Planned visits instead of breakdown calls
When an inspection returns at a set interval, you call the client with a specific date before the unit starts causing trouble.
Plan recurring air conditioning service visits
Record the units installed at each client’s property, set service dates and assign technicians. Explore a sample schedule in ProbeList.
By ProbeList · Illustrative workflow with sample data.
From installation to regular servicing
After installing an air conditioner, record its details and agreed service date alongside the client’s address. When this information is spread across spreadsheets and technicians’ notes, preparing a list of upcoming visits takes more work.
ProbeList treats each client as a location and each unit as an inspection item with its own repeatable due date. That way the client list is also a service calendar:
- a client has an address, a contact person, a phone number, an email, and notes, for example about access or a gate code
- each air conditioner has a brand, a serial number, and its own installation notes
- the inspection returns at a set interval, and the system shows whom you need to visit in the coming weeks
- after the visit a record stays with the result, the date, and the technician’s name
A general description of the features is on the Benefits page, and the other industries are covered under Who it’s for.
What makes follow-up visits hard to schedule
Without a recorded service date, the team has no clear reminder to contact the client. Keeping dates alongside equipment details makes it easier to arrange the next visit.
The next date does not exist
Once the job is closed, nobody records the date of the next inspection. Without it there is nothing to watch, and the client has no reason to remember you.
Installation details are missing from shared records
Which client has units in a hard-to-reach place, who got two units, and who got three? When a technician falls ill or leaves, that knowledge goes with them.
Busy installation periods leave less time for follow-up calls
In spring and summer the crew is busy installing. Scheduling inspections gets pushed back and does not return until the next season.
One-off jobs instead of a cycle
A client who calls the service only for a breakdown costs more time and brings less predictable income than one with a regular, scheduled inspection.
Getting started
From a client spreadsheet to a service calendar
Start with a few clients whose inspections are due soon.
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Start with the clients due soonest
Do not retype the entire history at once. Pick a few clients whose inspection falls in the coming weeks and enter them first.
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Create the client as a location
Enter the address, contact person, phone, and email. Use the notes for what the technician should know before the visit: access, parking, opening hours.
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Add the air conditioners as inspection items
Each unit gets a brand and a serial number. In the note you can describe where the unit is, for example an upstairs bedroom or a server room.
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Set up the inspection with a task list
Yes / No tasks suit questions like “filters cleaned?”, and a numeric task suits a reading such as the supply air temperature. You set the frequency to a year or half a year.
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Assign a technician and turn on reminders
You assign an inspector, the technician who will visit the client, to the inspection. The email reminder warns about the approaching visit, and you agree the date with the client yourself.
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Record the result after the visit
You enter the result, the date, and who performed it. The next inspection is scheduled according to the frequency, so you do not have to remember to set it up.
A service calendar in step with the season
Air conditioning has a clear season, so it is worth planning service visits so that most inspections finish before the first hot days. Below is an example layout that you can adapt to your own offer.
Spring: inspections before the cooling season
In the month or agenda view you check how many clients are due in April and May, and spread the visits so they do not coincide with the peak of installations.
Summer: overdue and late
The status filter shows overdue inspections. That is the list of calls to make first, before a client phones in with a breakdown.
Autumn: cleaning and a post-season check
If you offer a second, autumn inspection, set it up as a separate inspection with its own frequency. Then the two visits a year do not get mixed in one entry.
Winter: update records and plan the new season
This is a good time to fill in missing serial numbers and notes, and to review which clients have no due date set yet.
Service history as an argument on the phone
A client asks when someone last looked at their unit. Instead of searching a notebook, you open the location and see the date of the last visit, the result, and the person who did it. The date of the next inspection is there as well.
That information makes it easier to have a factual conversation about regular service. ProbeList does not send offers or invoices and does not contact the client for you. It gives you the data so the call is prepared rather than accidental.
What the company gains
What a service company can expect
Use the schedule to prepare visits and the service history to hand work over to another technician.
Proof of the work done
The date, result, and technician's name against each unit let you stand behind the quality of the service and answer a client's questions.
