Overcoming Economic Challenges: Putting Embedded Finance to Work in a Competitive Landscape

From pest control to lawn care — and just about everywhere in between — field service businesses are all facing challenges in the current economic climate. As potential customers tighten their purse strings and become more selective in their buying, finding ways to beat out competitors becomes increasingly important for your business’s success.

Whether you provide a service that customers think of as essential or one they consider a valuable perk, qualified buyers are likely to spend more time exploring their options — better known as competitors — to find a balance of cost, convenience and satisfaction that’s in their sweet spot. To overcome competitors and find the success you’re after, you need to evaluate your processes objectively — and it all starts with finance.

Why financial tools matter more now than ever

Put plainly, today’s field service businesses are up against more competition than ever before. The constantly increasing role of technology and dedicated software has made it easier for hopeful entrepreneurs to start their own small businesses. These new competitors are often technicians or employees of other competitors breaking away to be their own boss, ultimately adding to the pool of contenders you’re up against when customers search for a service provider.

In addition to new businesses entering the fray, you likely need to compete with existing competitors who are focused on growth and expansion. With so many branches and businesses vying for a shrinking pool of customer dollars, standing out requires more than exceptional service — it demands strategic innovation.

Just as technology has been a key element in stoking competition, it can also help you streamline your own financial processes to better position your business to thrive. Financial tools tailored to field service businesses offer a way to navigate the pressures of higher competition and lower customer spending. The secret is finding a single solution that puts you in control of your business finances across the board: embedded finance.

Embedded finance as a strategic advantage

What is embedded finance?

One of the most impactful advancements reshaping the industry, embedded finance refers to the integration of financial services functionality into business operations technology. In short, embedded finance means taking control of your finances using the same technology you use to run the rest of your business.

The particular functionality of embedded finance can vary based on your industry, the size of your business and the specifics of the services you offer, and it can often be configured to match your particular needs.

This functionality will often include payment processing, lending, support for pay-over-time financing and other options intended to support businesses and their customers. For field service businesses, this can include enabling customers to pay invoices through mobile apps, offering buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options for larger projects, or accessing instant working capital to cover operational expenses. This integration is particularly relevant in an era where flexibility and convenience are top motivators for customers.

Key Benefits and Features of Embedded Finance for Field Services

Offering flexible financial solutions can be a powerful way to attract and retain customers as competition continues to ramp up. By accepting more payment methods and offering flexible options, field service businesses using embedded finance make it easier for customers to pay them while simultaneously cutting operational costs and gaining access to other perks — all within the software that’s at the core of their operations.

Payment processing

• Seamless transactions: Integrated payment processing solutions eliminate the need for third-party platforms, allowing customers to pay for services directly. This streamlines billing and payment workflows, reducing administrative overhead and improving the customer experience while also getting your business paid faster. Look for options that enable you to accept popular payment methods like credit and debit cards, checks, ACH transfers, digital wallets and ePay links to maximize your coverage.
• Increased payment security: Modern embedded finance systems come equipped with robust security features, ensuring compliance and safeguarding transactions for both businesses and their customers. Enhanced security builds trust and confidence in your customers, too.

Pay-over-time financing

• Affordability for Customers: Used interchangeably with buy-now-pay-later (BNPL financing), pay-over-time options, like installment plans or consumer financing, allow customers to spread payment out over a predefined period. In field service, offering pay-over-time options is a game-changer when it comes to helping customers sign on for expensive services they might otherwise decline, even if they want — or need — the service. For example, customers can confidently sign on for large HVAC installations, comprehensive termite treatments or tree removal services when they have the flexibility to make payments over time.
• A smooth customer experience: By offering pay-over-time financing through an embedded finance solution, your field employees can provide customers with real-time personalized financing options at the same time they provide a quote.
• Improved cash flow: While customers enjoy the flexibility of paying in installments, businesses receive funds upfront through financing partnerships. This ensures a steady — and critically, predictable — cash flow, enabling companies to reinvest in operations and minimize delays caused by slow-paying clients.

Working capital

• On-demand access to funds: Embedded finance solutions might also include access to working capital. This fast access to cash can redefine the way your business handles unexpected expenses, navigates seasonal slowdowns or funds new opportunities.
• Financial flexibility: By securing funding from an embedded finance partner rather than a bank, field service businesses can frequently find easier approvals, special rates and more flexibility than they do with traditional lenders. As a result, funds can be used as needed to take advantage of market opportunities, cover unforeseen expenses, or even branch into new services like snow plowing or holiday lighting during slower times of year.

With embedded finance solutions, field service providers can offer enhanced convenience, strengthen customer relationships and create a foundation for sustainable success.

Embedded finance in action: WorkWave Fintech

Embedded finance can be a catalyst for growth when implemented in field service businesses, and for many of them, that spark has been thanks to WorkWave Fintech. Fully integrated into leading field service software solutions and offering a full suite of payment processing, pay-over-time, and working capital options, it’s the perfect choice for accelerating your business growth. Consider this:

• One field service business taking advantage of WorkWave Fintech cites an 80% reduction in declined payments.
• For another, being able to access financial tools in the field lets “technicians become the primary salespeople for some branches.”
• Another user attributes higher satisfaction and lower churn among customers to the adoption of embedded finance.
• A long-time user even cites their business’s ability to scale as they’ve grown their team, relying on embedded finance to keep running lean.

The financial innovation to future-proofing your field service business

Embedded finance can be the secret weapon that makes or breaks a modern field service business by integrating with your software and empowering you to take control of every facet of your operations. For those looking to grow, taking advantage of integrated payment processing, lending and pay-over-time features is the perfect way to hold your own against stiff competition and close more deals. As one user says: you can’t grow a business without the right software.

To strengthen your business’s resilience and growth potential with the right software, explore WorkWave’s embedded finance offerings today and start planning your future!