Dispatch Board - Overview

To find the Dispatch board, click on the Icon or use the tab.

The dispatch board is the central hub of ServiceM8, where you will spend 90% of your time. Here you will :

• create new jobs
• schedule work to staff
• create quotes and invoices
• send sms messages to staff or clients
• send emails with attachments from the job 

On the dispatch board you can see all your jobs on the map.

You can change the jobs you view on the map by changing the job filter.

You can view all past or current jobs, depending on the filter you choose.

The job list is where all jobs are stored; whether they are a quote, a work order, completed or unsuccessful job.

Jobs are automatically added to the job list, when a new job is created, every job created in ServiceM8 will have it’s own job card and unique job number.

Jobs can have one of the following status:

• Quote – orange
• Work Order – blue
• Completed - green
• Unsuccessful - red

Once a job has been completed it will only stay in the “completed jobs” list for 48 hours, this is to avoid cluttering the job list.

The “unscheduled jobs” list is where you can keep control over your jobs the goal is to always keep the unscheduled list clear. Jobs shown in this list ‘require action’. There are three ways to action a job:

• place the job in a queue
• schedule the job to a staff member, or
• change the job status to completed or unsuccessful.

Queues allow jobs to be placed on hold, you can use queues the following reasons;

•  waiting for parts that are on order

•  waiting for an event to occur before action is required

•  waiting for manufacturing

•  waiting for a client to respond to a quote

To send a job to a queue, drag the job on top of the relevant queue.

ServiceM8 will confirm how long the job should remain in the queue before expiry. When the job expires from the queue, it automatically returns to the unscheduled list for review.

Click on the queue icon to view all queued jobs either in the side bar or on the dispatch map.

If a quote has been sent to a client and you are waiting for them to respond, the quote needs to be placed in the “waiting on client” queue and an expiry date set. When the queue expires the quote will automatically move back into the unscheduled list for further action.

Once the quote has returned to the unscheduled list you should contact the client. If the client would like more time to decide, the quote needs to be placed back in the “waiting on client” queue.

If the client accepts the quote, the quote needs to be actioned and made into a work order and then scheduled to a staff member for completion. This can be done by either dragging the work order onto the staff members name, for instant dispatch, or by scheduling a specific booked appointment time with the client.

Once the work order has been scheduled it will move from the “unscheduled jobs” filter to the “in progress jobs” filter in the job list.

If the quote is canceled or rejected it needs to be marked as unsuccessful. No jobs are deleted in ServiceM8 for two reasons:

1. The customers’ contact details are stored for future reference.

2. The customer and job information will be stored in the event that the customer decides to accept the quote. Jobs can be delete in job history, this is only required if the information is incorrect.

Job list status dots tell you at a glance or by mouse-over the status of each job.

Blue Dot – job is scheduled to a staff member and they have not yet opened it (i.e. Unread).

Red Dot -  staff member to review this job because it has not been completed following a scheduled appointment.

Yellow  Dot –  job is in a queue, or has expired from a queue (Hover your mouse over yellow dot for more info)

You can filter the job list using the job filter drop down menu. 

 The standard job filters are:

• All jobs,

• Completed jobs – only displayed for 48 hours after the job is completed

• In progress jobs – in various stages of completion

• Unscheduled jobs – awaiting scheduling

 Click on the “Manage Job Filters” icon to create a new filter.

The job list can also be sorted in various ways by using the “job sorting” icon. 

You can sort by ;

1. The newest job first - or the top of the list

2. The oldest job first or,

3. Last updated job first

Each quote or work order shown in the job list displays:

1. The customer name, 
2. Basic contact details, 
3. Job status and;
4. The first line from the description of the job entered on the job card.

To allocate a Job to a staff member click on the scheduling tab.

The schedule can be viewed in a daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly format.

Arrows are used to move forward or back a day. At any time, you can go back to today by clicking the today button.

Allocating a job is very easy, simply drag the job onto the staff member and set the length of time the job is to be allocated.

You can view all your scheduled bookings on a monthly calendar by selecting the Calendar tab. This is great for scheduling longer duration jobs.