Branches and brands

Overview#

Branches let one TradesWork company run several locations. Each branch has its own phone, office hours, sales tax rate, the ZIPs it serves, its team and local prices. Brands group branches under a trade name, for example a plumbing company you acquired. New jobs land in the right branch automatically, and reports can be split by branch or brand. With one location you don't need any branches.

Before you start#

• Branch settings need branches.manage (Owner, Admin).

• Moving a job to another branch needs jobs.write.

• Branch reports need reports.read.

Steps#

Add a brand (optional)#

1. Go to Settings › Operations › Branches.

2. In Brands, type the New brand name (for example "Summit Plumbing") and click Add brand.

Add a branch#

1. On the same page, fill in the branch form: Name (for example "Detroit"), Code (2–12 letters or digits, such as "DET", shown on the board and in reports), Brand, Phone, Street, City, State, ZIP.

2. Set Time zone only if the branch is in a different zone from the company (for example "America/Chicago").

3. Enter Sales tax % (empty = the company's rate).

4. Enter ZIPs served: full ZIPs or prefixes separated by commas, such as "480, 481, 48309".

5. Set Office hours for each day.

6. Click Add branch. Click Edit later to change it and Save branch.

Set the rules#

1. In Rules, choose Dispatch across branches:

   • Each branch dispatches only its own technicians

   • Branches see each other's technicians but can't assign them

   • Branches can borrow technicians from other branches

2. Pick the Default branch (used when no ZIP matches).

3. Set Agreement visits become jobs (days ahead) and tick Hold invoices without a required PO if you want it.

4. Click Save rules.

Assign people#

1. In Branch teams, for each person tick their branches, choose their Home branch (their prices and default board), and choose Sees all or Only their branches.

2. Click Save on their row. Owners and admins always see everything.

Set branch prices#

1. On the branch's row, click Prices. The number in brackets is how many items have a local price.

2. Use Search items to find an item, enter a Local price and click Save.

3. To go back to the central pricebook price, click Clear (or Use central).

How jobs pick a branch#

New jobs land in the branch whose ZIPs match the address (longest match wins), else the booker's home branch, else the default branch. To change it, open the job, use Move to branch on the Commercial card and click Move.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › Operations › Branches: everything above.

• Settings › Dispatch Board › Zones, Move-up & Work Streams: zones inside a branch.

Tips#

• Use ZIP prefixes ("480") for big areas and full ZIPs only for edge cases. The longest match wins, so a full ZIP overrides a prefix.

• Give each branch its own phone number so texts and the One Link show the local number.

• Check Reports › Branch Reports monthly to compare branches.

Troubleshooting#

• "2–12 letters or digits" → the code has spaces or symbols → use something like "DET" or "NW-2".

• "ZIPs or ZIP prefixes, like 480 or 48084" → a ZIP entry has letters or is too short → fix the list.

• "Closing time must be after opening time" → office hours are reversed → correct the hours.

• A job landed in the wrong branch → its ZIP matches another branch's list → fix ZIPs served, then Move the job.

FAQ#

Do I need branches for business units? No. Business units (HVAC, Plumbing) are separate from branches and are set per job type.

Can a technician work for two branches? Yes. Tick both branches in Branch teams and pick one home branch.

Does a branch change sales tax? Yes, when you set Sales tax % for that branch.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• Same idea as: running several locations or acquired brands in one ServiceTitan tenant with location-based reporting.

• Different: branches are their own setting, separate from business units. ZIPs decide where a job lands. Cross-branch dispatch is one of three simple rules.

• Where it lived: ServiceTitan business-unit and multi-location setup; Settings › Operations › Branches in TradesWork.