Is anyone using FieldPulse's photo/documentation requirements effectively?

Let me tell you how we do it—we flipped the script and made it about technician protection, not manager oversight.

We had the same resistance from senior techs. What changed things was framing it as "you're building evidence that you did the job right." When a customer claims three months later that you damaged something, those photos are your insurance policy.

We also started doing monthly "best documentation" shoutouts with small gift cards. Not huge money, but public recognition matters. Compliance went from 60% to 95% in two months.

One more thing: we require minimum three photos but leave composition to their judgment. The veterans actually started getting competitive about it—who could tell the best story with three shots.

In my experience, mandatory photos are just CYA for the office. I've been doing electrical work 18 years, never needed a photo to prove I did my job right.

That said, we do use them for before/after on panel upgrades. Customers love seeing the transformation, and it's cut down on "I don't remember approving that" conversations. So I get the value there.

The job site photos though? Half the time I'm working in a crawlspace with no light anyway. Flash makes everything look worse than it is.

@art.kowalczyk I hear you on the crawlspace thing—try the video clip option instead of photos. Ten seconds of flashlight sweep, voice memo explaining what you're seeing. Way faster than trying to frame a shot in tight spaces, and honestly more useful for review.

Pro tip: We keep a cheap magnetic LED strip on each van for exactly this. Stick it to a joist, shoot your documentation, grab it on the way out.

Thanks so much for starting this thread! We're about to roll out photo requirements and I've been worried about the pushback.

Quick question—how are you handling storage? Our team is concerned about blowing through data plans, and also what happens if a tech's phone dies mid-job? Do the photos save locally and sync later, or is it real-time upload only?

Also really appreciate the tip about video clips—that seems way more practical for some of our plumbing locations!

Deja—photos sync automatically when connected, but are stored locally until upload completes. If connectivity is lost, they queue for later sync. Data usage can be managed via Settings > Photo Quality, where you can set compression to reduce file size by approximately 60% with minimal visible quality loss.

Phone battery failure is addressed via the Offline Mode architecture. Photos remain on device storage until successfully uploaded and verified.

Thanks so much Fiona! Really appreciate the detail on that.

We want to make sure you're set up for success with this rollout! I'd love to hear what specific job types you're planning to require photos on, and whether you've thought through how you'll review them.

One thing we've seen work well: start with a pilot group of 3-5 techs, get their feedback on the friction points, then adjust before going company-wide. The engineers who built this feature are always looking for real-world input on what makes documentation actually useful vs. just compliant.

Happy to connect you directly if you'd like to share your use case!

We need this working by Q4. Pilot sounds nice but we don't have time.

Current system: photos required on jobs over $2K, warranty work, and any callback. Dispatch reviews same-day, flags anything incomplete. My team can't move forward with the new compliance audit until this is standardized.

Here's what actually works:

• Minimum photo count, zero prescribed angles
• Same-day manager review with 2-minute feedback loop
• Clear escalation path: incomplete docs = job not closed
• Weekly calibration session—show examples of good vs. useless

The last point is critical. Most bad photos happen because techs genuinely don't know what "good" looks like. Spend 15 minutes weekly, rotating who picks the examples.

lol yeah we tried mandatory photos for like a month. admin was drowning in garbage pics of nothing

now we just do it for callbacks and warranty stuff. way more reasonable tbh