Implementation, Unfiltered: A Real-World Look at ServiceTitan Onboarding| Podcast Ep. 46

When it comes to implementation, you know, switching over platforms, we want to make it as seamless as possible. So, you know, whatever we can do to do that and really just have a seamless transition for the customer, you know, that's our goal.

Welcome to Mastering Service Titan, where you get expert advice from power users. I'm your host, Josh Liu, and today I'm joined by Kyle Urquhart, and we are diving into the topic of implementation for commercial contractors. Kyle, welcome back to the show.

Thank you. Thank you for having me back. I'm excited.

Yeah, that's awesome. I can't believe it's been almost a year now that we met at Pantheon and we had you on the podcast and now you're here with Service Titan and we get to dive in a little bit deeper. But for those who haven't heard that previous episode or don't know you, can you give a brief intro of who you are and how you got here?

Yeah. So my name is Kyle. I am an enterprise implementation consultant for Service Titan. I previously worked for a shop in the trades industry on the commercial and construction division, and then I left that shop in the fall of 2024. After leaving that shop, I applied for a role with ServiceTitan, and here I am today serving as Enterprise Implementation Consultant, which is, you know, essentially the project manager for new customers as they move from their current systems onto the Service Titan system.

We are so lucky to have you. I feel like people who have been a user before and you were the software admin at your last company, and so you got to see it from the user's perspective in a really deep way. And so now you get to work with Service 9 to help onboard new customers. And I feel like that is the dream implementation person that we could have at serviceign, because, yeah, it's, it's. You must have picked things up just so quickly as soon as you join.

Yeah, no, it's been great. And, you know, I really have picked things up quickly and obviously, you know, having experience serving as the admin with my previous shop propelled me within my role and really allowed me to soar and succeed.

Yeah, it's been awesome. So, Kyle. Yeah, let's dive right in. Curious. If there's a new customer coming to Service Titan, what can they expect for the implementation process?

Yeah, so the implementation process, in our end with the enterprise team, it's anywhere from about a 12 to 16 week process, obviously, depending upon everything that goes into that in terms of how quickly we can get all the information we need, but then also just the complexity of the customer's business. So typically with the implementation side, it starts off with the project kickoff. The project kickoff is essentially the sales team handing the ropes over to the implementation team. From there, the implementation team dives into a phase which is generally about four weeks long, called the data discovery integrations. During that time we go ahead and do an initial data pool of the customer's files and we upload those into the system for review. And then on top of that the implementation team does a discovery. So that discovery process is basically our opportunity to learn all the ins and outs on the customer's business and how they run their business day to day. That way we can take all that information and how they operate, how they use the system, so that way we can build it out and configure it as best as possible for them. Following the data discovery integration phase, we move into building configuration and that is where the implementation consultant is really building out the system for the customer, how they need it to run their business. Based on that discovery period that we completed before, the build and configuration phase is typically about a four week period. And we perform everything from account builds. We go ahead and demo our build for the customer. So we take the time to demo everything that we built out and then we've asked the customer based on that build for feedback. And so then we'll go back and we'll refine the build based on that feedback, we'll ask for sign offs with the build and then on top of that we also go ahead and do we create custom elearning content for the customers and their work stream owners so that way they can really start training their teams on the system. Following the build and configuration phase, the customer then enters a period called the end user testing and training. So that's typically a two week period. During that time you perform a user acceptance testing. The customer is going through and testing all the different features within the system to make sure that they work correctly. Anything that doesn't work correctly, that's where the implementation consultant then go ahead and fix, you know, fixes the issues or finds the build to get those to work correctly. On top of that we do training. So this is the time where we do all the training with the customer's entire team. So the technicians, the workstream owners, the workstream users, we really dive in and give them as much training as possible. And with that we provide training for them. But then we also give them access to an amazing resource that we have within the system called the academy. When we build and configure the users within the system. They're assigned e content learning through that academy so they can go in, take additional training and they can also look at other resources within the academy to really learn the system as best as possible so that way they can be successful in their role at the company. Following end user testing and training, we go through and we do, we go into Go Live. So that's always a very exciting but also scary time for, you know, everybody, for the customer. Just because they're so used to the system they're on now, you know, they're doing, it's a hard cut off, you know, they're stopping one system and moving over to the other system. So it can be scary. But that's the Go Live phase. So you know, during that time we do the final data pool, so we do a final data pool and import into the system. So that way we get as much of an accurate data in the system as possible at that time and then we go ahead and we pull the trigger and Go Live and you know, our teams are there with them on Go Live day and the day after to really, you know, make sure everything is running smoothly and we're helping them out as you know, with whatever comes up or any questions they have and then post Go Live the customer. This is a really awesome feature that, you know, I've done other software implementations of other companies and I never really had this feature with those, with those other software companies. But we go into a phase called Hypercare and Hypercare is typically a four week or so process, but essentially during that time it has continued support with your implementation team that they provide you. So we go through, answer any questions, help you out with, you know, issues that you're having and any issues that came up during the Go Live, you know, something wasn't working correctly or whatever. We have what's called a burn down list. And so we're essentially working through that burn down list and answering and resolving all questions and issues that come up during Go Live but then also Go Live and really making sure, you know, about four weeks, you know that four weeks after Go Live things continue to run smoothly and we're there for support and guidance and assistance in any way that we can be.

