Is it possible to find free work order software that can handle 50 work orders a day?

If you want to clean up your process before sinking money into software, build your own mini setup using free Google Forms and Google Sheets. The tech logs the parts and customer sign-off through the form and the records feed straight into a single sheet. You can easily manage 50 jobs a day at zero cost until things settle down.

Putting 50 work orders a day into free cloud software is a huge risk. One morning they push an update saying 'export disabled on free plan' and your entire customer and warranty history is held hostage. A business running 6 people in the field planning for a zero-Euro software budget just doesn't sound realistic to me.

We started with free software at a similar volume last year. By month three, once we hit 1,200 work orders, the system ground to a crawl and stopped saving customer signatures. We finally just paid 18 Euro a month per tech for a standard cloud tool; our invoicing time dropped to same-day and collections sped up big time.

hosting open source on your own server sounds great until a tech in the field says the connection dropped then who's fixing the server? btw at 50 jobs a day, if the server goes down the whole shop stops keep that in mind imo.

Before making a decision, don't enter data into any program without checking these three things: 1) Does it support at least 1,500 jobs a month to handle 50 orders a day? 2) Does it charge extra for field staff to upload photos from a mobile browser? 3) Can you export your entire job history to Excel anytime you want?

Do your techs have constant internet access out in the field, or do they need to work offline in basements or rural spots? Almost none of the free tools support offline caching; the second the connection drops, they won't be able to close out work orders.

You can spin up open-source ticketing tools in a Docker container on a small VPS. Backed by PostgreSQL, it can easily handle 500 work orders a day, let alone 50. But you definitely need to properly set up the SMTP configuration for email notifications and schedule daily automated database backups.

Ditching paper slips is definitely the right call, I know that chaos all too well. But my advice is not to waste weeks searching for something free. anyway whats really going to grow your business is solid infrastructure; a small monthly software expense will save you from much bigger headaches.

Correct in theory but it doesn't work that way in practice. The real issue isn't the number but what it's based on.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

To get into the details: Every "we'll look at it later" in a meeting means unbilled work.

Implementing a change request process doesn't slow things down, it speeds them up. If you post the result here, it will help others too.

Let me share what happened to me; it might be useful. The harder it is to reverse a decision, the slower you should make it.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

following. when you try to change everything at once, nthing settles.

i feel the same way. tbh if acceptance criteria aren't written when the work is done is open to debate.

trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

I felt relieved reading this answer, so it's not just me. When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles.

Proven by experience.

There is something to watch out for. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

People defend habits, not processes. Resistance comes from there. If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

i'm curious too. access credentials should be opened in the company's name not personal accounts.

this is my opinion I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

I'll try it. When making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best.

Hope this helps.

How did you solve this? Payment schedules should be tied to project phases, not calendar dates.

Proven by experience.