Multiple trips and recurring jobs are two different concepts related to work or tasks that involve repetitive actions. As you go about conducting your business, you may wonder which of these scheduling methods would work best for your needs. Let’s clarify the differences between them as well as give a brief walkthrough on how to use both processes:
Multiple Trips vs Recurring Jobs: What’s The Difference?
Multiple Trips: Multiple trips refer to a situation where an individual or a worker needs to undertake several separate journeys or visits to a location in order to accomplish specific tasks or assignments. These trips could be related to delivering goods, providing services, conducting inspections, or any other work that requires multiple visits to different locations. The tasks or objectives of each trip may vary, and there is no fixed pattern or regularity to the trips.
For example, a technician arrives at a service location and realizes that they will need to order a few more items to complete the repair, then return to the location for installation. Each visit for this job (the initial visit and returning to install parts) would be a separate task assigned to the same job, which now requires multiple trips to complete.
Recurring Jobs: Recurring jobs, on the other hand, involve performing the same or similar tasks on a regular or scheduled basis. These tasks repeat at set intervals, such as daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Recurring jobs are characterized by their predictable and repetitive nature, and they often follow a consistent pattern or routine.
For example, a maintenance worker who inspects and services office equipment every Monday morning is performing a recurring job. The task remains the same each week, and the worker knows that this responsibility will arise again every Monday.
In summary, the main difference between multiple trips and recurring jobs lies in the nature of the tasks and the frequency of their occurrence. Multiple trips involve separate journeys for distinct tasks, whereas recurring jobs involve regularly performing the same or similar tasks at set intervals.
Now that we’ve defined them, let’s go through the process of creating both a job with multiple trips and a recurring job in the ServiceWorks software
Creating A Job With Multiple Trips
To begin creating a job with multiple trips, first click the Add New tab on the toolbar and click New Job from the dropdown menu or hover over the Job tab in the toolbar and select New Job
In the Job Edit menu, enter in all the relevant information for the job, such as customer name, the service being provided, any notes, etc. Once done with those, scroll down to the Schedule section
Once focused on the Schedule section, you have two ways to schedule multiple trips:
Add Multiple Schedule:
Use this link to schedule multiple additional trips at once. When this link is clicked, here are the options you’ll have available to you:
- Frequency – Use this dropdown to set the frequency of trips to be scheduled. You can choose between Weekly, Monthly, or Quarterly
- Frequency Rate – Once your frequency has been selected, you can designate what days of the week to schedule the additional trips for the job
- End Date – Use this section to designate if and when your scheduling of multiple trips should end
Once you’re finished with your selections, click Save to continue.
Add New Schedule:
Use this link to add an additional trip to your job. Clicking on this link adds a blank trip to your existing trip, which can then be filled with the time, date, and assigned professional(s)
Creating A Recurring Job
To begin, hover over the Jobs section of the toolbar and select All Jobs or click Add New tab on the toolbar and click New Job from the dropdown menu
Once selected (or once the job is saved if a new one was created), you’ll have access to the Recurring Details panel just beneath the total summary in the edit menu. Click Set Recurrence to get started with the process
In the recurrence menu, you’ll have the option to set the following parameters :
- Repeat Every – Set how often the recurrence occurs. This can be set in increments of One Time, Day, Week, Month, and Year
- Prompt Renewal – Checking this box will make it so that the recurrence is added to the renewal status for reminders to restart the recurrence towards its end
- Repeat On – Set the days on which the recurrence is repeated. You can make as many selections as necessary
- Ends – Designate when the series of recurring jobs end. You can set it to end on a specific date, after a certain number of cycles, or to continue indefinitely.
- Must-Go Dates – Set dates on which the scheduled jobs must be completed. Use this in situations to enforce services on specific dates, regardless of the current schedule.
- Blackout Days – Set a date (or time period) on which scheduled jobs will not be completed, even if previously scheduled for that date. This can be used to ensure jobs don’t occur on observed holidays or other events when your services would be unavailable
In this example, we’ve selected a recurrence to happen each week on Mondays and Wednesdays that ends after its third cycle.
Once satisfied with your recurrence selections, click Done to continue.
Now that your recurrence has been set, the Recurring Details panel should update and display the details of your new recurrence. You should also receive a confirmation message on the creation of your recurrence.
For more information on creating and editing recurring jobs, view our Creating Recurring Jobs blog
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