Introducing Smart Reminders: Work Order Follow-Up Built for Multi-Location Teams

Smart Reminders is a new OpenWrench feature that sends you notifications to follow-up on work orders, at a time you choose or only when a condition is true. It's built for multi-location teams that manage hundreds of open work orders and can't afford to let a repair go quiet.

Follow-up is where facilities' time disappears. A service provider hasn't confirmed a visit. A scheduled date passed yesterday. Somebody has to notice, and across 20 or more locations, that somebody is usually working from a calendar or a spreadsheet.

Smart Reminders puts the follow-up on the work order itself, and its companion feature, Smart Sends, can send the follow-up message for you when your conditions are met.

What are Smart Reminders?

Smart Reminders are alerts that you attach to any work order, and they fire at a set time or only when a condition you define is true. You add one from the bell icon on the work order, write a note, and choose when it should go off. OpenWrench uses AI to set and manage conditions, so they are as flexible as you need them to be. Set something like “Remind me only if the supplier hasn’t responded” or “Remind me if there hasn’t been a new note by X date.”

When the reminder goes off, you open the work order, snooze the reminder, or stop it. The note, the history, and the nudge stay together, so when you open the work order, you see why the reminder exists.

What can you do with Smart Reminders?

Smart Reminders give you control over when, why, and how you hear about a work order.

• Pick the moment. Choose a specific time, or tie the reminder to the work order's past due status or its scheduled date.
• Add a condition. Ask for the reminder only if something is true, such as the service provider has not responded or the work order is not complete.
• Get alerted where you work. Reminders arrive by push, email, and in-app notification, and the bell rings on the work order list.
• Snooze or stop. Snooze for a set time or choose a custom one, or stop the reminder once the work order is moving.
• See what has fired. A reminders list shows every reminder that has gone off, so nothing gets lost behind a dismissed pop-up.

How can multi-location teams use Smart Reminders?

Multi-location teams can use Smart Reminders anywhere a work order waits on someone else. Four setups cover most of the follow-up that eats a day.

Follow up after dispatch

Set a reminder for the morning after dispatch, with the condition that the service provider has not responded. If the provider confirms the visit, the reminder never fires and you never see it.

Catch work that slips past its date

Tie a reminder to the scheduled date. If the visit time passes with no update, the reminder asks the question for you: did this happen?

Keep long-running work moving

Put a reminder on work orders waiting on parts or a return trip, with the condition that the work order is not complete. Each reminder that fires points to a work order worth a look.

Hand off clearly

Write the note as the question the reminder should answer, such as "Did the provider confirm Thursday's visit?" Whoever sees it next can act without reading the full history.

What are Smart Sends?

Smart Sends let you schedule a message ahead of time and send it only when the conditions you set are met. You write the message once, set the condition, and OpenWrench sends it at the right moment.

Send a follow-up message to a service provider after a scheduled visit. Set the message to go out the day after the visit, with the condition that the work order is still open. If the work is complete by then, the message never sends.

Smart Reminders prompt your team to check in on a work order. Smart Sends handle the check-in message itself, so routine follow-up goes out on time without anyone typing it again.

Why did we build Smart Reminders?

We built Smart Reminders because customers told our team that follow-up was where their time went. Teams with large volumes of open work orders asked for a way to check back on the right work at the right moment.

Who is the Smart Reminders feature for?

Smart Reminders is for facilities managers, regional managers, and directors of maintenance at multi-location brands. It fits teams that rely on outside service providers, teams with in-house technicians, and teams that use both.

If you manage work orders across restaurants, retail stores, fitness clubs, grocery stores, or healthcare facilities, you already know which work orders go quiet. Smart Reminders watches those for you.

How do you get the most out of Smart Reminders?

Teams get the most out of Smart Reminders by saving them for work that waits on someone else.

• Reserve reminders for waiting work. A reminder on every work order teaches people to ignore all of them.
• Use conditions. A conditional reminder stays quiet when the work is on track, so the ones that fire carry weight.
• Write specific notes. "Check on this" means little three days later.
• Review weekly by location and provider. Patterns show up quickly. If one service provider triggers reminders on most of their work orders, that is a response-time conversation.

FAQ

What are Smart Reminders in OpenWrench?

Smart Reminders are alerts you attach to a work order that fire at a time you choose or only when a condition is true. You set them from the bell icon on the work order.

Can a Smart Reminder fire only when there is a problem?

Yes. A conditional Smart Reminder fires only when its condition is true, for example when a service provider has not responded or the work order is not complete.

How do Smart Reminders reach me?

Smart Reminders arrive as push notifications, emails, and in-app notifications. When one goes off, you can open the work order, snooze the reminder, or stop it.

What is the difference between a reminder and a due date?

A due date says when work should be finished, and a reminder says when someone should check on it. A reminder can fire before, at, or after the due date, so you can catch a stalled work order before it goes past due.

Can I keep the service providers I already use?

Yes. Bring the service providers you already work with. They join WrenchHub free, with no per-invoice fees, and your team keeps control of provider relationships and rates.