It's so cool to hear in depth from this side and it must be cool for you to get to just see behind the curtains now and be a part of that process. I'm curious, which part is, which phase is your favorite phase?

I would probably say having been a customer and then now an Employee of Service Titan. I'd probably say my favorite phase is the discovery phase, and that's because I love learning how our customers operate and how they run their business on a day to day basis and then gathering all that information and then applying that into Service Titan and saying, oh, you do this X, Y and Z. Well, we could do that in Service Titan, but we can cut out two steps or we can, you know, automate it for you or streamline it and just make things easier for you on your end as a customer. So I love kind of that discovery process where you're learning how they run their business and then finding those ways to just make their life easier with the Service Tank platform.

That's awesome. And it's nice that you brought that up just for the podcast so we can actually dive in a little bit deeper into each phase. I'm curious, in the discovery phase, are there some common questions that maybe people can just start thinking about in general as a way to prepare for beginning implementation?

Absolutely. During the discovery phase, we go through every aspect of the software of the business. So the call booking, dispatching, install, service and maintenance, accounts payable, receivable, purchasing. And so the one thing that I would really encourage customers to think about is, you know, really think about every single process that you have as it relates to those work streams. So that way, as your implementation consultant is working with you, you can keep that in the back of your mind and you have already the top of your head what all those different processes are or workflows are. So that way you can clearly communicate them to your implementation consultant. Because it's a question that's asked on, you know, in every portion of the discovery. What other workflows or processes do you have that we haven't gone over yet? We try an RN to cover everything, but obviously there's always going to be one offs. And so just, you know, keeping in mind what those one offs are, you know, is only going to allow you and us to be as successful as possible.

How into the weeds should they get and should they do that? Like, is it an exercise that you recommend someone do it on paper, like maybe their software admin? They're like literally every single step from when the call gets booked or even when a marketing email goes out. Like how, how detailed should they get when they try to document this stuff?

I mean, they can get as detailed as they want or as they think they need to be for those various processes. So we'll ask some pretty detailed questions. You know, when it comes to service agreements or memberships. Do you recognize the service agreement or membership when it comes to revenue at time of service, or is it deferred? And we will ask deep questions and, and you know, and sometimes it's okay not to have an answer right away. It's okay to say, you know, we haven't thought about that, or let's get back to you on that. So, and that's perfectly fine. You know, we have, it's a, you know, like I said, a 12 to 16 week process. So, you know, we'll try and get as much information upfront as we can, but it's perfectly fine to say, you know what, let us talk internally and we'll get back to you on that.

Right, that makes sense. And I imagine people are switching over to Service Titan because, you know, some things I'm sure they want to keep the same, but then I bet there's a lot of cool stuff that Service Time does that they want to implement and add. And I would guess some of it's like holding them back, like, hey, let's get on the foundation first before you, like, do like all six Pro products at once or whatever. As an example, what's that tension like of customers saying, like, hey, we want to keep these things the same, or can you show us a better way with service sign and what should we change?

