Skip to main content

Field Service

Field Service runs on-site service work for businesses that install and maintain equipment such as air conditioners, IT hardware, solar systems and appliances. It keeps your customers' sites and installed assets with their warranty and service contract cover, turns service requests into work orders with SLAs, helps dispatchers plan the day on a board and a map, and gives technicians an offline job card on their phone. Chargeable jobs and service contract instalments become invoices in Books.

Who uses it​

  • Field admin: owns settings, job types, checklists, SLA policies, the rate card, service contract plans and contract approvals.
  • Dispatcher: manages customers, assets and work orders, plans and assigns jobs, creates and renews contracts and runs billing, for their service areas.
  • Technician: works their own jobs on the mobile app, including parts, estimates, signatures and payments.
  • Customer: an outside user who uses the portal to see assets and contracts, request service and rate jobs.
  • Finance admin: oversees billing and deferred revenue.

Before you start​

  • Your company is set up in Ciyora and Field Service is switched on for it.
  • Technicians are People workers with the Technician role, and have the Ciyora mobile app on their phones. When Field Service is their only operational app, the app opens straight on today's jobs.
  • People is on if you want shifts, leave, holidays and skills used for dispatch and time written to timesheets.
  • Books is on if you want invoices, receipts and deferred service contract revenue; without it, jobs still record charges on the job card.
  • Inventory is on if you want parts and van stock; without a stock app, parts are recorded by name and rate.
  • You have a card payment link provider set up for collecting payment on site.

Set up​

  1. Settings. Set number prefixes, business hours, default SLA targets, rates, sales tax defaults, the payment link settings, the contract discount limit and renewal reminder days. Optionally point the map at your own tile server or routing service.
  2. Service areas. Create areas with their ZIP codes. Dispatchers and technicians can be limited to their areas.
  3. Job types and checklists. Add job types such as installation, breakdown, preventive maintenance and inspection, with default duration, required skills, checklist template, labour tax code and charge.
  4. SLA policies. Set response and resolution targets per priority.
  5. Product models. Add brands and models with default warranty months, PM interval and checklist.
  6. Technicians. Link each technician to their People record, service areas, home base and van. A van warehouse is created in the stock engine for each.
  7. Customers and assets. Import customers, sites and assets from CSV (with a dry run) or add them by hand, and print QR labels for assets.
  8. Service contract plans. Create plan templates with what is covered, PM visits per year and per-unit prices.

Key workflows​

Dispatch a breakdown call​

  1. A request arrives from a Support ticket, a Bookings visit, the portal, or is entered by hand. Coverage (service contract, warranty or chargeable) is worked out from the asset.
  2. Open the dispatch board. For the job, review the top suggested technicians with their reasons, then assign, or drag the job onto a technician's row.
  3. The technician is notified. The customer can be sent a message by email or SMS, where the customer has given consent.

Complete a job on site​

  1. The technician taps on the way (which sends the customer an ETA), then arrived.
  2. They fill in the checklist and readings, take before and after photos, and pick parts from van stock.
  3. For extra work, they build an estimate that the customer accepts by signing.
  4. The customer signs the job card, which is generated as a PDF and emailed.
  5. For chargeable work, the technician collects payment by card through a payment link, by check or in cash. Everything syncs when the phone is back online.

Sell and run a service contract​

  1. Create a contract from a plan, add the customer's covered assets and choose the billing frequency. Discounts above the limit need the field admin's approval.
  2. Activate it. The billing schedule and PM visits are generated, and covered assets show the contract.
  3. Run the contract billing run to raise due instalments as Books invoices. Revenue is recognised month by month.
  4. Use the PM planner to generate visits for the coming days, grouped by site.
  5. Before the end date, reminders go out and, with CRM on, a renewal deal is opened. Renew to create the next contract.

Invoice a chargeable job​

  1. After completion, create the invoice (or let it be created automatically, if set).
  2. The Books invoice carries labour, any visit charge and parts, with sales tax by the site's state, county and city.
  3. Payments collected in the field are recorded as Books receipts.

United States specifics​

  • Labour and parts are taxed by the site's location, since the taxability of repair labour and parts differs by state.
  • Service contracts are billed per their schedule and the revenue is deferred and recognised over the service period.
  • Payments use card payment links or checks recorded on the job; customer messages go by email, or by SMS to customers with TCPA consent.
  • Service areas are based on ZIP codes, and business hours use People holidays.
  • GPS is captured only with the technician's consent, only when they tap a job action and only within working hours.

Works with other apps​

  • Support: field jobs from tickets, with updates logged back.
  • Bookings: customers book on-site visits.
  • CRM: customer accounts and service contract renewal deals.
  • Books: invoices, receipts, deferred revenue and warranty recoveries.
  • Inventory: parts, van warehouses and serials.
  • People: technicians, skills, shifts, leave, timesheets and cost rates.
  • Analytics: job and contract figures for cross-app reports.
  • The mobile app is where technicians work; dispatchers can also reassign jobs from it.

Next steps​