How to plan better
Practical writing on planning technicians, agreeing appointments and running a small technical company.
No marketing phrases, with numbers you can check yourself.
All articles
What must a beyond-economical-repair report contain?
What a beyond-repair report must contain, how to justify the reason, how it differs from a service report, plus a free PDF and DOCX template in Czech.
Read article →How to write an operator training report?
Operator training report template in Czech (PDF, DOCX) under Czech law: what to record, who signs it and how it differs from a handover report.
Read article →How much does software for a service company cost?
The cost of software for a service company over three years of use: how pricing models behave over time, how to calculate it and what decides by team size.
Read article →When to stop planning technicians in Excel
Excel for planning technicians has a clear limit. Five signs you have crossed it, a comparison with a planning board and a switch-over plan.
Read article →What a work report should contain
What belongs in a work report, how it differs from a handover report and an inspection report, and how a technician fills it in directly at the customer's.
Read article →Is there a free order management system, and when is it enough?
A free order system comes in three forms: your own spreadsheet, a free plan or a trial. Where usability ends and what you pay for with time.
Read article →How often electrical equipment must be inspected in the Czech Republic
Electrical inspection intervals in the Czech Republic under Annex 4 of Government Regulation No. 190/2022 Coll., the shortest-interval rule and three exceptions.
Read article →Shift schedules under the Czech Labour Code
A weekly work schedule must be in writing and shared 2 weeks ahead. What else the Czech Labour Code requires and where plans break the rules.
Read article →An order management system in a service company
An order management system is one place where a job starts, changes status and ends. Which statuses are enough and how to introduce it.
Read article →How long a Czech inspection technician's certificate is valid
In the Czech Republic an inspection technician's certificate is valid for 5 years, a company licence for 10. Where to verify validity and what expiry means.
Read article →How to replan the day when an emergency comes in
An emergency is never added to the plan, it replaces something. A step-by-step procedure, which job to move and what to tell the customer.
Read article →Does a small service company need ERP or just a planner
ERP handles stock, production and accounting. A planner handles who goes where and when. Five questions to tell which one you need.
Read article →A service log in Excel: what belongs in it and when it stops being enough
A service log in Excel is enough as long as one person fills it in. What belongs in it, what Excel can handle with the right design and what stays expensive in it.
Read article →Online service log: what it is and what it must contain
An online service log is a job history available from a browser. What it must contain, how a field entry gets into it and what to check before rolling it out.
Read article →Planning technicians in plumbing, heating and gas: how to balance emergencies with installations
Planning technicians for plumbing, heating and gas boilers rests on a reserve for emergencies and on licences. How to build a week that can take a morning emergency.
Read article →Order records in Excel: structure and limits
Order records in practice. What to record for each order, how to set up statuses and history, when Excel is enough and how to move open orders.
Read article →Service report: a template to download and what it must contain
A service report (service sheet) template in Czech to download in PDF and DOCX. What it must contain and what most often gets left blank. Free, no registration.
Read article →Will technician planning software pay for itself? How to work it out
Nobody can calculate the return on planning software for you in advance. What to measure before and after so your own numbers answer it.
Read article →How to record what a technician did at a customer's site so that someone finds it three months later
How to record a technician's work at the customer's site, what ServisBook's field role can do and how to hand photos over to the administrator today.
Read article →Is planning software a good fit for HVAC?
Planning software suits HVAC if it can handle a multi-day installation, a crew on one order and recurring cleaning. How to tell before you buy.
Read article →Free Excel shift planning template
Download a free XLSX template in Czech for a monthly shift plan for 12 technicians. It counts days worked, absences and the number of people at work.
Read article →How to shorten arranging a service appointment with the customer
Arranging a service visit gets shorter when the customer sees all free slots at once and picks one. The procedure and what the company needs.
Read article →Is planning software suitable for a company with eight technicians?
With eight technicians a plan kept in someone's head stops working. What overwhelms the dispatcher, what to introduce first and what stays.
Read article →What to use instead of paid installation planning when you want to start for free
A shared calendar, a spreadsheet or a chat can plan installations for free. Where that stops being enough and what to replace it with.
Read article →Installation planning for beginners: where to start and what to avoid
Installation planning differs from service in job length and crew size. Six steps to start with and the mistakes that most often sink it.
Read article →How to stop two technicians going out to the same order
A double call-out does not start in the plan but alongside it. The four places it comes from and how to stop two technicians going to one job.
Read article →Software for a service company: how to choose your first one without prior experience
Your first software for a service company is not chosen by a list of features. What to go by instead, how to run the trial and what to avoid with a first purchase.
Read article →How to set up technician dispatching from scratch
Technician dispatching for beginners: three rules that must hold before you start choosing a tool, and a step-by-step procedure for the first month.
Read article →Gas inspection software: what to expect from it and what you have to watch yourself
Gas inspection software handles deadlines, the plan and report filing, but will not write the report. Where the line is and how to plan it.
Read article →Is planning software worth it with five technicians?
With five technicians, yes; the threshold lies lower. A one-week test to check it on your own operation, and what has to hold for it to pay off.
Read article →How to spot the limits of Excel for planning technicians
A practical audit of a spreadsheet for planning technicians: clashes, absences, qualifications, change history and the rules that have to be maintained.
Read article →How to roll out planning software step by step
A model schedule for rolling out planning software: what to set up first, who to involve, what to avoid and how to tell that the team is not going back to Excel.
Read article →What a lost technician hour costs
How to calculate the cost of a lost technician hour: what goes into it, how it yields the return on planning software and where the estimate tends to be inflated.
Read article →Planning by skills: who is allowed on which order
A free technician and the right technician are not the same. How to set up skills so the plan counts on qualification, not just free time.
Read article →Proposed and confirmed appointments: a difference that costs money
Proposed vs confirmed appointment. Why a coloured cell in a spreadsheet is not enough, what it costs and how a schedule can show certainty.
Read article →How to offer an appointment so the customer picks it themselves
The anatomy of the e-mail ping-pong involved in arranging a service appointment, and how to cut it down to a single link where the customer picks from the free days.
Read article →From reading to practice
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