Workiz, a startup whose software helps field service professionals manage their work, said today it has raised $5 million in Series A funding. The funding was led by Magenta Venture Partners, with participation from returning investor Aleph. The company announced the launch of Workiz Voice, an Amazon Alexa-powered feature that allows the app to be controlled with voice commands, making it safer to use while field service workers driving.
Magenta Venture Partners general partner Ran Levitzky will join Workiz’s board of directors. The Series A brings Workiz’s total funding so far to $7.3 million. The company says it grew 247% last year and CEO Adi Azaria told TechCrunch that the company currently has thousands of customers in the U.S. and Canada. Many are home or equipment maintenance companies, including locksmiths, garage door repair, junk removal, appliance repair and carpet cleaning businesses. The software has also been used by medical transport companies, including Trinity Air Medical, to manage highly-time sensitive delivery of organ donations to their recipients.
Targets SMBs field service businesses with less than 50 employees, but can scale up to organizations with 600 technicans, and franchises, says CEO. Include locksmiths, garage door repair, junk removal, appliance repair and carpet cealning businesses. Also used by international organ donor and medical transport companies, makeup companies, and environmental waste disposal companies. LIke Trinty Air Medical, which uses Workiz to manage organ donations and make sure thye are delivered in time.
Workiz’ new funding is being used on its automation platform for field service workers and Workiz Voice, as well as hiring for its North American team and operations.
Workiz’s founders
The startup was founded in 2015 by a team including Idan Kadosh and Erez Marom, who worked as locksmiths for over 15 years in San Diego, California. They were frustrated by the field service management software options available and relies on pen, paper and Excel spreadsheets to manage their business. They also carried multiple cell phones, since most customer appointments were arranged by phone calls and they could not hide their personal numbers.
Workiz was created to give field service companies a full set of tools, including the ability to monitor interactions between technicians and customers, keep detailed records of client calls and texts, send clients reminders, track advertising spending and effectiveness and process credit card payments.
“At Workiz, we have a vision to transform tradespeople into business professionals, and the Workiz platform is able to successfully do so. While 75% of small businesses close within their first five years of business, businesses who are using Workiz are able to slash that number down to just 20%,” said Azaria.
About 52% of field services companies still rely on pen and paper to manage their businesses, presenting a growth opportunity for Workiz. To get them to switch, Workiz provides free help for onboarding, which can be completed in as little as one or two days. The software syncs with QuickBooks or CSV files.
The startup says Workiz Voice, which enables workers to look up job schedules, sort through leads, communicate with team members or clients and find directions to their next job, is the first feature of its kind on the market. It helps Workiz Voice differentiate from other field service management software like Jobber or HouseCall Pro.
In a press statement, Levitzky said “We are constantly on the lookout for exciting companies transforming industries, and Workiz ticked all of the boxes. The company’s approach levels the playing field so that businesses of all sizes can better secure and manage job opportunities, given the on-demand nature of the field service industry.”