Van Inventory Manager
Track each technician's van as its own stock location — monitor part levels, transfer stock, and prevent mid-job shortages before they happen.
Overview
Field Service Management gives dispatchers, technicians, and managers everything they need to run field operations without switching tools. The module is organized into four screens that cover the complete job lifecycle: a real-time Dispatch Board for assigning jobs, a Job Management screen for tracking each job from creation to invoice, a Van Inventory screen for managing technician stock, and a Performance Dashboard for reviewing team and technician metrics.
Dispatch Board
Drag-and-drop job assignment across a live technician grid. Each technician column shows current status, active job count, and the full day's schedule at a glance.
Job Management
Full job lifecycle from intake to invoice. Create jobs, attach parts, log time, capture signatures, and push to billing — all from one screen.
Van Inventory
Each technician's van is its own stock location. Replenish parts, record usage per job, and flag low-stock vans before technicians run short in the field.
Performance Dashboard
Team-level and technician-level KPIs: jobs completed, first-time fix rate, average travel and job duration, customer satisfaction scores, and revenue per technician.
Quick Start
- Switch to Field Service mode using the mode switcher in the app header.
- Click Van Inventory in the left sidebar.
- The table loads with every technician's van inventory. Low-stock rows are highlighted in amber, out-of-stock in red.
- Use the Technician dropdown to focus on a single van, or leave it on All to see every van.
- Use the Status filter to show only Low or Out rows across all vans at once — the fastest way to identify which vans need restocking.
- Use the − / + buttons in the Qty column to decrement or increment by 1 immediately, or click the ↔ Adjust icon in the Actions column for larger adjustments with a reason note.
- Click Transfer Stock to move parts from the warehouse to a van. Fill in the technician, product name, SKU, and quantity, then save.
Pre-Dispatch Check Routine
Before dispatching morning jobs, open Van Inventory and set the Status filter to Low or Out. Replenish any highlighted items so technicians do not run out mid-job. After a job is completed, use the − button or Adjust Stock modal to deduct the parts used from the technician's van — keeping the record accurate for the next dispatch.
Table Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Technician | Name of the technician who owns this van. Rows are grouped by technician when the All filter is active. |
| Product | Full product name (e.g., "Air Filter 25x25", "Copper Pipe ½ in") |
| SKU | Stock-keeping unit code in monospace font for visual distinction |
| Current Qty | Number of units currently in the van, shown between − and + stepper buttons. The value turns red when zero. Quantity can never go below zero. |
| Threshold | Minimum quantity below which the row turns amber. Click the value to edit it inline. Set per product per van. |
| Status | Color-coded badge: OK (green), Low (amber), Out (red) |
| Actions | Inline action buttons: ↔ Adjust opens the Adjust Stock modal for a signed adjustment with an optional reason; 🗑 Remove permanently removes the product from the van after confirmation. |
Stock Status Badges
| Badge | Condition | Row Appearance | Recommended Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| OK | Quantity > threshold | Normal row — no highlight | No action required |
| Low | 0 < quantity ≤ threshold | Amber background highlight | Restock before dispatching jobs that need this part |
| Out | Quantity = 0 | Red background highlight | Restock immediately; do not dispatch jobs requiring this part |
Adjusting Quantity — Quick Stepper
Every row in the table shows a − button, the current quantity, and a + button. These buttons provide one-click ±1 adjustments that save immediately without opening any modal.
- + button — increments the quantity by 1 and saves instantly. There is no upper limit.
- − button — decrements the quantity by 1 and saves instantly. The button is disabled when the quantity is already 0 to prevent negative stock.
The quantity display updates optimistically in the UI the moment you click, so you can tap rapidly without waiting for the server. If the server call fails, the display reverts to the previous value.
Best for Post-Job Deductions
The stepper is ideal for recording single-unit usage (e.g., "used 1 filter on this job"). For larger or multi-unit adjustments — or when you want to log a reason — use the Adjust Stock modal instead.
Adjusting Quantity — Adjust Stock Modal
Click the ↔ icon in a row's Actions column to open the Adjust Stock modal. This modal is designed for signed adjustments (positive or negative) of any size, with an optional reason field for audit purposes.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Product & Technician | Displayed read-only at the top of the modal. Cannot be changed here — close and click a different row's Adjust icon to change the target. |
| Adjustment (+/−) | Enter any positive or negative integer. +5 adds five units; −3 removes three. The preview panel updates in real time, showing the current quantity, the resulting new quantity, and the net change. |
| Reason (optional) | Free-text field for logging context — for example "Used on Job #1042", "Damaged in transit", or "Restocked from warehouse shelf". Not stored separately; intended as a dispatcher note. |
Live Preview Panel
As you type in the Adjustment field, the modal shows a side-by-side preview: the current quantity on the left, the resulting new quantity on the right (green if increasing, red if decreasing), and the signed delta below. This lets you confirm the math before applying the change. The Apply button stays disabled until a non-zero delta is entered.
