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Work Orders

Work orders are the foundational block of enrutar. They are the structure upon which the entire system is built and the most important piece. In this article we will explain in detail what work orders are, how they are created and configured, and all their related entities.

What is a work order?

In enrutar, a work order is understood as a specific intervention, bounded in time, that will be carried out for a customer. A work order can have a single appointment, multiple ones, or none. This definition is quite broad, as there are many different types of work orders, and all of them should be able to be modeled using enrutar. Below are some examples of work orders and how they would look in enrutar:

  • Repairs: This is the simplest work order to represent. We would create a work order with a single appointment to carry out the repair.
  • Maintenance: We would create a work order and then create an appointment for each time the maintenance needs to be performed. This way, everything is always reported on the same work order and we have the full history visible.
  • Construction projects: Projects can be represented in many ways. Here we could understand each phase as a different work order or use a single work order for the entire process. Then we would create the relevant appointments.

These are just some basic cases. The work order structure with multiple appointments allows you to configure each intervention in detail so it adapts as closely as possible to reality.

A work order does not need to have appointments. You can register a pending work order before it is confirmed and track its progress.

Creating work orders

To create a work order, navigate to Work Orders > Create Work Order. You can get here:

  • By clicking the + Create Work Order button from the Work Orders screen (both the board and list views).
  • By clicking the page + icon in the sidebar panel on the Customer screen. This way the customer will already be selected.
  • From any dropdown where you can search for a work order, for example when creating an appointment from the Calendar. If you search for a title that doesn't exist, a Create Work Order button will appear with that title.

Once on the work order creation screen, you will need to provide a title and a customer (both required). If the customer doesn't exist yet in enrutar, you can create them directly from the search dropdown. When you enter their name, a Create Customer button will appear that takes you to the appropriate page.

You can also add optional information to detail the work order:

  • Description: A summary of the intervention that will appear both in the work order and pre-set in each appointment.
  • Identifier: A unique code that will identify the work order on the platform. This code can be chosen (for example, if you use other software and want to reference it) or will be created automatically using our Identifier System.
  • Status: An exclusive and customizable tag that classifies the work order according to its state. A work order can only have one status at any given time.
  • Tags: A series of configurable properties that allow you to filter and classify each work order. A work order can have multiple tags.
  • Custom fields: If your organization has configured custom fields, they will appear in the form for you to fill in. Fields marked as required must be completed before saving.

And certain optional information related to the Customer. The customer's existing data in enrutar will appear here, but it can be modified if the final contact person is different:

  • Contact Phone: This number will appear in the appointment so the operator can contact via phone or WhatsApp. It will also be the number used for WhatsApp Reminders if enabled.
  • Contact Email: This email will be used to remind about the appointment and to send the work report if enabled.
  • Address: Possibly the most important field. This is the address that will be shown to the operator on the map when they need to carry out the appointment.
    Labels can be configured to provide more details. For example, in the phone field you could put the person's name and in the address the floor or door number.

When finishing the creation of a work order you can click Save and create another to facilitate navigation if you are creating many at once.

Work order creation by email

Another more automated way to create work orders is through the incoming email address that enrutar provides. To find it, navigate to Settings > Organization Settings and go to the Incoming Email Address section. Here you will see an email address like <identifier>@i.enrutar.com.

To create a work order this way, you can send an email with all the relevant work order data (and whether an appointment should be created and when) and the system will create all the entities. The system will not create a customer if they are not on the platform, but it will try to assign an existing one if any data (email, phone or name) matches. On the other hand, if your company receives emails detailing jobs, you can forward them to this address and it will work the same way.

It is important to note that this creation is done using artificial intelligence, so it is highly recommended to review the content to check for errors.

The generated email address is unique to each organization and is private. Anyone with access to the address could create work orders in your organization.

Work order creation by WhatsApp

Just as work orders can be created by email, there is the possibility of doing so using enrutar's WhatsApp number. To do this, the employee must verify their phone.

