Digital work order: what is it and what should you include on it?

A paper work order might get left in the letterbox, be difficult to read or be missing that one part that was used. With a digital work order, your technician records the details straight away on site. This means the office knows sooner what has been done and the invoice can be ready sooner.

A digital work order is therefore more than just a list of tasks. It is the job form linked to the customer and the appointment. You use it on your phone to record what has been carried out, how long it took and what the customer has agreed to.

What exactly is a digital work order?

A digital work order is an online job form for technicians, fitters, gardeners and other tradespeople who work on-site at customers’ premises. Instead of writing on paper, you fill in the work order on your phone.

The work order is linked to the relevant customer. This means the address, previous appointments and the quote provided are all already grouped together. A colleague in the office can also see straight away what’s happening on site, without having to wait for the technician to return.

In Klantly, a work order can be created from an appointment or an accepted quotation. The agreed terms and customer details are then included. This prevents you from having to re-enter the same information.

What details should you include on a work order?

Exactly what you need varies depending on the job. For maintenance, for example, you’ll want to record inspection points. For installation work, photos of the initial condition and the final result are often more important. However, the basics of a good work order are always the same:

• customer details and address;
• the agreement or description of the job;
• hours worked;
• materials used and quantities;
• a checklist of tasks or checks;
• before and after photos of the job;
• comments for the office or for the client;
• the client’s signature upon completion.

A technician’s work order must, above all, be practical. Your technician doesn’t have time for long texts or small input fields when they’re standing at a customer’s door. That’s why a digital work order works best when every step is clear: start work, fill in details, complete.

You can record internal notes separately. Think of pre-existing damage, a tricky connection or an issue that the office still needs to address. These notes are only visible within your company, not to the customer.

How do you record hours and materials on site?

When recording hours on site, the engineer starts the timer as soon as they begin work and stops it upon completion. This means you no longer have to guess how much time a job took at the end of the week.

You add materials as and when you use them. This is important for small parts that are often forgotten on a paper receipt. Think of an extra coupling, sealant, fixing materials or a spare part from the van.

For example: an engineer visits to carry out maintenance on a system. During the inspection, it becomes apparent that a part needs replacing. The engineer starts his timer, ticks off the standard checkpoints and adds the part used. Before he drives off, he briefly notes down what he has done and gets the customer to sign.

Back at the office, the record won’t just say ‘maintenance carried out’. You’ll be able to see which checks were carried out, how many hours were logged and what materials were used. That makes monitoring and invoicing a lot easier.

Why are checklists, photos and signatures part of the process?

A checklist ensures that standard procedures are not overlooked. For example, you can create a standard list for maintenance, handover or a safety inspection. Mandatory items must be ticked off before the work order is finalised.

By including photos on the work order, you document the situation at the moment it matters. Take a photo before you start if there is already any damage or anything out of the ordinary. Afterwards, add a photo of the work carried out. The photos are linked to the work order and the customer’s record, so you can find them again later.

A work order with a signature makes the completion process clearer. The customer signs on the technician’s screen and the time of signing is recorded. The customer can receive the work order as a PDF.

That won’t prevent every dispute. But if the question later arises as to what was done or whether additional work was discussed, you’ll have the work order, photos and signature all in one place. You won’t then be relying on your memory, but on what was recorded on site.

What happens after the digital work order is finalised?

Once completed, the work order remains linked to the customer and the job. The office can check it, process any comments and turn it into a draft invoice in a single step. Hours, materials, quantities, prices, discounts and VAT are all carried over to the invoice.

So you don’t have to decipher a paper work order first and then retype everything. However, checking remains important, especially when there is additional work or a different price.

If you want to minimise the follow-up work after a job, it helps to organise the entire process properly: appointment, work order and invoice. On the page about creating invoices from your work, you can see how invoices and payment status can remain within the same system. To plan visits in advance, you can also schedule and confirm appointments, ensuring the correct work order is ready for the right customer.

A digital work order does not replace professional expertise. Your technician still needs to assess what is required and actually complete the work order. But if the details are recorded directly on site, nobody has to go back and piece them together later.

Would you like to see how Klantly can help keep work orders, customer details and invoices all in one place? Get started for free and discover, with no obligation, what it can do for your business.