An alert trigger is an action related to a job or another activity within your vWork account that triggers a message (Alert) to be sent by in-app notification, email, or SMS to selected recipients.  Triggers are called Alert Types in vWork's alert settings.

In this article

There are a number of events that you can select to trigger an alert. These broadly fall into five alert type categories on the Alerts > Setup page. Read on for a brief description of every alert trigger listed. They are grouped in the alert type categories listed here.

• Job Progress
• Customer experience
• Job performance
• Quotes
• Health and Safety
• Job Deadlines

Click a category link above to go to that alert type category. You can return to the category list by clicking this icon. You'll find it at the end of each category.

Job Progress

Job Progress alert triggers provide recipients with alerts for events that relate to creating and scheduling jobs, and completing steps within a job.  

• Job Created  - this triggers an alert when a new job is created.
• Job Created by Worker - this triggers an alert when a worker creates a new job from their mobile device. 
• Job Created by Portal User - this triggers an alert when a new job is created in the customer portal. This can be useful for sending an email to the customer who created the job as confirmation. The Customer Portal is an optional feature. You won't be able to use this trigger unless you have the Customer Portal enabled n your account.
• Job Created by API - this triggers an alert when a new job is created by the API.
• Optimization Processed - this triggers an alert when an optimization finishes processing. For quick access to the processed results, the notification contains a link to the Optimization View function where you can view the run optimization. Optimization is an optional feature. You won't be able to use this trigger if you don't have the optimization feature in your account.
• Job Assigned - this triggers an alert when a job is assigned to a worker.  Where email recipients of the alert are customer contacts an option can be included in the email that enables the customer to re-schedule the job. You can find more information about customer postponements in the article, Enable customers to postpone jobs from an email alert.
• Job Rescheduled by Worker - this triggers an alert when a worker reschedules a job from their mobile device.
• Job Accepted - this triggers an alert when a job is accepted by a worker on their mobile device.  Where email recipients of the alert are customer contacts an option can be included in the email that enables the customer to re-schedule the job. You can find more information about customer postponements in the article, Enable customers to postpone jobs from an email alert.
• Job Declined - this triggers an alert when a worker declines a job.
• Job Started - this triggers an alert when the first step on a job is completed. This can be a useful alert to send to a customer recipient by email.
• Step Completed - this triggers an alert when a specified step on a job is completed. This can be a useful alert to send to a customer recipient by email.
• Custom Field Updated - this triggers an alert when a specific custom field is updated.
• Job Canceled - this triggers an alert when a job is canceled.
• Job Completed - this triggers an alert when the final step in a job is completed. You can customize the number of minutes that pass before sending the alert in the alert's settings. This alert is great for sending customer experience surveys or similar.
• Invoice Approved - this triggers an alert when the "Approve Invoice" checkbox is completed to approve an invoice in the Job Editor for a job, and the job is saved. You can find out more about approving invoices in the article, Approve an invoice in vWork.
• Invoice Unapproved - this triggers an alert when the "Approve Invoice" checkmark is removed from the checkbox in the Job Editor to show that an invoice is no longer approved.

Customer Experience

Customer Experience alert triggers provide recipients with information about key events that can help to improve the customer experience.

• Portal User Signup - this triggers an alert when a new customer signs up to use your customer portal. You can use this alert to send an email message to the customer confirming their sign-up. The Customer Portal is an optional feature. You won't be able to use this trigger unless you have the optional Customer Portal feature enabled in your account.
• Job Start Reminder (assigned jobs only) - this triggers an alert for assigned jobs that have been accepted by the worker at a pre-set period of time before a job is due to start. You specify how far in advance of the job starting you want the alert to be sent when you set up the alert. If the email recipients of this alert are customer contacts you can optionally add a link in the email that enables the customer to re-schedule the job. You can find more information about how customers can reschedule jobs from email alerts in the article, Enable customers to postpone jobs from an email alert.
• Job Start Reminder (all jobs) - this works the same as the Job Start Reminder (assigned jobs only) alert trigger but it applies to all jobs. It sends an alert for jobs including assigned jobs, jobs that are yet to be accepted by a worker (Pending status), draft jobs, and unassigned jobs with a start time.
• Estimated Time of Arrival - this sends an alert with a worker's ETA based on their current location and the step address. This can also be used to begin a Three-way message with a customer. You can read more about the ETA alert in the article:  How does the ETA Alert work?. You can read more about Three-way SMS messages in the article: What is Three-way messaging?
• Customer SMS Response received - this sends an alert when a customer responds to an SMS alert. If you set this up as an email alert you can add additional tokens to the email message to show the customer message and the mobile number the SMS was sent from. The article, What are Alert tokens? has more information on these and other email alert tokens. Message threads between customers, dispatchers, and mobile workers also show in the job editor for each job under the Customer Messages Tab.  Three-way messaging is an optional feature. You won't be able to use this trigger unless you have Three-way messaging enabled in your account.
• Signature Received - this sends an alert when a signature is added to a job.

