SMB service provider Locqus launches with $2M

Locqus provides tools to bring the field services industry into the current century

Before my current job, I was a copywriter for a motor company. That means I spent my day writing up their products for their website, with all the spec, etc. One thing that really struck me about that job was how behind the times that entire industry was. It was full of old men, who had been doing this for 50 years, and were stuck in their ways. And they DID NOT trust technology. At all.

Some industries are just going to have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the new century. That includes service technicians, such as plumbers, electricians, and landscapers.

Lucky for them there is Locqus, a new company that launched on Thursday with $2 million in new funding. It provides managers and dispatchers with tools to help bring them into the digital age.

That includes vehicle tracking, billing, financing, inventory, and scheduling, all of which usually cost millions of dollars. Locqus, on the other hand, offer them completely for free.

"Let's say there is a plumbing business. One of their customers toilet has had their toilet fixed fived times, With Locqus, the repairman would have access to that customer information,  with they have never had before," Sandy Kronenberg, CEO of Locqus, said to me in an interview.

And from the point of view of the customer, who has been given the dreaded "four hour service window," they will have the ability to see where their driver is on their route, simply by the click of a button.

"Not only are the technicians more sympathetic because they have more information, but the customer is also kept in the loop," he said. "We  wanted to address those two pain points by making it easier for workers and giving better access and availability for customers."

By using Locqus, it will allow small business to grow, and as they grow to help them scale, and  to give them organization. Ultimately, the service will increase both satisfaction and revenue for the business by helping it retain customers.

Part of what Locqus is addressing is what I mentioned earlier:  according to Kronenberg, 60% of small businesses are still using paper. And while there will obviously be some resistance, the company is trying to  make it as easy as possible to help the industry conver.

"We are not going to convert everyone who is stuck in the dark ages, but we have been able to give them a simple and easy to use interface," he told me. "We boiled it down, and made it simple to use. You just download it, log in,  and there are two buttons: clock in and get paid."

The company has a soft beta launch in January,  with 100 companies signing up, ranging from 2 employees to 40 employees. The app, Kronenberg said, can be used by just about any small business, from pizza delivery to carpet cleaning.

The Detroit-based company has recently entered into a partnership with Samsung, to preload the app in Samsung GALAXY S5 Active handsets, which will bring to a slew of new customers.

The $2 million in funding that the company raised cam from Moneris Solutions Corporation, a top ten global acquirer, which processes over three billion transactions per year. The two companies have also entered into a  seven-figure referral partnership and marketing agreement.

“The key to empowering small to medium-sized businesses is to provide efficient, intuitive and secure management tools. Our on-site payment processing technology combined with Locqus’ platform will set a foundation to help businesses grow,” Angela Brown, CEO of Moneris Solutions, said in a stateent. “We are confident that Locqus is making the success of service-based businesses – with increased customer satisfaction - more achievable than before.”

Locqus will use the funding to build  out its staff. It currently has 16 employees, and plans to have 22 by January. It also plans to build out the product with new features, including customer feedback surveys, as well as improved communication between the service provider and the customer.

The ultimate goal of Locqus: to  "Uberize" the service industy.

"We want to take the typical small business and dramatically help them grow, organize  what theyre doing, and improve communication," said Kronenberg. When they use Locqus, it eventually becomes part of their DNA, until they start seeing that every interaction doesn’t have to  be a transaction."