Tasks vs Reports - definition

It is important to know that you have two different ways to schedule items in Home Watch IT. Although they are both very similar there are 2 important differences so that you know which item you wish to schedule. Once you schedule an item you cannot switch its type between the two.

You’ll notice that Tasks do not send an automatic email — that is because you may want to send a custom message to the customer when completing the Task. You can do so by going to the Reports/Tasks list, opening the completed Task, entering the information into the Email & text fields provided — then click Send Report. Easy.

Note that when sending, if the customer is using the Customer App (Access), they will receive a push notification to their app notifying them the task is complete.

Note that once you create a Report or Task you cannot change its type — you must delete and recreate it as they are handled differently depending on the type selected. Both kinds appear together on the Reports/Tasks list; use the Report and Task checkboxes there to show one kind or the other.

• Reports

• An item you want to schedule and/or bill for

• Shows up on your daily pending list

• Has a report template attached (HWIT Reporting, MonitorQA or SafetyCulture)

• Can be emailed immediately upon completion (or manually from the Reports/Tasks screen in HWIT)

• Tasks

• Exactly the same as a Report, but without the attached report template

• Billed the same way as a Report — a billing item on the task, its schedule or the property creates the charge on completion

• No automatic email is sent, but you can send one from the Reports/Tasks screen in HWIT

  It is ideal to use Tasks for simple items that do not require generating a report, such as “Taking trash cans from the curb”, “Picking up mail or post”, and other events that do not require an actual report.

A Task is completed from the Reports/Tasks list (open it and click Mark Complete) or from the mobile app.

Both Reports and Tasks can carry more than one charge: open the report or task and use + Add billing item in its Billing list to add supplies, extra time or any other charge to that visit. Each charge shows which invoice it went on. See Tracing Billing Between Reports and Invoices.

Attaching a vendor

When you create a Report or Task, you can also pick a vendor for it. Use this when an outside company — like a pool company or an HVAC company — is the one doing the work, not your own team. This just keeps track of who is responsible; it does not send them anything or bill them automatically.