Managing Unassigned Jobs & Business Availability

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Managing Unassigned Jobs & Business Availability

The Unassigned Tasks Manager is a core system user in OctopusPro that acts as your default unassigned calendar and master business availability profile. It holds unassigned quotes and bookings, controls the overall business hours customers can book within, and supports both manual and automatic assignment workflows across your admin portal, fieldworker app, and Customer Portal.

Think of it as your business’s default holding calendar for work that has not yet been allocated to a specific fieldworker. For solo operators, it can also act as the main operational user for both fieldwork and scheduling. For growing teams, it should usually remain your business-level unassigned queue while each real fieldworker has their own separate login, permissions, working hours, service areas, and job history.

Understanding the Unassigned Tasks Manager in OctopusPro

What the Unassigned Tasks Manager does

The Unassigned Tasks Manager is responsible for several important functions in OctopusPro:

  • Default unassigned calendar: it stores quotes and bookings that are not yet assigned to a specific fieldworker.
  • Business hours control: it defines the overall booking hours your customers see when scheduling online.
  • Online booking availability control: it works alongside Dynamic Real-Time Fieldworker Availability to determine which booking times customers can request.
  • Dispatch workflow support: it supports manual assignment and automatic dispatch workflows.
  • Solo business operations: it can be used by owner-operators to perform both fieldwork actions and scheduling tasks.

This is a core system user and cannot be deleted. It exists so every OctopusPro account always has a default business-level calendar for unassigned work and published booking hours.

How it affects business hours and Customer Portal bookings

The working hours configured on the Unassigned Tasks Manager profile define the master business hours customers can book within through your website or Customer Portal. These are your published online booking hours.

When real-time availability is enabled, OctopusPro will show only appointment times that:

  • fall within the business hours set on the Unassigned Tasks Manager profile, and
  • have at least one eligible fieldworker available based on services, service areas, working hours, and calendar availability.

When real-time availability is disabled, customers can still book only within your business hours, but the system will not restrict the booking request based on actual fieldworker availability. This gives your office more flexibility, but it also increases the chance of manual rescheduling if your team is not available.

Depending on your job assignment and dispatch settings, online bookings can remain in the Unassigned Tasks Manager until your office assigns them, or they can trigger automatic notifications to matching fieldworkers.

For the best booking experience, make sure you configure these related settings correctly:

Enable real-time availability in OctopusPro

How it works for owner-operators

If you run a one-person business, the Unassigned Tasks Manager can act as your main operational calendar and fieldwork role.

This setup is useful when you personally handle both office/admin work and field service delivery. In that case, the Unassigned Tasks Manager can be used to:

  • receive and hold new quotes and bookings
  • manage your published business hours
  • send “On the Way” notifications
  • check in and check out of jobs
  • complete forms and checklists
  • upload job photos and files
  • collect payments on-site

If you also have a separate admin user linked to the same email, you can switch between your admin role and your fieldwork role using Switch Account. This is especially useful for owner-operators who want to manage dispatch, leads, invoices, customer communication, and fieldwork actions without using multiple inboxes.

How it works for businesses with teams

For businesses with multiple fieldworkers, the Unassigned Tasks Manager is best used as a business-level holding calendar or office queue, not as a real technician account and not as a shared login for multiple staff.

In team-based businesses, it is typically used to:

  • hold work that has not yet been allocated
  • represent the business’s master online booking hours
  • support office-led review and dispatch of incoming work
  • support automatic dispatch rules for matching fieldworkers

Each actual fieldworker should have their own separate user account. This is important for permissions, job visibility, reporting accuracy, payroll, activity tracking, audit history, and data security. It also ensures that bookings, check-ins, customer communication, job photos, and timesheets are tied to the correct person.

To build the right team setup, use these guides:

Best practice: if you have multiple staff members, do not use the Unassigned Tasks Manager as a shared technician login. Keep it as your default business calendar and unassigned workflow profile, and give every real team member their own user account.

Managing the Unassigned Tasks Manager email address

Because the Unassigned Tasks Manager represents your default business-level schedule, its email address should stay aligned with your Primary Business Email used for customer communication.

To update this email address, go to Settings > Communications > Email Authentication and edit your primary business email settings. Learn more here: Business Email Authentication.

Primary business email address settings in OctopusPro

Using the same email across Admin and Unassigned Tasks Manager roles

OctopusPro allows multiple user profiles to use the same email address. This is especially useful when one person needs both an admin role and a fieldwork-related role such as the Unassigned Tasks Manager.

