Adding Jobs

In addition to Job Offers you might receive from a partner company on the Dispatch platform, you can also add your own retail jobs that you receive independently. This capability allows you to manage all of your jobs, appointments, and technicians in one place, no matter how they come to you.

On either the Jobs page or the Schedule page, you can click on the Create Job button at the top right corner of your screen.

On the Schedule page's Calendar pane, you can also hover over the time slot that you wish to book that Job's first Appointment and click on the Plus (+) sign.

Whichever of these two options you use will launch the job creation dialog, which has three columns: Customer, Job Info, and Schedule. The below sections will detail your options in each of these sections.

Customer

You can search for existing customers that you’ve already entered into Dispatch by typing in the Search Existing Customers field. Typing a letter will bring up existing customer names containing it, and the results list will become more exact more as you type more letters. Clicking on the customer's name will load their existing information.

If you want to add a new customer, you can click Add a New Customer. An empty customer form as seen above will then load for you to add their information. First Name and Address are the only required fields.

Additional Fields: As with the existing customers field, typing a number or letter into the Address field will pull up a list of nearby addresses, which you should click on to register. Although not required, we strongly encourage you to add at least one Mobile Phone Number and an Email Address so that the customer can receive text message notifications about their scheduled appointments and review requests. By default, this number will have Send Notifications enabled. You can even Send Notifications to multiple phones so Add Another phone if you wish, or an additional contact! The remaining fields, Company and Customer Notes, may prove valuable in certain circumstances but are entirely optional.

NOTE: If you wish to upload your customer list from an existing system or database, refer to Importing Customers and Billing Items.

Job Info

Once you've entered the customer, you can fill out the Job Info section with at least the required fields of Title and Description. The Service Type dropdown is controlled in your Team Settings, and Source is an open field designed to capture how the job lead came to you (e.g. online ad, referral, etc).

The Job Address field captures a different location for work than the Customer Address, most often when the Customer owns or manages the property where the work is to be done. If left empty, the Customer Address is assumed to be the Job Address as well.

When a job address is entered, you will see a blinking suitcase on the map which is showing you the location.

Schedule

From the Schedule page Calendar

If you used the Plus (+) sign option on the Calendar to create the job, you will find that the Schedule section is preloaded with content based upon where you clicked: Date, Arrival times, and Tech are present but may still be edited.

From the Create Job button:

If you used the Create Job button, you have two options for how to proceed:

You can click the Create Job button in the lower right corner, which will set the status of the job to Unscheduled. At some point in the future, you can allow schedule the appointment and assign a Technician.
You can pick a Date and Appointment times and choose not to assign a Technician at this moment in time. The same button will then say Create Job and assign later.
You can choose all of the available options -- Date, Appointment time, and Tech -- after which the button will say Create Job.

Add Events to the Schedule

From the Schedule page Calendar

Dispatchers are able to add events to the schedule, which work like a standard calendar block. These can be used however you like! Common uses include: Office meetings, supply runs, blocking off time for personal appts or vacations, etc.

Click any blank space on the schedule to add an event.
Click 'Create Event Instead'
Add the title of the event, which will display on the assignees schedule, date, time. There is also an option to add notes or an address.
Assign it to one or multiple team members.

Events will appear on tech schedules, alongside their jobs. Events include an optional 'Start Event' button for techs.

Anytime you click on a blank space on the schedule or when you click the create job button, you have the option to click 'Create Event Instead'.

'Events' work just like a calendar block and can be used for team meetings, marking vacation time for staff, or any other schedule block needed.

Check out a video tutorial on adding events.

Mobile differences

On the mobile app, job creation works largely the same way, though there are some visual differences in the appearance of the user interface.

To create a job, you can tap the Plus (+) sign that appears red on the bottom right which will take you to the create a job screen. You can add Customer information and Job information here. Here are some valuable notes about how these fields work in the mobile app:

The Customer entry can accept new or existing customers. Existing customers will be checked against their phone numbers or email addresses so that a duplicate record will not be created.
The Address entry captures the Job Address, and for new customers, this address becomes the Customer Address as well. You can change the Customer Address later in the web application if necessary.