It's all about being open and receptive. Obviously there are going to be some aspects of your business, you know, that you want to keep the same. And maybe that's because your customers are so used to it happening a certain way that, you know, it's like, we don't really want to rock the boat for our customers with this transition. And we definitely try to keep that in mind. And so, you know, we'll be cognizant of that and be aware of that. But also kind of at the same time, you know, you are switching to a new platform. So it's also understanding that there are going to be some changes and some differences. The look and feel might change a little bit. But that's also one of the things that's kind of cool about Service Titan is just the continued growth they're putting in their product. And one example of that is the document template engine, where you really have the ability to customize your invoice and your service agreements and your estimates. You can customize them to essentially kind of look the way they do today for you. So that way, you know, when the customer is getting that new invoice out of the service platform, you know, it looks similar to what they're getting today. Or you could, you know, what you're getting today is just a very basic invoice. You could really, you know, go leaps and bounds with that customization with the document template engine and really make it a beautiful document that, you know, you know, wowzer customers, very cool.

Actually, this is a great transition into that build and configuration phase. What does that phase look like? So we did the discovery, find out what their workflows are like. And you mentioned we kind of present one version of it and do a demo and get feedback or what's that look like?

Once we build and configure the platform for the customer, we go through a series of demos. So we will demo every section of the software. So we're going to demo, you know, the call booking, we're going to demo the dispatching, the mobile app estimates, service agreements, you know, we will demo every aspect for the customer and is essentially an opportunity for us to show what we've done, how we built it out and kind of like that workflow that's behind it. And it's their opportunity to sit back, absorb it all, ask questions if they have questions. But then, you know, hey, you know, this doesn't work for us, or, you know, we need to change it so the workflow happens, you know, a certain way. And so with that, that's where we then take all those notes and then just go back to the build a configuration and update the system and make those tweaks and changes to really get it to work as best as possible for the customer. And we want to, when it comes to implementation and switching over platforms, we want to make it as seamless as possible. So whatever we can do to do that and really just have a seamless transition for the customer, that's our goal. That's what we want.

During the building configuration phase, are there any common like, wow moments for customers where they're like, oh my gosh, I didn't know we could save time this. Or I didn't know we can cut all these steps out of that.

It kind of varies for every customer. So it's not just like one feature is like the wow feature. It all varies customer to customer. I'd say, you know, I have one customer where, you know, they text all of their technicians on the side using their own, like, work phone. When I built the system for them and I was showing them the dispatch board and then showing them how they can communicate with their technicians and, you know, dispatch or text them right from there, you know, they Were kind of blown away with that aspect where it's like, wait, we don't need to do that on the side or call them on the side. We can do it right from the system as we're looking at it. And so they were blown away with that. You know, I had another customer that was kind of blown away with being able to really create and manipulate and edit the service screen and still work for them. That's where the document template engine came in. You know, they were able to create the service agreements to kind of match what they're doing today. And that whole workflow they loved because they were basically using an Excel sheet to track all their service agreements. And so when I built out the service agreement for them in the system and showed them that workflow, you know, it was like an explosion of happiness. And I was like, wait, it's all in the system right in front of us and all the jobs are right there that we can just, you know, when we're ready to book them, book them and, and they can sign the service agreement from, you know, online. They don't have to like email it back and all that.

And it was really awesome, actually backtracking a little bit. So through the discovery phase and then this building configuration phase, who gets involved on the customer side? Like in terms of the business, is it just the owner and admin or like, do more people get involved? As you get deeper into implementation with.

The data side, with the data discovery, the data team gets involved for that phase. They'll work with kind of workstream owners and essentially, you know, these beginning portions of the implementation phase, it's really the, you know, point of contact in the workstream owners for the customer. So the workstream owners would kind of, you know, think of, you know, your call center who is, you know, the head of the call center that's probably going to be your workstream owner who's going to be able to speak to, you know, the workflows and everything for the call center and dispatching. So it was the workstream owners that are really involved in the discovery and the building configuration and user acceptance testing phases.

Okay, gotcha. So it's kind of like each department head and who, who understands that department the deepest and like, understands what they need to build and their requirements and stuff like that.

Yeah, and. And individuals who have the ability to make decisions for that workflow and changes, whatnot.

Okay, makes sense. So after the building configuration phase, then we go into. Is it end user training?

