5 Key Points To Look For When Trying Out Route Planning Software

If your business doesn’t use advanced route planning software, it’s time to start. This software will reduce your expenses and make your drivers more efficient. Every minute you don’t use it is a minute when you’re making less money than you could be.

So, the decision to adopt vehicle route planning software is an easy one. What’s not so easy is deciding which program in particular you’ll invest in for your business.

RELATED: 4 Key Points Every Route Planning Software Must Have

There are many different routing programs on the market. Choose the wrong one, and you’ll have just flushed a sizable investment down the drain.

In order to ensure that you pick a program that really works for you, consider the following five points before you buy anything:

#1 Is The Route Planning Software Easy To Use?

Employees tend to resist change. From their perspective, they already have things figured out now, and getting used to some new routine is going to require extra effort on their part. So it’s only natural that they’re going to push back on new software.

Software that’s difficult to use will make this problem much worse. You don’t want to give your drivers a legit reason to complain about change, which is why user-friendliness should be one of the most important factors in your decision-making process here.

#2 Are All Features Available In The Trial Period?

You need to make sure the route optimizer does everything you need it to do before you buy it.

Sometimes, a software provider will allow you to try some features, but then say other features are only available after you’ve committed to paying full price.

This is unacceptable. If you can’t try a feature out, how will you know whether you have an issue with it or not? If a software provider tries to pull this move on you, just move on to your next option.

#3 What Kind Of Support Do They Offer During The Software Trial?

A trial period gives you a chance to test out a company’s product, and it also gives you a chance to test out their support.

Technical errors can delay your drivers,  which will really upset your customers. So you’ll want any issue you have to be addressed as quickly as possible. If you need to wait a long time to get a single query resolved, that’s not a good sign.

Also, multiple contact options should be available to you (phone, email, online chat, etc.). There can never be too many ways to reach someone in a time of need.

And it’s a big plus if their customer support team is staffed with native English speakers, as it can be difficult to communicate with foreign technicians software companies often hire on the cheap from call centers in Southeast Asia.

#4 Are Tutorials Easy to Access and Understand?

As mentioned above, the software you end up buying should be as easy to use as possible.

Part of making software easy to use is having clear instructions built into the software. Ideally, there’ll be buttons located right next to complicated features that you can press to display detailed tutorials. Look out for that.

#5 Do They Provide Training During The Trial Period?

Unfortunately, with most software products you won’t have access to any training during the trial period. If you face any issues, well, you’re kind of on your own. Only paying customers get personal support.

But not every company operates like this. Route4Me route planner, for example, offers full training during the trial period. This way, you can get the most out of your trial period and really figure out every single feature before you commit to anything. We’re proud of our product, so why would we hide it?

What’s your strategy for buying business software? Let us know in the comments section below.