Start Here

Quick Start: Your First Work Order in 30 Minutes

This chapter takes one job through BigWave from start to finish. You create a customer and a work order. You assign a technician, record the time, complete the job and send the invoice. Each step links to the chapter with the full detail.

The job is Beacon Electric’s first residential call. The Okafors have lights that flicker, and they want their panel checked.

Before you start

You need a BigWave login with internal access. Your company also needs at least one project to hold the work order. Chapter 2.5 shows how to create a project. A basic one takes about two minutes.

Step 1: Create the customer

  1. Log in. BigWave opens the home page.

  2. In the left panel, under Manage, click Customers.

    The Manage group in the home page's left panel, with Customers selected
    The Manage group in the home page's left panel, with Customers selected

  3. Click Add Customer….

  4. Enter the customer name, address, phone and email.

  5. Check This is also the site address. BigWave then creates the first site at the same address.

  6. Click Create.

The Create New Customer dialog filled in for the Okafors, with the site address and billing address boxes checked
The Create New Customer dialog filled in for the Okafors, with the site address and billing address boxes checked

If the new customer looks like one you already have, BigWave shows the possible matches before it saves. Chapter 2.4 explains that check.

For a homeowner, the customer and the site usually have the same address. They are still two records. Chapter 1.1 explains why.

Step 2: Create the work order

  1. On the home page, under Global, click Create Work Order.
  2. Next to Project, click Change… and pick Residential Service.
  3. Next to Customer, click Change… and pick the Okafors.
  4. Next to Site ID, click Change… and pick their house.
  5. In Short Description, type “Panel inspection, flickering lights in kitchen.”
  6. Click Create Work Order.
The Create Work Order form for the Okafors in the Residential Service project, ready for the Create Work Order button
The Create Work Order form for the Okafors in the Residential Service project, ready for the Create Work Order button

BigWave opens the new work order. You will spend most of your time on this screen. Its left panel lists the parts of the job, and chapter 3.1 explains each one.

The new Okafor work order on its Details panel, with the description and the first status at the top
The new Okafor work order on its Details panel, with the description and the first status at the top

Step 3: Assign a technician

  1. On the work order, click Schedule and Assign in the left panel.
  2. Set the start and end time of the visit.
  3. Click Assign… and pick Steve, or any technician.
The Schedule and Assign panel. The visit row has a scheduled start, a scheduled end and an assigned technician
The Schedule and Assign panel. The visit row has a scheduled start, a scheduled end and an assigned technician

The job now appears in Steve’s Assignments list when he logs in. It also appears on the resource calendar (chapter 3.2).

Step 4: Complete the job

After the visit, record what happened and move the job forward.

  1. Click Time / Materials / Expenses. On the Time Entry tab, click Add Timecard… and enter 2 hours.

    The Time Entry tab with one timecard for two hours of labor
    The Time Entry tab with one timecard for two hours of labor

  2. Click Comments, then Add Comment. Type what the technician found: “Loose neutral at breaker 14, re-terminated. Recommended full panel replacement.”

    The Comments panel with the technician's note saved. The checkboxes on the left control who can see the comment
    The Comments panel with the technician's note saved. The checkboxes on the left control who can see the comment

  3. In the Work Order Status list at the top of the screen, pick your work-complete status. Beacon uses Work Completed.

The Work Order Status list open, with Work Completed about to be picked. The list is at the top of every panel on the work order
The Work Order Status list open, with Work Completed about to be picked. The list is at the top of every panel on the work order

The status tells everyone where a job stands. Statuses also control billing and automatic actions. Chapter 2.3 shows how to design them.

Step 5: Invoice the job

  1. Click Quote / Invoice, then the Invoice Line Items tab.

  2. The timecard is already there as a labor line, with the price filled in from your rates. Click Create Invoice….

    The Invoice Line Items tab. The two-hour timecard is a priced labor line, and Create Invoice is the next step
    The Invoice Line Items tab. The two-hour timecard is a priced labor line, and Create Invoice is the next step

  3. On the Generated Invoices / Quotes tab, click Email… and send the invoice to the Okafors.

    The Generated Invoices / Quotes tab with the new invoice selected. The Email button sends it to the customer
    The Generated Invoices / Quotes tab with the new invoice selected. The Email button sends it to the customer

Chapter 3.5 covers the rest of invoicing, including contract rates, materials, supplier purchase orders and payments.

Next

Read chapter 1.1. It is short, and it explains the records you just created and how they connect.