Installation records by property: the file that brings in repeat work
Why job history should be kept by property, not by customer, what goes on the installation record and how it becomes a source of repeat work.
Most plumbers keep records by customer. That makes sense for billing and is wrong for the technical work: the customer changes, the property stays. The owner sold up, the tenant moved out, the building’s managing agent changed — but the boiler, the riser and the location of the main stopcock are the same.
An installation record per property turns the logic around: the key is the address. Every call-out, every part and every photo is attached there, regardless of who paid.
What you gain in practice
- You turn up prepared: you know what boiler they have, what went wrong last year and what parts were needed.
- You don’t repeat diagnoses you’ve already made, and you don’t lose the same time twice.
- You can answer with evidence when something fails: when it was fitted, what brand, what warranty.
- You can see which installations are due for servicing — and you’re the one who calls first.
What it should contain
The record doesn’t need to be exhaustive; it needs to answer the questions you ask when you arrive at the door:
- Property identity: address, floor, flat, door code or access point.
- Contacts: owner, tenant, managing agent — with a role next to each name.
- Equipment: boiler/burner (make, model, year), hot water cylinder, pump, filters, location of main valves and isolators.
- Type of installation: pipe material, one-pipe or two-pipe system, sections already replaced.
- Job history: date, what was done, parts, photos.
- Outstanding items: what you recommended that wasn’t done.
- Next service: when it’s due again.
Photos are the most underrated field
One photo of the riser before the false ceiling goes up is worth more than ten lines of description. Next time you know where the pipe runs without opening anything up, and the customer can see why the job was done the way it was.
The rule: before, during, after — three photos per job, taken from your phone inside the record, not in the phone’s photo gallery where they’ll get lost among personal pictures.
From record to the next job
This is where the record stops being an archive and becomes a sales tool. If every installation has a next service date, the system tells you each month whom to call. It isn’t advertising — it’s a reminder about something the customer genuinely needs and usually forgets.
In PlumbPro, the installation record is the centre of the app: the job sheet is written on it, the photos stay there and the service reminders come from it.
How to start if you keep nothing today
Don’t try to back-fill ten years of work. Start today: every new visit creates a record. In six months you’ll have covered the customers who actually call you, because they’re the ones who call again.
Conclusion
History by property turns every visit into an investment: next time you arrive already knowing, you work faster and you have a reason to call before something breaks. It’s the difference between a business that waits for breakdowns and one that schedules work.