How your techs use Pillar in the field
Technicians get a different Pillar. They sign in on their own phone and land on their day, not the dashboard, so this guide walks a job from the driveway to the last photo.
Where your tech lands
Where to clickSign inMy Jobs
A user with the technician role signs in at the same web address as everyone else and lands on My Jobs. The list holds the appointments assigned to that person and nothing else.
The pills across the top swap the list between All, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, and Pick opens a calendar for any other date. Each card carries the time, the status, the job number, the customer, and the address.
The two round buttons on a card dial the customer and hand the address to the map app the phone already uses. The arrow beside them opens the full job screen.
The whole job on one screen
Where to clickMy Jobsopen the jobStart Work
The job screen opens with the customer, the phone number, the address, the job description, and whatever notes the office left on the visit. Tapping the number calls, and tapping the address opens the map app.
That one status button changes as the visit moves along: On My Way, then Start Work, then Complete Appointment. Mark No Show sits next to it once the work has started.
Get Directions is always on the screen, and Full Checklist and Upload Media jump to the two screens a tech uses most at the door. Ticking off checklist items works from the job card, the job screen, or the Checklist tab.
Getting to the next stop
Where to clickMapa stop in the listNavigate
Map plots the day in visit order with numbered pins, and the current stop sits on a card above it with Navigate and Call. When the office has planned the route, the header also shows the stop count and the miles.
Navigate hands the stop to whichever map app is already on the phone, so your tech drives with the app they know. Pillar does not try to be the navigation app.
The stop list and the Navigate buttons keep working even when the map itself cannot draw, which is the part that matters on a bad connection.
Photos before and after
Where to clickMediaPre-WorkTake Photo
Media is the camera screen for the job in hand. The Pre-Work and Post-Work toggle at the top decides how the file is labeled, then it is Take Photo, Record Video, or Choose from Gallery.
Every capture shows a preview with its file name and size before it goes anywhere, and photos are shrunk on the phone first so a weak signal still uploads. Once it lands, the shot joins the gallery below and the job record in the office.
Hours, tracked twice
Where to clickTimeClock In
Time is the day clock. Your tech picks Admin, Shop Work, Training, or Meeting, adds a description if they want one, and presses Clock In. End Day closes it.
Job time runs on its own at the same time. On My Way starts travel time against that job and Start Work switches it to work time, so the day total and the hours per job both come out right.
Today's Total and Today's Time Entries sit under the clock, so a tech can check their own hours without asking the office.
Common questions
Does my crew have to install anything?
No. Pillar runs in the phone browser, and it can be added to the home screen so it opens like any other app on iPhone or Android.
Can a technician see jobs that are not theirs?
My Jobs lists only the appointments that person is assigned to, and opening any other appointment is refused by the server rather than merely hidden on the screen.
What happens if a tech turns up early?
Pressing On My Way or Start Work well before the scheduled time raises an Early Check-In Warning that names how many minutes early they are. They can press Wait or Continue Anyway, and continuing is flagged for the office.
What if they finish a visit with checklist items unticked?
Pillar counts what is left and asks again, with Go Back or Complete Anyway, and anything still unticked stays on the appointment record. Finishing the last visit on a job then asks whether the job itself is done or should stay open.
Can a tech price work at the door?
Catalog, under More, is your price book on a phone: photos, prices, and a cart. What they build can be saved to Quote Drafts or shown to the customer on the spot.