I still run into days when the system drags, pages and functions load very slowly which at times makes it effectively unusable for stretches. Another major limitation for me is the closed API which means I can't link it easily with other tools we use. They've been working on a version 3 for years now and keep it in beta but from what I've seen it feels less user-friendly and more cluttered than the current version 2, rather than an improvement.

“Allows us to handle bidding and scheduling

Pros

We can smoothly handle bidding on a job, winning the contract, setting up the schedule, dispatching the crew, carrying out the work and invoicing for it with this software. The end-to-end workflow is amazing.

Cons

As someone new to it, I found it a bit complicated. It is incredibly feature-rich and can do a ton which can feel overwhelming when you're just getting started. There are numerous steps you must follow to complete office tasks correctly.

“On the decline

Pros

I manage records for up to 1,000 clients each year and I find the dispatch board really helpful for organizing and monitoring their jobs.

Cons

My experience lately has been frustrating because the dispatch board was recently reduced to a 90-search window, while we require at least a year's worth of visibility to manage all our jobs. Response times have become painfully slow. Sometimes the system crawls which is extremely aggravating when I'm trying to get work done. Running reports is clunky and the available templates are too limited for our needs. I've also noticed that font sizing is inconsistent. Selecting 14 pt doesn't produce an actual 14-point appearance and some sizes aren't even offered. They've added a Tickets feature but it triggers ticket creation at times we didn't request one and I don't fully understand its purpose. The client page history was reworked and now the list is excessively long and harder to scan. To see whether an email reached a client I now have to open a different tab instead of viewing it directly on the client page like before. I could go on about the many small changes over the years that, cumulatively, have made the system more complex to use. I've considered switching vendors for a while but I'm uneasy about difficult it might be to transfer all my data to another provider.

“Various automation options

Pros

When it comes to scheduling, I really like how flexible it is and how many automation options it supports.

Cons

I do notice it can be sluggish sometimes though overall it's pretty reliable and performs consistently.

“Saves us from manual errors

Pros

Our entire business is run through Service Autopilot. If we didn't have it, we'd have to bring on at least two more office staff members and honestly I shudder at imagining all the errors and mix-ups we'd likely have, since SA takes care of a large portion of our day-to-day tasks automatically.

Cons

I really wish it were easier for me to create custom reports without jumping through hoops.

“Essential part of our business

Pros

We've used this program to plan our crews' routes, keep track of clients, speed up our estimating workflow and overall it's been a major factor in our company's expansion. We truly don't think we'd be at this point today without it.

Cons

Most difficult part was getting comfortable with everything since there are so many capabilities packed into it and that means it can take quite a while before it's completely rolled out in our operations. Fortunately, Service Autopilot offers training sessions that we attended and those helped smooth the onboarding process.

“They don�t let me cancel

Pros

I've been charged for the service, then charged to be taught how to use it and when I try to cancel they make it impossible. They never answer their phones or ever call back

Cons

My calls go unanswered. They make canceling the service impossible. It costs $340/month still.

“Unfinished features

Pros

It's getting difficult to spot anything I actually enjoy about this anymore. Features that appealed to me back in 2014 are either unfinished or only partially functional.

Cons

Trying not to turn this into a long rant but I feel like it is packed with half-baked features that never get completed and the team seems to chase the next trendy word like 'Automation' instead of fixing what's broken. My reporting experience is abysmal, honestly the reports are the second worst part of the system and I can get better results in Excel. The absolute worst for me is invoicing. When a customer makes a partial payment, I'm unable to apply that partial amount to an invoice. The system insists on full payments only. To deal with it I end up creating a new invoice for the remaining balance and applying the earlier payment to the original invoice after reducing it to show it as paid. It's complex and frustrating and this kind of workaround shouldn't be necessary.

“Most adaptable system I've seen

Pros

One thing I like most about this software is that it lets me design my own service management system from the ground up. In my experience, Service Autopilot is the most adaptable platform I've used. It includes nearly every feature I can imagine needing to run a service-based business that supports a large customer base.

Cons

There's definitely a steep learning curve and I thought the training sessions were on the pricey side. Still, I believe the investment of my time, effort and money is worth it.

“Solved a lot of our problems

Pros

I've found this software solves so many of the problems we had and even several we weren't aware of by bringing our client records and their requirements together into a smooth system across our multi-service company.

Cons

In my experience, there are a few minor shortcomings in certain features but I generally manage to work around them without much trouble!

“Expensive and full of bugs

Pros

What drew me in were the automations and I also found their dispatch board to be simple to use.

