A field service software demo checklist you can use

A convincing feature demonstration is not yet evidence that a platform fits your operation. Give each vendor the same sample work and record what it shows. Use a fictional customer and sample data; do not put customer contact details or access codes into an evaluation system without authorization.

Prepare the same sample job

Choose a job that includes the difficult parts of your business: a promised arrival window, a required skill, a customer with multiple sites, an estimate needing approval, an unavailable technician, a part delay or a change to the scope. Write down the expected result before the demonstration.

For each item below, mark demonstrated, requires configuration, another product, or not shown. Record the screen or source provided, the responsible person and the open question. These are observations, not a universal vendor score.

1. Booking and customer records

Create the customer, site and contact as distinct records where necessary.
Capture the request, scope, priority and arrival promise.
Find the equipment or prior work without leaving the job.
Show duplicate detection and permission boundaries.
Identify the required fields and who maintains them.

2. Scheduling and dispatch

Assign a qualified person or crew with realistic availability.
Show travel, duration, capacity and the customer’s promised window.
Add an urgent job after the schedule is full.
Make one technician unavailable and show the consequences.
Explain whether the system enforces a rule or merely displays a warning.
Accept, modify and reject any automated recommendation.

3. Field work and changes

Open the job on the device the team actually uses.
Read the correct instructions, history and approved scope.
Capture time, materials, photos, forms and completion status.
Add a change and obtain approval without losing the original scope.
Demonstrate the real behavior under a poor connection.
Remove a departed team member’s access.

4. Invoice, payment and accounting

Create an invoice from the completed work.
Explain which estimate, time and material records populate it.
Record a partial payment or correction.
Show exactly what reaches the intended accounting system.
Trigger or describe a failed sync, retry and duplicate-prevention path.
Export the records in a usable format.

5. AI and automation boundaries

Identify the input that produces the suggestion or action.
Distinguish a draft, recommendation, queued action and automatic action.
Show the approval, override and audit trail.
Explain what happens when an external service is unavailable.
Name the person responsible for monitoring failures.
Separate vendor claims from outcomes actually demonstrated.

6. Compare twelve-month cost

Ask for the same scope from every vendor. Record office and field users, required modules, implementation, training, migration, integrations, communication charges, payments, AI usage, support, contract term and the cost of adding people. A quoted starting price is not the total.

Decision record

Question	Your note
Which workflow was fully demonstrated?
Which handoff still requires manual work?
What configuration is included in the proposal?
What remains a promise rather than evidence?
Who owns each unresolved question?
What is the twelve-month cost for the stated scope?
What can be exported if the system is replaced?

Print this page or copy the table into your evaluation notes. Start the product shortlist in the trade guides or vendor directory. For a complete worked scenario, see the HVAC dispatch comparison.