Client and equipment records
Addresses, contacts, serial numbers, and notes are in one place instead of a spreadsheet, a phone, and a notebook.
Fewer season-peak pile-ups
Inspections spread over time do not land in the weeks when the crew is busiest with installations.
Knowledge that does not depend on one technician
A new team member opens a client and sees what is installed and what was done on the last visit.
A repeatable visit scope
The same task list for every air conditioner keeps the inspection consistent across all clients.
Monday in a company with a dozen or so service clients
Picture the start of the week in a small air conditioning service company. The dashboard shows the nearest inspections: two due this week and one overdue by two weeks. The owner starts with the overdue client and calls with a specific proposed day for the visit.
The technician assigned to the inspections arrives at the site with a note about access. After checking the units, the technician marks Yes / No answers, enters a reading, and saves the result. It goes into the client’s history together with the date and the inspector’s name.
By the end of the week three inspections are closed and the next cycles wait for their dates. The following Monday starts with a fresh list rather than a blank page.
For your own calculation
How clients and equipment count toward plan limits
These are example assumptions for your own calculation, not data from any company.
| Assumption | Example value | Your value |
|---|---|---|
| Clients serviced on a cycle (locations) | 16 | … |
| Air conditioners per client (inspection items) | 3 | … |
| Cycles a year per client: spring and autumn inspection | 2 | … |
The calculation: 16 clients are 16 locations, 16 × 3 = 48 inspection items, and 16 × 2 = 32 active inspections. That fits the Basic plan limits of 20 locations, 50 inspection items, and 100 inspections.
When the free plan is enough and when you need more
The free plan covers two locations, five inspection items, and ten active inspections. It is a good way to test the whole workflow on two friendly clients, from creating a location to recording the first result.
As the list grows, the number of clients decides first, because each client is one location. A higher inspection item limit is needed quickly if clients have several units. You will find the exact values on the pricing page. You do not have to guess the perfect level at the start, because you can change the plan at any time.
Four mistakes worth avoiding when setting up service records
Entering all clients at once
Start with clients whose inspections are due soon. Add the remaining records gradually so the team can check equipment details and service dates as they go.
One inspection for everything
When a spring check, an autumn cleaning, and a post-breakdown check are mixed in one entry, the history is hard to read. Separate inspections give separate due dates and clearer results.
No serial number for the unit
The number and brand are the first things a manufacturer asks for with a warranty claim or a parts order. Add them at the next visit if you do not have them now.
Forgetting to close the cycle
Without a recorded result the inspection stays open and the overdue statistics lose their meaning. Recording the result after the visit takes a few clicks, but it drives the whole cycle.
FAQ
Questions from installation and service companies
Will the client get a reminder about the inspection from ProbeList?
Email reminders serve you and your team as a signal that a visit is coming. Inviting the client to the inspection, for example by phone or message, is still done by you, and the contact details are in the location card.
How do I record a client with three air conditioners in different rooms?
The client is one location, and each air conditioner is a separate inspection item with its own brand and serial number. You can write the unit's position, such as the living room or an upstairs office, in the note on the item.
Can I set two different inspections a year for the same client?
Yes. A spring inspection and an autumn cleaning can be run as two separate inspections, each with its own due date and its own frequency in months.
Can a technician in the field enter readings, such as the supply air temperature?
An inspection's task list can include tasks with a numeric value, so a reading is saved in the result next to Yes / No questions, for example about the condition of the filters. You decide the scope of the check according to the manufacturer's recommendations and your own offer.
Will ProbeList help me calculate how much I will earn on service?
It does not issue quotes or invoices and does not calculate revenue. It does show how many clients have an inspection scheduled and who is overdue, and turning that into revenue depends on your price list.
How do I find overdue clients before the season?
Inspections have a status of pending, upcoming, overdue, or cancelled. Filtering the list by status and date gives you a list of clients to call first.
Can I move clients from a spreadsheet into ProbeList?
You add clients in the app as locations. For a dozen or so addresses it takes one afternoon, and if you have many more, write to us and we will suggest how to start and which plan to choose.
See also
Similar uses in other industries
Turn post-installation clients into regular service
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