Advanced Fiber Saved 300+ Hours Annually with Custom Field Service ERP

The Client Overview

• Industry: Telecommunications Field Services

• **Company Name: **

• Headquarters: Upstate New York

• Service Area: Connecticut, New Jersey, York, and Pennsylvania

• Company Size: 50–100 employees

Advanced Fiber Inc. is a New York-based field services provider supporting broadband and fiber infrastructure projects throughout the Northeast. The company specializes in fiber splicing, testing, documentation, and compliance services for major telecommunications clients.

The Challenges

Growth Outpaced the Legacy Quickbase Application

As AFI expanded its telecommunications field service operations, its existing systems could no longer support the growing volume and complexity of the business. The company used a basic Quickbase application to track fieldwork, but the system captured limited data and lacked the functionality needed to manage increasingly complex job, billing, reporting, and accounting workflows.

The operational burden quickly reached the executive level. AFI President, Bob Rizzuto, spent more than 20 hours each week reviewing reports, preparing invoices, and manually re-entering job information into QuickBooks. These disconnected processes increased the risk of data-entry errors, delayed billing, slowed cash flow, and diverted leadership’s attention away from business growth.

Job intake created another bottleneck. New work requests arrived as CSV files and required manual uploads and data entry before jobs could enter the scheduling queue. As work volume increased, the absence of standardized data and automated integration created additional administrative overhead.

As a result AFI needed to:

• Eliminate manual invoicing and duplicate data entry

• Connect Quickbase with QuickBooks

• Automate job intake and purchase-order matching

• Improve scheduling and field service coordination

• Increase billing accuracy and financial visibility

• Consolidate disconnected operational tools

• Reclaim executive time for strategic growth

AFI needed more than a few improvements to its existing application. It needed a scalable, integrated field service ERP that could evolve with the business without interrupting daily operations.

The Solutions

A Custom ERP Connecting Field and Back-Office Operations

AFI initially engaged Quandary to improve reporting and automate invoicing. Following a detailed discovery process, Quandary developed a custom solution that eliminated several of the company’s most time-consuming reporting and billing tasks and as the immediate improvements began producing results, we worked with AFI to expand the application into a comprehensive Quickbase ERP and CRM tailored to its field service operations.

The new platform centralized job intake, production reporting, scheduling, billing, fleet activity, inventory, HR documentation, and customer communication. Integrations with QuickBooks, Samsara, Microsoft Outlook, DocuSign, and peakSUITE connected operational data across the business and reduced dependence on manual handoffs.

AFI gained one system for managing how work moves from initial request through field completion, invoicing, and financial reconciliation.

The Key Capabilities Included:

• **Automated invoicing: **The platform generates invoices from approved production data, sends them to customers, and updates QuickBooks automatically. It also manages regenerated invoices without requiring duplicate entry.

• **Structured job intake: **New work requests are imported from CSV files and converted into standardized Quickbase records. Automated matching connects job numbers with purchase orders for more accurate tracking and billing.

• **Automated job-number creation: **When incoming jobs do not include an assigned number, the system generates one and associates it with the appropriate purchase order.

• **Field production management: **Technicians and operations teams can capture production data within a connected workflow, giving the back office more reliable information for reporting and invoicing.

• **Workforce scheduling: **Quickbase manages field assignments, on-call availability, and rotating schedules. The scheduling logic improves coverage while helping prevent individual team members from being overworked.

• **Inventory and material tracking: **The ERP tracks warehouse materials, usage, and costs to support more accurate billing, reporting, and inventory planning.

• **HR and compliance documentation: **A DocuSign integration automates employee onboarding documents, safety certifications, and benefits distribution while creating a clearer documentation trail.

• **Automated communications: **Microsoft Outlook automations send internal and external updates when jobs, invoices, approvals, and other activities reach predefined milestones.

• **Improved data integrity: **Required fields, validation rules, and relational data structures reduce manual errors and give AFI more dependable information for billing, reporting, and decision-making.

Rapid, Operations-Driven Development

AFI’s operations team remained closely involved throughout the modernization effort. The team brought detailed documentation, defined workflows, and a clear understanding of its operational pain points, allowing Quandary to move quickly through an agile development process.

