Know who can take the job before you assign it
Weekly working hours, change requests the office approves and a status each technician sets, so dispatch starts from who is actually on.
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Friday morning and the board is already wrong
Picture a technician who told the office on Monday that he is out Friday. Nobody changed anything in the system. On Friday morning he has four jobs on the board, and the dispatcher finds out when the first customer calls to ask where he is.
Technician scheduling software is supposed to stop that. It takes more than a calendar of jobs: a record of when each technician normally works, a way to change it that the office approves, and a status that says who is on duty right now.
Hours, requests and status
Working hours for every technician
Each technician has a weekly schedule: for each weekday, whether it is a working day and the shift start and end. The office sets it, so the hours match how your crew really works, whether that is a standard week or a rotating Saturday.
Change requests the office approves
Technicians do not edit their own schedule. They send a change request for a weekday, and the office approves or rejects it. The schedule changes only when it is approved, so nobody quietly shortens a Thursday and no request gets lost in a text thread.
A status technicians set themselves
Each technician is Available, Wrap-up, Lunch, Off duty or Vacation. Technicians set their own status from the app, and an Owner can set anyone's. Wrap-up and Lunch still count as on duty.
What availability does to dispatch
Off duty and Vacation keep a technician out of intelligent dispatch until the status is set back, so automatic assignment does not offer them work. On Pro and Enterprise, intelligent dispatch also takes working hours into account when it matches a job to a technician.
Prefer to assign by hand? Every plan includes the dispatch board and calendar for manual assignment. See job scheduling and dispatch.
What this is, and what it is not
Vacation is a status, not leave booked ahead for dates. There are no vacation requests and no time-off shading on the board: set Vacation or Off duty when the time starts and set it back when the person returns.
Hours worked build from status
On Pro, time tracking and timesheets build hours, overtime and punctuality from the availability status technicians set. See time tracking and timesheets. For after-hours coverage, read how to run an on-call rotation for service technicians.
Which Plans Include Technician Availability
Weekly working hours, weekday change requests and availability statuses are on every plan, Free included (up to 5 users). Intelligent dispatch, which uses them, is on Pro and Enterprise, as are time tracking and timesheets. Prices are on the pricing page.
Related: intelligent dispatch and the article on matching repeat customers with the right technician; recurring jobs put repeat visits on the board for the technicians who are on, and equipment warranty tracking shows what a unit's warranty covers before you send anyone. Managing who can sign in? See single sign-on.
Technician availability, answered
What is technician scheduling software?
Software that plans which technician does which job and when, based on who is working and who has the skills. In field service it is usually part of a field service management app rather than a separate calendar.
Can technicians change their own schedules?
No. They send a change request for a weekday, and the office approves or rejects it.
What availability statuses are there?
Available, Wrap-up, Lunch, Off duty and Vacation. Technicians set their own, and an Owner can set anyone's.
Does Vacation or Off duty affect automatic assignment?
Yes. On Pro and Enterprise, technicians set to Off duty or Vacation are kept out of intelligent dispatch until the status is set back. Wrap-up and Lunch still count as on duty.
Can I book time off ahead for specific dates?
No. Vacation is a status you set when the time starts, not leave booked ahead for dates. A weekday change request changes the regular weekly schedule, not a single date.
Which plan do I need?
Weekly working hours, change requests and availability statuses work on every plan. Intelligent dispatch, which uses them, is on Pro and Enterprise.
Start the Day Knowing Who Is On
Set working hours, approve changes and keep the board honest.
14-day free trial on all paid plans · Intelligent dispatch is included on Pro and Enterprise