Book a job from an incoming call

Overview#

Booking a job takes one short form. You pick the customer (or enter a new one), choose the job type and campaign, describe the problem and select Book job. The job is created right away and lands unscheduled on the dispatch board. You then schedule the appointment from the job page or the board.

You can start the form from the incoming-call panel on Calls › Calls, from the Book job button in the top bar, or from the Book a job button in Calls › Chat.

Before you start#

• You need permission to write jobs. Owner, Admin, Dispatcher and Customer service have it. Technician, Accounting and Viewer don't, so they won't see the Book job button.

• Set up job types (with default durations), business units and campaigns first, so the drop-downs have choices.

• To schedule the appointment yourself you need dispatch rights (Owner, Admin, Dispatcher, Customer service).

Steps#

1. Start the booking.

   • From a ringing call: on Calls › Calls, select Book job on the caller's card. For an unknown number, select New customer and job; the phone number is filled in for you.

   • From anywhere: select Book job in the top bar.

   • From a missed call: on a Needs follow-up row for an unknown caller, select the Book job link.

2. Find the customer if they're already on file.

   • In Existing customer?, type a name, phone or email and select Search.

   • Select Book next to the right person. Up to eight matches show.

   • If nobody matches, you see "No customers match … Enter them below."

   • To switch to someone else later, select Change on the customer card.

3. For an existing customer, pick the Location. If they have no service location yet, the page says so; select Add one to add it on the customer page first. The Book job button stays disabled until there is a location.

4. For a new customer, fill in:

   • Name (required) and Type (Residential or Commercial).

   • Phone and Email.

   • Street (required), City, State and ZIP.

   • Access notes, such as gate code, pets or parking.

5. Fill in the job.

   • Job type: each choice shows its default length, for example "(60 min)". Leave it as None if you don't know yet.

   • Business unit: leave From job type to use the job type's business unit, or pick one.

   • Campaign: where the call came from. Pick the campaign that matches the tracking line shown on the screen pop.

   • Priority: Normal, High or Emergency.

   • Summary (required, 3 to 120 characters), for example "No heat, furnace short-cycling."

   • Description: what the customer told you.

6. Select Book job. A new customer, their location and the job are saved together, or not at all if something is missing. You land on the new job's page.

7. Schedule the appointment on the job page.

   • In the appointments card, open Schedule an appointment (it's open already on a new job).

   • Set Arrival window starts and Arrival window ends. The form suggests tomorrow 8:00 to 10:00.

   • Check Expected duration (minutes). It starts from the job type's default.

   • Tick one or more Technicians, or leave them blank to assign on the board.

   • Add Instructions for the technician if needed, then select Schedule.

8. If the caller is on hold, read the arrival window back to them before you hang up.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › Dispatch Board › Board & Skills: job types, their default durations and skill requirements.

• Settings › Communications › Web Appointments: the arrival windows and capacity that the lead booking form and the AI agents offer.

• Settings › Phones › Phone Numbers, Call Recording & Texting: tracking numbers linked to campaigns.

• Your look and feel (the skin picker in the top bar) can rename the button, for example to New job. The form is the same.

Tips#

• Search before you create. Searching by phone finds the customer even if they call from the same number they gave last time.

• Use Emergency priority only for true emergencies. It stands out on the board.

• Leave technicians blank when you're not sure. The job waits on the board for a dispatcher.

• If the customer is a lead from Angi, Thumbtack or your website, book from the lead instead. That keeps speed-to-lead and source reporting right. See "Work the Bookings & Leads inbox."

Troubleshooting#

• The Book job button is greyed out → The existing customer has no service location → Select Add one, add the address, then come back.

• An error banner appears after Book job → A required field is missing or too short (name at least 2 characters, street at least 3, summary at least 3) → Fix the field shown and try again.

• No job types in the list → None have been set up → Ask an owner or dispatcher to add them in Settings › Dispatch Board › Board & Skills.

• I can't see "Schedule an appointment" → Your role can't dispatch, or the job is canceled → Ask a dispatcher to schedule it.

FAQ#

Does booking a job text the customer? Booking itself doesn't send a text. Appointment confirmations and reminders follow your customer text settings.

Can I book the arrival window straight from the booking form? Not on this form. Schedule from the job page or drag the job on the dispatch board. Leads booked from Bookings & Leads can pick an open arrival window on the same form.

What happens if two people book the same caller? You get two jobs. Use Calls › Chat and select I've got this so the team knows who is handling the customer.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• Same: customer search, new customer with a service location, job type, business unit, campaign, priority and summary are all here, with the same names.

• Different: ServiceTitan books the appointment on the call booking screen. TradesWork creates the job first and you schedule it right after on the job page or the dispatch board.

• Not here yet: the ZIP or service-area check and the property data lookup at the top of ServiceTitan's booking screen.