Performing a Walkthrough with the Route mobile app

Ready to create a perfect portrait of a client's location? This guide is the second guide in the series of becoming a Walkthrough master. Always meet client expectations by having a perfect digital breakdown of a client's location with photos, square footage, floor types, fixture counts, and hot points. This guide will detail how to perform a Walkthrough in the field with the Route mobile app. 

Just in case you missed it, here is the first part that covers how to Create & Schedule a Walkthrough.

 

Benefits of performing a Walkthrough

• Allows you to create a digital record of your Walkthrough that you can share via text message or email
• Walkthrough data carries over into the Estimate Calculator for increased bidding accuracy
• Walkthrough photos, notes, square footage, and fixture counts can be imported into the Proposal Generator to stand out to clients

 

📱 Get the app!

The mobile app is available on iOS and Android. Search for "Route: The Service Platform".

• iOS: Apple App Store
• Android: Google Play Store

 

Let's perform a Walkthrough!

For this example, we'll be using the Walkthrough that we created in the previous guide.

Open the Route app and click the Schedule tab to view your assigned Walkthroughs. 

 

 

Here is the Schedule screen. This screen is where all of your assigned Walkthroughs are located. By default, it will display only the Walkthroughs assigned to you. However, managers and administrators can view all Walkthroughs by clicking on the "All Jobs" tab at the top of the screen. You can also view past and future Walkthroughs by swiping on the calendar dates (up to 2 weeks in the past or future).

Tap the Scheduled Walkthrough to begin.

 

 

This is the Walkthrough overview screen. There are a few options from this screen that let you customize your Walkthrough experience. You can access these options before, during, and after you complete the Walkthrough.

Overview:

• Client's Address: the location address for the Walkthrough.
• Assigned Employee: View the profile icon of the employee that has been assigned to perform the Walkthrough.
• Edit: Edit the Walkthrough's address, job categories, and the scheduled date and time by clicking the Edit icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
• Share: Send the completed Walkthrough via text message or email.
• Map: Opens your device's GPS app and automatically provides directions.
• Calendar Sync: Create an event on your calendar by tapping this icon.
• Notes: View the notes that were added when the Walkthrough was originally created and scheduled. The notes field can be modified at any time by clicking on the pencil icon, located to the right of the notes field.
• Tasks: Tasks serve as reminders (to-do lists). This is useful for people new to Walkthroughs who need help asking the right questions (ex. building hours, building access, etc.). Swipe a Task to mark that it is complete. 

Scroll down the Areas List to view the pre-populated areas associated with the Location Type of the Client.

 

 

After scrolling down, you will see a list of Areas (rooms). The Client's Location Type was set to "Office" when it was created. Therefore, the pre-populated rooms that appear in the Areas List will be typical rooms you encounter when performing a Walkthrough at an office.

However, at any time, you are able to create completely new Areas by tapping the "+" icon at the top of the Areas List.

🐱‍👤 Best Practice Tip! When possible, we recommend that you perform an internet search on the client's building and check out any images they have available inside the space. You can pre-populate your Walkthrough with the rooms you have found online by creating them before you arrive on site.

 

 

Let's begin our Walkthrough! Before performing the Walkthrough, we have to start it. When you are at the client site and ready to begin, swipe from left to right on the start button at the bottom of the screen.

Why?

This action creates a time stamp of when the Walkthrough began that you can view on the web app. Additionally, it places the app in "offline mode". This allows your mobile device to perform the Walkthrough in areas where your phone has spotty or poor connection. The data is saved locally to the app and will only search for a connection when you finish the Walkthrough.

 

 

A green timer will begin counting upwards on the bottom of your screen and the background color will change. This signifies that you have successfully started the Walkthrough.

Now you are ready to start collecting data for each Area at the client site. In this example, we will begin with entering data for the lobby of the building. To open an Area and begin entering data, click on the Area name. Click the Lobby Card.

 

 

 

Area Overview

Each Area will have a series of editable fields that are used to record various pieces of information about the Client's building, room by room.

• Room Name: [Required] Open text field. This field determines the name of the Area that appears on the Walkthrough Overview screen. It is pre-populated based on the building Location Type selected when the Client was created.
• Room Type: [Required] Drop-down list. This field determines the general type of room that the Area belongs under. For example, the Areas "Men's Bathroom, Women's Bathroom, or Private Single Bathroom" are all distinctly different but still would fall under the Room Type of "Bathroom". It is pre-populated based on the building Location Type selected when the Client was created. This field is used for auto-populating the scope of work for the Proposal Generator.
• Add Measurements: Numeric field. To open the options to add the dimensions of the area tap on the button. Two fields will appear for entering width (ft) and depth (ft). You are able to add multiple dimensions to an Area by clicking on the Add Measurements button as many times as needed. We recommend you use a laser measuring tool for accurate measurements.
• Floor Type: Drop-down list. This field is used to identify the floor type of the Area.
• Add Fixture: Text and Numeric. Name and count the number of fixtures within an Area. Fixtures are especially useful for identifying the density of a building. Generally used for counting sinks, toilets, and other fixtures in bathrooms, but can be used for anything (ex. counting the number of desks within an office space).
• Notes: Open text field. This is field is used for any detailed notes you would like attached to an Area and for calling out any hot points that the Client wants addressed.
• Camera: Click on the camera icon to open your phone's camera. This allows you to attach photos to your Walkthrough.

