A carrier bag of manuals
At handover the fitter leaves a carrier bag on the worktop: appliance manuals, a hinge adjustment leaflet, the tap's installation sheet, a card saying to register the oven for its extended guarantee. The customer puts it in a drawer. A year later the dishwasher fails and they ring you to ask which model it is and whether it is still under guarantee. Nobody registered it.
Why handover is an afterthought
By handover everyone wants to move on to the next job. The documents that make up a good pack are scattered across supplier boxes, emails and the office's own files, and gathering them is nobody's job.
- Appliance model and serial numbers are not recorded at installation.
- Guarantee registration is left to the customer, who does not do it.
- Care instructions for worktops, doors and sinks are not given in writing.
- Certificates and the unit guarantee are sent separately, if at all.
- There is no digital copy the customer can find later.
The cost of a weak handover
Customers ring you for information that should be in their pack. Appliance faults turn into awkward conversations about guarantees that were never registered. Worktops get damaged by cleaning products the customer was never told to avoid, and the query comes back to you. A good handover, on the other hand, is one of the last impressions a customer has before deciding whether to recommend you.
The handover pack generator
- At installation, the fitter scans or photographs each appliance's rating plate, and model and serial numbers are read into the job.
- Manuals and care guides are attached automatically from a library of the products you fit, matched to the order lines.
- Where a manufacturer requires registration for a guarantee, a checklist shows which appliances need it and records who registered each and when, or sends the customer a link and a reminder if your process leaves it with them.
- Certificates from subcontractors, the unit supplier's guarantee and your own terms are added from the job record.
- The pack is generated as a single PDF and a web page for the customer, with your contact details for aftercare.
- The job keeps the pack, so you can resend it or answer a question about any appliance later.
| Pack section | Source |
|---|---|
| Appliance list with model and serial | Rating plate photos at install |
| Manuals and care guides | Product library matched to order |
| Guarantee registration status | Checklist per appliance |
| Certificates | Subcontractor uploads |
| Aftercare contact | Your details |
Whether you register guarantees for customers or ask them to do it is your choice. The system records what happened either way.
What customers receive
Customers leave with a pack that is complete, readable and easy to find again. Aftercare questions are answered from the job record in a minute. Guarantee registration stops being forgotten. And the handover becomes part of how you want the business to be remembered.
The pack also saves your own team time. When a customer asks which dishwasher they have, or how to adjust a hinge, the office sends a link to the right page rather than searching. When an appliance fails within its guarantee period, you can point the customer to the manufacturer with the model, serial number and fitting date already in hand, which usually makes the manufacturer's process quicker for them.
Signs your handover needs work
- Handover is a bag of paper left on the worktop.
- You have been asked for an appliance model you did not record.
- Guarantee registration is left to customers and rarely done.
- Certificates are sent separately and sometimes forgotten.