What does a dispatcher do in a small trade business?
The dispatcher takes jobs that are ready to schedule, picks the tech and the time, sends the job details and deals with changes during the day. In ServiceM8, the dispatch board holds an unscheduled jobs list, and each job on it requires action: it is placed in a queue, scheduled to a staff member, or marked completed or unsuccessful. Queues hold jobs that are waiting on parts or a client reply and return them to the unscheduled list when they expire. Other job management apps use different screens for the same work. Aim for a simple rule: no job sits unassigned without a recorded reason.
Who should do the dispatching?
Give the job to one named person each day. In an owner-operator business with two techs, that may be the owner at fixed times, such as 7 am and after lunch. With an office manager, it is usually them. When two people allocate jobs from different devices without talking, double bookings follow. Write down who dispatches, who covers when that person is on leave or up a ladder, and which decisions the dispatcher can make without the owner, such as moving a routine job to the next day.
- Set fixed dispatch times for routine work so techs know when their next day is confirmed.
- Let the dispatcher break those times only for jobs on the urgent list.
- Give the backup dispatcher the same access and the same written rules.
How do you decide which tech gets the job?
Check each job against the same questions in the same order every time. Licence and skill come first, because a tech who cannot legally or safely do the work is the wrong choice however close they are. Urgency comes next, then location and travel, then anything that makes one tech a better fit, such as having installed the system. Workload and parts on the van settle the remaining ties. Record why a job went to a particular tech when the reason is not obvious, so the next dispatcher can follow the same logic.
- Licence and skill: does this tech hold the licence and experience for this job type?
- Urgency: is the job on the owner's urgent list?
- Location: which suitable tech will be closest at the likely start time?
- History: did one of your techs install or last service this system?
- Parts and workload: who has the parts and the time?
Which licence checks matter for air-conditioning jobs?
The Australian Refrigeration Council says a refrigerant handling licence must be held by anyone who carries out work on refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment, and that handling includes installing, commissioning, servicing, maintaining and decommissioning it. Licence classes differ. The full RAC01 licence covers air-conditioning and refrigeration work outside the automotive industry. The restricted RSS03 licence lists installing and decommissioning single-head split systems and some two-part heat pumps under 18 kW. A tech who holds only RSS03 should therefore not be dispatched to a service or repair job on the refrigerant circuit. Record each tech's licence class and expiry date in the job software so the check happens at the point of dispatch.
Other trades have their own licensing rules, which vary by state. The dispatch check is the same in every trade: match the job type to the licence class the tech holds, using the record in your software rather than memory.
How should urgent jobs be dispatched?
Write an urgent list with the owner, in plain words, with examples from your trade, such as water coming through a ceiling near a light fitting or no cooling for a customer who has told you they have a medical condition. Jobs on the list skip the normal dispatch times. In ServiceM8, an urgent job does not need a calendar slot: it is marked urgent and allocated to a staff member, who receives an immediate notification with the job details on their mobile, and the job goes to the top of their schedule. Give the customer an arrival window only once a tech has accepted the job, then contact any customers whose bookings were pushed back.
What should the tech have before they leave?
Send each job with everything the tech needs to arrive at the right place with the right parts, and keep it on the job record so it is still there if the job is reassigned. If the enquiry came in by phone, the call notes or transcript should already be attached. If it came through an online form, check that the photos and the answers to screening questions made it into the job. The list below is a starting point; add anything your trade needs, such as roof height or switchboard photos.
- Site address, access notes, parking, pets and any gate codes, shared securely.
- Customer name, best contact number and preferred contact method.
- Job description, make and model where known, and photos from the customer.
- The price already given, including any callout fee.
- Safety notes and the job's priority.