Clearview National May 2019 - Issue 210 | Page 101

BUSINESSNEWS
THE INDEPENDENT
REVIEW FOR INSTALLERS
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.
‘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’
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
C L E A RV I E W-U K . C O M » M AY 2019 » 101