Yeah. So after that we go into end user testing. And training. And that's where the work stream owners will go ahead and perform the user acceptance testing, which is basically testing out, you know, all the different sections of the software to make sure they work correctly and that the results they're getting are, you know, yielding the results they should, you know, be. And obviously if not, they're marking it as a failed, you know, test. And then that's our indication that we need to go back and we need to fix whatever it was that failed. Sometimes it's a configuration, other times it's permissions, just updating user permissions to reflect accordingly. Sometimes it's redoing a service agreement, whatever it is, and then following the user acceptance revisions, we then enter a period called parallel testing. Parallel testing is essentially the customer. The work stream owners will perform booking a job on their end and then they'll do the same action on Service Titan's end. And that's their time to really look at what changed between the two systems and how those workflows go. So that way the workstream owners can update their SOPs or processes on their end, so that way they can make sure that their teams are trained accordingly based on the new workflows with Service Titan.

So at that point it's still the workstream owner who's primarily involved. Are they grabbing like a CSR as a guinea pig and like, hey, hey, try this, or do they not really involved yet at that point?

You know, I think it all depends based on the customer and, you know, kind of their staffing and what they want. Typically it's workstream owners who are doing it, but also, you know, based upon the size of the shop. You know, some shops run a little bit leaner, other shops, you know, have a little bit more staffing behind them and are a little bit more robust. So I think it all depends upon the size of the shop and what they have the bandwidth for.

Gotcha. Any advice that you would give them for these phases? The build and config phase and then the testing phase?

Yeah, I mean the build a configuration phase. Give us as much feedback as possible. So that's your opportunity for you to really take it all in. But then at the same time, when we're demoing it for you, if you want to see it a different way or there needs to be adjustment, don't not bring that up, bring it up and address it. We have a whole refinement phase with building configuration and user acceptance testing that we go through. So anything that comes up and comes into mind, oh, this needs to be changed or this needs to be fixed, definitely address it and bring it up. So that way the system is really built out the way you need and want it to be.

Let's say they just finished the testing, there's a few rounds of feedback, they've got it to a decent place. Is that when the training starts and that's when you bring in basically the whole team who's going to be invented?

Yeah. So the training happens, you know, kind of with that, you know, end user testing period kind of at the end of it, you know, right before go live. We'll do training whether it's in person or, you know, over zoom. We'll provide training for the technicians and all the office staff on the software. And one of the nice things is it's not one of those things where it's like in all day, you know, we start with the call center and we'll work our way through. You know, the training is really kind of scheduled in a way where if you are a technician, here's your technician, you know, the mobile app training and then if you're inventory purchasing, here's your, you know, the inventory purchasing block. Same thing with like the finance side. So ARAP price book, you know, that will have its own training and the call center and dispatch will have its own training. So we really try to keep in mind, you know, obviously being cognizant of the, the customers, you know, schedules and their team schedules and instead of taking everybody out all day, you know, we're keeping that in mind and those people, you know, we're only for call center dispatcher this time, so on and so forth.

Yes, everybody's got their own path. How much of that training is done where the customer can just log on and watch something or go through a course versus how much of it is live interacting.

So when we do the building configuration, obviously we set up everybody within the shop, their technicians and their office staff with profiles. It's up to the customer when they want those invitations for access to the system to go out. But with that comes training. So, you know, we assign roles to every individual in the system. It automatically assigns training based on those roles. So when you go to log in, it's going to have you take training through our academy section of the software. In addition to the training, you're also going to get over zoom or in person.

Coming from your former role, I'm sure you spent a lot of time in the academy. Do you have any tips or advice on making best use of academy and really like taking it to the next level in terms of learning.

Yeah. So you have hundreds of videos in the Academy and the videos range across the entire service titan platform. And so I can't encourage users enough to really go in and explore all the different videos you'll have, you know, call booking basics, but then there are so many other call booking videos to watch. You know, same thing with purchasing. You'll have your, you know, purchasing basics, but then you have so many other videos as it relates to purchasing on top of that. And I really just encourage everybody to, when you have the time, just, you know, if you have downtime, go into the academy, look around. If there's a course that interests you, take it. Some courses are shorter, other courses are longer, but you know, the more you can learn the system, the more successful you're going to be and you know, not only in your role, but the more successful you're going to allow your company to be as well.

What if there's someone who's like more of like a hands on learner? Is it at this stage where they have some kind of demo version that they can click around and follow along with?

