The Killer Feature for Minimizing the Risk of Tree Care Work

This post is an extension of the SingleOps Academy training module that you can find in the navigation menu of our app. We will be posting SingleOps Academy content regularly going forward to help customers optimize their use of SingleOps.

One of the biggest mistakes a crew can make is working on the wrong tree. This usually happens when there is a miscommunication between the estimator and the tree crew. Written details only go so far when describing the location of trees, especially if the property is large and unfamiliar to a crew.  

The job-site mapping tool in SingleOps gives your crews accurate visual instructions on the work they need to do, minimizing the risk of working on the wrong tree. It allows you to mark elements on a job site by dropping pins on a map during the proposal stage of a job.

If you are using default document templates, the job-site mapping feature will be available already. If you’re using custom document templates, this feature needs to be turned on. Contact support@singleops.com to enable this feature on your custom document templates.

When you create a new job proposal (below), add line items to the estimate table. In this example, line item number one is a tree removal and line item number two is tree pruning. On the estimate table next to line item one, click the circled pin icon.

This will open up a map of the job-site location. Drop a pin on the tree you wish to remove for line item one. The number on the pin is associated with the line item number. When the pin is dropped, you can make any notes you need in the key that comes up to the left. Here we noted that the Water Oak in the backyard with a DBH of 29” needs to be removed. You can also choose the color of the pin. Here we chose a green pin.

To drop the pin for line item two, tree pruning, click the pin icon next to the line item. Drop the pin onto the trees you wish the prune. You will see that this pin has the number two on it, which is associated with line item two. You can choose to make this pin a different color because it’s for a different task. In this example, the pin is blue and the notes say to remove the branches touching the roof on the Tulip Poplar that’s to the right of the house.

At the top of the map below there are two circled buttons. The button with the pin icon allows you to drop pins. The button with the four dots on it allows you to move the pin around if you accidentally misplaced it.

Let’s say you want to drop a pin that’s only visible to the crew. Click on the blue “go to map” button circled under the estimate table on the proposal below. This allows you to drop pins that aren’t associated with any line items.

Drop the pin that you only want your crew to see. In the example below, we dropped a pin on the driveway and made a note that the crew shouldn’t park on it. In the key to the left under the red pin, the “include on proposal and invoice” box is unchecked. Now, when you go to print the invoice or proposal, only the green and blue pins will show up on the included map. On the work order for the crew, all of the pins will show up.

The job-site mapping tool is a very useful way to eliminate the error that can sometimes occur with tree work. Marking trees and making notes directly on the location where your crew is working is the easiest way to ensure that they understand exactly what to work on.

Again, if you find that your account doesn’t have access to the job-site mapping feature, email support@singleops.com and our team will give you access. For more information on job-site mapping watch our webinar or read our article on the SingleOps Knowledge Base.