Job Performance

Job Performance alert triggers provide recipients with updates for events that show a job is not being completed according to the schedule.

• Job  Start Overdue - this sends an alert when a job hasn't started on time. You customize the period of time that can pass before the alert is sent when you set up the alert. 
• Job Finish Overdue - this sends an alert when a job is not completed on time but is still underway and isn't yet completed. You customize the period of time that can pass before the alert is sent when you set up the alert. 
• Job Paused Too Long - this sends an alert when a job has been paused for more than the number of minutes that you specify in the alert's settings.
• Job Duration Too Long - this sends an alert when a job is completed but it took longer than planned to complete. When you set this alert up you specify how much extra time must have been spent on the job to trigger the alert; e.g., if the job is meant to take 30 minutes, and you specify the alert will be triggered if the job takes an extra 20 minutes, the alert is sent if the total time spent on the job is 50 minutes or longer when the last step is completed.
• Job Created and not Completed in Time - this sends an alert when a job is not finished within a certain number of minutes after the time it is was created. You specify the number of minutes that must pass to trigger the alert.
• Worker off Shift too Long - this sends an in-app notification to selected dispatchers when a worker has not been on shift for a number of hours, minutes, or days that you specify in the alert's settings. This works when the Shift on/off setting is enabled in Settings > General.
• Steps completed too quickly - this sends an alert when steps on a job are completed less than 5 minutes apart. When many steps for a job are completed on the mobile app close together, and this is not planned, it can stop alerts from working as expected and give inaccurate information on reports. This happens when a mobile worker performs the job but, instead of completing steps on the mobile app as they complete them in real-time, they complete them in the mobile app all at once.  They may do this for all steps in a job or just a few.   

Quotes

Quotes alert triggers help you to manage the quote process.

• Quote Completed - this sends an alert when a quote is completed.
• Quote Approved by Customer - this sends an alert when a quote is approved by a customer.
• Quote Declined by Customer - this sends an alert when a quote is declined by a customer.
• Quote Expires Soon - this sends an alert when a quote is about to expire. You can select 1, 5, or 30 days before expiry in the alert's settings. This is useful as a tool to remind your customers that a quote is due to expire. 
• Quote Expired - this sends an alert when a quote expires.

Health and Safety

Health and Safety alert triggers notify recipients of specific Health and Safety Events. Health and Safety is an optional feature. You will only have these alert triggers if the Health and Safety feature is turned on in your vWork account.

• User Tags Expires in - this sends an alert when a Health and Safety tag is due to expire. You can specify the number of days before the tag will expire to receive the alert in the alert's settings.
• Health & Safety Event Created - this sends an alert when a new Health & Safety event is created by a dispatcher or mobile worker.
• Residual Risk Created - this sends an alert when the residual risk of a hazard is recorded by a mobile worker or dispatcher and this meets or exceeds the acceptable level set for the residual risk in the job. 

Job Deadlines

Job Deadline alert triggers help recipients manage Job Deadlines. Job Deadlines is an optional feature. You will only have these alert triggers if the Job Deadlines feature is turned on in your vWork account.

• Deadline Warning (Not Completed) - this sends an alert if a job, with a deadline, is not completed within a specified number of minutes before the deadline is met. You set the number of minutes in the alert's settings.
• Deadline Warning (Not Scheduled) - this sends an alert if a job, with a deadline, is not scheduled to start within a specified number of minutes before the deadline is met. You set the number of minutes in the alert's settings.
• Deadline Warning (Not Started) - this sends an alert if a job, with a deadline, does not have its first step completed within a specified number of minutes before the deadline is met. You set the number of minutes in the alert's settings.