Solutions · Emergency & reactive repair
A no-heat call, a burst pipe, a walk-in at 45°F on a Friday night. FSM Flow prioritises the job, finds the nearest qualified technician, protects the SLA clock and bills the after-hours rate without anyone re-keying a thing.
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P1 dispatched in 4 minutes
Walk-in cooler down · nearest tech en route · SLA 2 h
What it is
Reactive repair is unplanned field work created by a fault, breakdown or customer complaint rather than by a schedule. Emergency repair is its most urgent form: a failure that threatens safety, property, product or a customer’s ability to operate, where the dispatcher pauses other jobs and sends the nearest qualified technician. Most contractors grade reactive work in tiers, typically P1 emergency within one to two hours, P2 urgent same day, P3 within two to three business days and P4 routine within a week or two, with contract SLAs overriding the defaults.
Reactive work is the hardest to run well because every variable is live at once: the phone is ringing, technicians are mid-job, parts may not be on the van, and a scheduled customer is about to be bumped. It is also where margin is won or lost. First-time fix depends on sending the right person with the right history; the after-hours premium depends on it being applied; the SLA depends on someone watching the clock.
FSM Flow gives every work order a priority and a response target, places emergencies at the top of the unassigned pool, and suggests the nearest technician with the matching skill. The technician opens the job with the site’s equipment history and past repairs on the mobile app, records parts used from van stock, and completes the job with photos. The invoice is generated from the completed work with the right rate card, and dashboards show response time against SLA by priority, customer and technician.
56%
Of US homeowners expect a response immediately or within one hour of contacting a home-service pro (survey of 1,050 owners, Dec 2025)
Source: Jobber, 2026 Home Service Trends Report
14%
Median avoidable-dispatch rate across field service organisations; the top 20% hold it to 3% (2025)
Source: Aquant Field Service Benchmark
77%
Industry-average first-time fix rate across 30 million service events; top performers reach 88% (2026)
Source: Aquant Field Service Benchmark 2026
59%
Of homeowners expect text updates as the job progresses (Oct 2025)
Source: Housecall Pro Customer Service Report
The lifecycle
From the first ring to the paid invoice, with the clock visible at every step.
- Step 1
Call logged with a priority
The office or on-call coordinator creates the work order with customer, site, affected equipment and a priority tier. The response target starts counting from creation.
- Step 2
Entitlement and history checked
The customer record shows any active contract or SLA, member pricing and the equipment’s past repairs, so the dispatcher knows the response commitment before promising one.
- Step 3
Nearest qualified technician suggested
The AI matches technicians by skill and proximity to the site and shows who can take the job with the least disruption. Flex slots held for emergencies are used first.
- Step 4
Displaced customer notified
If a scheduled visit has to move, the dispatcher reschedules it on the board and an automated message goes to that customer immediately with the new time.
- Step 5
Technician en route, customer updated
The technician updates status from the mobile app; the customer receives an on-the-way message by email or WhatsApp with the technician’s name.
- Step 6
Diagnose and repair with history in hand
Equipment history, documents and past parts are on the job. Parts used are recorded from van stock; photos and readings document the fault and the fix.
- Step 7
Follow-up created if needed
If a part has to be ordered, the job is placed on hold with a reason, the part is linked, and a follow-up visit is created so the repair is not lost.
- Step 8
Invoice at the right rate
The invoice is generated from the completed job with the diagnostic fee, after-hours premium or member discount applied from the customer’s rate card.
What goes wrong
Emergencies are not the problem. Not being able to see them is.
Every call feels like an emergency, so nothing is.
Each work order carries a defined priority with a response target. Dispatch sees P1s first, customers hear the same definitions, and the AI assistant can list anything approaching its deadline.
See how it worksThe dispatcher has to phone three technicians to find out who is closest.
The scheduler suggests technicians by skill and proximity to the site and shows current jobs, so one drag places the call with the person who can get there soonest.
See how it worksThe technician arrives with no idea what was done last time.
The mobile app opens the job with the site’s equipment, past repairs, documents and photos, offline if needed, so the diagnosis starts from the history rather than from zero.
See how it worksAfter-hours calls get billed at daytime rates.
Rate cards with after-hours premiums, diagnostic fees and member discounts are applied when the invoice is generated from the completed job, with the time of the visit on record.
See how it worksThe customer who got bumped only finds out when nobody shows.
Rescheduling on the board triggers an automated message to the displaced customer with the new time, and the change is recorded in the audit trail.
See how it worksNobody can prove the SLA was met.
Creation, dispatch, arrival and completion times are stamped on the work order. Response-time reports by priority, customer and contract are a dashboard widget or a question to the assistant.
See how it works
Across the trades
Different failures, same need: the right technician, fast, with the history in hand.
