KFSM · KOONSULTANCY FIELD SERVICE MANAGEMENT FOR SAP B1

In development

KFSM.
Field service, straight from SAP Business One.

KFSM (Koonsultancy Field Service Management for SAP B1) is a field service management add-on for SAP Business One: the service calls from B1 on a planning board for the planner and on an Android phone for the technician. Planning, check-in, checklist, materials, signature and work order: everything lands back in B1 without retyping. In development: the functions are built, and a pilot with real technicians is the next step.

Keep me posted What it does

The KFSM planning board: the work queue with SLA colours on the left, a day timeline per technician with planned visits, an absence and a conflict warning — The planning board: work queue by SLA, a row per technician, absence and conflicts in view. Screenshots from the development version against a simulated SAP; the app comes in Dutch and English.

01 / THE PROBLEM

What field service on SAP Business One was missing.

A small service company on SAP Business One has its service calls neatly in the system, with contracts and equipment attached. But the planning lives in a spreadsheet or on a whiteboard, the technician gets jobs by phone or chat, writes down on a slip what was done, and someone in the office retypes it in the evening. What the customer signed is in a folder in the van.

The big FSM suites solve that, but they put a system of their own next to B1, with its own planning, its own customers and an integration that needs maintenance. The price per technician and the months-long implementation don't fit a company with four or five vans.

KFSM is the small alternative: the B1 service call stays the service call, the planning board opens inside the B1 client, and the technician works through the day on the phone. Everything done lands on the call in B1 straight away.

02 / WHAT KFSM DOES

Plan in the office, do the job on the road.

One web app for the planner in the B1 client and for the technician on Android. This is what's built so far.

Work queue and planning boardUnplanned calls coloured by SLA. Drag a call onto a technician and the visit is on the scheduling line in B1. Overlap, outside working hours, absence and a missing skill show up immediately. Pinning, a week view per technician, and one button from the call in B1 to the board and back.
MapTechnicians, planned visits and open calls on Google Maps, with the day route per technician and the travel time between visits.
Best momentFor each call the three best slots, with the reason: travel time, response time, preferred technician, load. Accepting is planning.
Day optimisationThe autoplanner spreads a day over the technicians with as little travel and as few SLA breaches as possible, using real travel times. Pinned and started visits stay put. The result is a proposal: nothing changes in B1 until the planner agrees.
The technician appMy day with the visits in order, navigate and call with one tap, and one main button for the next step: depart, arrived (check-in with GPS), start, finish. Customer, address, equipment and history at hand.
ChecklistsTemplates with yes/no, number with limits, text, choice and photo. A link rule decides which calls get which checklist. A deviation asks for a remark and creates a follow-up call; required checklists block finishing.
Photos, materials, hoursPhotos go onto the call as attachments. The technician picks materials from the van warehouse, an ordinary warehouse in B1. Time worked, travel time and the work performed are on the visit.
Signature and work orderThe customer signs on screen. The work order becomes a PDF, emailed to the customer and stored as an attachment on the call in B1, with the checklist on it.
Settings instead of codeTexts, conditions, parameters and checklists are managed in an admin portal. Every change gets a version and can be rolled back. No release needed for a different name or a different rule.

A selected service call with its details and three suggested slots, each with technician, travel time and reason — **Best moment**The call, its details, and three suggestions with the reason.

A day optimisation proposal: five new visits previewed on the timeline, with travel time before and after — **Day optimisation**The proposal on the timeline, with the numbers before and after. Only Accept writes it to B1.

The week view: per technician and day the number of visits and the load as a percentage — **Week**Load per technician per day; a click opens the day.

The admin portal with a checklist template: name, link rule and questions with type, limits and deviation — **Managing checklists**A template with a link rule and questions, in the admin portal.

03 / ON THE ROAD

The technician's day, on one phone.

One main buttonThe app knows which step comes next. Depart, arrived, start, finish: big buttons, one column, gloves on.
Checklist first, then finishA required checklist has to be complete before the technician can finish. A number outside its limits turns red and asks for an explanation.
Nothing lostEvery step is a command with its own number. If the signal drops, the step waits on the phone and goes through afterwards, without double posting.
Done is doneSignature and name, work order as a PDF to the customer, and the call in B1 is updated: check-in, check-out, time worked, signer, attachments. Nobody retypes anything in the evening.

My day in the KFSM app: the days of the week as buttons and today's visits with time, address and status — **My day**Today's visits and the coming days, with status.

A visit in the KFSM app: customer, address, equipment, navigate and call buttons, the main button Depart, and the checklist panel — **The visit**Customer, address, equipment, navigate, call, and the next step.

A checklist in the KFSM app: yes/no question, a pressure reading with limits, a choice, a photo and remarks — **Checklist**One card per question, limits after the number, required with a star.

Finishing a visit in the KFSM app: time worked, travel time and the work performed — **Finish**Time worked, travel time and the work performed.

