TowingBossPro Blog — Accounts & Customers

The Tow Customer App: Live Driver Map, Invoices and Online Pay

Most of the calls a tow office takes are questions the customer could answer themselves if they had the information. Where is the truck? What do I owe? Can you send me that invoice again? Can I pay with a card? The customer app gives them that information directly.

Two-Way Texting With Tow Customers and Account Contacts covered the conversations customers have with your office by text. The customer app covers the things they can do without having a conversation at all.

Live Map of the Driver on the Way

For a stranded driver, the live map is the headline feature. Instead of being told "about 40 minutes," they can watch the driver approach. They know when to get ready, they know the truck is real, and they do not need to call to ask.

For account contacts, the map is useful in a different way. A body shop can see when a car is getting close and get a bay ready. A fleet coordinator can see when the truck reached their unit.

The map also changes how the wait feels. A truck that is twenty minutes out but visibly moving toward the customer feels faster than a truck that is fifteen minutes out with no information at all. Perceived wait time is a big part of how customers rate a tow.

The map works alongside the on-the-way and arrival texts from the driver app. The texts tell customers what is happening; the map shows them.

Invoices Where the Customer Can Find Them

Lost invoices are one of the most common reasons account contacts call. The customer app shows invoices, so a shop manager or fleet office can look up what they owe without calling you.

For retail customers, it means they have a clear record of the tow for their own files or for a reimbursement they may be claiming elsewhere. They do not need to call you weeks later asking for a copy.

Every call that does not happen is time your office can spend dispatching.

Online Payment and Card on File

Customers can pay online through the app. That matters most on retail calls, where getting paid at the time of service can be awkward, and on account invoices, where a contact can pay as soon as they see the bill.

Customers can also keep a card on file. Repeat customers and accounts that pay regularly do not need to enter their card every time, and you can use auto-billing where it makes sense. Payment follow-ups handle the invoices that still slip.

• Retail customers pay from their phone instead of on the shoulder
• Account contacts pay invoices as soon as they see them
• Cards on file make repeat payments simple
• Fewer calls asking how to pay

Alert Choices

Not every customer wants the same messages. Some account contacts want to hear about every vehicle; others just want invoices. Some retail customers want every update; others only want to know when the driver arrives. The customer app lets customers choose which alerts they receive.

It also keeps your company from looking careless. A customer who asked for fewer messages and keeps getting them assumes nobody is paying attention. A customer whose choice is respected assumes the opposite.

Letting customers choose cuts down on complaints about too many messages, and it makes the messages they do get more likely to be read.

Introducing the App to Customers

Customers will not use what they do not know about. For retail callers, the on-the-way text is a natural moment to point them to the live map. For accounts, mention the app when you set up the account, and point to it when they call asking for an invoice.

Train your dispatchers to answer common questions with the app in mind: "You can see the driver on the map in the link we sent," or "That invoice is in your customer app, and you can pay it there." It takes a few weeks for the habit to form, but once it does, the phones get noticeably quieter.

What the App Says About Your Company

Retail customers feel it too. Someone who has just had the worst morning of their month notices when the tow company makes the rest of it simple: a map, a clear invoice, a payment link that works. Those are the details that show up in reviews.

A tow company with a customer app looks organized, modern and confident. That impression matters most to the commercial accounts you are trying to win. A fleet manager deciding between two tow companies will notice which one gives their office invoices and payment online.

The customer app is one of the most visible pieces of towing account management software, and it is included on every TowingBossPro plan. Next, we look more closely at alert choices and how to set up customer messages that people actually want.