ElectricalBossPro Blog — Electrical Contractor Software

The Waiting List: Every Electrical Visit That Has Come Due, on One Map

Recurring work is only steady if somebody keeps track of it. A shop with a few hundred yearly inspection and generator maintenance customers has a visit coming due almost every day. The Waiting List is where those visits show up, on a map, without anyone keeping a tickler file.

Where Due Visits Come From

Yearly inspections end with a printed report, as covered in Printing an Electrical Safety Inspection Report the Homeowner Can Keep. The Waiting List is what brings that customer back next year.

Every recurring plan in ElectricalBossPro is set by a minimum number of days between visits. A yearly safety inspection is 365 days. Yearly generator maintenance is 365 days. Commercial lighting maintenance or relamping might be every 14 or 30 days. When enough days have passed since the last completed visit, the next one comes due and lands on the Waiting List.

A Map and a List

The Waiting List is a live map and a list of the same visits side by side. The list tells you who, what and how long it has been. The map tells you where. Together they answer the question every dispatcher asks: which of these can I put on the same van on the same day?

A generator maintenance visit across town is not a good fit for a Tuesday when the service van is already working the east side. Three due inspections two streets apart are. Seeing them on a map makes that obvious in a way a spreadsheet never does.

Colored by Status

Pins on the map are colored by status:

• Not due yet. Coming up, but there is still time. Useful for filling a light day early.
• Due now. Ready to schedule.
• Overdue. Past due by more than a 7-day grace period. These are the ones to call first.

The grace period keeps the map honest. A visit that is two days late is normal in a busy week. A visit that is three weeks late is a customer who may be wondering whether you forgot them.

From the Waiting List to a Van

Scheduling from the Waiting List puts the visit on a day and a van. From there it shows on the dispatch board with the rest of the day's work, where you can auto-route Closest First or Furthest First from the shop and set the order by hand. The tech's phone shows the same order.

When the job is booked, the house's equipment comes with it. A generator maintenance visit shows the generator's model, size, fuel type, serial number and location. A safety inspection shows the panel and everything else on the property. For how the board works, see The Dispatch Board: Putting Each Electrical Call on the Right Van in the Right Order.

One-Time Work Too

The Waiting List is built around recurring plans, but most electrical shops do far more one-time work: service calls, repairs, installs, panel upgrades, EV chargers. Those jobs are booked directly on a day and a van, or created from an approved estimate. They show on the dispatch board next to the recurring visits.

The usual rhythm is to book the one-time work as it comes in, then fill the gaps with due visits from the Waiting List. A van with an open afternoon near three due inspections is an afternoon of paid work that would otherwise be empty.

When a Visit Is Completed

When the tech taps Complete, the visit drops off the Waiting List and the plan's clock starts again. For a 365-day plan, the next visit will come due about a year from that completion. If a visit is skipped, because nobody was home or the generator enclosure was blocked, the tech notes why and the office can reschedule it. It does not quietly disappear.

Customers on yearly plans can choose a reminder the night before, an alert when they are next and an alert when the tech arrives, so fewer visits get skipped in the first place.

The Map Replaces the Memory

In a paper shop, recurring work depends on one person remembering. When that person is busy, sick or gone, visits slip and customers drift away. The Waiting List takes memory out of it. Anyone in the office can look at the map, see what is due and what is overdue, and fill the vans.

For more on setting up the plans that feed it, read Recurring Electrical Work: Yearly Inspections, Generator Maintenance and Relamping Plans. To see how the Waiting List fits with dispatch, the tech app and billing, go to the electrical contractor software overview.