Every service company has had the call: “Your crew never came,” or “They missed the back windows.” Without a record, the office either sends someone back for free or argues. Proof of service photos change that conversation. A clear after photo, taken on site and kept with the job, answers most callbacks in seconds.
What to photograph
A good proof photo shows the work and where it was done. Think about what a skeptical customer would want to see:
- The finished work, from a distance that shows the whole area, not a close-up of one pane.
- Something that places it: the storefront sign, the unit’s nameplate, the address on the building.
- Problems you found, such as a cracked pane or a damaged filter housing, before anyone blames your crew.
Before photos are useful on jobs where the starting condition matters, like gutter cleaning or a pressure-washed patio.
Tips for photos that hold up
A blurry photo taken from the truck window proves very little. A few simple rules help crews take photos that are actually useful later:
- Step back. Show the whole wall, unit or area, then take a close-up only if there’s something specific to show.
- Take it on site, at the end. A photo from the morning or from last month doesn’t prove today’s work.
- Use daylight when you can. Glass and dark equipment photograph badly against the sun; move a step to the side.
- One subject per photo. Two clear photos beat one confusing one.
Share a few good examples with your crews. It takes five minutes and saves a lot of useless photos.
Require photos by type of work, not for everything
Requiring proof of service photos on every visit backfires. If every visit needs five photos, crews will take five photos of anything. Ask for proof where it matters: commercial accounts, jobs that often get disputed, and work the customer won’t see right away. Leave quick routine visits alone. Start with one or two kinds of work and add more once the habit sticks.
Photos plus a few answers
Some proof isn’t visual. HVAC technicians record readings, filter sizes or a refrigerant check. Window cleaners might note whether screens were cleaned. A short list of close-out questions, with one or two required, captures this in a consistent way so the office isn’t reading free-text notes.
Share the result with the customer
Proof of service photos aren’t just for disputes. Sending the after photo with the “job done” message is good service. Customers who weren’t home can see the work, and property managers can forward it to their tenants or owners. It also cuts down on the “did you come today?” calls.
How Sentra Scheduler handles proof of work
In Sentra Scheduler, proof of work is set per job type: an after photo, a note, an on-site step, close-out questions, or nothing. Close-out questions can be yes/no, choice, text, number or photo, and any of them can be required.
In the crew app, the close-out screen shows the technician what this job type needs, and the job can’t close until the checklist is met. Photos are taken on the phone and kept on the job’s timeline in the office. An admin can close a job without proof only by giving a reason, and that reason shows in reports.
What the customer sees
When the job is done, the customer’s “done” email includes the technician’s after photo and note. The tracking page tells customers honestly whether the job was completed or closed without the work, with the reason. See job tracking for how the customer side works.
Measure it, gently
Once photos are required, check now and then that they’re useful. Are they in focus? Do they show the whole area? Sentra Scheduler’s dashboards show how many jobs closed with the proof you asked for, which is a good place to start a conversation with a crew, not a reprimand.
Example: a disputed pane
A window cleaning company requires two after photos on its commercial job types. A month after a visit, a property manager calls about a dirty pane on the second floor. The office opens the visit, finds the after photos from that day showing the pane clean, and sends them over. The conversation turns to a new smudge from a recent storm, and the crew isn’t sent back for free.
Keep photos with the job, not on phones
Photos on a technician’s personal phone are as good as lost. They get deleted, the phone gets replaced, or the technician leaves. Whatever system you use, the photos should land on the job record the moment they’re taken, where anyone in the office can find them by customer, site or date.
For the other half of the record, see customer signature on completion.