A new unit fails, and the repair goes on the bill
An indoor unit you installed eighteen months ago stops working. The engineer diagnoses a failed board, orders one, fits it and the job is invoiced to the client, or written off as goodwill. Nobody checks whether the unit is still under the manufacturer's warranty. Or someone does, but the claim needs the commissioning sheet and service records, which take an afternoon to find, so it never gets submitted.
Warranty status invisible at the point of repair
Manufacturers set warranty terms that often depend on registration, commissioning by an approved installer and regular servicing. The information to prove all of that exists, somewhere. It is not on the job when the engineer is standing in front of the failed unit, and it is not gathered when the office invoices.
Warranty terms also differ between manufacturers and product ranges, and some depend on registration or servicing conditions your team may not have recorded at install. Without that information on the job, checking takes long enough that nobody bothers.
- Warranty start dates and terms are not recorded per unit.
- Registration with the manufacturer was done inconsistently.
- Commissioning and service records are in different places.
- Failed parts are thrown away before a claim is considered.
- Each manufacturer's claim process is known by one person.
The cost of missed claims
Parts and labour that should have been reclaimed are paid by you or your client. Clients who discover later that a repair should have been covered feel mistreated. Claims submitted late or without evidence are refused. And without warranty data, you cannot see which models and parts fail in warranty, which would inform what you recommend.
Engineers also stop keeping failed parts, or never started, because nothing ever came of it. Without the part, many claims are impossible, so the habit of discarding them quietly closes the door on money you were entitled to.
The warranty log we build
- Every unit you install gets warranty data on its asset record: manufacturer, model, serial, install and commissioning date, registration status and the terms your team has recorded for that product.
- Where manufacturers offer installer registration online, registration is prompted at commissioning, and confirmation is saved.
- When a fault is logged on a unit, its warranty status is shown on the job before the engineer attends, with a reminder to keep the failed part and take specified photos.
- If a claim looks possible, the log assembles the evidence: commissioning record, service history, fault description, photos, part numbers and the engineer's report.
- The claim is prepared in the manufacturer's format for a person to submit, and its reference is recorded. Replies are matched and chased.
- Credits are matched to claims when they arrive, and a report shows claims by status and failures by model.
| Claim element | Today | With the warranty log |
|---|---|---|
| Warranty status | Not checked | Shown on the job |
| Registration | Inconsistent | Prompted at commissioning |
| Failed part | Often discarded | Engineer reminded to retain |
| Evidence | Gathered by hand | Assembled from records |
| Credit | Unmatched | Matched to the claim |
Whether a failure is covered is decided by the manufacturer's terms. The log makes sure every plausible claim is made with the evidence they ask for.
Warranty money that comes back
Engineers know when they arrive whether a unit is under warranty. Claims go in with complete evidence, so fewer are refused. Clients are not charged for work that should be covered. And your failure data by model gives you something solid to say when choosing which equipment to recommend.
Clients benefit visibly. When a repair is covered, the invoice shows it, and the client sees that you looked after their interests rather than simply billing them.
Warning signs
- Nobody checks warranty status when a fault is logged.
- Warranty registration is sometimes skipped.
- Failed parts are discarded before claims are considered.
- Claims take an afternoon to assemble, so they are skipped.
- You cannot say how many claims are outstanding.