Work orders and unplanned stops in the field

Create a work order in the field

1. 1Route tab → Work Order (in the actions list; requires the work-orders permission and an internet connection).
2. 2Pick the customer — or, for someone who isn't a customer yet, tap Quick Add Contact in the customer picker: enter an email or phone number plus the service address (name optional), then Create Contact. A minimal customer and service location are created automatically, so invoicing, emails, and routes all work normally; if the email or phone matches an existing customer, that customer is reused instead of duplicated. Details can be filled in later on the customer's page.
3. 3Fill in the work order name, line items, tasks, and notes. A "Send service report email" switch (off by default, below Notes) emails the customer a service report when the work order is completed.
4. 4Two buttons at the bottom: Create Work Order creates it unscheduled, or Create & Schedule puts it on a route right away.

Create & Schedule creates the work order, then opens a Schedule Work Order sheet: pick the technician (all techs are listed, with yourself preselected and marked "(you)"), pick a date on the calendar (defaults to today), and check the "Already on the route" list showing the stops that technician already has that day. Tap Schedule — this puts the work order straight onto that technician's route for the chosen date, even a route already in progress. Skip for now leaves it created but unscheduled.

• Templates: a banner at the top — "Load a saved work order template" — fills the line items, tasks, and notes from any work order template in one tap.
• Copy from Job (in the Tasks header) copies the task list from another work order — it replaces the current tasks after a confirm. Apply Group pulls in a task group, with a choice to Add to Existing or Replace All. New Template creates a task template inline (name, response type, options, require photo).
• Each task row has a body-of-water chip (defaults to General) so responses land on the right pool or spa.
• A Chemicals Used section syncs whatever you log there straight into the line items, priced from your chemicals list.

Create a maintenance job in the field

Recurring service can start from the truck too: Route tab → Maintenance Job (same work-orders permission, internet required). A "Load a saved job template" banner fills the rate, billing settings, and tasks from a job template; otherwise set it up by hand:

• Billing Mode — Per Visit ("Charge per completed visit"), Monthly ("Fixed monthly rate, billed on a set day"), or External ("Billed through an external system"). The rate field follows the mode (Rate per visit / Monthly Rate); External skips billing entirely.
• A "Pass credit card fees to customer" toggle (with the built-in legal note — state restrictions are enforced automatically), and Expected Time at Stop in minutes.
• Billing schedule — monthly jobs pick a Billing Day (1–28); per-visit jobs choose Manual invoicing, After X visits, Monthly on day X, or Weekly on day X. See maintenance billing modes.
• Chemical Billing — Billed separately, All included in price, or Specific chemicals included (pick chemicals with per-visit quantities or Unlimited).
• Tasks — Apply Group, per-task templates, and the inline New Template builder, same as work orders.

Add an unplanned stop (no route required)

1. 1Route tab → Add Unplanned Stop. The button is always available, even when you aren't running a route.
2. 2Enter a note, a category, optional tasks, and a location — a manual address or an existing service location.
3. 3Under "Where should this stop go?", choose where it lands: My route now (only shown while your route is running — appends the stop to the live route), Open — anyone (goes to the open pool for any technician to pick up), or a specific technician plus a day. Picking a technician shows a card previewing that tech's route and the day's stop count; if they have no route that day, the stop stays open instead.
4. 4Tap Add Stop.

Unplanned stops pinned to a route day show up in that day's stop list everywhere the app lists route stops — the Stops tab, the Routes tab's day view, and Manage Route — with an UNPLANNED STOP badge. Tap one to open its detail.

Completing an unplanned stop: a lighter screen

Unplanned stops don't use the full Complete Job screen. Tapping Complete Stop opens a lighter form with exactly three things: the stop's task checklist (simple check-offs, if tasks were added), Notes, and Photos (up to 5). There's no water chemistry, no chemicals or parts logging, and no voice fill — an unplanned stop is a chlorine drop-off or a supply run, not a service visit. Completing one works offline: "Your completion has been saved and will sync when you are back online."

Pick up open stops

When the office creates an unplanned stop with no route or date, every technician sees it. See unplanned and open stops for the office side.

1. 1Route tab → Unplanned Stops (in the actions list, right under "Add Unplanned Stop") opens the Unplanned Stops list. The button is always available, even when nothing is open.
2. 2Each open card shows the note, the customer (if linked), a tappable address that opens your maps app, and who added it.
3. 3Tap Complete Stop to check it off — optional notes, a tasks checklist, and photos. Completing an open stop works offline.

• Open stops are first come, first served — there's no assignment or claiming step. Whoever gets there completes it.
• Below the open cards, a Completed section lists the last 30 days of finished open-pool stops with who completed each one and when — tap a card for full details.
• If a completed stop needs to be billed after all, the office can open it on the web and create an invoice for it (needs a linked customer with an email).

More you can create from the truck

The Create group in the actions list goes well beyond work orders. All of these need an internet connection and the matching permission:

• Customer — the Add Customer form: first and last name, phone and email (both required — the form notes "Both phone number and email are required for Stripe billing"), optional additional emails, the service address (autocomplete — pick a suggestion to pin the location), location notes, and an "Add another service location" checkbox. The same form doubles as Convert Lead when opened from a lead: details prefill, the banner says "confirm the address to pin the service location," and creating the customer marks the lead converted. (Need someone in the system with less? Quick Add Contact in the work-order customer picker takes just an address plus an email or phone.)
• Body of Water — add a pool, spa, or fountain with up to 5 photos, then tap Analyze Photos: AI estimates the type, gallonage, surface material, and sanitizer, marks each filled field "AI estimated," and shows its confidence (High/Medium/Low) so you know what to double-check. The form also carries the full chemistry settings — surface material, sanitizer (with target salt PPM for salt pools), water category, temperature source, scale/corrosion risk factors — and an optional Tap Water Profile for drain-and-refill math.
• Add Vehicle — admins and owners only: name, make/model/year/color, license plate, VIN, current odometer, and an Assign Employees list with a default driver. Vehicles feed the odometer modal and mileage tracking.

Job details: notes, contacts, and Manage Tasks

Tap View on any stop to open Job Details — more than an address card:

• Contact rows with one-tap call, text, and email buttons. A small "Reports" pill marks each email address that receives the post-visit service report.
• On-Site Contacts — the property's gate guard, house manager, or tenant, each with their role, call/text/email buttons, and notes.
• Notes — a running timeline for the job: any tech can add a note with up to 5 photos, and every entry shows its author and time. A read-only Customer Notes timeline shows office notes about the customer.
• Link cards — Upcoming Schedule, Completion History, and (with invoice permissions) the customer's Invoices and this job's Invoice History.
• Edit Customer (admins and owners) to fix contact details on the spot.

Admins and owners also get an Edit button on the Tasks section, opening Manage Tasks: tasks are grouped into "Every visit" and "Just today" (when a route is running), and each row has a Required/Optional toggle and a remove button — removing asks whether it comes off "every visit of this job" or "today's visit only," depending on the group. Add task picks from your task templates with the same Just today / Every visit choice, and "Create new task…" builds a brand-new template inline. See task templates and groups.

Report issues to the office

• Use Report an Issue on the Route tab to flag problems from the field — equipment failures, safety concerns — to the admin team. Admins get a notification when you report one.
• Owners and admins who work in the field also see a Technician Alerts card (right under "Report an Issue"; requires the alerts read permission). It opens the same alerts queue as the web with Open / Acknowledged / Resolved / All filters — tap an alert for full detail, and users with the manage permission can Acknowledge or Mark as Resolved right from the phone. Push notifications for new alerts open directly to that alert. See technician alerts.

Frequently asked questions

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