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Skill categories

Skill categories organize the certifications and expertise areas your technicians possess. When a job requires specific skills, the auto-assignment engine uses these categories to match the right technician to the right job.

Navigate to Settings → Skill Categories to manage your skill structure.

Enterprise feature

Custom skill categories are available on the Enterprise plan. See Plans and pricing to upgrade.

Owner access required

Only users with the Owner role can create or edit skill categories. See Roles and permissions for details.

How skill categories work

Skill categories follow a two-level hierarchy:

Level Example Purpose
Category HVAC Groups related skills together
Skill Refrigerant Handling, Heat Pump Repair Specific expertise within a category

When you create a job, you select the required skills. The auto-assignment engine then matches each technician based on how well their skills align with the job requirements.

Creating a skill category

  1. Open Settings → Skill Categories.
  2. Click Add Category.
  3. Enter a Category name (e.g., HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing).
  4. Optionally add a Description to clarify the scope of the category.
  5. Click Save.

Keep categories broad

Categories should represent trade areas or service disciplines. Use individual skills within each category for specific certifications or specialties.

Adding skills to a category

Each category contains one or more specific skills that technicians can be certified in.

  1. Open Settings → Skill Categories.
  2. Click on the category you want to edit.
  3. Click Add Skill.
  4. Enter the Skill name (e.g., EPA 608 Certification, Commercial Wiring).
  5. Click Save.

Example skill structure

Category Skills
HVAC Refrigerant Handling, Heat Pump Repair, Commercial HVAC, Ductwork
Electrical Commercial Wiring, Panel Upgrades, Generator Installation
Plumbing Drain Cleaning, Water Heater Repair, Backflow Testing
General Preventive Maintenance, Safety Inspections

Assigning skills to technicians

Once you have defined categories and skills, assign them to your technicians so the auto-assignment engine knows each person's capabilities.

  1. Navigate to Team → Users.
  2. Select a technician.
  3. Open the Skills tab on their profile.
  4. Check the skills the technician is qualified for.
  5. Click Save.

A technician can have skills from multiple categories. For example, a technician might be qualified in both HVAC — Heat Pump Repair and General — Preventive Maintenance.

Keep skills current

Review technician skill assignments periodically. When a team member earns a new certification or a certification expires, update their profile so auto-assignment remains accurate.

Editing and removing skills

Editing a skill or category

  1. Open Settings → Skill Categories.
  2. Click the Edit icon next to the category or skill.
  3. Update the name or description.
  4. Click Save.

Removing a skill

  1. Click the Delete icon next to the skill you want to remove.
  2. Confirm the deletion.

Impact on existing assignments

Removing a skill that is currently assigned to technicians will disassociate it from their profiles. Jobs that previously required this skill will no longer filter on it.

Skills and auto-assignment

The auto-assignment engine uses skill categories in two ways:

  1. Hard filter — technicians without the required skill are excluded from consideration.
  2. Match preference — technicians with a broader match across multiple required skills are preferred for assignment.

See Auto-assignment configuration to adjust how heavily skill match influences the assignment decision.

Using skills as service territories

Skill categories can double as service territory assignments — a lightweight way to geo-lock technicians to specific areas without a dedicated territory management system.

How it works

  1. Create a category called Service Territories (or similar).
  2. Add geographic skills representing your coverage areas (e.g., Chicago — North Side, Suburbs — Naperville, Downtown Loop).
  3. Assign territory skills to technicians who work in those areas.
  4. When creating a job, tag it with the matching territory skill.

The auto-assignment engine treats territory skills identically to trade skills — technicians without the required territory are excluded, and those with a match are ranked higher.

Example territory structure

Category Skills
Service Territories Chicago — North Side, Chicago — South Side, Suburbs — Naperville, Suburbs — Schaumburg
Downtown Districts Loop, River North, West Loop, South Loop

Combine with trade skills

A technician can have both trade skills (HVAC — Heat Pump Repair) and territory skills (Chicago — North Side). The auto-assignment engine evaluates all required skills together, ensuring the assigned technician is both qualified and local.

Frequently asked questions

How many categories and skills can I create?

You can create up to 50 categories, each with as many individual skills as you need.

Can Dispatchers assign skills to technicians?

No. Only Owners can edit skill assignments. Dispatchers can view a technician's skills but cannot modify them.

Do skills affect manual job assignment?

Skills are primarily used by the auto-assignment engine. When assigning a job manually, you see each technician's skills as a reference but are not restricted by them.

Can I import skills in bulk?

Skill categories and skills are managed individually through the settings interface. Bulk import is not currently supported.

Can I use skill categories for territory assignment?

Yes. Create a "Service Territories" category and add geographic skills like city zones or neighborhoods. Assign these to technicians, then tag jobs with the matching territory skill. The auto-assignment engine will filter technicians by territory just like any other skill. See Using skills as service territories for details.