Integration and Automation

To extend the functionality and versatility of your ServiceM8 platform, you may start considering integrations and automations.

  • Integration: connecting two or more systems together
  • Automation: getting one or more systems to automatically run tasks without intervention

You can do one or the other, or both together. It depends on what you are trying to achieve.

ServiceM8 already has some integrations and automations built right into it. Sending a job to be invoiced to an accounting platform, like Xero, is an integration. Sending a booking reminder SMS to a customer is an automation.

But what happens if an integration or automation is not already available?

WorkM8 Automation SaaS

We help businesses with integrations and automations that aren’t readily available in ServiceM8.

We call this our WorkM8 Automation SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). We have developed our own advanced Zapier and Pabbly Connect integrations for ServiceM8, and with them we connect ServiceM8 to other platforms. Some examples include:

  1. Convert a ServiceM8 job into a ClickUp project, and keep the project and ServiceM8 job linked together for updates.
  2. Automatically ingest a weekly or monthly CSV file into Airtable then create new ServiceM8 jobs.
  3. Whenever somebody makes (or changes) an appointment in SimplyMeet.me, create and assign a new ServiceM8 job and booking time, or update the booking time for the existing job.
  4. When a new reservation is booked or an existing reservation is cancelled via the Guesty accommodation portal, automatically create a new ServiceM8 job or cancel the existing one. 
  5. Using a ServiceM8 Form as a trigger, send a customised Fillout web form to a customer to select and authorise additional options for that ServiceM8 job.  

These are just a few real-world examples of how businesses rely on WorkM8 Automation SaaS to integrate and automate their ServiceM8 systems.

FAQ

Software-as-a-Service, SaaS, is a way for a business like ours to provide a managed service using software. For the WorkM8 Automation SaaS –

  • the software is either Zapier or Pabbly Connect, along with any other agreed platforms, and
  • the managed service is integration, automation, and ongoing support for those integrated platforms

This means you don't have to worry about buying subscriptions or licences to different automation platforms. Instead, we provide the backend integration platform, in this case, Zapier or Pabbly Connect.

We also design, create, and then support the customised integrations and automations.

All of this is bundled into a recurring service charge, usually in advance and in yearly cycles.

Well, that truly depends on things like:

  • Is there an existing integration with Zapier?
  • If no, does the software have an open REST API? 
  • What are you expecting to do by connecting your software to ServiceM8?
  • Do the API's support the 'thing' you are trying to do?

These and many more questions would need to answered before reaching a 'Yes' or 'No' answer

It depends on the automation or the integration. We use Zapier because it is has the most pre-built available integrations. And Pabbly Connect because it has the lowest cost. Where possible we might solution using both platforms to get the best of both worlds. All integrations require an initial design, setup, and testing phase, called the proof-of-concept (or POC). This will cost from $1500. Once built and operational, there will be the ongoing SaaS charge which will start from $80/month.

A better question than "is it expensive?" would be "is it viable?". 

Viability is deciding whether the cost to do something is justified by:

  • Desirability: how badly is it needed?
  • Feasibility: can it be done? 

If the integration is going to solve a costly problem, and it can be built and supported, then the viability (i.e., the cost) can be justified.