GBP
EUR- TAG IT
- SCAN IT
- TRACK IT
Blog Article
Most field service businesses run on a field service management (FSM) platform. ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro, and the rest handle scheduling, dispatch, and invoicing, and they handle them well. So here’s a question worth asking: if your FSM platform already runs your jobs, why do so many field service businesses also run a separate system to track tools, parts, and equipment?
The short answer is that they solve different problems. One manages customers, jobs, scheduling, and billing. The other tracks the tools, equipment, and inventory your crews rely on every day. In this blog, we’ll define both categories, show where they overlap and where they don’t, and give you a simple way to decide whether you need one system or two.
FSM software is the system of record for your customers and your jobs. Its core work covers scheduling and dispatch, work orders, customer records, estimates, invoicing, payments, and the communication that keeps customers in the loop. Platforms like ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro, FieldEdge, Salesforce Field Service, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service do this well. They get the right technician to the right job with the right paperwork, and they bill for it when the work is done.
What they’re organized around is the job and the customer. Tracking the tools, parts, and equipment that make the job possible is a related but separate problem.
Inventory and asset tracking software is the system of record for your physical things. It has two sides. On the inventory side, it tracks parts, supplies, and van stock that move from the warehouse to the truck to the jobsite, with minimum levels and reorder points. On the asset side, it tracks the durable tools and equipment you own: who has each one, its condition, and maintenance history, and its value over time. It uses barcodes, RFID, and GPS to track assets based on actual scans and location data rather than assumptions.
Wasp Inventory tracks parts, supplies, warehouse inventory, and van stock. Wasp Asset tracks tools, equipment, vehicles, and other fixed assets. This is where you track what you own, where it’s located, who has it, and what it’s worth.
It depends on your platform, and the gap is mostly about assets, not parts.
Some FSM platforms handle parts inventory well. ServiceTitan, for example, tracks warehouse and truck stock with minimum and maximum levels and reorder points, scans parts in and out, and builds purchase orders as technicians use materials on jobs. FieldEdge ties warehouse stock to work orders. Lighter platforms like Jobber and Housecall Pro handle inventory through add-ons, or not at all. So if you’re on a heavier platform, your parts inventory may already be covered. If you’re on a lighter one, the van stock gap is real.
The consistent gap across most FSM platforms is asset tracking. Whatever your FSM does for parts, it usually can’t tell you:
That’s the distinction. FSM platforms track the parts you consume on a job. They aren’t set up to track the tools and equipment you own across their lifecycle. Parts inventory and asset tracking are two different jobs, and the asset side is where field service businesses most often find their FSM comes up short.
So do you need inventory and asset tracking? It depends on how much physical complexity your operation carries. You should consider dedicated inventory and tracking if you have:
An FSM platform alone may be enough if you’re a small team with few high-value assets, little van stock, and no audit or reporting requirements.
As operations grow, field service organizations often find they need both inventory and asset tracking. Inventory tracking helps keep service vehicles stocked with the parts technicians need. Asset tracking helps account for the tools, equipment, vehicles, and other assets that move between crews and job sites.
Even when an FSM platform includes inventory features, asset tracking is often still a gap. Organizations that need visibility into both parts and equipment frequently end up using dedicated inventory and asset tracking systems alongside their FSM.
The good news is that this isn’t an either-or. Each system serves a different purpose. Your FSM platform manages customers, scheduling, dispatch, work orders, and invoicing. Wasp Inventory tracks parts and van stock across warehouses, stockrooms, and service vehicles. Wasp Asset tracks tools, equipment, vehicles, and other fixed assets throughout their lifecycle.
Dispatchers continue working in the FSM platform. Warehouse and field teams manage inventory in Wasp Inventory. Operations teams track tools and equipment in Wasp Asset. Each system becomes the system of record for the area it was designed to manage.
Wasp Inventory and Wasp Asset run alongside the FSM platform you already use. You don’t replace what’s working. You add the inventory and asset tracking capabilities most FSM platforms weren’t designed to provide.
Together, the three systems provide visibility into the work being performed, the parts needed to complete it, and the tools and equipment used along the way.
If you decide you need a tracking system, a few things matter for field service work:
For a closer look at how this plays out, see electrical inventory management, and how an HVAC service company put it to work.
Field service management software runs your customers and jobs: scheduling, dispatch, work orders, and invoicing. Inventory and asset tracking software runs your physical things: parts and van stock on the inventory side, and tools, equipment, and their lifecycle on the asset side, with barcode, RFID, and GPS. FSM answers who’s doing which job. Inventory and asset tracking answers what you have, where it is, and who has it.
Some platforms do part of it. Heavier FSM platforms like ServiceTitan track parts and truck stock with reorder points, while lighter ones handle inventory through add-ons or not at all. But even the platforms with strong parts inventory usually aren’t set up for asset tracking: which technician has which tool, maintenance history, depreciation, audits, or GPS location. For that, field service businesses often run dedicated inventory and asset tracking systems alongside their FSM.
You likely need both once tools and equipment move between crews and sites, your vans carry parts your FSM doesn’t track well, or you have audits or grant reporting to pass. A small team with few assets can often run on an FSM alone. As crew count and asset value grow, a dedicated tracker pays for itself in fewer lost tools and stockouts, even if your FSM already handles parts.
ServiceTitan, Jobber, and other FSM platforms are built to manage customers, jobs, scheduling, and invoicing. Wasp Inventory and Wasp Asset complement those systems by tracking the physical resources needed to do the work. Wasp Inventory tracks parts and van stock across warehouses and service vehicles, while Wasp Asset tracks tools, equipment, vehicles, and other fixed assets. Together, they give field service organizations visibility into both the jobs being performed and the inventory and equipment required to complete them.
FSM platforms are organized around parts you consume on a job, not the tools and equipment you own. A dedicated asset tracking system is designed specifically for tools and equipment. It tracks check-in and check-out activity, condition, maintenance history, audit records, and GPS location data. It tracks who has each tool, what it’s worth, and whether it’s due for service, which FSM platforms aren’t set up to do.
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