Work order dispatching is the point where the two halves of this category meet: the board that decides who goes, and the document that records what happened. Businesses that keep them in separate systems pay for the gap twice, once in retyping and once in the questions nobody can answer because the two records do not line up.
One object, four states
A work order is raised when the request arrives, dispatched when somebody is assigned, worked when they attend, and closed when the job is confirmed finished. Keeping that as one object with four states, rather than a job here and a document there, is what makes the open list trustworthy enough to read on a Friday.
The gap between systems is where detail dies
Where the board and the work orders are separate, somebody transcribes between them, usually the following morning, usually from memory. That transcription is the most reliable source of error in a service business, and it is entirely avoidable by having the technician close the same object they were assigned.
Dispatching a work order is not the same as sending it
Emailing a job to somebody is delivery. Dispatching it means the assignment is recorded, visible to everybody, and changeable in one action when the day moves. On the worked example this site publishes, 14% of 655 calls a month get moved, and each of those is an assignment change rather than a new email.
Closing is a decision, not a timestamp
A work order closes when somebody confirms the work is finished, not when the visit ends. Where a return is needed, close this one with the diagnosis and raise the next against the same fault. That keeps the history readable and stops the open list filling with jobs nobody is sure about.
Questions people ask about work order dispatching software
Can we dispatch by email and record separately?
You can, and the cost is the retyping and the mismatch. It works at two technicians and stops working somewhere around four.
Who should close the work order?
The person who can confirm the work is finished. Office closure without confirmation turns the open list into fiction.
Does the customer see the work order?
They should get a copy of what was done. Whether it carries prices is your decision, and keeping the invoice separate makes that easy.