Booking Discussion & In-App Messaging

Booking Discussion & In-App Messaging in OctopusPro

OctopusPro’s in-app Booking Discussion panel gives admins, fieldworkers, and customers a single, timestamped thread for every job—no more lost emails or side-channel texts. Modern field-service leaders highlight similar chat logs because they speed up decision-making, improve first-time-fix rates, and leave a defensible audit trail. By mirroring collaboration patterns proven in top CRMs, OctopusPro keeps every stakeholder informed—online or offline—and turns conversation history into actionable insight.

Why use the Discussion panel?

Benefit How it helps
Centralised voice & text log All notes, photos, and replies attach to the booking for life.
Role-aware visibility Customers see only public comments; internal notes stay private.
Real-time & offline sync Fieldworkers read comments even without coverage; updates push when signal returns.
Automated alerts New messages trigger email/SMS or in-app badges, cutting wait time for approvals.
Full audit trail Timestamp, author, and edited-by fields satisfy ISO/ITIL logging needs.

How each role views and adds comments

Admins (Web Dashboard)

  1. Bookings › Upcoming / Past › View booking
  2. Click Communication → Discussion.

  3. Read, reply, or pin important instructions (e.g., gate codes).

  4. Drag in images or PDFs—ideal for signed change orders.

Fieldworkers (Mobile App)

  • Tap Messages for global unread list.

  • Or open the job card and tap the 💬 icon to jump straight into that booking’s thread.

  • Offline? Notes queue locally and sync later.

Customers (Portal / Branded App)

  • After booking confirmation, clients see a Comments box to clarify access, colours, pets, etc.
  • Replies appear instantly to office staff and fieldworkers.

Best-practice tips

  • Select visibility – Determine who can view messages by selecting the appropriate visibility for each comment.
  • Keep media lightweight – Photos <2 MB load faster on mobile data.
  • Use templates – Pre-fill common reminders (“Please secure pets”) to save typing.

Advanced workflow ideas

  • SLA monitoring – Filter bookings where the last customer reply is > 24 h old and escalate.
  • Quality reviews – Export discussion history alongside job photos for quarterly fieldworker coaching.
  • Cross-team search – Use global search to pull every thread mentioning “compressor leak.”

Key takeaways

  • One thread per job stops info scatter and maintains context.
  • Role-based access plus offline sync supports field realities.
  • Structured chat history feeds continuous improvement and compliance reporting.

By uniting every stakeholder around a single, searchable conversation, OctopusPro turns on-the-job messaging into a strategic asset rather than a side-channel distraction.

For more information please visit Octopuspro user guide, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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