How to Automate an AC Service Business

An AC business works on units, not only on customers. A customer may have one flat or six shops, and each site may hold units of different brands and capacities.

Begin by recording each customer, then each site, then each unit with its model, capacity, serial number and installation date. Every later job is written against a unit. Service history builds up on that unit and stays there when a technician changes.

Customer lists and unit details usually sit in a spreadsheet or a register. They can be imported, and the coordinator checks the rows before the old register is retired.

Most AC offices run three kinds of work. These are new installations, annual service contract visits and breakdown calls. They compete for the same technicians, so they belong on one schedule.

A quotation lists units, piping, stands and labour. Once accepted, it becomes an installation job with a team and a date. Contract visits are set for each unit covered. Breakdown calls arrive from phone, WhatsApp and the website and are logged once.

The coordinator assigns each job by area and by the work already planned for the day.

A visit is complete only when it is recorded. On the phone, the technician sees the day’s visits, the units at each site and the fault history of each unit.

The job sheet takes the fault, the readings, the work done, gas added and parts fitted. The customer signs on the screen. Gas and parts are charged to the job, so stock falls as work is done.

Brand warranty is handled on the same sheet. A unit under warranty is marked, a replaced part is recorded against the visit, and the claim is followed until the credit arrives.

Gas, compressors, capacitors, PCBs, fan motors and copper pipe are held in a store and in each technician’s vehicle. Each item fitted on a visit is deducted from the place it was issued from.

A GST invoice is raised from the jobs already recorded. A visit can also be marked as covered by a contract or a warranty. Payments are recorded, and unpaid invoices are listed by customer.

Contracts nearing their end date and units due for service are listed. Reminders reach customers by WhatsApp, SMS or mail before the season starts.

A single technician who repairs on phone calls and takes payment by UPI may not need any of this. With no contracts and a handful of calls a day, a diary does the work.

The decision usually turns on three things. These are the number of technicians, whether annual contracts are sold, and whether a brand’s warranty claims are handled.

GullySystem’s HVAC and AC Service Management Software is set up around the service contract terms and checklists a business already uses. Ask GullySystem for the free technology audit if it is not clear whether an AC business needs this step yet.