The technician's day

A technician's day in xMatix is the sequence of attendance check-in, service order work recorded on time sheets, and check-out, all done in the xMatix mobile app. This page puts those steps in order and shows where each one is recorded. It also says which steps work offline and what an administrator sets up so that a technician can do them. Each step links to the page that covers it in full.

Overview

A technician deals with three separate records during the day:

• Attendance. The Check in and Check out punches on the mobile app record the working day against the technician's own resource. See Mobile attendance.
• The job. The service order holds the customer, the asset, the work lines, health checks, complaints and attachments. See Service orders.
• The labour. The service order's time sheet records when each task was started, paused and ended. See Recording labour with time sheets.

Two features have similar names but are different things. The service order's own Check In button is the vehicle or asset check-in inspection at the start of a job, not attendance. See Check-in inspections. Pausing your attendance session and pausing work on a time sheet are also separate: one does not change the other.

When to use it

Use this page to plan or teach a field or workshop technician's routine on the mobile app. It is also a checklist for administrators setting up a new technician. If something specific has gone wrong, go to Troubleshooting field service.

How xMatix handles it

• Attendance can be recorded offline. A check-in or check-out made without a connection is kept on the phone and sent when the connection returns. It is recorded at the time on the phone, and the server accepts it for up to three days. A queued punch that fails a check-in rule is still recorded, but flagged with a warning.
• Time sheet stages need a connection. Start, Pause and End are server actions. The mobile app never queues server actions. Offline, it shows This action requires a connection. The server stamps its own clock when the action runs, so a stage recorded late carries the late time.
• Service orders are read online in the shipped setup. The shipped mobile app downloads accounts, contacts, assets, orders, visit plans, checklists and similar records for offline use, but not service orders or time sheets. On a phone with no connection those records can't be opened unless your administrator adds them to the app's offline list (see Configuration).
• Record changes are queued. Where offline editing is allowed for a record type, creates, edits, deletes and file uploads are stored on the phone and sent later. You can track them on the Pending changes screen. See Working offline.
• The order's work status follows its time sheets. After each Start, Pause or End, xMatix recalculates the order's Work Started, Is Work Paused and Work Ended flags from all of its open Work Item lines, across every time sheet. The order can't be set to Work Completed while any labour line has not ended.

Prerequisites

• Your user is linked to an active Resource. Without one, check-in shows Your user is not linked to a resource — contact your administrator. See Resources.
• Your security profile is assigned to the Mobile App configuration. Your administrator also decides whether check-in is required for you.
• Your profile has the Start, Pause and End actions on the time sheet, and access to service orders and time sheets (see Permissions).
• Someone has created a time sheet on the service order with Time Sheet and given you the task. The service advisor usually does this on the web.

Procedure

Step 1 — Check in

Open the app. If your administrator has made check-in apply to the whole app, the Check in to start your day screen opens first. Otherwise you are asked to check in when you open certain records.

The screen lists the checks that apply to you. These can include location near your branch, a selfie, working day, working hours, holiday and leave. Complete them and select Check in.

• Location tracking. If your organization records the travelled path, an Android phone must allow location Allow all the time. Check-in stays disabled until you allow it. An iPhone is not asked for background access. It records the path only while the app is open on screen. See Location tracking.
• Offline. The app says You're offline — your check-in will be saved on this device and synced when you reconnect. and lets you in.
• Refused. Check-in requirements not met. marks the check that failed. See Fix a refused check-in.
• Mark Absent and Skip appear only if your administrator has turned them on. See Mark yourself absent, or skip check-in.

Step 2 — Find today's jobs

While you have a connection, open the Service app and its service order list. The shipped views are All Service Orders, Draft Service Orders, Under Service Contract and VOR Eligible. There is no "my jobs" view in the shipped setup, so you see every order your security allows you to read. Your administrator can add a view filtered on Technician.

Open each job rather than trusting the list. On the mobile service order you will find these tabs:

• Lines: the work and part lines.
• Health Check.
• Complaints.
• Recommendation: suggested services for the asset.
• Timesheet: the order's time sheets.
• Asset Service Contract.
• Attachments.
• Related: quotes, fulfilments, invoices, delivery orders, claims, purchase orders and work orders.
• Details.

If a dispatcher moves or reassigns work during the day, reopen the order while you have a connection to see the change.

Step 3 — Start the work

1. On the service order, open the Timesheet tab and open your time sheet.
2. Open the actions menu and select Start.
3. Tick the lines you are starting and confirm.

Each ticked line gets the server's current time as its Work Start Date and shows Work Started. You can't type a start time. A line that is already running or has ended is refused, and nothing is stamped. The full rules are in Start the work.

If the job has no time sheet yet, ask the service advisor. Your profile may also allow you to create one with Time Sheet on the service order (see Create the time sheet).

Step 4 — Pause and carry on

When work stops, for example while a part is fetched, select Pause, tick the running lines and choose a Pause Reason on each one. A pause without a reason is refused with Work Pause Reason is required when the work is set to Paused.

To carry on, select Start again on the paused line. There is no Resume button. xMatix adds a new time sheet line for the same task, starting now, and marks the paused line as discarded. The paused time is the gap between the two lines.

Pausing your attendance session is different. In the session sheet, Pause session stops location recording and freezes the session timer, if your administrator allows it. It is not sent to the server and does not pause any time sheet.

Step 5 — Record the job details

Add complaints, health check results, attachments and photos on the service order tabs your organization uses. Choose the correct line before you enter anything, especially when one order has several tasks. For guided inspections, see Check-in inspections.

Step 6 — End the work

Select End, tick the running lines and confirm. Each line gets the server time as its Work End Date and shows Work Ended. A paused task must be started again before it can be ended. When every labour line on the order has ended, the order can move to Work Completed.

