Paper service sheets or an app: what changes for a gas engineer?
Plenty of good engineers still use carbonless service sheets, and they work. An app changes what happens after the visit: finding last year’s readings, reminding the customer next year and sending the paperwork. Here is a fair look at both.
Where paper still wins
- No battery, no signal and no learning curve. A pad costs a few pounds.
- Customers recognise it, and you can hand over a copy on the spot.
- Nothing to set up and no subscription.
Where an app helps
- Last year’s readings are on screen when you open the appliance, instead of in a box in the van.
- Handwriting, missing fields and lost copies stop being a problem; the PDF is legible and complete.
- Next year’s service date and the reminder to the customer come from the record you just filled in.
- The invoice can be made from the same job, with your payment link on it.
What to check before you switch
- Where the records are kept, whether they are backed up and whether they can be encrypted.
- Whether you can export everything if you leave.
- Whether the app issues certificates or service records only. A service record is not a Gas Safety Record (CP12).
- How long it takes on a real job, on your own phone.
Questions
Do I have to keep paper copies?
Records must be kept in a form you can retrieve and, for landlord gas safety records, print when needed. Electronic records are acceptable to HSE if they can be printed and are secure from loss and interference.
Is an app slower on site?
At first, yes. Shortcuts such as filling every check as satisfactory in one tap, and last year’s values alongside, are what make it faster later.