Choosing a work order app: the checks that comparison sites skip

Why do comparison sites say so little about work order apps?

Comparison sites work with columns: signature yes, photos yes, PDF yes. That says nothing about what happens in a crawl space with no signal, cold hands and a customer in a hurry. The 'photos' tick can mean one photo per order, or twenty that actually arrive.

The checks below come from the daily work of an installation business. Take them to every demo and have the vendor show them with a real work order of yours, not an example that happens to work well.

Does the app work without signal?

This is the test that separates the most. An app that only works with a connection leaves the technician in the crawl space with a blank screen or, worse, a lost order. Ask three things: does what they fill in stay put when the connection drops, do photos still go along later, and can they see what has and has not been sent?

Photos are the hardest part. A phone photo is heavy, and an app that sends them uncompressed stalls on a weak connection. Good behaviour: photos are shrunk and uploaded in the background while the technician keeps filling in, and a failed upload can be retried without retaking the photo.

In stipt a form without signal simply stays put with everything in it. Photos are shrunk and uploaded in the background while you keep filling in, and if you send the form without signal, the portal sends the rest as soon as there is a connection again.

Photos, signature and serial numbers: what to look for?

Photos: look at number and behaviour, not at the tick. Can you make a photo mandatory at a field, such as the meter cupboard or the rating plate? That saves you calling afterwards for 'one more photo of the meter cupboard'.

Signature: the customer signs on the phone with a finger and the signature has to end up in the PDF. If the customer is not there, an order must also be possible without a signature, with a note saying why.

Serial numbers: typing is error-prone. A scan field that reads QR codes and barcodes with the camera cuts errors. Check whether you can enter a number by hand if the sticker is unreadable, and whether you can search by number later.

PDF on letterhead: the PDF is what the customer sees. Ask whether you can set your own background with logo and footer.

What about the record, who sees what and review afterwards?

A work order that sits apart from the customer record creates work: someone has to retype it, link it and find it again. So ask where the completed order ends up. At best it attaches to the customer's record, next to the quote, the photos and earlier visits, and the record's status moves along once the order is approved. In stipt you choose per form status which record status the record moves to, the PDF of a submitted form lands on the record automatically, and scanned serial numbers go into a register you can later search by number.

Who sees what: a technician has enough with their own work. Check that they see no prices, internal notes or other customers, especially with subcontractors and external technicians.

Review afterwards: ask whether the office can reject an order with an explanation, and whether the technician can then add to it and resubmit.

Does time tracking belong in a work order app?

Sometimes, and it is a separate question. A work order records what was done: work, materials, photos, signature. Time tracking records how long it took. They can live in one app, but they serve different purposes: job costing (what did this job really cost) and payroll (how many hours did this employee work).

Decide first which one you need, then ask how the app records time: per order or per day, with start and end times, and whether that sits in an export or a link to your accounting. An app that makes a work order and also asks for a separate timesheet gives your technician double work.