Equipment tracking for plumbers
Your $10,000 camera is on a truck somewhere. Which one?
Plumbing shops run expensive specialty equipment between a few trucks: sewer cameras, jetters, large drain machines. FlowNext shows which truck has it and when it last came back to the shop.
No card. Unlimited field users. From $39/month.
FlowNextWhat a tech sees after scanning a tag with their phone camera
Where it goes wrong today
One camera, many trucks
When a job needs the camera, dispatch needs to know which truck to send. The last scan says where it is and who moved it.
Cables and heads take a beating
A tech scans the machine and reports a damaged cable on the spot. It's marked out of service before the next truck takes it.
Hours matter on jetters
Hour-meter readings logged from a phone sit with the machine's service history, so the office can see when maintenance is coming up.
What plumbers tag first
- Sewer inspection cameras
- Hydro jetters
- Sectional and drum drain machines
- Pipe threaders and press tools
- Locators and transmitters
- Thawing machines
Locations are whatever matches how you work: “Truck 5 (Marcus)”, “Shop”, “Sandoval residence - main line”. Every move is recorded with who made it and when.
New accounts can start from a ready-made Plumbing category set: Drain machines, Inspection cameras, Pipe threaders, Jetters, Ladders, and Power tools, each with a typical inspection or service interval you can change.
Inspections and due dates
Plumbing equipment is serviced on wear: jetter hoses and nozzles, camera push cables and heads, drain machine cables. Log those repairs per machine and keep warranties and manuals attached; there's rarely a certificate to track.
A main-line call comes in at 2 p.m.
The customer needs a camera on a backed-up main line today. Dispatch opens the equipment list, types “camera” and sees PL-007 on Truck 5, scanned there by Marcus yesterday afternoon. One call to Marcus instead of four.
At the job, the push cable kinks. Marcus scans the camera and reports the problem in a sentence. The camera is marked out of service, the office gets an email saying what broke and who reported it, and the next tech who scans it sees the warning before loading it.
The repair goes in the camera's maintenance log with what it cost (Pro and Business). After a few cable and head replacements, the cost of ownership report shows how much has gone into that camera against what it cost new — and flags it once repairs reach half its price.
Jetters get the same treatment by hours: the tech logs the hour meter from the tag, and the readings sit next to the machine's service history.
How tags, phone updates and reports work in detail: features. Plans and limits: pricing.
Questions
Can I keep the camera's warranty with it?+
Yes. Attach warranties, manuals and receipts to each item. On Pro and Business, FlowNext reads the dates from the document for you.
What if a tag gets destroyed?+
Print a replacement from the equipment list and stick it on. The history stays with the item, not the sticker.
Will the office hear about a broken camera?+
Yes. When a tech reports a problem from the tag, the office team and the person in charge of that location get an email right away, and the item shows as out of service.
Tag your first ten items this afternoon
14-day free trial, no card. Unlimited field users on every plan, from $39/month after that.