What goes on a work order? A checklist for the technician and the office

What is a work order?

A work order (also called an intervention report or service report) is the record a technician makes of one intervention at a customer’s: what was found, what was done, how long it took, which parts were used, and the customer’s signature. For the customer it is proof; for the office, the basis of the invoice; for the next technician, the history of the unit.

In Belgium there is no statutory template for a work order. What goes on it follows from what you want to do with it: invoice without discussion, show the customer what happened, and find out later what changed on an installation. If you work in a sector with its own obligations (certificates, certification, inspection), those come on top: check them with your sector federation or certification body.

The checklist: what belongs on a work order?

A good work order answers six questions. If one is missing, you usually only notice when you invoice or at the next breakdown.

1. Who and where?

• The customer and the site where the work was done (a customer with three branches has three addresses).
• The installation: make, type and serial number. “The boiler” will mean nothing next year.
• A unique intervention number and the date.

2. What was the problem?

• The problem found, in the technician’s words, not just the customer’s report. “It leaks” is a report; “bypass valve seal worn” is a finding.
• Measurements before the work, if they tell you something: a pressure, a temperature, a hardness.

3. What was done?

• The work carried out and the solution, short and concrete.
• Measurements after the work, so that before and after sit side by side.
• What still needs to happen: a second visit, a part that needs ordering, advice to the customer.

4. How long?

• Departure, arrival, start and end of the work. Travel time and working time separately, because they are often invoiced differently.
• Breaks, if the intervention takes a long time.

5. With which materials?

• The parts used with their quantity, and for parts with a batch or serial number, that number.
• What was taken back, so that the stock is right.

6. Who confirms it?

• Photos before and after: the state in which the technician found and left the installation.
• The customer’s signature, with the name of whoever signed. And if the customer is not present or refuses: the reason, written out.
• The technician’s signature.

It is also best to keep two things separate: internal notes (for colleagues and the office) and comments for the customer (which go on their report). Anyone who mixes the two will sooner or later send an internal remark to a customer.

Where it goes wrong in practice

Anyone who has spent years maintaining installations knows the patterns. A few examples from maintenance and repair work, such as water treatment, heating or cooling:

• The serial number is missing. At the annual maintenance of a water softener in an apartment building, there are two units side by side. Without a serial number, nobody knows later which unit got that new valve.
• “Maintenance carried out”, and nothing else. No measurement before, no measurement after. If the customer calls three weeks later because the water is hard again, nobody can show what was measured during the visit.
• Parts written down from memory. The technician fills in the work order in the evening, and the seal and the filter cartridge from that morning are not on it. They did leave the van, but they never reach an invoice.
• A signature without a name. A scribble from “someone at reception” does not help if the customer later disputes that the work was done.
• The work order that reaches the office too late. A paper work order that comes in on Friday in a folder only gets invoiced the following week, if it is even legible.

Paper, Excel or digital: what changes?

A digital work order does not make the same checklist shorter, but it does make it harder to skip. The difference lies in what the software enforces and what it carries over automatically.

What it looks like in Digitalnatie Service Suite

In the mobile app for technicians, an intervention goes through fixed steps: departure, arrival, start of work, end of work. Each step records the time, so that travel time and working time are ready separately.

The work report has three fields: work carried out, problem found and solution. Internal notes never appear on the customer’s report; comments for the customer do. The technician takes photos before and after, and the customer signs on the screen, with the name of the person signing if you wish. If the customer does not sign, the technician chooses a reason (customer not present, customer refuses) and writes an explanation.

Closing an intervention as fully completed is only possible once the signatures (or the reason) and the required photos are there. Otherwise the technician chooses another result, such as waiting for parts or follow-up needed, and the intervention goes back to the schedule.

Once the intervention is closed, the record is fixed: report, photos, signatures and parts can no longer be changed in the app. If something still needs correcting, the office does it with a reason, and a new version of the report is created. Who signed and when never changes.

The parts used come from the stock in the technician’s van and are on the intervention, ready for the invoice. Read more about that in from work order to invoice.

And without a signal, in a basement or a plant room? Steps, report, photos, signatures and parts are saved on the device and go to the office as soon as there is a connection again.

Frequently asked questions

Is a work order mandatory?

In Belgium there is no general statutory template for a work order. Some work is subject to sector rules or certificates, though. In practice, a complete, signed work order is above all your proof in a dispute and the basis of a correct invoice.

What if the customer is not present to sign?

Note it, with the reason. In Service Suite, the technician then indicates that the customer is not present or refuses to sign, and writes a required explanation. That way it is clear later why there is no signature.

Can a work order still be changed afterwards?

Not by the technician once the intervention is closed. The office can correct a report with a required reason; a new version is then created, and the signatures and the time they were made stay unchanged.

Does a digital work order work without internet?

Yes, for the work on site: steps, report, photos, signatures and parts used are saved on the device and sent as soon as there is a connection. The app must have been opened once with a connection, though, and some actions, such as logging in or opening a PDF, need a connection.

Does the customer receive their work order automatically?

The technician or the office sends the report to the customer by email, provided that your company’s email address is connected. If the customer has access to their customer portal, they will also find the report there (watch the video about the customer portal, in Dutch).