Step 7 — Reconcile before you check out

1. Reconnect and let the app sync.
2. Open Pending changes. Fix anything under Needs attention against the record it belongs to. Don't re-create the record.
3. Reopen each job you worked on. Check that no time sheet line is still Work Started unless the work really continues tomorrow, and check the pause reasons.

Step 8 — Check out

Open the side menu and select Check out. The same checks as at check-in can apply, including location.

If changes still need attention, the app asks Check out? and offers Review or Check out anyway. Checking out does not end open visits or time sheet lines. It only records the end of your attendance session.

Don't use Sign out in place of Check out. Signing out does not record a check-out. It also discards any offline punches and location points that have not been sent yet.

Example

A technician is linked to a resource. Their profile requires check-in with the location and selfie checks, and location tracking is on.

1. At 08:50, at the branch, they open the app, take the selfie and select Check in. The punch is recorded at 08:50.
2. They open the Service app and order SV-03112026-000412 for a customer's generator. The Timesheet tab shows the sheet the service advisor created, with the task Annual service assigned to them.
3. They arrive at the site at 10:05. They open the time sheet, select Start, tick Annual service and confirm. The line shows Work Started at 10:05.
4. At 11:00 a filter is missing. They select Pause with the reason Paused-Non Availability of Stock. At 11:40 the filter arrives and they select Start again. A second line opens at 11:40.
5. At 12:30 they lose signal and select End. The app says This action requires a connection. They note the time, and at 12:45, back in coverage, they select End. The line ends at 12:45, so they tell the service advisor, who can correct the line's dates (see Correct a line).
6. At 17:30 they open Pending changes, find nothing under Needs attention, and select Check out from the side menu.

Training

Practice exercise

In a sandbox, sign in to the mobile app as a test technician whose profile requires check-in and has the time sheet actions. Then:

1. Check in.
2. Open a service order that has a time sheet with a task assigned to you. Start the task, pause it with a reason, start it again and end it.
3. Turn on flight mode and try Start on another task. Turn flight mode off.
4. Check out from the side menu.

Expected result: the time sheet has two lines for the first task, one paused and one ended. The offline Start is refused with This action requires a connection, and nothing is stamped. The attendance day for your resource shows the check-in and check-out times.

Quick reference

• Check in from the app; check out from the side menu, never with Sign out.
• The service order's Check In button is the job inspection, not attendance.
• Start, Pause and End need a connection and use the server's time.
• Pause needs a reason; use Start to carry on.
• A paused task must be started again before it can be ended.
• Pausing the attendance session doesn't pause a time sheet.
• Review Pending changes before you check out.
• Checking out doesn't close open time sheet lines.

Permissions

The shipped Service profile has full access to service orders, their lines, time sheets and time sheet lines, but no grant for Start, Pause or End. Add these grants on the profile's Actions tab before giving that profile to technicians. A user without a grant can't run the action. See Security profiles.

Configuration

The Mobile App configuration is under Setup → Design Studio → Apps → Mobile Apps. Changes reach a phone at its next sign-in, or straight away when the user taps Refresh Metadata. See Mobile app configuration.

Common problems

"This action requires a connection"

You ran Start, Pause, End or another server action while offline. These are never queued. Run the action once you are connected. It will carry the time you ran it, so tell your service advisor if the real time was earlier.

I can't find my service order offline

Service orders aren't downloaded for offline use in the shipped setup. Open your jobs while you have a connection, or ask your administrator to add service orders to the app's offline list.

Start, Pause or End isn't offered, or is refused for my profile

Your security profile lacks the action grant. The shipped Service and Sales Executive profiles don't have it. Ask your administrator to add the grants.

"Work on this line is paused and that segment is closed. Start it again before marking Work End."

You tried to end a paused task. Select Start, then End.

Check-in stays disabled on Android

Location tracking is on, and the app needs Allow all the time location access. Open the phone's settings for the xMatix app and set location to Allow all the time.

My offline check-in shows a warning

An offline punch was recorded with warnings — some check-in rules were not met. The punch was saved but flagged, for example because you were outside the branch radius. Tell your supervisor.

Common questions

Is every service action offline-safe?

No. Record edits and uploads can be queued when offline editing is allowed for that record type. Server actions can't be queued. This includes the time sheet Start, Pause and End, Time Sheet on the order, and the inspection Check In. When you are offline, the app refuses them with This action requires a connection. Attendance check-in and check-out are the exception: they have their own queue and are sent when you reconnect.

Where is Resume?

Use Start again on the paused line. It adds a new time sheet line for the next stretch of work and marks the paused line as discarded. The paused time is the gap between the two lines. A Resume action exists on the time sheet but it is not implemented on the server and fails if an administrator adds it to a page.

Do Start and End create the time sheet?

No. Time Sheet on the service order creates it, with one line for each Work Item line given to a technician. Part lines are never offered. Start, Pause and End then move the ticked lines through their stages, and the order's work flags follow the lines.

Can queue-routed work be declined?

An offered routing item can be declined, and it is routed again to someone else. Work a dispatcher assigned directly is not an offer and can't be declined, so ask dispatch to reassign it. When work is routed again after a decline, the original required skill is dropped. See Skills, capacity and work routing.

Does pausing my session pause my time sheet?

No. Pause session is local to the phone. It freezes the session timer and stops location recording, and nothing is sent to the server. Time sheet lines keep running until you use Pause or End on the time sheet.

Related topics

• Field service
• Recording labour with time sheets
• Service orders
• Check-in inspections
• Mobile attendance
• Location tracking
• Working offline
• How offline-first mobile works
• Dispatch console
• Troubleshooting field service