This can be done by navigating to Settings > Employees and clicking on their own name. A popup titled Edit Employee will appear, and in the Phone Verification Status section they will need to click Verify by WhatsApp. This action will open a conversation with enrutar's chat and automatically create a message like My verification code is: <verification code>. Once this message is sent, the phone will be verified.

From this point on, the employee can use the conversation with enrutar's WhatsApp to create work orders just as they can by email.

Some specifics of WhatsApp creation are:

  • Audio message support. It is convenient to send work orders this way, as it is usually faster.
  • Support for forwarding messages from other users.
  • Support for multiple messages for a single work order. Our system waits 30 seconds after each message before processing it, allowing you to send several messages to be processed together rather than as separate work orders. This can be important, for example, when forwarding a message from another user and wanting to add information about that work order.

Using work orders

As a work order progresses, you can perform various actions for consultation or tracking. Here are some of the most important:

  • Update the Status or Tags: This can be done from the work order page itself, without having to enter edit mode.
  • Write or read a comment. This will be the way to communicate with operators or note relevant information as it happens.
  • Mention EVA in comments. You can ask for reminders or appointments directly from the work order thread.
  • Check the Work Order History.
  • Modify the Assignees list (employees, teams or agents). This allows you to control each employee's access according to their permissions.
  • Create Appointments, Material Lists and Work Reports.
  • Subscribe to notifications.
  • Manage work order reminders. See work order reminders.

Work order reminders

Reminders allow you to create custom alerts so you don't forget tasks or follow-ups related to a specific work order. Each reminder can be configured with a custom message and a specific time to receive the notification.

Creating reminders

To create a reminder, access a work order page and look for the Reminders section. Click the Create button to open the creation window.

You can also create one from a comment by mentioning @Eva with the desired date and time. Eva will confirm the reminder in the same thread. See Using Eva in Comments.

When creating a reminder you will need to configure:

  • Message - required: Describe what you want to remember (for example, "Call the customer to confirm materials").
  • Reminder time: You can choose between two options:
    • Absolute date and time: Choose a specific day and time (for example, "March 15 at 10:00").
    • Relative time: Set the reminder in relation to the creation date (for example, "1 day before", "2 weeks before", "3 months before").

Once created, the reminder will appear in the work order's reminder list.

Managing reminders

From the reminders section you can:

  • View all reminders: They appear ordered with a bell icon 🔔.
  • Edit a reminder: Click on the reminder to modify its message or send time.
  • Mark as completed: Completed reminders are shown crossed out with a check mark ✓.
  • Delete a reminder: Click the delete button (confirmation will be requested).

Reminder notifications

When the configured time arrives, enrutar will send you a notification directly (browser push or in the app) to alert you about the reminder. Clicking the notification will open the work order and the corresponding reminder so you can manage it instantly. Sent reminders will be recorded in the work order history.

When creating a reminder, enrutar automatically adds you as a follower of the work order so you don't miss any updates.

Reminders are visible to all users with access to the work order, but notifications are sent only to the reminder creator.

Bulk editing

Some of the above activities (specifically updating status, updating tags, modifying assignees and archiving) can be performed in bulk. To do this, go to the work order list view or Kanban Board, click Edit, select the relevant work orders and press the button for the action you want to perform.

Archiving a work order

When the activities you needed to perform on a work order are finished, we recommend archiving it. An archived work order will not appear in the system unless specifically searched for. This helps reduce noise in the system and makes it easier to find active work orders.

To archive a work order you can do so:

  • From the work order screen, in the ... button in the top right corner.
  • By doing a bulk edit.

These work orders will remain accessible if you enable the Archived option in our Filter System, and can always be unarchived in the same way they were archived.

Archiving a work order with active reports

If the work order has active Work Reports at the time of archiving, enrutar will ask if you also want to archive them. You can choose:

  • Archive only the work order: The work order is archived but the work reports remain active and accessible.
  • Archive work order and reports: Both the work order and all its active reports are archived at once.

If you later want to view the archived reports, you can see them from the reports section within the work order by expanding the Show archived reports option.