Putting Jobs on Hold

What is Job Hold?

Sometimes work needs to pause. Instead of just changing a job's status to "On Hold" without any context, the Job Hold system lets you:

• Choose a reason for the hold (e.g., waiting on parts, customer reply, weather)
• Set a release date so the job automatically comes back when you're ready
• Track history of every hold and release in the job timeline

This gives your team clear visibility into why work is paused and when it's expected to resume.

How to Put a Job on Hold

Portal (Web)

1. Open the job detail page
2. Click "More Actions" (top right)
3. Click "Put on Hold" (available when the job is in Quote Visit or Work Order status)
4. Select a Hold Reason from the dropdown
5. Choose a Hold Until date:
   • Quick picks like "End of Today", "Tomorrow", "3 days", "1 week", etc.
   • Or pick a custom date from the date picker
6. Click "Save"

The job status changes to On Hold (purple badge) and a system note is logged with the reason and expected release date.

You can also put a job on hold from the Calendar page — open the job preview modal, and the "Put on Hold" button appears there too (as long as you've saved any pending changes first).

Mobile App (Expo)

1. Open the job detail page
2. Tap the "..." (more actions) button in the top right
3. Tap "Put on Hold"
4. Select a Hold Reason from the first dropdown
5. Select a Duration from the second dropdown (or choose "Custom date" to pick a specific day)
6. Tap "Save"

The same system note and status change apply.

Hold Reasons

Hold reasons are the labels your team picks from when putting a job on hold. They come with sensible defaults, and you can customise them to match how your business works.

Default Reasons

Your account comes pre-configured with these hold reasons:

The default duration is just a starting point — when you put a job on hold, you can always change the "Hold Until" date before saving.

Managing Hold Reasons

To add, edit, or remove hold reasons:

1. Go to Settings > Job Preferences
2. Click the Hold Reasons tab
3. From here you can:
   • Add a new reason with a custom name and default duration
   • Edit an existing reason's name or default duration
   • Reorder reasons by dragging them (the order you set here is the order they appear in the dropdown)
   • Delete reasons you no longer need

Note: System hold reasons (like "Pending Quote") cannot be edited or deleted. They appear in a separate read-only section at the bottom of the page.

Hold Until Dates

When you select a hold date, the system is smart about when the job actually releases:

• "End of Today" — The job releases at the end of your business hours today (based on your schedule settings). If it's already past business hours, it rolls to the next morning.
• A future date (e.g., Feb 25) — The job releases at the start of that day (midnight), so it's back in your active list first thing in the morning.

Jobs are checked and released automatically every 5 minutes. In the meantime, the UI shows a friendly countdown like "In 2 days" or "In 3 hours" rather than an exact timestamp.

What Happens When a Hold Expires

When the hold-until date passes:

1. The hold is automatically released
2. The job's status is restored to whatever it was before you put it on hold (e.g., back to "Work Order" or "Quote Visit")
3. A system note is added to the job timeline: "Hold expired — job returned to Work Order"

No action needed from you — the job simply reappears in your active job list.

System Holds

Some holds are applied automatically by the system. These work differently from manual holds:

Pending Quote Hold

When you create a quote from a job and send it to the customer, the system automatically places a "Pending Quote" hold on the job. This prevents the job from cluttering your active work list while you're waiting for the customer to respond to the quote.

How it works:

• Quote is sent → Job goes on hold with reason "Pending Quote"
• Quote is accepted or paid → Hold is released, job returns to its previous status
• Quote expires → Hold is released, job returns to its previous status, and a follow-up todo appears on your dashboard

Key differences from manual holds:

• No expiry date (the hold lasts until the quote is resolved)
• Cannot be manually edited or removed from the hold reasons settings
• Shows as "Until released" instead of a specific date

For more on this workflow, see Quote Visits.

Viewing Hold History

Every hold and release is recorded as a system note on the job. Open the job's Notes tab to see the full timeline:

• "Job placed on hold: Waiting on parts — Hold until Feb 25"
• "Hold expired: Waiting on parts — job returned to Work Order"

This gives you a complete audit trail of why work was paused and when it resumed.

Common Questions

Can I release a hold early? Yes. Open the job, change the status back to its previous state (e.g., "Work Order"), and the hold is released immediately.

What if I put a job on hold and forget about it? The automatic release takes care of it. When the hold-until date passes, the job returns to your active list automatically.

Can I change the hold reason or date after saving? You'd need to release the current hold and place a new one with the updated reason or date.

Do holds affect bookings? No. Existing bookings stay on the calendar. The hold is purely a status and workflow tool — it doesn't cancel or move scheduled work.

What about the "On Hold" option in the status dropdown? The status dropdown shows "On Hold" but it's disabled — you need to use the "Put on Hold" button to set a proper reason and date. This ensures every hold has context.

Related Articles

• Understanding Jobs - How jobs work and their lifecycle
• Creating and Managing Jobs - Full job management guide
• Quote Visits - The quote visit workflow and Pending Quote holds
• Finishing Visits - Finish Visit options including "Put on Hold"