Quantity Floor at Zero
If the adjustment would result in a negative quantity, the system clamps the result to 0. For example, if current stock is 2 and you enter −10, the resulting quantity will be 0, not −8. The preview panel reflects this clamping so you always see the actual outcome before saving.
Editing the Low-Stock Threshold
The threshold defines the quantity at which a row turns amber (Low). It is set per product per van and can be edited at any time without opening a separate settings screen.
- Locate the row for the product and technician you want to update.
- Click the number in the Threshold column. The cell switches to an editable number input.
- Type the new threshold value (minimum 0).
- Press Enter or click the green checkmark to save. Press Escape or click the × button to cancel without saving.
The status badge in the same row updates immediately after saving, so you can see right away whether the product's current stock is now OK, Low, or Out under the new threshold.
Setting Thresholds After a Transfer
When a product is first transferred to a van, the threshold is automatically set to 25% of the transferred quantity (minimum 1). For example, transferring 8 units sets the threshold to 2. Adjust this inline immediately after the transfer to match the actual minimum needed for the types of jobs the technician handles.
Removing a Product from a Van
To permanently remove a product line from a technician's van, click the 🗑 (trash) icon in the Actions column. The row switches to an inline confirmation prompt — Remove? Yes / No — directly in the table without opening a modal.
- Click Yes to confirm. The row disappears immediately and the change is saved to the server.
- Click No to cancel. The row returns to its normal state, and no data is changed.
Remove is Permanent
Removing a product line deletes it from the technician's van inventory entirely — including the quantity and threshold. This action cannot be undone. If you only want to record that the van has run out, set the quantity to 0 using the stepper or Adjust Stock instead, and leave the row in place so the Out status remains visible.
Transferring Stock to a Van
Click the Transfer Stock button in the header. The transfer modal contains four fields:
| Field | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Technician | Required | Select from the dropdown of active technicians. The Save button is disabled until a selection is made. |
| Product Name | Required | Free-text name of the part being transferred. Enables the Save button alongside Technician. |
| SKU | Optional | Stock-keeping unit code. Used for identifying the item in reports. |
| Quantity | Required | Number of units to add. Must be a positive integer. Negative transfers are blocked. |
Adding New Products vs. Topping Up Existing Ones
If the product name and SKU you enter match an existing item in the technician's van (case-insensitive match), the quantity is added to the existing row. If no match is found, a new row is created for that product. This means the first time you transfer a new part to a van, a new product line is created automatically — no separate "add product" step is needed.
Searching and Filtering
| Control | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Search input | Filters rows in real time by product name or SKU across all vans. Useful for finding how many units of a specific part are available across the entire field team. |
| Technician dropdown | Narrows the table to a single technician's van. Select All Technicians to restore the full view. |
| Status filter | Shows only OK, Low, or Out rows. Selecting Low or Out instantly surfaces items that need attention across every technician. |
| Refresh button | Reloads van inventory from the server. Use after a manual transfer outside the UI or to sync with another dispatcher's changes. |
Integration with Job Completion
When a technician completes a job, parts used during that job should be deducted from their van inventory. Use the − stepper or the Adjust Stock modal to record the deduction. The Adjust Stock modal's optional Reason field is useful here — logging "Used on Job #1042" creates a clear audit trail without needing a separate system.
No Automatic Warehouse Deduction
The Transfer Stock action adds quantity to the van record but does not automatically deduct from the main Warehouse Inventory. Dispatchers should manually record the deduction in Warehouse Inventory (or the Inventory Operations module) after transferring stock. A bidirectional sync with the Warehouse module is planned for a future release.
AI Assistant
Open the built-in AI Assistant from the tab on the right edge of the screen to get help with van stock levels. It has context on the currently visible (filtered) inventory rows — technician, product, SKU, quantity, low-stock threshold, and status — so you can ask things like:
- "Which items are low or out of stock right now?"
- "Suggest a stock rebalance across technicians"
- "Identify usage trends across technicians"
- "Recommend better low-stock thresholds"
Narrow the table with the search box, technician filter, or status pills first if you want the assistant to focus on a specific subset of vans or products.