The problem with paper tickets
A ticket gets filled out in the truck, ends up on a dash or in a shirt pocket, and reaches the office days later. Then someone types it into a spreadsheet, and again into the invoice. The cost isn't the paper. It's that you're invoicing a week late, arguing over hours you can't prove, and guessing at what a job actually cost.
Late invoicing
Tickets that take 5 to 7 days to reach the office are 5 to 7 days of cash sitting in a truck.
Disputes you can't win
No signature, no photo, no timestamp. The customer's version wins.
Double entry
The same ticket typed two or three times, with a new chance for a typo each time.
No real job costing
You know what you billed. Knowing what the job cost takes a week of spreadsheet work.
Lost tickets
Work you did, that nobody ever billed for.
Nothing to hand an auditor
Safety and compliance records living in a binder in somebody's truck.
What a digital field ticket looks like
Built for a phone in a truck with one bar of service, not for an office computer.
Works offline
Crews fill tickets out with no signal. It syncs when they get back in range.
Signature on site
The customer's rep signs on the phone before the crew leaves. Photos attach to the ticket.
Your fields, your units
Your ticket, your line items, your equipment list and your rates, not a generic template.
In the office instantly
Submitted tickets are on the office screen the same hour, ready to approve and invoice.
Straight into invoicing
Approved tickets export to QuickBooks or your accounting system without retyping.
JSAs and inspections too
The same app can carry safety forms, pre-trip inspections and equipment hours.
Custom-built vs. buying a product
There are good field ticketing products out there. They're built for companies much bigger than most Permian service outfits, and they're priced that way. Published pricing from vendors in this space commonly runs about $50 per user or per truck each month, and some add $5,000 to $20,000 in implementation fees on top. Many won't quote a price at all without a demo call.
You own it, so it stops costing per seat
One build, then optional support you can cancel. Adding a driver doesn't raise your bill.
It matches your tickets
No reshaping how you work to fit someone's template, and no paying for modules you'll never open.
It connects to what you run
Your accounting, your spreadsheets, your existing tools.
A local person answers
You call me in Midland, not a support queue in another time zone.
If an off-the-shelf product genuinely fits you better, I'll tell you that on the first call and point you at it. That's a cheaper answer than a custom build and I'd rather be honest about it.
What it costs and how long it takes
$750 audit
Two hours at your yard and office, mapping how tickets move today. You get a written plan and fixed quote, credited toward the build.
$8,000 to $18,000 build
A working ticketing app for your crews and office, typically 4 to 8 weeks, with weekly demos.
Training on site
I train the crews and the office in person, not with a PDF.
$400 to $1,500/month
Optional support: hosting, backups, fixes and new features as you think of them.
Who this is for
Small and mid-size service companies in the Permian Basin: water hauling and transfer, hot shot and trucking, roustabout and lease services, vacuum trucks, flowback and well testing, equipment rental, fabrication and machine shops. Usually somewhere between 5 and 150 people, still running tickets on paper or in spreadsheets.
Based in Midland, working across Odessa, Big Spring, Andrews, Monahans and Pecos.
Questions
What is field ticket software?
Software that replaces paper field tickets. Crews record the work, hours, equipment, materials, photos and the customer's signature on a phone or tablet, and the office receives it immediately for approval and invoicing.
How much does field ticket software cost?
Products in this space commonly publish around $50 per user or per truck per month, and some charge $5,000 to $20,000 to implement. A custom app built for your company runs $8,000 to $18,000 once, after which you own it, with optional support from $400 per month.
Does it work without cell service?
Yes. Anything built for this has to work offline in the field and sync when the crew gets back into coverage. That's a requirement, not a feature.
Is custom software worth it for a small company?
It depends on your volume. If late tickets, disputes and double entry are costing you real money every week, a custom app usually pays for itself within a year and you stop paying per seat. If you have five people and simple tickets, an off-the-shelf tool may be the better answer, and I'll say so.
Can it handle JSAs, inspections and equipment hours?
Yes. Once crews are submitting tickets from their phones, safety forms, pre-trip inspections and unit hours are the same kind of form and usually get added next.
Will it connect to QuickBooks?
Yes. Approved tickets can export or sync into QuickBooks or another accounting system so nobody retypes them into an invoice.
Tell me what's slowing you down
15 minutes, no pressure. If software isn't the answer, I'll tell you.