The signature screen in the KFSM app: a signature area, the signer's name and the option to mail the work order — **Signature**The customer signs on screen and enters a name.

The work order in the KFSM app: check-in, check-out, time worked, signed by, and the button to open the PDF — **Work order**The summary, the PDF, and mailing it to the customer.

04 / WHY IT CAN BE CHEAP

Kept small, on purpose.

There's no price yet, but the principles are fixed. The same as for KScan: little to manage on your side, little to sell on ours.

Data stays in SAP

The service call, scheduling lines, contracts, equipment and attachments are the standard B1 objects. KFSM only adds its own fields and tables, all with the KFSM prefix, and keeps at most caches of its own. There is no second administration to keep in sync.

The planner stays in B1

The planning board opens in a window of the B1 client, with automatic sign-in. The service call has a button to the board, and from the board you open the call. Want the board on a second screen? An ordinary browser will do.

One app for everyone

Planning board and technician app are the same web app, on the server next to SAP. A new version goes on once. The Android app is a thin wrapper around that same app, with the phone's camera and GPS.

Install it yourself

One installer on a Windows server next to SAP, an installation routine that creates the fields and tables, and a manual for your own administrator or B1 partner. No consultant on site.

Nothing leaves the building

KFSM runs in your network. The only thing that goes out is addresses and coordinates to Google Maps, for the map and the travel times, with a key you own and a cache so the costs stay bounded. Nothing goes to Koonsultancy.

Small team, no sales team

No office, no partner margin, no account manager. What you pay later goes into building and maintaining. Support by email, no 24/7, no custom work.

05 / WHAT YOU NEED

Does it fit your service company?

Needed

SAP Business One 10.0 on Microsoft SQL Server, with the Service Layer enabled, and the service module in use: calls, and preferably contracts and equipment too.
A B1 user of their own for every technician. Someone who only uses the app can do with an Indirect Access licence; planners who also work in B1 have Professional. To agree with your B1 partner.
A Windows server next to SAP (the SAP server itself is fine).
Android phones or tablets for the technicians, with mobile internet.
A Google Maps Platform key for the map and the travel times. Without a key everything still works, with a schematic map and estimated travel times.

Not yet

No SAP HANA: SQL Server first, HANA later.
No iOS: Android first, iOS later from the same code.
No fully offline work: steps wait on the phone until there's signal again, but photos and files need a connection. Offline comes before the first production release.
No planned maintenance, no stock through to the invoice, no dashboards: those are the next steps, see below.

A warehouse rather than vans? That's KScan, our barcode scanning add-on for SAP Business One. And for the technicians themselves, from contract to leave and sick leave: KHRM, which puts their absence in B1 so the planning board plans around it.

06 / STATUS

Where it stands.

Built and tested against a simulated SAP: the planning board with map, best slot and day and week optimisation, the technician app with checklists, photos, materials, signature and work order, contracts and planned maintenance with SLA monitoring, materials from the van through to the delivery or invoice in B1, offline work, dashboards, licences and an installer the customer runs themselves.

The next step is the test on a real SAP Business One 10.0 (FP 2608) and a pilot with real technicians. Then version 1.0, with a price: as with KScan, one amount per technician per month, all functions included, install it yourself, no implementation fee.

We're looking for a service company on SAP Business One that wants to be that pilot: a few technicians, short lines, and a say in what comes first.

07 / QUESTIONS

Questions about KFSM and field service in SAP Business One.

When can I use it?

There is no date yet. First a pilot at a service company on SAP Business One, then a first version. Leave your address and you'll get one email when there's something to try.

What will it cost?

That isn't fixed yet. The approach is the same as KScan: one price with all functions included, install it yourself, no implementation fee. The exact price follows after the pilot.

Does KFSM change my SAP database?

KFSM adds its own fields and tables, all with the KFSM prefix, through an installation routine. The service calls, scheduling lines, contracts, equipment and attachments stay the standard B1 objects. Everything is written through the Service Layer, never directly into the database.

Do technicians need a B1 licence?

Yes. Every technician works with their own B1 user, never a shared one. For someone who only uses the app, an Indirect Access licence is enough. Planners who also work in B1 have a Professional licence. Background: our guide on SAP B1 licences.

Which phones work?

Android, phone or tablet. iOS comes later from the same code.

Does it work without signal?

Partly. Steps the technician takes wait on the phone and are sent as soon as there is a connection; photos and opening files still need a connection. A fully offline mode is planned before the first production release.

Can I keep using the service module in B1?

Yes. KFSM builds on the service calls, contracts and equipment that are already in B1. From the planning board the planner opens the call in B1, and from the call in B1 the planning board. What the Service module does and doesn't do by itself: our guide.

08 / INTERESTED

Become the pilot, or just look.

Leave your address and you'll get one email as soon as there's a version to try. Want to talk sooner, or tell us how your service company works? Email info@koonsultancy.com; it helps with the building.

KFSM.Field service, straight from SAP Business One.