Cons

Over the past year they've gone through three different acquisitions and each time I've watched them raise prices, remove features and promise a new version of the platform. To be frank, 18 months later that new version still isn't available, while the legacy system feels abandoned. Every software update they push seems riddled with bugs and frequently strips out genuinely useful features. A few weeks after one of those updates I even received an email from the team telling all users they had "no idea" so many people relied on a specific feature which made me question their understanding of customer needs. In my experience these folks shouldn't be steering anything tech-related. For example, when I wanted to track Google Ads conversions I couldn't do it. Trying to port a Twilio number in? Not possible. Wanting to sync with my email? Nope. Integrations with other platforms? Forget it, there's no proper API. I also discovered that you can't realistically train office staff and have them fully up and running in two weeks using this software. Reliable credit card processing and captures are a problem too, I spent days reconciling approved versus captured transactions and if I hadn't checked closely I wouldn't have noticed discrepancies until I balanced the books. Giving customers a portal where they can log in and submit requests? Not supported. The list goes on. From where I sit they're light years behind competitors, every release is packed with bugs and their suggested work-arounds are just temporary band-aids. In the end I found I was spending far more time managing this platform than I would if I had just used a bird feather and some paper.

“Problematic QuickBooks integration

Pros

The map measurement tool actually works reliably which I appreciate. Having everything consolidated in one place makes my workflow simpler.

Cons

The QuickBooks Online integration is constantly problematic. The balances between the two systems are almost always incorrect. I've noticed there's a lack of consistency across different functions. Rather than helping me run my business, I end up spending my day managing the software. I could list the problems for hours. On top of that, they try to upsell add-ons when the existing features don't even work properly. For example, if I pause a customer's service via the Master job but the job was already dispatched, the crew still goes out to the field even though the Master job is on pause.

“Support is lacking

Pros

It included a map feature for measuring properties accurately.

Cons

Honestly, the system felt overwhelmingly detailed and it took forever to get any hands-on help. We were told the initial training would be scheduled but it took four weeks which meant we were basically left to figure everything out on our own during that first month. There are a lot of tutorial videos available yet there wasn't a live person to walk us through them or demonstrate real-world workflows so watching clips didn't translate into understanding how to apply features. I found even small tasks like getting our logo to appear on an email unnecessarily confusing and time-consuming. The templates were especially unclear in terms of how to use them and after struggling for a while we finally abandoned it and switched to LawnPro. That app is simple to use and budget-friendly. While it lacks some of the advanced features and bells and whistles of Service Autopilot, in my experience it has everything we need to do the job well.

“offers solid features!!

Pros

I like the platform's powerful feature set and how smoothly it connects with other applications.

Cons

Customer support left me feeling like my account wasn't a priority. They implemented a tiered pricing structure and removed our previous plan without giving any heads-up. When I asked why our bill had gone up, I was told about the new tiers and that because only a handful of customers were affected, they deliberately opted not to notify us of the change. That whole experience made me feel brushed off and pretty frustrated.

“Terrible mobile app

Pros

I've found the platform offers a comprehensive feature set, supports advanced customizations, includes a solid form builder, handles complex scheduling needs and their customer support has been excellent.

Cons

My experience however has been marred by poor execution of otherwise useful features. I also find the mobile app dreadful, the interface full of bugs and painfully slow to load and exported XLS reports won't open properly on OSX or iOS. The styling feels stuck in the past, like software from two decades ago which makes working in the field very frustrating. On top of that, Service Autopilot is partly owned by a payments company that doesn't provide competitive fees for small businesses.

“Not happy with the upgrades

Pros

Its fairly simple to use and I appreciate that it offers a mobile app which makes accessing it even simpler and more convenient than relying solely on a desktop.

Cons

Unfortunately, many features were altered during so-called 'upgrades' and in my experience those changes have stripped useful functionality away from the product. There are also basic tools for employee scheduling that seem like obvious inclusions but simply aren't available and this shortage of capabilities ends up putting extra administrative burden on our HR team and on me.

“Very disappointed!

Pros

I appreciate how estimates are presented, the ability for customers to e-sign them and the forms feature, although the app itself is pretty glitchy.

Cons

The software feels over-engineered. Its help sections skip a surprising amount of detail during step-by-step instructions which left me having to puzzle things out on my own. It's absolutely not user-friendly. Teaching this to our office team has been nearly impossible and incredibly time-consuming. I've burned through countless wasted hours trying to track down why parts of the system don't behave as expected and if you don't follow a specific sequence exactly the right way, everything can break. Believe it or not, it's 11 at night and I just spent three hours trying to figure out why a job I dispatched was missing one task and why other jobs that did appear on the dispatch board suddenly had no job notes attached. I went back and re-scheduled and adjusted that job in six different ways, trying multiple approaches to fix it but nothing stuck so now my crew is left clueless about what they need to do tomorrow. When I reach out for help, support rarely gives a clear, simple solution and sometimes it sounds like the system confuses them as much as it does me. The concept is excellent for landscape businesses and I like the idea but whoever designed this clearly didn't think every workflow through. I'm very skeptical about the promised new version, though I suppose we'll wait and see. Overall, I'm really disappointed.