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Powered Now has been developed specifically
to help trade businesses ranging from ‘one
man and his dog’ tradesmen up to the larger
companies. The guys behind it, Benjamin
Dyer and Chris Barling, are well experienced
and have run previous software companies
that also served smaller businesses.
» » NOWADAYS THERE ARE MANY
types of software available to help
tradesmen manage their businesses
and the claims from the software
developers often make impressive
reading. Looking through the quotes
of existing customers of Powered Now
I could not fail to notice one from a
customer who claimed that it ‘saved his
marriage’; However, this is not part of
their support contract…
Recent developments in the product
have included gas safety forms and
other certificates used by installers.
The company is aiming to provide a
tool for businesses ranging from one
man bands up to tens of employees.
It works on desktops, laptops, tablets
and smartphones and covers and
number of sectors in the trade industry
while specialising in gas engineers and
electricians.
Powered Now is a dynamic British
company based on the Isle of Wight,
and their product has matured over
the years as they have listened to their
customer’s needs. This customer focus
is the key to their success, coupled with
a strong emphasis on ‘hand-holding’
and training as well as technical
support which is often handled via the
built-in on-line chat system.
The latest buzz is around software
that runs in the cloud and makes
updating easy while ensuring all data is
backed up. Whilst Powered Now uses
the cloud for this, the team also realise
that on-site locations don’t always have
WiFi or mobile coverage. Powered
Now works without a connection and
this key feature marks it out over
their competitors. Information can
be entered with no signal, but it is
saved to the cloud as soon as a signal
reappears. A nice touch is that quotes,
invoices and receipts can be sent by
both email and SMS Text. This avoids
spam filters and means one less excuse
for your customers not to pay you.
Powered Now reduces typing by
remembering what you have typed and
copying information from your address
book. Setting up a new customer
is made easy by a postcode look
up facility, although this requires an
internet connection.
The app has aimed to eliminate
all paperwork and covers projects
containing appointments, quotes,
invoices, payments, certificates and
time spent on site. Staff can be tracked
and chat is included. There is a range
of templates available for quotes,
invoices etc. and there is full control
over adding logos, memberships
of trade associations and other
qualifications.
Powered Now is available as a
subscription on a monthly or annual
basis and has two tiers with different
levels of functionality. There is a free
7-day trial. The Pro version includes
CIS and MTD (Construction Industry
Scheme and Making Tax Digital). All
options provide support from real UK
based humans.
Review written by Mark Newton
Freelace IT Writer
PcPro, CloudPro
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | MAY/JUN 2019
Sponsored by Mul-T-Lock