Forum Discussion

Conrad's avatar
Conrad
Contributor 4
1 month ago

How to track job categories/special requirements?

Just wondering if anyone has some ideas around this, or has found a solution for themselves...

We have some jobs with special requirements, for example:

  • Require visit reminders (our Admin follows up manually if a visit is rescheduled after the automated reminder has been sent)
  • Special scheduling requirements (eg. visits can only be completed on Fridays)
  • Fixed price invoicing regardless of job time/time based invoicing (often different work categories are one way or the other, but we have some jobs that don't fit that strict "category rule")

We currently use an emoji shorthand in job titles so we can quickly see at a glance things like what standard the property should be maintained, whether we only do lawn services or gardens are also included at the property, if they have a dog, that the job is correctly scheduled for summer/winter, etc. But these are tailored for the field crew and I'd prefer to avoid overloading the job info/titles and keep it simple for the crews. 

It's really admin/office staff who need to see the different info mentioned in the bullet points. I was thinking we can use Calendar Colours, but does anyone have other tricks up their sleeve? 

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6 Replies

  • travisshepherd's avatar
    travisshepherd
    Contributor 4
    1 month ago

    I get this exact struggle. We keep job titles super simple for the crew with just one emoji if needed, then handle everything else with job tags.

    We use tags like:

    Friday-Only

    Needs-Reminder

    Fixed-Price

    Dog-On-Site

    The office sees them immediately on the job list and calendar, but the crews don’t get overwhelmed with extra info in the title. Keeps everything clean and scalable.

    Anyone found something that works even better?

  • HUGEHomePros's avatar
    HUGEHomePros
    Jobber Ambassador
    1 month ago

    Similar to how you use emoji's, we use abreviated terms at the top of the quote. We also do this because we have automations around when quotes are accepting. 

    FF - Fixed Fee

    TM - Time and materials

    CO - Change Order

    Utilizing those help our techs know how to address the jobs, and our system can easily pull them in to automations. 

  • Conrad's avatar
    Conrad
    Contributor 4
    29 days ago

    Thanks for the replies - looks like you're both making good use of tags and abbreviations. I'll keep those in mind. I can see the abbreviations being really handy for controlling calendar colours and automations etc.

  • WestCoastMHI's avatar
    WestCoastMHI
    Contributor 2
    28 days ago

    I like the ideas you guys have. The new schedule is terrible. It has some better features than the old one but the way all the unscheduled visits just chill on the side instead of where we have them tagged is DRIVING ME NUTS I can't efficiently schedule anything anymore.

  • krista's avatar
    krista
    Jobber Support Team
    19 days ago

    Honestly, this sounds like a really strong use case for Jobber’s Custom Fields, which is probably my favourite feature in Jobber because you can tailor it exactly to your company’s workflow instead of forcing your workflow into a rigid system.

    Quick question first though, where do you primarily need this information to appear, scheduling, dispatching, quoting, invoicing, or mostly for office visibility/reporting?

    Depending on the answer, Custom Fields could work really well for things like:
    • Specific day scheduling
    • Fixed fee vs T&M
    • Reminder follow-up needed
    • Dog on site or gate codes
    • Seasonal requirements
    • Service standards

    The nice part is that the information can move through the full Jobber workflow, from the client profile, to quotes, jobs, invoices, and more. And it is visible to workers with the right permission from the app. 

    Personally, I find the best workflow is usually keeping a couple of tabs open while scheduling, so I can easily reference and transfer key operational details into the calendar as needed. That’s where Custom Fields really shine for me, because the information stays structured and easy to find, rather than getting buried in notes or overloaded job titles.

    Combined with tags and calendar colours, it can make things a lot cleaner for both office staff and field crews. Here is a help article on Custom Fields.