guide · emailed work orders
How emailed work orders become jobs in BigChange, Joblogic and Simpro
On many service desks, someone still re-types every work order email into the job system. An agent can read each one instead, whether it arrives as a PDF or as plain text, and raise it as a job in BigChange, Joblogic or Simpro. The customer, the site, the fault, the priority and the client PO are filled in on the job system you already run, which stays the record, and a person on the desk approves the job before it is saved.
Updated · 9 min read · Centrus AI
On this page
- Emailed work orders at a glance
- Why work orders stall in the inbox
- What the agent does with each email
- PDFs, plain-text emails and replies
- How it works in BigChange, Joblogic and Simpro
- Duplicates, before a second job is raised
- Work orders from client portals
- Who checks the jobs it raises
- What it costs to run
- Where to start
- Frequently asked questions
Emailed work orders at a glance
Five ways work arrives, and where each one lands.
| Arrives as | What the agent does | What lands |
|---|---|---|
| A PDF | Reads the site, fault, priority and PO | A draft job, for approval |
| Plain text | Reads the message for the same fields | A draft job, for approval |
| A reply | Reads the thread and finds the open job | A note on that job |
| A repeat | Finds an open job at the site or reference | A note, or a question to the desk |
| A portal | Fixflo, Ostara, or a page in the browser | The same draft job |
Why work orders stall in the inbox
A housing association sends a PDF. A managing agent writes three lines about a leak. A tenant replies that yesterday's job is still dripping. Someone on the service desk then types the customer, the site, the fault, the priority and the client PO into BigChange, Joblogic or Simpro.
The phones ring during that typing, and the sites are already in the job system. The hours go on copying the email across, not on knowing what to do with it. That copying is the part an agent can take, so the email becomes a job and the desk stays on the phone (raise portal jobs).
What the agent does with each email
In Agent Builder you describe the task in plain English and it lays out the steps. An Email received trigger watches one Outlook folder or one Gmail label. Filters on sender, subject, body and attachments decide which emails start a run. An email that misses them costs nothing. A shared mailbox cannot be watched, so those emails are forwarded to an account that can sign in. See Start an agent when an email arrives.
A run starts shortly after the email lands. Emails are taken one at a time, about a minute apart in a batch, with an hourly check for anything the mailbox did not announce. Mail already in the folder before you publish is left there.
It finds the customer and the site, reads the fault, the priority and the client PO, and drafts the job for a named person to approve. The account manager can be emailed the job number. The desk books the visit.
PDFs, plain-text emails and replies
A PDF needs an Outlook or Gmail step to download the attachments, then a File Parser step for the fields you name, such as the PO number, the site and the date the work is needed by. Each file runs on its own, so tick PDFs only, and a signature logo stays out of the run.
A plain-text email has no file. An Intelligence step reads it and writes the site, the contact, the fault and the priority. That step runs on every email that reaches it, so keep the filters tight. A newsletter that stays out of the folder costs nothing.
Every email starts a run, replies included. Get conversation reads the thread, and the follow-up is added to the job that already exists. Replies the agent sends sit in Sent Items and start nothing. A resent copy is a new email, and the duplicate check runs again.
How it works in BigChange, Joblogic and Simpro
The same email is written in each system's own names. The job system stays the record, and the desk still books the visit. Calls and website enquiries sit with these emails under New work coming in.
In BigChange
The agent searches contacts and sites by name, address or reference, creates the job unscheduled and adds a note with the fault and the client PO. The desk allocates the visit in BigChange, and the agent can email the account manager the job number. See what BigChange covers.
In Joblogic
The agent logs the job on the right customer and site, with the job type, category and priority from your own lists, and it can add a job note. The helpdesk books the visit. See fault emails logged in Joblogic and what Joblogic covers.
In Simpro
A work order becomes a job for that customer and site, with the fault as a note. Where the email is a quote request, the agent finds the customer and site, or adds them, creates a lead and emails the salesperson. See enquiry emails logged as Simpro leads and what Simpro covers.
Duplicates, before a second job is raised
Before creating a job, the agent looks for an open job at the same site or with the same reference, and adds a clear match as a note on that job. A resent email is a new message, so the check runs again. Anything unsure goes to the desk: a site it cannot match, or two jobs that might be the same fault.
Duplicate job check is the same test after a job has already been raised, and it emails the desk both references. You set the rule: the client PO, the thread, or any open job at the site.
Work orders from client portals
Some work never arrives by email. Fixflo can start a run when it posts that an issue is Reported. The agent fetches the issue, raises the job and can write the job number back, which is the reference the managing agent sees. Fixflo stays the repairs portal.