How it works:

  • Same email + same password: OctopusPro can show a list of linked profiles you can access, and you can switch between those profiles more quickly without re-entering a password.
  • Same email + different passwords: you can still use the same email for multiple roles, but if you switch to a profile that uses a different password, OctopusPro will prompt you to log in again using that profile’s password.

This setup is most useful for owner-operators or managers who perform both office and fieldwork duties. Learn more here:

Role selection and login screen in OctopusPro mobile app

Switching roles and troubleshooting access

If the same person has both an admin role and an Unassigned Tasks Manager role, they can switch roles from the app when the profiles are linked correctly.

To switch roles in the app:

  1. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner.
  2. Select Switch Account.
  3. Confirm the switch.

If the target profile shares the same password, the switch is faster. If the target profile uses a different password, OctopusPro will ask you to log in again using that profile’s password.

For security and troubleshooting, avoid sharing passwords across different staff members. Instead, use:

Managing business hours for the Unassigned Tasks Manager

The working hours configured on the Unassigned Tasks Manager profile define the default business hours customers can book within online. This is one of the most important settings for your booking flow because it sets the overall window your business is available for customer self-booking.

To update the business hours:

  1. Go to Settings > General Settings > Working Hours.
  2. Open the Unassigned Tasks Manager profile.
  3. Add or edit the available days and hours.
  4. Save your changes.

Admin users can still manually create or override bookings outside these published business hours when needed, but customer self-booking remains limited to the business hours set on this profile.

Related guides:

Working hours on the Unassigned Tasks Manager profile in OctopusPro

Recommended setup process

For the best results, configure the Unassigned Tasks Manager in this order:

  1. Set your business hours on the Unassigned Tasks Manager profile so your published booking window matches your real operating hours.
  2. Enable real-time availability if you want customers to see only times when at least one matching fieldworker is actually available.
  3. Add separate fieldworker accounts for each real technician or team member instead of sharing the Unassigned Tasks Manager login.
  4. Assign services so only qualified fieldworkers are matched to the right jobs.
  5. Set service areas and territories so customers can book only in locations you actually serve.
  6. Configure fieldworker working hours and calendar sync so availability reflects real schedules.
  7. Choose your dispatch model by setting up manual assignment, automatic dispatch, or a hybrid workflow.
  8. Test the booking flow by making a real test booking through your Customer Portal or website booking button.

Helpful setup guides:

Real-world examples

Example 1: Solo mobile business
A one-person service business can use the Unassigned Tasks Manager as its main fieldwork and scheduling profile. The business owner can log in to perform job actions, manage availability, and switch into their admin role when they need to send invoices, review leads, or update customer records.

Example 2: Office-led dispatch team
A business with office staff and multiple fieldworkers can use the Unassigned Tasks Manager as a holding calendar for new work. Dispatchers review incoming bookings, check matching fieldworkers, and then assign each job to the most suitable person.

Example 3: Automatic assignment workflow
A larger business can allow new work to enter the system unassigned, then use automated dispatch rules to notify matching fieldworkers. The Unassigned Tasks Manager still defines the business-level booking window while the actual assignment follows your dispatch logic.

Best practices

  • Use the Unassigned Tasks Manager as your default business calendar, not as a shared staff login.
  • Keep its email aligned with your Primary Business Email.
  • Enable real-time availability if you want online bookings to reflect actual workforce availability.
  • Give every real fieldworker their own user account, permissions, and schedule.
  • Use separate fieldworker service areas and service assignments to improve job matching accuracy.
  • Sync calendars where needed to reduce scheduling conflicts.
  • Use RBAC and impersonation for control and troubleshooting instead of sharing staff credentials.

Frequently asked questions

Can I delete the Unassigned Tasks Manager?
No. It is a core system user that supports unassigned jobs and business-level booking availability.

Can customers book outside the hours set on this profile?
No. Customer self-booking is limited to the business hours configured on the Unassigned Tasks Manager profile.

Should every fieldworker use the Unassigned Tasks Manager login?
No. In team-based businesses, every fieldworker should have their own separate user account for permissions, activity tracking, reporting, and security.

Can admins create bookings outside published business hours?
Yes. Admin users can manually create or override bookings when needed, even though customer self-booking is restricted by the published business hours.

Can I use the same email for my admin user and the Unassigned Tasks Manager?
Yes. OctopusPro supports multiple profiles using the same email. If they also share the same password, switching is easier. If they use different passwords, OctopusPro will prompt for the target profile’s password when switching.

What else affects whether a customer can book a time slot?
Besides the business hours set on the Unassigned Tasks Manager, booking availability can also depend on fieldworker services, service areas, individual working hours, calendar sync, payment settings, and your real-time availability configuration.

Related guides

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