Scan a data plate and record equipment

Overview#

Every unit you work on should be on record at the customer's location: what it is, how old it is, and what you found. In TradesWork Field you take one photo of the data plate and TradesWork reads the make, model, serial, size, refrigerant and charge, then works out the age from the serial number. You check everything before it's saved. From the unit's record you can add findings for the office to follow up, quote a repair, log readings and mark it serviced.

Before you start#

• Technicians, dispatchers, customer service, owners and admins can add and edit equipment (permission equipment.write). Accounting and view-only roles only read it.

• Reading the plate from a photo uses AI. If AI is off for your company, the scan still saves the photo and asks you to type the details; the serial still decodes the age.

• With no signal, the photo is saved on the phone and read when you're back online.

Steps#

Scan the data plate#

1. Open the appointment and scroll to Equipment.

2. Tap Scan data plate.

3. Read the tip: "Straight on, the whole plate in frame, no glare."

4. Tap Take photo (or Choose from library). The button reads Reading the plate… while it works.

5. When the read finishes, the equipment form opens filled in, with Read from the plate. Check it against the plate. and a Read confidence of high, medium or low.

No signal, or the read is slow? You'll see Photo saved. The photo is safe on the phone and appears under Equipment as Data plate photo to confirm later. Tap Enter it by hand now if you'd rather type it, or Done to move on.

No plate at all? Tap No plate? Enter it by hand.

Confirm and save the unit#

1. Check each field against the plate:

   • Type: Furnace, Air conditioner, Heat pump, Air handler, Water heater, Tankless water heater, Boiler, Mini-split, or Or type it.

   • Manufacturer, Model, Serial.

   • Manufacture date (from the plate) as YYYY-MM. Leave it empty to use the serial's date.

   • Tons, Refrigerant (R-22 shows "R-22: no longer produced"), Charge (oz), Electrical.

   • Condition: Good, Fair, Poor or Failed.

   • Installed, Parts warranty to, Labor warranty to, and Notes.

2. Under the serial, TradesWork shows the decoded age, for example Made 2016-09 · 10 years old, marked Decoded from the serial or Estimated from the serial.

3. Tap Save equipment (or Add equipment when entering by hand).

Saving works offline ("No signal? It saves on the phone and syncs when you're back online.").

Work with a scan waiting to confirm#

Scans that haven't been saved show in the Equipment section:

• Scanned: {make and type} with a Confirm badge: tap Check and save.

• Enter details or Couldn't read badges: tap Enter by hand.

• Tap Discard to throw a scan away.

Open a unit's record#

Tap a unit in Equipment. Each card shows its type, make and model, S/N, age (12 yrs old), size, refrigerant and condition, plus badges such as Recommend replacing, Plan for replacement, Under warranty and 1 open finding.

The record shows Model, Age (with typical life), Made, Capacity, Refrigerant, Electrical, Last serviced, warranty and Registration, the Data plate photo, and a Replacement score {score}/100 with the reasons (or Nothing points to replacement yet.).

From there you can:

• Mark serviced today, and set Condition today.

• Add a reading: Superheat, Subcooling, Suction pressure, Head pressure, Temperature split, Total static pressure, Amp draw, Carbon monoxide or Other, with a Value.

• Share the home passport with the customer, when your company has passports turned on.

• See the unit's History.

• Use the warranty card to check coverage, log refrigerant and start a warranty claim.

Add a finding#

1. On the unit's record, tap Add finding.

2. Describe What did you find? (for example "Compressor drawing high amps").

3. Pick a Severity: Low, Medium, High or Safety.

4. Enter the Recommended action.

5. Pick any Photos from this job (take them in the job's Photos section first).

6. Tap Save finding. The finding is saved to the unit and the job. High and Safety findings also land on the office's follow-up board as a lead.

To price it now, enter a price and tap Quote it. That creates an estimate option you can present.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › Operations › Equipment: Publish home passports (when it is off, passport links stop working and the app says "Home passports are turned off for your company.").

• Settings › AI › AI Assistants & Data Preferences: whether data plate photos are read by AI.

• Settings › Operations › Forms › Required photos: require a Data plate photo on certain job types.

Tips#

• Wipe the plate and shoot straight on with no flash glare. Closer is better than angled.

• Always compare the read against the plate before saving, especially the serial. One wrong character changes the age.

• The plate's printed date wins over a serial decode. Enter it when the plate has one.

Troubleshooting#

• "That photo doesn't show a readable data plate." → the plate isn't clear → retake it straight on, with the whole plate in frame.

• "Couldn't read the plate from that photo." → retake it closer, or enter the details by hand.

• "That photo is too large to read." → take it again a little further away.

• "No serial decoder for {manufacturer} yet." → TradesWork can't date that brand from the serial → enter the date from the plate.

• "That serial doesn't match the {brand} formats we know." → check the serial for typos, or enter the date from the plate.

• A data plate photo says "Saved on the phone…" → no signal → it's read when you're back online, then shows here to confirm.

FAQ#

Which brands can TradesWork date from the serial? Carrier, Bryant and Payne; Trane and American Standard; Lennox; Goodman and Amana; Daikin (US-built); Rheem and Ruud; York, Coleman and Luxaire; A.O. Smith and State; and Bradford White. Some are marked "estimated" because the brand has used several formats.

Does the scan save anything without me checking? No. You always confirm before a unit is saved.

Can the office see units I add? Yes. Equipment belongs to the customer's location and shows on the customer and equipment pages in the office.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• Same: equipment lives on the customer's location with make, model, serial and install details.

• Different: one photo of the data plate fills in the record and the age, serious findings flow to the office's follow-up board, and every unit gets a replacement score.

• Where it lived: the Equipment tab on the location in ServiceTitan and on the job in ServiceTitan Mobile.