A support call with nothing to go on
Eight months after the install, a customer rings: the charger has stopped scheduling overnight. The support person asks for the serial number, and the customer goes outside in the rain to read it. What current limit was set? Was a CT clamp fitted, and where? Is it on the customer's Wi-Fi or a SIM? Which version of the firmware was on it when it left? Nobody knows. The fitter who did the job remembers a hundred similar driveways.
So the support call becomes a site visit, or a long remote session guessing at settings.
The details live on the charger, not with you
Commissioning is done through the manufacturer's installer app or the charger's own setup screen. The settings are stored on the device and sometimes in the manufacturer's portal. Your job record gets the certificate and perhaps a photo, and that is where it ends. Every manufacturer's app is different, and fitters work across several.
- Serial numbers are photographed, not recorded as text.
- The settings chosen on site are not written down anywhere of yours.
- Connection details (Wi-Fi network, SIM, Ethernet) are known only to the customer.
- The customer's app account email may differ from the one on your job.
- Different fitters record different things, if anything.
Why it matters months later
Support takes longer and costs more. Warranty claims stall because you cannot show what was installed and how. Recalls or firmware notices from a manufacturer cannot be matched to your customers. And if you ever take on maintenance for a batch of home or workplace chargers, you start without the basic facts about what is on the wall.
There is a commercial side too. Customers who later add a heat pump, a battery or solar ask whether the charger settings need changing, and whoever answers needs to know what was set on day one. Without the record, a small question becomes a paid visit that the customer feels should have been free.
The commissioning record we build
- A commissioning step is added to the fitter's job app, and the job cannot be closed until it is complete.
- The serial is scanned from the barcode, and the model is picked from your approved list, so a single typo does not orphan the record.
- The fitter records firmware version, connection method, the settings your process asks for, and any add-ons such as clamps or earth arrangements, as structured fields with a photo of each.
- The customer's app account email and any pairing codes are recorded, with their consent.
- Where a manufacturer offers an installer API or portal export, we pull the device details from there to confirm the record.
- Everything lands in a per-charger record linked to the customer and the job, searchable by serial, postcode or model.
| Detail | Held today | Held after |
|---|---|---|
| Serial number | A photo on the job | Scanned text, searchable |
| Settings chosen | On the device only | Structured fields on the record |
| Connection method | Customer's memory | Recorded at handover |
| Firmware at install | Nowhere | Recorded, compared to later notices |
| Customer app account | Unknown | Recorded with consent |
We record the settings your fitters chose. We do not tell them what to set; that is their professional judgement and the manufacturer's instructions.
Support that starts with the facts
When a customer rings, the support person types a postcode and sees the charger, its settings, how it connects and what the fitter noted. Many calls get solved on the phone. Warranty claims start with the right details. When a manufacturer issues a notice about a model or firmware, you can list the customers affected in a minute rather than a week.
Do you recognise this?
- Support calls start with asking the customer to read the serial.
- Nobody can say what settings were used on a given install.
- You could not list every customer with a particular charger model.
- Fitters record commissioning differently from each other.
- Warranty claims stall on basic details.