Ostara can start a run when it posts that a work order is Assigned. The agent opens that order by its number, raises the job and can accept it with the new job number as the client reference. There is no list of every open order. The Assigned alert provides the number, and the portal stays the client's.
A portal that only shows work orders on a website, with no email and no alert, is read through a browser. The agent signs in, reads the new orders and raises them unscheduled. See work orders pulled from a portal that sends no emails. Time on the site uses browser minutes.
Who checks the jobs it raises
Before it raises anything, run it in shadow mode. A dry run reads the newest email in the folder, finds the customer and the site, and shows the job it would have raised without creating it. Put that next to the job the desk raised by hand. A dry run costs 1 credit (test an agent before it goes live).
Once the dry runs match the desk, switch it on with an approval step. It holds the job until a named person says yes, from the Runs panel or by email, and every run is logged. For the first weeks that person is on the service desk. You choose later which routine jobs no longer stop.
While a run waits, the next email for that agent waits too, for up to 8 hours. If orders arrive all morning, someone has to answer, or approval stays only on the unsure ones. See Start an agent when an email arrives.
When a draft is wrong, correct it once. Centrus drafts a lesson for one person, a tag or the whole company, and the lesson waits for approval before it applies.
What it costs to run
Waiting costs nothing, and so does an email that misses the filters. A run costs 1 automation credit plus its steps: 1 for each Outlook, Gmail or job system step, and at least 2 for each Intelligence or File Parser step (Start an agent when an email arrives). If the month's credits run out, that email fails and is not tried again.
Plans start at £299.99 a month for up to 5 users, with 10,000 automation credits and 150 browser minutes a month, month to month. Reading a portal in the browser uses those minutes (see pricing).
Where to start
Start with one inbox and one client's work orders, the simplest you have, and a small team on the desk. Follow a week of them through first: how many arrive, in what format, and how long each takes to re-type. Then connect the job system, run it in shadow mode, and switch it on when it matches the desk. Getting started with AI in field service covers that order of work in full. Barons Group, on Joblogic, already log jobs and raise purchase orders from chat and WhatsApp (read the Barons Group case study).
Agree the eight points below before the first email is watched. The checklist comes as a PDF, to print or share with the desk.
emailed work order checklist
Emailed work order checklist
Eight things to have ready before the first email is watched. You can answer most of them from the desk in an afternoon.
- The inbox and the folderThe Outlook folder or Gmail label the work orders land in. Forward a shared mailbox to one that can sign in.
- The senders you acceptThe domains that send real work orders, such as housing associations. Mail from anyone else starts nothing.
- A sample of each formatOne PDF work order, one plain-text email and one reply on a logged job. Its fields come from these three.
- The fields every job needsCustomer, site, fault, priority and client PO. In Joblogic, the job type and category too, from your own lists.
- The priority rulesWhich clients, sites and words mean emergency or same day, and the default when the email does not say.
- Who approves the first jobsOne named person on the desk, plus holiday cover. A waiting approval holds the next email for up to 8 hours.
- What counts as a duplicateSame site, same client PO or same thread. A clear match becomes a note, and anything unsure goes to the desk.
- A week in shadow mode firstDry runs on a week of real emails, each draft set beside the job the desk raised. Switch on once they match.
Frequently asked questions
Can Centrus read PDF work orders?
Yes. An Outlook or Gmail step downloads the attachment, and a File Parser step pulls out the fields you name, such as the PO number, the site and the date the work is needed by. Set it to read PDFs only, because each attachment is handled on its own.
What if the email is free text?
An Intelligence step reads the message and writes the site, the contact, the fault and the priority. No attachment is required. Filters on the sender and the subject still decide which emails start a run. Anything the step cannot place goes to the service desk.
Will a reply create a second job?
Every email starts its own run, and a reply is a new email. Get conversation reads the earlier messages, and the follow-up is added to the existing job. Replies the agent sends sit in Sent Items and do not start a run. A resent copy is checked again before a job is created.
Does it work with Fixflo or other portals?
Yes. A Fixflo issue posted as Reported can raise the job, and the job number can be written back. An Ostara work order posted as Assigned is opened by its number, raised as a job and accepted with that number as the reference. A portal with no email is read through a browser.
Does it replace our job system?
No. BigChange, Joblogic or Simpro stays the record. Centrus reads the email and raises the job there, and the service desk still schedules the visit. Fixflo and Ostara stay the portals your clients use. The desk still approves anything the agent is not sure about.
What happens if it gets one wrong?
Run it in shadow mode first: a dry run shows the job it would have raised without creating it. Once it is live, an approval step holds the job until a named person says yes, and every run is logged, so you can see what was read and what was written. Correct a wrong draft once. Centrus drafts a lesson for a person, a tag or the whole company, and it waits for approval before it applies.