Yeah, so that's, that's the other side of things that, you know, I always encourage my customers to go in and do so. One of the great things with Service Chain is that you're, you're given two sandboxes, you're given the next sandbox and the practice sandbox. And I encourage everybody, you know, as they are learning the system before you go live, go into those sandboxes and even after, you know, you're live, it could be, you know, a year or two down the road, go in and play around in those sandboxes. Those sandboxes are created so that way you can book a job, you can dispatch technicians, you can play around with things and not break the live environment. So it's really your opportunity to go around, play around with the different features, see how they all interact with each other and kind of see what they do without actually impacting the live environment. The day to day functions of the business.

For those who have not heard about practice or next, could you describe what each environment is?

Yeah, so practice is essentially, you know, that's your environment to go in and play around and you know, practice different features or functions within the system and then your next environment. So say there's, you know, a new feature that you want to roll out within your company. You know, essentially you could enable that feature in the next environment, test it, make sure it works properly and then as long as it's working properly in the next environment, then that's your cue to say, okay, great, we're good to launch it in a live environment now.

So yeah, the next environment is something that users can continue to use for forever basically and always test out new things and innovate. What's the end of the training look like and then the transition over to go go live.

In my opinion, there's no end training, there's no you, you can never stop learning. So, you know, we always encourage the customers, okay, great. You know, while this is the end of the training portion for, you know, the implementation, go into the academy, watch the videos, take that training there and then, you know, take additional training if you want and just constantly, you know, push yourself to learn as much as you can about the software. And so that's, I encourage everybody from the moment training ends until go live to definitely do that. Obviously as they have time, you know, they have their own roles and responsibilities in their day to day business they need to focus on. But definitely, you know, don't stop learning. Especially when it comes to the system. There's so many different features and aspects to it that it's constantly evolving and growing and becoming better and better every single day. So definitely, you know, do what you can to watch and learn as much as possible. And then one of the other great things is as updates are rolled out within Service Titan, you know, you'll see a little blue banner at the bottom of the page when you go to log in, basically saying, hey, updates are made. You know, click here to learn about the updates. Click into those. That's huge. You know, the updates are being made and you know the system is being improved upon and take that opportunity to learn what those updates are, how they apply to the system, and sometimes they include new features. So that's your opportunity to really learn about that new feature and how it plays a role within the software. And maybe that new feature is something that your company could benefit from.

Actually, before we started recording, one thing you were surprised about, you know, in your first handful of months here, is just how much training there is, even internally. And the product is huge. There's so many customizations. And so I do like that point about training never ending. How about go live? This is the big day, right? What's that process look like? What are the biggest concerns people have and what's the team look like and how you get, how do you get set up for a good, good day?

Yeah, I mean, so far, I mean, I feel like the biggest concern that I have seen or encountered is just the fear and worry of leaving the system that you know and use today and just, you know, turning that off and, you know, or, you know, stop using that and just immediately turning, you know, service train on and using that. And yeah, that is a little bit scary. You know, you're hoping that it was set up correctly and the data is there and, you know, all the information is correct. But that's where it's, you know, one of those things where you have your implementation team with you during Go Live and they're checking it. Whether we're on site or the Go Live is, you know, over zoom, you know, we're there with you the entire time during your Go Live process, making sure everything is running well. The week of Go Live, you know, essentially that Monday is the data import. So we do the final data import and then once we get the thumbs up from the data team, you know, essentially we, what has to happen is there's a double, you know, a double data entry. So, you know, we're not going live until Thursday. So obviously there's, you know, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, where you're still using your old system and, you know, closing out invoices, closing out jobs, etc. So, you know, there is a little bit of double entry data entry that has to go on there. So it's doing that double data entry to make sure that, you know, if you close out a job in your old system, that job is also closed out in service tightened. If a customer, you know, paid an invoice in the old system, it's updating in service tightened. So that way when you Go live, as much of the data is as accurate as possible to, you know, really have as little impact on the business as possible. And then, you know, there's multiple meetings throughout that entire week. You know, my first Go Live, I think we had, you know, we had a morning touch base, we had an afternoon touch base, and if we needed to have an additional meeting somewhere else in the day, we would. But it was kind of that morning, you know, up until Go Live, it was the morning touch base, the afternoon touch base, and you know, hey, here's the responsibilities for the day on service end, here's the responsibilities for the day on your end as a customer and really clearly, you know, pointing that out. So that way everybody knows exactly who's responsible for what that week. And then Go Live, like I said, we're with you the entire time. So, you know, we're going to have the, you know, zoom bridge if it's, you know, we're doing it virtually or we'll be in person and any questions, concerns, issues that come up, you know, we're there and we're going to jump on it and we're going to look into it, we're going to get it resolved, we're going to fix it. You know, if someone needs help with something, we're going to help them and really make sure it's as successful as possible.

