OnForce Unveils v 5.0
September 21st, 2008 by mattNotice anything different? We’re excited to announce OnForce version 5.0 – a complete re-design of all our web properties (site, blog, forums, BCC and PCC). Our user testing indicates that the new design is cleaner and more intuitive for buyers and pros alike, and we’re accumulating a list of refinements that we’ll make in the near-term, so send us your feedback.
Our cleaner, simpler home page design:
We’ve also added several new features that make it easier than ever to find the right pros with OnForce:
Requests for Quotes: Not sure how to price a work order? Rather than guessing, buyers can now send a no-risk Request-For-Quotes (RFQ). This enables new buyers (or long-time buyers who are dealing with an unfamiliar location or category) to easily find pros at a market price.
With RFQs, buyers specify what they need, when and where they need it, and send it to as many as 10 pros. Those pros then respond to the RFQ with offers. The buyer evaluates the offers (and the pros who sent them) and then chooses the quote that provides the best value.
Find A Pro: Looking for an HP-certified POS repair specialist in Vermont? Need a tech who speaks Spanish, has been drug-tested and lives within 10 miles of your client’s Tucson location? With the new Find-A-Pro feature, buyers can search for pros by location, category and ratings, and then use “quick filters” to find the right pros, based upon the following criteria:
· Earned statuses (PowerPro, certifications, etc)
· Safety filters (Background Checks, Drug Tests, etc)
· Service pros you’ve used previously
· Language speaking abilities
Find pros by specifying what you need and where you need it:
We’ll display the pros that meet your criteria and you can filter the list further:
Updated Profiles for Service Pros: The profile pages of each pro has been updated, enabling visitors to send an RFQ directly to that pro. OnForce pros can now put links on their own web sites to their profile page and visitors can send a request directly to them.
Send a request straight to your favorite service pro from their profile page:
We hope you like the new design, and welcome your feedback!
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:47 am
I like it so far… snazzy…
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:27 am
I think the ability for pros to search open jobs would be a great feature. Also the ability for pros to specify an additional banking source so that payments can go to either would be great.
thanks!
September 22nd, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Two words: Google calendar
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Thanks for the feedback! So far, it’s been well received by our buyers and service pros.
Richard and David, both of your comments have been passed along to our product team. I know that they’ve been talking about calendar integration (Outlook and Google) of late, so it’s just a matter of prioritization.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I agree with David. If the OnForce pro calendar could be synched with Google calendar, that would be AWESOME!
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 am
Excellent, Jeremy. We love it when there’s support from multiple pros / buyers for a product idea. It makes our prioritization process that much easier. Thanks for weighing in and letting us know which product features you’d like to see in upcoming releases!
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:21 am
Overall look is great.
A few thing that I will note is calendar integration would be nice, speed to the newest work order would be good to. (example: at logon, if there is a new work order, instead of going to the PCC it would go to the newest routed work order security screen that has not been seen yet). I know there is a volume discount for buyers, maybe you should add the same for pros. (example: complete 30 to 50 work orders in a month and the following month only pay 8%)
September 24th, 2008 at 7:32 am
The new site works much better on my Pocket PC (PDA) when access in the field is required. Looks much cleaner.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:29 am
it’s SO easy to generate ical files on the fly - there’s no excuse … Just throw up a little button next to the appointment in the WO list that calls a page to dynamically serve one up… route me a WO and I’ll even code it
September 27th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Looks great!!! Love the idea of outlook and google calendar integration!! Hope to see it soon.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:44 am
Derek, I agree that the calendar support should be for iCal. That would be the most universal solution.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I have been thinking that, as for as the make an offer section is concerned, giving the service pro the address location in the initial work order notice(just the address, not the phone number or the end user’s name), would help them decide what they want to charge as it will help them determine how far they might have to travel.
October 5th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Bringing back quick routing would be great. It seems jobs are drying up. Hope to see it on the next update.
October 8th, 2008 at 2:47 am
Still need to display the buyers name when we first see the work order, there are some buyers who are bad for business and others I would bend over backwards to get them taken care of. Just list who the buyer is right along with the location.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I’d like to still see a way that my back office staff could have their own log ins and not have to use mine when trying to close out jobs and process funds transfers. Can you create a user that would just be a back office worker and not a technician?
October 16th, 2008 at 12:01 am
As a new pro I am very happy with the design of the site. One suggestion I would like to add is a section on PPNS that detail what each PPN is looking for in a provider. There is not much information about what PPNS are even available. Would be nice to know if I was to for example get a background check would that open up opportunities for joining a PPN?