 

 

Check it out in action below!

In the clip below, a user is entering the square footage and the floor type for the Lobby Area. Tap Add Measurements to open up the square footage fields. You can have multiple measurements per Area. Next, tap Floor Type to bring up a list of floor type values to select.

These two pieces of information are critical for capturing not only the total square footage of the building, but also having the breakdown of square footage by the floor types. This is especially useful for calculating man hours since different floor types have different production rates. Additionally, its great for estimating your pricing for different services. For example, you can price out flooring services accurately by having the square footage for that specific floor type. 

 

 

Next, tap Add Fixtures to begin counting fixtures. Enter the name of the fixture under Type and enter the number of fixtures under Quantity (Qty). Counting fixtures is incredibly valuable for knowing the density of a location. Add as many as you need!

 

 

Next, tap Notes to enter in any relevant information about the Area or critical information that the Client is stating during your conversation. 

Below notes is the camera icon. Tap the Camera icon to take photos of the Area. Take as many as you need!

🐱‍👤 Best Practice Tip! During your Walkthrough, show the Client your phone and the notes you are entering. It helps reassure them that you will not miss any work they are requesting. Use the Walkthrough Builder as another weapon in your sales arsenal and stand out to your Client!

 

 

Once all of your data has been entered, click Save in the upper right corner to save your notes and return to the Areas List screen.

 

 

BOOM! You have now entered information for the Lobby! You will be returned to the Areas List where you can continue with your Walkthrough.

There are a few tips n' tricks to speed up your Walkthrough process. One way to cut down on manual entry is the cloning tool. This is especially useful for rooms that are the same size (for example, classrooms in a school or a series of offices that are identical).

To close a room, click the three dots in the upper corner of an Area card. You are able to clone blank Areas or Areas with data. For this example, we will say there is another lobby for this building that is identical to the first one.

 

 

After clicking on the three dots, a menu will appear at the bottom of your screen. Click Clone.

 

 

Select the amount of copies you would like by scrolling down and tapping on the number. Once you have selected the amount, tap Select to perform the cloning operation.

 

 

Great job! You now have two lobbies! 

Now let's edit their names so we can distinguish where each lobby is located. Click anywhere on the first lobby card to edit the Area.

🐱‍👤 Best Practice Tip! Name rooms with their room number or floor number for a more detailed Walkthrough.

 

 

Tap Room Name to bring up your keyboard and rename the Area. Let's also do this for the other lobby.

 

 

 

After you have renamed the Area, click Save. 

 

 

Now both lobbies have been renamed! 

 

 

One more quick tip! You have the ability to swipe the Tasks on the top of the screen to mark them as complete. These also create timestamps of when the Task has been marked complete to hold your team accountable. You can view these timestamps on the web app.

 

 

Continue your Walkthrough and repeat the previous steps for every Area. When you are ready to complete your Walkthrough swipe from left to right on the Finish button. This will upload the Walkthrough to the web app, which can then be accessed by your team anywhere! 

Note: If you receive an upload error this is most likely due to your devices data connection. If the upload fails, wait until you are in an area with a WiFi connection or a stronger data connection. 

You will see a green check mark appear on the screen when it has successfully uploaded.

 

 

🎉 Congratulations! You have completed your first Walkthrough! It is now accessible on the web app and can be turned into an Estimate or a Proposal. 

 

 

What now?

Need to quickly share the Walkthrough on-the-go? 

Click Share in the upper right corner of the screen. Route supports the ability to share your Walkthroughs via text messaging and email. 

 

 

To access your completed Walkthrough on the web, go to App.GetRoute.com and click Walkthroughs. This will bring up the Walkthrough Dashboard where you can search for your Walkthrough. There are three different views for your Walkthroughs. By default, you will be taken to a list view. However, in the upper right corner you can change the view to see your Walkthroughs by status or in a calendar format. The video below shows how to select the status view.

Click on Walkthroughs, then click the status view, then click on the Walkthrough card to view your data.

 

 

You can now view your Walkthrough data Area by Area! Tap on any of the photos to view your images in a gallery.

 

One more thing!

At the bottom of the screen, you can view the aggregated square footage and the activity stream.

The aggregated square footage is especially useful for cutting down on repeat Walkthroughs. For example, a Client might have originally only requested janitorial cleaning services but a few months later might ask for a specific floor service. Now, you don't have to go back to their location since you already have the square footage and your photos - you can start working on your quote the second they request it! 

Located below the square footage, is the activity stream. This shows you who created and scheduled the Walkthrough and also who and what time one of your team members started and finished the Walkthrough. 

 

 

 

What's Next?

Awesome! You have completed your first Walkthrough and learned how to access your data! In the next chapter of this guide we'll dive into the Estimate Calculator and how to bid a job from your Walkthrough.