Reason #5: Our field service management software can help create sustainable shareholder value and a higher multiple when you sell.

As someone who’s worked with industrial field services companies for many years, one thing I enjoy and admire is the entrepreneurial spirit I see every day. This is an industry where many successful companies started out with one person, one truck and one customer. These hard-driving entrepreneurs built their companies through hard work and tremendous business intelligence.

These companies can enjoy great runs in the industry that last for decades. Eventually, though, most of these companies will sell to a larger organization. That’s where these stories diverge dramatically. Some company founders get the payday they’ve worked so hard for. Others end up taking less than they feel their business is worth.

Why? When it’s time to sell, there is an increase in multiple when you get the business out of the owner’s head and into a system that is repeatable, scalable and auditable.

Whatever’s only in your head costs you money

Suppose you have two industrial field service companies, each with the same annual revenue. At one company, the owner and a key employee or two carry the company’s vital information in their heads or in a rudimentary software system. The operational history, price and customer lists and asset inventories of this company are, essentially, locked away.

Now suppose the other company uses field service management software to run operations, sales, inventory, certifications, payroll, billing, everything. There’s nothing in the owner’s head that can’t found in seconds by anyone who needs it. This is what FieldVu, VistaVu’s field service management software system, does so well.

If you are a larger company looking to acquire, which business is worth more to you? The first company, despite its operational merits, is worth less in terms of a multiple. A new owner would have a lot of work to do to bring this company on board.

The second company would be far easier to integrate and start getting value from. Therefore, it can command a higher multiple.

At VistaVu, we have seen this repeatedly, and from both sides of the transaction. Companies that have been able to scale over time have done so by leveraging technology to create greater efficiency. The business is more profitable because of this. When it’s time to sell, they will realize more value, thanks in large part to the system that helped them scale in the first place.

The purchaser can be confident that the value of the business does not reside in the founder’s head or in the files of a few key employees. They can pay more for the business because it can earn a higher return on their investment, right away.

VistaVu Solutions and FieldVu can help your company be more profitable today and a more attractive acquisition target tomorrow.