Work orders (Jobs)
Each job is a work order for a customer boat appointment.
| Field area | Contents |
|---|---|
| Identity | Work order number (WO-YYYY-####), title, type |
| Assignment | Assignee name/phone, assigned-by, priority, schedule block |
| Place/time | Marina, slip, appointment |
| Vessel | Owner, boat name, make/model, HIN |
| Type-specific | Claim #, referral partner, deposit, cancel reason |
| Diagnostics | Problem → Identification → Testing → Action → Handoff |
| Costs | Line items: Expense, Parts, Labor, Service with running totals |
| Evidence | Field progress log (arrival, notes, photos, delays, departure) + completion gates |
| Work order PDF with firm letterhead (name, address, phone, email, prepared-by) | |
| Lifecycle | Created → Pending → Complete → Archived |
Work order types
| Type | Intent |
|---|---|
| Service call | Standard on-site / shop repair |
| Insurance claim | Damage documentation for underwriter |
| Deposit / hold | Scope held against deposit |
| Cancellation | Cancel reason, fees, confirmation |
| Referral | Hand to partner shop |
| Yard handoff | Open items for yard or next shift |
| Abandoned | Incomplete work with recovery notes |
| Warranty | Follow-up on prior work |
| Estimate only | No repair authorization |
| Emergency | Priority call-out |
| Other | General |
Schedule (manager board)
- Day strip of appointments
- Wide swimlanes (iPad + Mac Catalyst) by assignee (who) with cards for what (type/title) and where (address / unit)
- Compact list on iPhone
- Assign sheet: create + optionally share work order immediately
- Priority badges for P1–P2
Platforms
| Device | Layout | Typical user |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | Tab bar | Field personnel |
| iPad | Sidebar + schedule board | Manager |
| Mac | Mac Catalyst, sidebar, large default window | Office / boss desktop |
Work-order transfer (manager ↔ worker)
Portable records:
| Direction | Action |
|---|---|
| Manager → worker | Export .msworkorder → Messages / Mail / AirDrop |
| Worker receives | Open file or Transfer → Import → jobs appear in queue |
| Worker → manager | Select jobs → field return package → share back |
Format: JSON work-order package you share by Messages, Mail, AirDrop, or Files.
Tools inventory
Locations (Service van, Shop, Toolbox, custom) and tool items with qty, serial, notes. Clean install has no demo tools.
Appointment customer text (1 hour before)
While the app is running, if the tech (Firm & tech profile name) has a ticketed assignment with an appointment today, about one hour before a sheet prompts Send message to customer with three canned SMS options:
MarineServiceTech capture. ServiceValet writes the job site into the same three texts.
- On time — will see you at the job
- Running late (~20 min)
- Problems — reschedule?
Uses the work order’s customer phone field when set. “Not now” dismisses without re-nagging for that appointment.
Loan / Borrow
Main tab Loan — a memory ledger for gear and consumables that move between people (not stock counts). Track Loaned Out vs Borrowed, person, notes, optional photo and reminder, mark returned.
Example: loan Tony Soprano 3 rolls of plastic tarp. Footnote: probably not gonna get this back.. — record it anyway so you remember who took how many.
Full guide: Loan / Borrow documentation.
Weather map & navigation charts
Weather map (More → Weather map):
| Mode | Layers |
|---|---|
| Weather | Animated NEXRAD reflectivity loop (precip), surface temperature, watches/warnings |
| USN | NOAA ENC depth & aids (U.S.); GEBCO / EMODnet bathymetry + OpenSeaMap seamarks (tropics / global free) |
Map settings (More → Map settings): default radar center (GPS or coastal catalog), animate radar loop, chart region (Auto / U.S. NOAA / Tropics / Global free), lock chart overlays during pan. Not for primary navigation.
Dictation
Memo dictation panel plus mic-enabled work-order and diagnostic fields (Speech framework). Spanish dictation (ES → EN) transcribes on the iPhone and stores English notes on the ticket.
Full iPhone walkthrough: Spanish dictation, English on the ticket — keyboard, Dictation Languages, Translate packs, in-app mic, and what the shop office reads.
Set up Spanish → English notes
Spanish does not appear under Settings → General → Keyboard → Dictation Languages until you add a Spanish keyboard. ServiceValet cannot add that language for you. Do not change Settings → General → Language & Region — that only changes iPhone menus. Use shop Wi-Fi. The in-app screen More → Note dictation language links each Apple page below.
On the iPhone
- Add a Spanish keyboard. Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Spanish (Mexico) (or Spanish (Spain)). Apple’s steps: Add or change keyboards.
- Turn Enable Dictation on. Back to Settings → General → Keyboard. Apple’s steps: Dictate text.
- Download Spanish under Dictation Languages (on some iOS versions: Keyboard → Dictation → Languages). Spanish only appears after step 1.
- Download Spanish ↔ English Translate languages on shop Wi-Fi. Apple’s steps: Translate text in apps. If the in-app download fails, install Apple Translate and retry.
In ServiceValet
- Open More → Field helpers → Note dictation language (or More → Help → Spanish → English phone setup).
- Set Note dictation to Spanish → English.
- On iOS 26, tap Download Spanish speech on that screen. On iOS 17–25, speech packs come from Settings (steps 1–3 above). Then download Translate packs on the same screen (iOS 18+).
After that, speak Spanish into a work-order note field. English is what lands on the ticket. Offline English insert needs iOS 18+ with those packs already downloaded.
Firm profile
Firm name, tech name, phone, email, and optional logo/sign photo — used on PDF letterhead and assignment stamps.
Freemium (work-order transactions)
| Tier | Access |
|---|---|
| Free | First 12 work orders (a dozen) created or imported as net-new; view/edit/complete |
| Premium | Unlimited work orders (monthly/annual subscription) |
Paywall is wrapped around creating work orders (Jobs +, Schedule Assign, import inserts).
Data & storage (About)
More → Data & storage shows on-device memory by category (job photos, progress photos, job data, export/PDF cache, firm logo, tools) and actions to free space:
- Export dataset (complete/archived or all) as
.msworkorder - Strip photos from complete & archived jobs
- Clear export cache / temp PDFs
- Delete archived work orders