The magic of Field Complete starts with the relationship between Projects and Jobs. As jobs are being created, they must be assigned to a project. In similar fashion, every project must have at least one job, although you can have multiple jobs within a project.
Things to Remember:
Project ID's can be updated at any time, while Job ID's are fixed and cannot be changed
Jobs are assigned to contractors and technicians, but Projects have no assignee
Billing is only managed on a Project level, but invoices can be created from a Job view
History and Messenger features have a Job and Project version, which are not intertwined
Project: As a representation of your workspace, the Project level is where you can manage Job(s), Billing, Attachments, Messenger, and History. Each tab applies for all Jobs, although each area will allow you to see how each Job is affected. The value in this structure is the ability schedule each Job independently, while managing all Jobs collectively when it comes to billing, logging attachments, and communication. As the team grows, scaling is easily managed due to the ability to assign each task to a different user, without causing conflict.
Job: From the Project level, you can easily access the Job level by clicking on the Job ID. As shown in the image above, the Job level provides access to further details on that Job specifically. Note, you would not be able to access a different Job from the Job view, which includes the ability to schedule or update outside Jobs.
Project vs. Job: More details are available for both Jobs and Projects throughout Field Complete knowledge base. In this instance, the importance is understanding the differences. Throughout Field Complete, the Job and Project relationship is what allows you to structure your work orders in a way that contributes to productivity and efficiency.
The best way to visualize the relationship is to consider Project as your main folder, and the Jobs are the subfolders within. Should the services provided be quick, single Job, Projects, the workflow is straight forward. The assigned technician/contractor can work on the services, and if they wish, the billing directly from the job view. Larger, or extensive, work orders can be organized in a way that allows billing, services, and administrative tasks to be managed by different Users, all within the same structure. The benefit? As you grow from a small operation, the framework of the workflow is consistent, and ultimately leads to scaling in a fluid manner.
Most importantly, keep in mind that Projects and Jobs are never the same thing. As previously mentioned, a Project must always have at least one Job assigned, and a Job must always be linked to a Project. The caveat : A Project can include as many Jobs as you may need.
