A job moves through stages. The stage is what the job is doing. Its flow step is how far along the sale and the prep it is. See The job flow for steps.
The nine stages
Scheduled, In Progress, Punch List and Closeout count as active work.
- New: the job exists, with a customer and a drawing.
- Proposal.
- Approved.
- Scheduled.
- In Progress.
- Punch List.
- Closeout.
- Completed.
- Cancelled.
Why New and not Lead
A lead is a prospect in Pipeline. A job at its first stage is work you already have. The two names stay apart so the funnels never mix.
Moves are checked
You cannot move a job to a stage it cannot legally reach. The app explains why and nothing changes. Moves on the board follow the same rules as the buttons.
- A job must have its deposit collected or waived before it can be scheduled.
- A job on hold cannot be scheduled or started until you resume it.
- Closing out checks the punch list, checklists and final bill first.
- Cancelling asks for a reason: Customer changed plans, Financing fell through, Scope disagreement or Other.
Stage and step
The stage changes when you do something, like scheduling. The step is worked out by the server from what has happened and is never dragged by hand.
Pro tip: If a job cannot move, read the reason. It names the one thing missing.