Wow. I love how detailed it is and it's good to know that there is a little bit of that double entry process just so they can get fully accustomed to it. Because I thought it was like you hand over the baton and then it's like, all right, you're live. But it seems like as you're handing over the baton, maybe you're both running together for a few days and then you let go and okay, now they're fully on service. So you mentioned, is it usually Monday? They do that last data import, then you're kind of running both systems parallel for a few days and then it's.

Not parallel for a few days. So, you know, you're not really using Service Titan until that Thursday when you go live. All you're doing once data has given you the thumbs up and the system is good is you're basically just double data entering. So, you know, if a job was booked, you're making sure that a job is also booked in service time.

Okay. So from a customer standpoint, they're still experiencing the old platform or the old process, but you're just basically simulating all that live stuff into service. Nine in parallel.

Exactly. So that way on Thursday when we flip the switch, you know, any jobs that you booked between Monday and Wednesday night are in service system.

Got it. Okay.

Or anything that was, you know, any job that was closed out is closed out in service. I mean, the last thing a customer is going to want is to hand over the final data file on Monday, have closed out, you know, three jobs on Tuesday, and then on Thursday not have those jobs, close out the system and send the text back when they didn't need to go back out.

Right. That makes so much sense.

Yeah.

So then Thursday rolls around and then they truly flip the switch. What, what's that day like? Any advice for that day?

Advice for that day is communicate. You know, we are there with you and we are in the trenches with you along the way as you're in your go live. And so just, you know, really make sure to communicate and keep all lines of communication open. I can't stress that enough because that's going to allow us to be there for you and support you as best as we can to ensure that you are successful. At the end of the day, that's our goal, is we want you to be successful. One of the ways to get there is just really communication and transparency. You know, really be open with us. If, you know, something was done in the system that, you know, we thought was going to work and it's not working, be transparent with us. You know, it's opportunity for us to, okay, great, let's look at it, let's fix it, let's get it to work the way you want it to work and get it back enrolling and then.

After that we go into hypercare.

Yeah. And that's essentially, you know, that is an extended portion of the implementation phase and that's really, after you've gone live, it's our chance to continue ironing out any of the wrinkles that have arisen and making sure that, you know, you really smooth everything out as best as possible and make sure that before you move on to the success stage with the customer success team, you know, we've done our part to make sure that the implementation was as successful as possible. And with that comes fixing, you know, any issues that have happened or come up. Like I said, ironing everything out. And that's also a time to really lean on the implementation team and if there's something you want more information on or something changed or whatever, that's the time to, you know, we're here to do that for you.

So, last question. If you had a giant billboard that all service end customers or people implementing get to see, what would you put on that billboard and what message you want to leave with?

People trust the process. Switching softwares can be so daunting and scary, especially when it comes to your data and everything that's wrapped around that. But it's just one of those things where it's, you know, trust the process and just know that you're in good hands and we have the teams standing by to assist and support in any way possible. And, you know, obviously Service Titan doesn't want the customers to fail and we're going to do everything on our part to make the customer successful and just, you know, kind of being reassured by that. We have so many great resources within our organization to really support each other and really leverage and lean on each other when we need help and assistance and escalate stuff that, you know, something needs to be escalated. We're going to escalate it. If, you know, we need to, you know, fix something, we're going to fix it. We're not going to just flip the switch and walk away. So just trust the process. Yeah.

We're here by your side. And it was cool even just to hear about the hypercare part. Like, a lot of people, like, oh, go live. You're live now. But then we really focus in on caring for the customer. So, yeah, yeah, it's. Thank you so much for diving into all the details and just painting a picture of what this looks like. I hope it reassures customers or people interested in implementing or about to be implementing about the process and what's to come. So, yeah, thank you again for coming on. And, yeah, we will thank you all on the next episode.