How maintenance visits get scheduled automatically

Seeing a maintenance visit in your calendar that nobody scheduled? Then 4planning created it itself. Every night it checks which contracts are due.

When a visit is created automatically

A visit is created as soon as all of this is true:

• The contract is set to Active.
• The Next visit date falls within the coming three weeks (or is already in the past). If your first reminder to the customer is set further than two weeks ahead, the automation looks further: one week before that reminder.
• There is no future visit outstanding for this contract.

If a visit is already scheduled, nothing happens — so you'll never get duplicate visits from the automation.

What such a visit looks like

The app copies what was on the previous visit of this contract. That is the last visit that has already taken place, with a completed one taking priority; a cancelled visit does not count.

• The same time and duration. If the technician came from 13:30 to 15:00 last time, the new visit is also 13:30 to 15:00 — on the target date.
• The same technician(s). Except anyone who is no longer an employee; they are skipped.
• The same note, for example where the key is or where you can park.

On the contract, such a visit carries the label Scheduled automatically. Open the visit, check that everything is right and click Save — the label then disappears.

Is there no previous visit yet (a new contract)? Then there is nothing to copy. The visit is then set for 09:00 to 11:00 with no technician: it appears in the calendar with a red dashed border and a warning sign, and in the list of unassigned appointments. You assign it.

Was the target date already in the past? Then the visit is set for tomorrow, not retroactively.

This is always on

Automatic scheduling can't be turned off — there's no setting for it, not per contract and not for your whole environment. If you don't want a visit to appear, there are two routes:

• Set the contract to Cancelled. Then nothing more gets scheduled.
• Move the Next visit date further forward, outside that horizon.

Watch out with reminder emails

The automation prepares a visit at least one week before the first reminder to the customer. That gives you time to check it before the customer gets the date and time in the email. Because the app copies the time of the previous visit, the customer gets the time you normally come. If it's different this time, move the visit before the reminder goes out.

Frequently asked questions

• There's a visit in my calendar I didn't create. That's the automation; see above for when that happens.
• Can I change the default 09:00–11:00 time? It only applies when there is no previous visit yet. After that the app copies the time of the previous visit. You can always move any visit after it has been scheduled.
• Can I see which visits were created automatically? Yes: on the contract they carry the label Scheduled automatically, until someone has saved the visit.
• There's an old note on the new visit. The note comes from the previous visit. Change it or clear it and click Save.
• I deleted a visit and the next night there's another one. That's right: as long as the target date falls within the horizon and no visit is outstanding, a new one is created. Move the target date or cancel the contract.