What is a service form app, and how do you choose one?

The form opens from the work order and is filled in and signed on site; the report, invoice and next service all run from that record. The steps:

• The work order arrives. The service manager assigns the work order, and it lands in the technician's calendar and on their phone.
• The equipment opens. The technician scans the unit's QR code; warranty, documents and past services come up.
• The form is filled in. The work done is written up and the maintenance or installation checklist is ticked item by item.
• Photos are added. Before and after photos go into the report.
• The customer signs. The technician's and the customer's signatures are added to the report.
• The report goes out. The PDF report goes to the customer's email, the work order closes, and the customer rates the service from a link.
• The invoice is issued. Accounts invoices from the completed service report.

For the fields a form should have and a filled-in example, see how to write a service report.

The difference is that information reaches the right record when the job finishes. With paper, it is written on site and then entered a second time in the office; in an app it is entered once, linked to the work order.

Service forms, photo proof and location tracking explains in more detail why photos and the technician's location belong on the same record.

Look less at the screenshots and more at what happens before and after the form: does it open from the work order, and does it feed the report and the invoice? Ask these questions in the demo with one of your own jobs:

• Work order link. Does the form open from the work order, or does the technician retype the customer and equipment every time?
• Equipment history. Can the technician see the unit's warranty and past services on site?
• Checklists. Can you build your own checklist templates for maintenance, installation and repairs?
• Photos and signature. Do photos and the customer's signature go into the report itself?
• Report delivery. Does the report go to the customer as a PDF when the job is done, and can the customer rate the service?
• Invoicing. Can accounts invoice from the completed report?
• Phones. Does the app run on the iOS and Android phones your team uses?
• Location and data protection. If the technician's location is recorded, who sees it and where is the data stored? Ask for the answer in writing.

For a wider software comparison, see the field service management software selection guide.

In PureField Field Service, the service form opens from the work order. The technician sees work orders in the iOS or Android app, and the technician menu is narrow: equipment, work orders, service reports and external requests. They scan the unit's QR code, fill in the checklist template you prepared, add before and after photos and get the report signed by the customer.

The PDF report goes to the customer's email and the work order closes; the customer rates the service from a link. On accounts with draft reports switched on, a report left unfinished on site drops into the panel as a draft, where the service manager corrects, completes and scores it. The completed service report is invoiced. The next service date is written to the equipment record, and the customer gets a reminder email as the date approaches.

If location tracking is switched on for your account, the service manager sees technicians' live and past locations on a map in the panel. To try the form before moving to an app, fill in a report with photos and a signature in the free service report generator and download it as a PDF; no sign-up needed.