Rather than attempting a disruptive replacement, we prioritized the improvements that would produce the greatest immediate value. The engagement began with reporting and invoicing automation before expanding incrementally into a broader ERP and CRM platform.

Each phase addressed a measurable operational bottleneck while allowing daily field service work to continue uninterrupted.

• **Restructured the Data Architecture: **Quandary transformed flat spreadsheet data into a structured, relational Quickbase architecture. This created a scalable foundation for job intake, scheduling, production tracking, reporting, and billing.

• **Strengthened System Controls: **We addressed limitations in the original application by introducing required fields, connected tables, validation rules, and standardized data relationships. These controls increased data integrity and reduced downstream billing errors.

• **Automated Production Reporting: **Quandary developed a dependable weekly production report that became the operational trigger for automated invoicing and downstream workflows.

• **Streamlined Job Intake: **We created an automated CSV import process that converts weekly work-request files into clean, structured records. Automatic job and purchase-order matching eliminated repetitive entry and improved intake accuracy.

• **Expanded Through Continuous Improvement: **Recurring working sessions allowed Quandary and AFI to identify manual processes, prioritize automation opportunities, and release targeted enhancements. This created an ongoing optimization framework aligned with AFI’s changing requirements.

This phased, operations-first approach allowed AFI to transform a limited Quickbase application into a scalable custom ERP without disrupting service delivery.

By strengthening the underlying data architecture and introducing automation incrementally, AFI reduced implementation risk while building a platform capable of supporting continued growth.

The Results

300+ Hours Saved Through Automation

AFI replaced fragmented spreadsheets, manual data entry, and disconnected applications with a centralized field service ERP built around its operations. Automated workflows across invoicing, job intake, HR, scheduling, inventory, and asset management now save the company more than 300 hours annually. A weekly invoicing process that previously consumed four days of executive time can now be completed in minutes.

The platform also consolidated several out-of-the-box tools into one connected operational environment. Rather than paying for unnecessary features across multiple systems, AFI gained an ERP and CRM tailored to the way its teams actually work and now, leadership has more time to focus on service delivery and growth, while operational teams have clearer workflows and more reliable data.

Key Results Delivered:

• Saved more than 300 hours annually through workflow automation

• Reduced weekly invoicing from four days to minutes

• Consolidated multiple tools into one field-ready ERP

• Improved job tracking and billing accuracy

• Reduced duplicate entry and manual administrative work

• Increased visibility across field and back-office operations

• Freed executive leadership to focus on growth

• Established a scalable platform capable of supporting future expansion

The Technology Stack Implemented

**Quickbase | Core ERP and CRM Platform: **Quickbase serves as the central operating platform for job intake, production tracking, scheduling, billing, reporting, inventory, and customer management. Its low-code architecture allows AFI to continue adapting the system as business requirements evolve.

**QuickBooks | Accounting and Financial Integration: **The QuickBooks integration connects operational and financial workflows. It automates invoice creation and synchronization, reducing duplicate bookkeeping and improving billing accuracy.

**Samsara | Fleet Management Integration: **Samsara provides vehicle and fleet data to support maintenance tracking, safety monitoring, and compliance reporting. Connecting fleet activity with operational workflows improves asset visibility and preventive maintenance planning.

Microsoft Outlook | Workflow-Based Communications: Outlook automation sends internal and external messages based on defined workflow events. Employees and customers receive timely updates related to job status, invoicing, approvals, and operational milestones.

**peakSUITE | Document Generation: **peakSUITE converts structured ERP data into formatted invoices, reports, and other business documents. This eliminates manual file preparation and improves document consistency.

**DocuSign | HR and Compliance Documentation: **DocuSign automates the distribution and completion of onboarding materials, safety certifications, benefits documents, and other employee records.

**AWS | Custom Invoicing Extension: **A custom AWS-based component supports specialized invoicing requirements that extend beyond Quickbase’s native capabilities while allowing AFI to retain Quickbase as its primary operational system.

Together, these technologies create a connected field service ecosystem that reduces administrative work, improves information accuracy, and supports scalable operations.