Field Service Software — Work Orders, Technician Dispatch & Preventive Maintenance

6 pillars of high-performance field service

Effective field service management rests on six indispensable operational capabilities: creating and assigning work orders quickly, scheduling technicians without conflicts, optimising travel, capturing field reports, managing preventive maintenance and working without network coverage. KiboERP Field Service covers all six.

Work Orders: from creation to closure

A work order is the central document describing what needs to be done, by whom, where and when. In KiboERP Field Service, every work order is fully traceable — from the initial request through to the final invoice — with a complete history available at any time.

Three sources for a work order

Field jobs rarely come from a single channel. KiboERP handles the three main creation flows:

• From a Helpdesk ticket — when a client support request escalates to a physical visit, the Helpdesk ticket converts to a work order in one click, with all client and contract data already populated. Native link with KiboERP Helpdesk.
• From a client call or direct request — the dispatcher creates the order manually, selects the client, the affected equipment, the job type and the priority level. The system automatically suggests available technicians based on their skills and current location.
• Via automatic recurrence — for preventive maintenance, work orders are generated automatically according to the schedule defined in the contract. Zero manual entry, zero missed visits.

SLA management and auto-assignment

Every work order is governed by the client contract SLA. KiboERP automatically calculates the intervention deadline based on priority (Critical / Urgent / Standard) and the service calendar (business hours or 24/7). Auto-assignment proposes qualified technicians available within the required window, factoring in their skills, location and current workload.

• Dispatch alerts when no technician is available before the SLA deadline
• SLA compliance history per contract — exportable for client service reviews
• Automatic escalation to the manager if a work order approaches its deadline without being assigned

Scheduling & Dispatch — Technician calendar and drag-and-drop

Technician scheduling is often the most time-consuming dispatcher task: balancing availability, skills, geography and urgent callouts. KiboERP Field Service provides a visual planning board where each technician is a column and each work order is a draggable block.

Calendar view and conflict management

• Week / day view per technician — drag-and-drop to reassign or reschedule a job in seconds.
• Real-time conflict detection — the system instantly flags if a technician is already booked for the same slot.
• Skill and zone filters — display only technicians qualified for the job type and available in the relevant geographic area.
• Visual workload indicator — colour-coded (green / amber / red) by daily occupation rate for each technician.

Google Maps routing and geographic grouping

Each work order is geolocated via the client address. The Field Service module calculates an optimised daily route for each technician — grouping nearby jobs to minimise travel time. The day's itinerary appears on the map and synchronises to the technician's mobile app.

• Google Maps integration for route calculation and travel time estimates
• Real-time technician geolocation (with consent) visible to the dispatcher
• Automatic client notification with estimated arrival time

Mobile Field App — Offline and mobile client signature

The field technician is at the heart of the operation. The KiboERP Field Service mobile app gives them everything they need — today's work orders, equipment history, checklists, available parts — even without an internet connection. This is the reality of fieldwork across Africa: dead zones exist, and an app that fails without coverage is operationally worthless.

Offline mode — deferred synchronisation

• Offline access to work orders, equipment records, history and day's checklists.
• Field report entry without network — job duration, work performed, anomalies noted, parts used.
• Before/after photos timestamped and geolocated, stored locally until sync.
• Mobile client signature on the technician's smartphone or tablet — validated and automatically attached to the PDF report.
• Automatic sync as soon as connectivity is restored, with conflict detection if parallel edits occurred.

Spare parts management in the field

The technician selects used spare parts directly in the app. This triggers an automatic stock update in KiboERP Stock. The stock manager can track consumption in real time by technician and anticipate replenishment needs.

Preventive Maintenance — Contracts, alerts and equipment history

Preventive maintenance is the shift from a reactive mindset (we respond when something breaks) to a proactive one (we act before it breaks). It is a major commercial differentiator for service companies: a preventive maintenance contract secures recurring revenue and locks in client loyalty.

Recurring contracts and due-date alerts

• Recurrence definition per contract — monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual or meter-based (operating hours, cycle count).
• Automatic work order generation at each due date — no manual dispatcher action required.
• Due-date alerts sent to the manager and the client 15 and 7 days before each scheduled preventive visit.
• Complete equipment history — all interventions (preventive and corrective), replaced parts, noted anomalies and signed reports are accessible in the client equipment record.
• Failure prediction — by cross-referencing past fault frequency and manufacturer recommendations, the system suggests adjustments to maintenance periodicity.

Use cases by industry

Air conditioning and HVAC

Manage preventive maintenance contracts (filter changes, gas top-up, cleaning) with automatic recurrence. Technicians access the technical datasheet for each unit from their mobile. The signed intervention report with photos is generated and sent at the end of each visit.

Elevators and lifting equipment

A regulated sector with mandatory periodic inspections. KiboERP Field Service automatically generates regulatory inspection work orders, records findings and produces the compliance reports required by inspection bodies.

Industrial equipment and manufacturing

Serial number tracking per machine, complete intervention history, critical spare part management linked to the warehouse stock. Offline mode is essential in industrial environments where network coverage is limited. See also our ERP for construction guide.

Printers, IT and office equipment

High-frequency interventions across a geographically dispersed fleet. Drag-and-drop scheduling and route optimisation reduce travel time. Automatic post-job invoicing eliminates follow-up for out-of-contract services.

Telecoms and network infrastructure

Maintenance of towers, active equipment and passive infrastructure. KiboERP Field Service manages both scheduled and emergency interventions (network outages) with contractual SLAs and full traceability for operator clients.

Construction — Site maintenance

Maintenance of construction site equipment (plant, generators, pumps). Management of hire-maintenance contracts with invoicing based on actual technician time. Integration with the KiboERP BTP module for a consolidated view of site costs and maintenance spend.

Comparison: KiboERP Field Service vs ServiceMax, Simpro, Jobber, Salesforce Field Service, Praxedo

The field service software market is dominated by international vendors whose dollar-based pricing effectively excludes African SMBs, and who offer no affordable on-premise deployment option. Here is a factual feature comparison.

* Indicative Business plan price. Current pricing at /en/plans. Competitor pricing: public data May 2026, excluding promotions.

SaaS vs On-premise: which deployment model to choose?

KiboERP Field Service is available in both deployment modes. Your choice depends on your regulatory constraints, the sensitivity of your client data and your capacity to maintain an IT infrastructure.