Job Lifecycle

Understanding how jobs move through their lifecycle helps you manage work effectively. This guide explains each status, transitions, and best practices.

Job Status Overview

Status Flow Diagram

                    ┌─────────────┐
                    │    Draft    │
                    └──────┬──────┘
                           │
                    ┌──────▼──────┐
                    │  Scheduled  │
                    └──────┬──────┘
                           │
                    ┌──────▼──────┐
              ┌─────│ In Progress │─────┐
              │     └──────┬──────┘     │
              │            │            │
        ┌─────▼─────┐      │      ┌─────▼─────┐
        │  On Hold  │──────┘      │ Cancelled │
        └───────────┘             └───────────┘
                           │
                    ┌──────▼──────┐
                    │  Completed  │
                    └──────┬──────┘
                           │
                    ┌──────▼──────┐
                    │  Invoiced   │
                    └─────────────┘

Status Definitions

Draft

What it means: Job has been created but is not yet ready to be scheduled. Typical state:

Missing information (location, assignment)
Awaiting approval
Planning stage

Visible to: Office staff, managers (not usually technicians) Next steps: Complete details and move to Scheduled

Scheduled

What it means: Job is planned and assigned, waiting for work to begin. Typical state:

Date and time set
Technician assigned
Appears on schedule

Visible to: Assigned technician, schedulers, managers Next steps: Begin work (moves to In Progress)

In Progress

What it means: Work has started on the job. Typical state:

Technician on site or working
Time being logged
Progress notes being added

Visible to: All relevant parties Next steps: Complete work or put On Hold if blocked

On Hold

What it means: Work is temporarily paused. Common reasons:

Waiting for parts
Customer unavailable
Additional approval needed
Weather/conditions

Typical state:

Work started but stopped
Reason documented
Follow-up date may be set

Next steps: Resume work (back to In Progress) or Cancel

Completed

What it means: All work has been finished. Typical state:

All tasks done
Time logged
Documentation complete

Next steps: Generate invoice or close without invoicing

Invoiced

What it means: Invoice has been generated for this job. Typical state:

Final status
Linked to invoice record
Ready for payment tracking

Next steps: None (final status)

Cancelled

What it means: Job will not be completed. Common reasons:

Customer cancelled
Duplicate job
No longer needed
Replaced by different job

Typical state:

Work stopped
Reason documented
May have partial completion

Next steps: None (final status)

Status Transitions

Who Can Change Status

Transition	Technician	Office Staff	Manager
Draft → Scheduled	❌	✅	✅
Scheduled → In Progress	✅	✅	✅
In Progress → On Hold	✅	✅	✅
On Hold → In Progress	✅	✅	✅
In Progress → Completed	✅	✅	✅
Completed → Invoiced	❌	✅	✅
Any → Cancelled	❌	✅	✅

Transition Requirements

Some transitions have requirements:

Transition	Requirements
Draft → Scheduled	Date, time, assignment
In Progress → Completed	Time entries (if required)
Completed → Invoiced	Invoice created

Working with Each Status

Managing Draft Jobs

When to use Draft:

Creating jobs in advance
Jobs pending customer confirmation
Template jobs for future use

Best practices:

Review drafts weekly
Convert to scheduled or delete
Don’t leave drafts indefinitely

Managing Scheduled Jobs

Monitoring scheduled jobs:

Check daily schedule view
Verify assignments correct
Watch for conflicts

Before work begins:

Confirm customer appointment
Verify technician availability
Ensure materials ready

Working In Progress Jobs

Technician workflow:

Arrive on site
Change status to “In Progress”
Start time tracking
Add progress notes
Complete work
Change status to “Completed”

Monitoring in progress:

Check for stale jobs (started but not progressing)
Follow up on jobs exceeding estimated time
Support technicians who report issues

Handling On Hold Jobs

Putting job on hold:

Add note explaining why
Change status to “On Hold”
Set follow-up reminder
Notify relevant parties

Resuming held jobs:

Resolve blocking issue
Add note explaining resolution
Change status to “In Progress”
Continue work

Completing Jobs

Before marking complete: Completing the job:

Review all details
Add final notes
Change status to “Completed”
Job ready for invoicing

Processing Invoiced Jobs

After invoicing:

Job moves to final status
Linked to invoice record
Included in revenue reports
Available for historical reference

Status-Based Filtering

Quick Filters

Use status filters to find jobs:

Filter	Shows Jobs That
Active	Draft, Scheduled, In Progress, On Hold
Completed	Completed (awaiting invoice)
All Open	Everything except Cancelled
Archived	Invoiced, Cancelled

Custom Views

Create saved views:

“My Active Jobs” - Assigned to me, not completed
“Overdue Jobs” - Past scheduled date, not completed
“Ready to Invoice” - Completed status

Time Tracking by Status

Expected Time Tracking

Status	Time Tracking
Draft	No time
Scheduled	No time
In Progress	Active tracking
On Hold	Paused tracking
Completed	Final time recorded
Invoiced	Time locked

Time Entry Rules

Time can be added while In Progress
Time can be edited until Invoiced
Invoiced jobs have locked time entries
On Hold time should be minimal

Notifications by Status

Automatic Notifications

Event	Who Gets Notified
Job created	Assigned technician
Job scheduled	Assigned technician
Status → In Progress	Manager (optional)
Status → On Hold	Manager
Status → Completed	Creator, manager
Job overdue	Assigned, manager

Reporting by Status

Status Reports

Generate reports showing:

Jobs by status (pie chart)
Status duration (time in each status)
Status transitions (workflow analysis)
Bottleneck identification

Key Metrics

Metric	What It Measures
Draft to Scheduled	Time to schedule jobs
Scheduled to In Progress	Start delay
In Progress duration	Work time
Completion rate	Jobs completed vs cancelled
Invoice lag	Time from complete to invoiced

Best Practices

Status Accuracy

✅ Update status in real-time
✅ Match status to actual work state
✅ Add notes when changing status
❌ Don’t backdate status changes
❌ Don’t skip statuses arbitrarily

Workflow Efficiency

✅ Minimize time in Draft
✅ Schedule jobs promptly
✅ Resolve On Hold quickly
✅ Invoice completed jobs timely
❌ Don’t let jobs sit in any status too long

Communication

✅ Notify customers of status changes
✅ Document reasons for holds/cancellations
✅ Keep stakeholders informed
❌ Don’t change status silently

Troubleshooting

Job Stuck in Status

Symptoms: Job hasn’t moved status in expected time Solutions:

Check requirements for next status
Review any blocking issues
Contact assigned technician
Manager may need to intervene

Wrong Status

Symptoms: Job status doesn’t match reality Solutions:

Update to correct status
Add note explaining correction
Review why mismatch occurred
Improve process if systemic

Can’t Change Status

Symptoms: Status update fails Possible causes:

Missing required fields
Insufficient permissions
System validation rules

Solutions:

Check error message
Complete required fields
Contact admin if permission issue

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​Job Lifecycle

​Job Status Overview

​Status Flow Diagram

​Status Definitions

​Draft

​Scheduled

​In Progress

​On Hold

​Completed

​Invoiced

​Cancelled

​Status Transitions

​Who Can Change Status

​Transition Requirements

​Working with Each Status

​Managing Draft Jobs

​Managing Scheduled Jobs

​Working In Progress Jobs

​Handling On Hold Jobs

​Completing Jobs

​Processing Invoiced Jobs

​Status-Based Filtering

​Quick Filters

​Custom Views

​Time Tracking by Status

​Expected Time Tracking

​Time Entry Rules

​Notifications by Status

​Automatic Notifications

​Reporting by Status

​Status Reports

​Key Metrics

​Best Practices

​Status Accuracy

​Workflow Efficiency

​Communication

​Troubleshooting

​Job Stuck in Status

​Wrong Status

​Can’t Change Status