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A digital work order is a work order that the technician receives, fills in and has signed on a phone or tablet, instead of on paper. Hours, parts, photos and the customer’s signature go straight to the office, so the invoice can go out the same day. In this article you’ll read what a work order is, why paper falls short and what digital work orders deliver.
What is a work order?
A work order is the document that records what was done on a job: which work, how many hours and which parts. It’s the proof that the work was carried out and the basis for the invoice.
Example of a work order
A simple work order looks like this:
Work order
Date: 14 October
Customer: De Molen Bakery, Industrieweg 12, Zwolle
Job: cold room fault, temperature rising
Work done: replaced condenser fan, cold room tested at -18 °C
- 1x fan motor (part VM-220)
- 2 hours labour
- 0.5 hours travel
Signed off by: J. de Vries
This work order shows the customer details, what was wrong, what the technician did, what he used and who approved the work. The office can invoice from it, and later you can see what happened to the installation.
The disadvantages of paper work orders
The paper work order was never a good solution, just the only one for a long time. In practice, you run into these problems:
- Illegible or incomplete. A work order filled in quickly in the van isn’t always readable for the office. If a part is missing, you invoice too little.
- Lost. A crumpled form in someone’s overalls or under a seat is a job you don’t invoice.
- Double work. Someone in the office retypes everything into the system. That takes time and causes mistakes.
- Slow invoicing. Days or weeks pass between the job and the invoice. The longer that takes, the later you get paid.
- No insight. On paper you can’t see which installations fail often or which jobs take longer than planned.
- Doesn’t scale. Every new technician adds to the pile, and to the work in the office.
Want to compare the alternatives? Read Digital work orders vs Excel spreadsheets.
How does a digital work order work?
The office creates the work order, or it’s created automatically from a service request or a maintenance contract. The planner assigns it to a technician, and it appears straight away in the technician’s app.
On site, the technician sees everything he needs: the address, the job, the history of the installation and any manuals. He records hours and parts, takes photos, works through a checklist and has the customer sign digitally. If there’s no signal, the app keeps working and syncs later.
As soon as the work order is completed, the office sees it. The data goes on to invoicing and to your accounting system or ERP, without anyone retyping it. Read more about how that works in FieldBuddy on the page about work order management.
The benefits of digital work orders
1. Everyone works the same way
With drop-down lists and required fields, every technician fills in the work order the same way. No more personal abbreviations or forgotten fields. That makes life easier for the technician and saves the back office a lot of chasing.
2. Everyone is up to date
Does the schedule change, or does a maintenance visit turn into a repair? The planner updates it and the technician sees it straight away. The office, in turn, sees the status of every work order without calling or messaging.
3. All information at hand
The technician has the problem description, service history, contract terms and manuals on his phone. He arrives better prepared and fixes the problem on the first visit more often.
4. Faster invoicing
A completed work order goes straight to invoicing. Rules that always apply can be automated. If a part is under warranty, the price is set to zero automatically. You invoice the same day instead of a week later.
5. Everything easy to find
No more searching through binders. Every work order is stored digitally and can be found in seconds, by customer, by installation or by technician. And your records are safe, even if something happens to your building.
6. Insight into your service
Because all data comes in digitally, reports and dashboards show you which installations fail often, how long jobs take and where you’re losing margin. On paper you never see that.
What AI adds to the digital work order
The technician dictates what he did and AI turns it into a clean work order report. Before a work order goes out, the system checks for missing details. And when scheduling, AI takes travel time, skills and availability into account. Read more about FieldBuddy AI.
Switching from paper to digital
Switching doesn’t have to be a big project. Start from your current work order, decide which fields you really need and involve a few technicians in the setup. They know what works on site.
Digital work orders with FieldBuddy
With FieldBuddy, you schedule work orders on the planning board and they appear straight away in the technician’s app. He records hours, parts and photos, has the customer sign and completes the job, even without signal. The office sees the status of every work order in real time, and integrations with AFAS, Exact and Microsoft Business Central, among others, send everything on to your accounting.
If you want to get started quickly with digital work orders and scheduling, FieldBuddy Go is a good fit. If you work with contracts, installations and more complex service processes, FieldBuddy Pro is the better choice.
Frequently asked questions
What is a digital work order?
A work order that the technician receives and fills in on a phone or tablet, including hours, parts, photos and the customer’s signature. The office sees the result straight away.
Is a digital signature on a work order valid?
Yes. The customer’s digital signature records that the work was carried out and approved, just like a signature on paper.
Does a digital work order work without internet?
Yes. The FieldBuddy app works offline and syncs as soon as there’s a connection again.
Can I recreate my own work order?
Yes. You decide which fields, checklists and statuses are on the work order, so it fits how your field team works.
Conclusion
A digital work order saves the technician time, prevents mistakes and gets your invoices out faster. The office has an overview without calling around, and you get insight into your service that paper never gave you.
Curious what that looks like for your organisation? Request a demo and we’ll show you in your own situation.
