Completing a job on site does three things at once: it records that the work happened, it proves the crew was actually there, and it triggers the invoice. Here is how it behaves in the field, including all the ways GPS can be awkward.
1 On-site verification
Before a job can be started or completed, the app checks the phone is actually at the property. When it is happy, you get On-site verified. You can start/complete this job.
That check is the reason a photo-and-GPS record from ClippingCash is worth something in a dispute about whether a visit happened.
2 What each GPS message means
This is the part crews ring you about, so it is worth knowing the whole set:
| Message | What is happening | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Checking GPS position… | Getting a fix. | Wait a moment. |
| Waiting for GPS lock. Move outdoors for a stronger signal. | No usable fix, likely under cover. | Step into the open. |
| Waiting for GPS fix. Move outdoors and try again. | Same, on retry. | Step into the open. |
| Using last known location while GPS updates refresh. | Working from a slightly stale position. | Usually fine. |
| Too far: N away | Phone is too far from the recorded pin. | See below. |
| This job has no map coordinates. On-site verification is unavailable. | The property has no pin. | Tap Fix GPS pin on the job and drop one. |
| Unable to verify location right now. Please retry in a moment. | Transient failure. | Retry. |
Too far does not always mean the crew is in the wrong place. Very often the property’s pin is wrong. If it keeps happening at one address, fix the pin rather than blaming the crew.
Both problems can be fixed from the field. On the job, tap Fix GPS pin. The Fix Property GPS screen opens on a map: tap where the property is, drag the pin to fine-tune, or tap Use my location while standing in the yard, then Save pin. A crew member standing at the property is about the most accurate pin you can get. Every move is logged for you under GPS Pin Changes, with who moved it and how far. The office can fix pins too, from the Properties page. See how to fix a property’s map pin.
3 Location permission problems
If permission was refused, the app is explicit about it, including the exact path to fix it: Enable it in Settings, Apps, ClippingCash Field Worker, Permissions.
Other variants you may hear read out to you:
- Location permission is required to verify your arrival at job sites. Tap the location banner to grant access.
- Location permission denied. Enable it in Settings to verify job arrivals.
- Location permission is permanently denied.
Permanently denied means they have to go into the phone’s own settings; the app can no longer ask. Worth walking through on day one rather than on a wet Tuesday. See why the app asks for location.
4 Add photos
Use Add Photos to attach before and after shots. Photos carry the time they were taken, so the record reflects when the work actually happened rather than when it synced.
Before and after photos are the cheapest customer-service tool you have. They end “you missed the back” conversations in one message, and they justify your price to anyone who thinks lawn care is just pushing a mower.
5 No signal is fine
The app works offline. Photos taken with no connection are held on the phone: Photos saved, will upload when you reconnect. Job starts, completions and the gate code, pets and parking note queue the same way: Saved on this phone. It will sync when you reconnect. Today’s stops are saved on the phone when the job list loads, so a stop the crew never opened while they had signal still opens offline.
The app keeps sending what it saved until it lands, even if the phone keeps its signal while the server is briefly down for an update, and even if the app is closed and opened again in the meantime. The refresh button on the job list sends the saved actions before it reloads.
Crews should not wait around for a bar of signal. Finish the job, move on, and it uploads itself.
Two things to know on the office side:
- If a queued action conflicts with something the server already knows, it lands in the needs-review queue rather than silently overwriting.
- The app surfaces anything that failed to sync, so a rejected item shows up rather than disappearing.
6 Take payment on site
Crews can record payment at the property. The app tracks Paid (Cash), Paid (Check), Paid (Card) and Partially Paid, and confirms with Payment recorded successfully. For checks it keeps the check number. A tip on a cash or check payment goes in its own Tip field so it reaches the crew instead of the bill.
If your company takes cards through Stripe, the crew can also charge the customer’s card from the job, either the card on file or a new card typed into Stripe’s secure form. The Tip field works on a card charge too: the customer is charged the bill plus the tip, the invoice gets the bill, and the tip is recorded for the crew. Save card for autopay at the bottom of the job lets the crew save the customer’s card with their agreement, so later invoices are charged on their own. See how to take card payments.
Collecting at the door is the fastest money in this business. A payment taken on site is a payment you never chase.
7 When the job can’t be done today
Not every stop gets mowed. The job screen has the buttons for that, so the crew doesn’t have to call you from the truck:
- Skip marks the job skipped. The app asks for a reason, and the reason stays on the job for you to read.
- Reschedule moves a visit from a recurring plan to another day.
- Rain Delay pushes a recurring plan visit back for weather.
A crew member can only do these on jobs assigned to them. If the property already has a visit on the day they pick, the app asks before putting a second one there. For a whole rained-out day, it is quicker for the office to use Rain day on the Schedule.
8 Leave a note for the office
In the latest worker app update, the job screen has a notes section for the office: a broken sprinkler head, a gate left open, a customer who asked for something. Add a note, and you can edit or delete your own note for 10 minutes after adding it. A note added with no signal is saved on the phone and sent when the signal comes back.
Notes are internal. Customers never see them. The notes section shows once the job is yours: on an open job nobody has claimed, it appears after you start it.
Getting there
The Map tab shows today’s jobs as pins on a map. On a job, Navigate opens turn-by-turn driving directions to the property: Google Maps on Android, Apple Maps on iPhone.