Paper or digital work order: what will change on site?

A paper or digital work order makes more of a difference on site than you might think. Paper seems simple, but it still has to be returned, read and processed after the job is done. A digital work order records the information the moment the work is carried out.

That doesn’t mean paper doesn’t work. A technician can easily jot down hours and materials in a notepad in the van. The difference lies mainly in what is needed afterwards to turn those notes into a complete invoice and a proper file for the customer.

What changes when it comes to recording hours and materials?

With a paper work order, the technician records hours, materials and any special details. This is often done at the end of the job, when the next appointment is already waiting. A forgotten connection, an extra quarter of an hour or materials used can then quickly become unclear.

With a digital work order, a technician enters the same information on their phone. They can start and stop the timer, tick off a checklist and add materials straight away. The recording therefore takes place whilst the work is being carried out, rather than retrospectively from memory.

The practical difference is small in terms of the actions involved, but significant in terms of administration:

• On paper, you write down details that will need to be re-entered later.
• On a work order on a phone, hours and materials are immediately linked to the correct customer and job.
• On paper, notes can be illegible or left behind in the car.
• Digitally, the office sees the completed work order as soon as the technician finalises it.

This is particularly important for work billed on a post-calculation basis. If hours and materials are only recorded days later, items are more likely to be missing from the invoice. Not because someone deliberately omits them, but because the small details are the first to be forgotten.

How does a work order get from the technician to the office?

With paper forms, there’s always a handover between the site and the office. The form has to be returned, someone has to decipher the handwriting, and the details have to be entered into an invoice. Until then, the office often doesn’t know exactly what work has been carried out.

With a digital work order, that handover is no longer a separate step. The order is linked to the customer and is immediately available to colleagues with the appropriate access rights. This also helps if a customer rings before the engineer has returned: you don’t first have to ask for a photo of the order or guess what was agreed.

Suppose an installer is replacing a part at a customer’s premises. During the job, it becomes apparent that additional materials are needed. On a paper work order, the technician makes a note of this. The work order then sits in the postbox until Friday. It’s processed at the office on Monday, but the description isn’t entirely clear. Someone has to ring to ask exactly which part it was.

On a digital work order, the technician adds the materials straight away, takes a photo if necessary, and finalises the work order with the customer. The office can see the hours worked and materials recorded on the same day. The invoice can then be checked whilst the job is still fresh in everyone’s memory.

If you want to be clear first about what details should be included on such a work order, have a look at what you put on a digital work order.

What proof do you have upon completion?

A paper work order with a signature is better than no record at all. But photos taken before and after the job are often stored separately on a mobile phone. If a query arises later, you’ll have to search through your camera roll, an app chat or a folder at the office.

When working digitally, you can add photos directly to the work order and label them as ‘before’ or ‘after’. The customer can sign on screen upon completion. The signature and the time of signing are recorded, and the work order can be sent to the customer as a PDF.

That said, a digital work order is no substitute for a job well done or proper consultation. However, in the event of a dispute, you can access the facts more quickly. Think of pre-existing damage, agreed additional work or the question of whether a job had already been completed.

A checklist helps with this too. For recurring work, such as maintenance or installation, the technician can tick off fixed checkpoints. This way, it’s not only clear that someone has been on site, but also which tasks have been checked.

How quickly can you invoice a work order?

This is where the difference between a paper and a digital work order is usually most apparent. A paper work order must first be finalised before you can invoice it. This can easily be put off until the end of the week or even the month.

A completed digital work order can be converted into a draft invoice. Hours, materials, quantities, prices, discounts and VAT are all included. You check the invoice, make any necessary adjustments and then send it off.

This not only prevents the need for retyping, but also ensures that the invoice matches what the technician has recorded and what the customer has seen on the work order. In the article on reducing admin per job, you can see how this step from work order to invoice works.

The switch does, however, require a new routine. An app is just as empty as a paper work order if the technician doesn’t fill it in. You should therefore make clear agreements about when to stop clocking hours, add materials and get the customer to sign.

A good starting point is:

1. Have the technician open the work order before they start.
2. Record hours and materials on site, not at the end of the week.
3. Add photos as soon as they are relevant.
4. Have the customer sign off upon completion.
5. Check the draft invoice briefly before sending it.

Is a digital work order always better than a paper one?

For a one-off, simple job, a paper work order may be sufficient. But as soon as several people are involved, you invoice regularly or you need proof upon completion, the drawbacks of paper start to mount up. In that case, it’s not the writing itself that takes time, but everything that comes afterwards.

With the work orders from Klantly, the technician can work on their phone with hours, materials, a checklist, photos and a signature. The completed work order is immediately available to the customer and can be converted into an invoice. See how this fits into your invoicing and administration if you want to streamline the entire process after completion.

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