HVAC
No-heat and no-cooling calls routed by priority during the first heatwave or cold snap, with flex slots held per technician per day.
Plumbing
Burst pipes, sewer backups and failed water heaters dispatched same day, with the after-hours rate applied automatically to evening calls.
Electrical
Power loss, tripping breakers and burning smells triaged as P1, with a licensed electrician matched by skill and proximity.
Refrigeration & commercial kitchens
Walk-in and rack failures with product at risk, dispatched against the account’s SLA and documented with temperature readings.
Garage door service
Broken springs and doors stuck open booked for same-day repair, with spring stock on the van checked before dispatch.
Appliance repair
Refrigerator and freezer failures prioritised above routine calls, with model and serial on file to pre-identify the likely part.
Restoration & remediation
Water-loss mitigation calls at any hour, with the on-call crew dispatched and the first-arrival time recorded for the carrier file.
Elevator & escalator
Entrapment callbacks with the contract response time as the SLA clock, and arrival and release times stamped on the work order.
Facilities management
Reactive work orders from tenants and site managers graded P1–P4, with response and fix targets per contract and site.
IT & office technology
POS, ATM and network outages with SLA-driven response, dispatched to the nearest engineer carrying the right spares.
In FSM Flow
Emergencies cut across scheduling, customers, inventory, mobile and billing, so FSM Flow handles them in every module.
Priority tiers & response targets
Define P1–P4 or your own tiers with response targets, and let contract SLAs override the defaults per customer or site.
- Emergencies top the unassigned pool
- Due-soon and overdue views
- Workflow alerts when a clock is at risk
Nearest-available dispatch
AI technician matching by skill and proximity, with the day view showing who can absorb an urgent job with the least disruption.
- Flex slots for emergencies
- Drag-and-drop rescheduling
- Displaced customers notified automatically
Mobile app with full history
Site equipment, past repairs, documents and photos on the job, offline-first, with AI translation in 14+ languages for mixed crews.
- Status updates from the field
- Parts used from van stock
- Photos and readings on the fix
Van stock & parts on hold
See what each van carries before dispatch, record parts used, and link ordered parts to jobs on hold so follow-ups are never lost.
- Low-stock alerts on critical spares
- Parts linked to the work order
- Hold reasons and follow-up visits
Rate cards for reactive work
Diagnostic fees, after-hours premiums, flat-rate repairs and member discounts applied when the invoice is generated from the completed job.
- One-click invoicing on completion
- Customisable terms and templates
- Covered work tagged as no-charge
Response & SLA reporting
Response time, same-day close rate and first-time fix by priority, customer, technician and zone, as dashboards or a question to the assistant.
- Timestamps on every status change
- AI-generated dashboards
- Export for contract reviews
Pricing & billing
Reactive pricing has more moving parts than any other job type. FSM Flow applies them from the customer’s rate card.
Diagnostic or trip fee plus repair
A call-out fee covers the visit and diagnosis; the repair is quoted on site from the price book and added to the same job.
Flat-rate repair pricing
Repairs priced from a flat-rate book so the customer approves a known figure before work starts; the invoice mirrors the approved line items.
Time and materials
Labour hours and parts recorded on the job and invoiced at hourly rates, common for commercial reactive work under a schedule of rates.
After-hours and holiday premiums
Evening, weekend and holiday multipliers or surcharges applied automatically based on when the visit took place.
Member and contract pricing
Customers on a maintenance plan or service contract receive discounted rates or no-charge coverage, applied from the agreement.
SLA-covered reactive work
Under a full-service contract the visit is tagged as covered, costed against the contract and reported without a customer invoice.
Numbers worth watching
All available as dashboard widgets, reports or a question to the AI assistant.
Response time vs target
Time from work-order creation to arrival on site, measured against the tier or contract SLA. The core promise of reactive service.
P1 ≤ 1–2 h; P2 same dayFirst-time fix rate
Reactive jobs closed on the first visit. Driven by history on the job, skill matching and van stock.
Industry average 77%; top performers 88%Same-day close rate
Share of urgent calls completed the day they were logged, by zone and technician.
Avoidable dispatch rate
Visits that a phone call or remote check could have resolved. Lower is better; the assistant can list candidates.
Median 14%; top 20% at 3%After-hours capture
After-hours calls booked and completed, and the premium actually invoiced on them.
Jobs on hold for parts
Open reactive jobs waiting on a part, with age. A rising number points to van stock or supplier problems.
What is emergency repair?
How does FSM Flow prioritise emergency work orders?
Can FSM Flow find the nearest available technician?
How are on-call rotations handled?
Does the after-hours rate get applied automatically?
What happens when a repair needs a part that is not on the van?
Can I report on SLA compliance for a commercial customer?
Keep exploring
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