Configuring Chemical
Readings & Dosages
Learn how to customize the chemical readings and dosage options available to your technicians, set default values, manage costs and pricing, and enable the LSI Calculator for precise water balancing.
Duration
22 minutes
Category
Settings & Administration
Part 1: The "Why": Precision and Profitability in Water Chemistry
Every pool is different, and so is every pool service company. The Readings & Dosages settings page allows you to tailor the chemical management part of Upbuoy to match your specific business practices.
🎯 Proper Configuration is Key to:
⚡ Speed & Accuracy
Providing technicians with a clean, relevant list of the chemicals and tests your company actually uses.
💰 Profitability Tracking
By setting the cost (what you pay) and price (what you charge) for each chemical, Upbuoy can later provide detailed reports on chemical usage and profitability.
🔬 Scientific Water Balancing
Enabling and configuring the LSI Calculator gives your technicians a powerful tool to prevent corrosive or scale-forming water conditions.
📏 Standardization
Setting default values for readings and dosages helps guide technicians and ensures consistency across your team.
Part 2: A Guided Walkthrough of the Readings & Dosages Settings
Navigate to Settings > Readings & Dosages from the sidebar. The page is divided into two main sections: Chemical Readings and Chemical Dosages.
🧪 Chemical Readings
This section controls the list of water tests your technicians can record.
➕ Adding a New Reading
Click the "Add Reading" button.
Reading Name
The name of the test (e.g., "Free Chlorine," "Phosphates").
Unit of Measure (UOM)
Typically "ppm" (parts per million) for most pool chemicals.
Type
A category for organization (e.g., "Sanitizer," "Balancer").
Values
This is a crucial step. Enter the possible values a technician can select from. This standardizes data entry and prevents typos. For pH, you might enter values from 6.8 to 8.2 in 0.2 increments.
Default Value
The most common or ideal reading. This appears as a quick-select option for technicians.
Active
Keep this toggled on for readings you currently use. Deactivate it to hide it from the technician app without deleting historical data.
🔄 Reordering Readings
The order of readings on this page is the same order technicians will see in the app. Use the drag-and-drop handle (<GripVertical />) to reorder the list, putting your most common tests at the top.
💊 Chemical Dosages
This section controls the list of chemicals your technicians can record adding to a pool.
➕ Adding a New Dosage
Click the "Add Dosage" button.
Dosage Name
The name of the chemical product (e.g., "Liquid Chlorine (12.5%)", "Sodium Bicarbonate").
UOM
The unit you use to measure the dosage (e.g., "gal," "lbs," "oz").
Cost & Price per UOM
Cost:
What you pay your supplier for one unit of this chemical.
Price:
What you charge your customer for one unit. This is critical for "Plus Chemicals" billing models.
Included w/ Service
Check this box if the chemical is included in your standard service fee. Uncheck it for "plus chem" items that should be billed separately.
Values & Default Value
Just like with readings, provide a list of common dosage amounts (e.g., "1/2 gal," "1 gal," "2 gal") and set a default.
Part 3: The LSI Calculator (/settings/lsi-calculator)
The Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) is the industry standard for balanced water. Upbuoy has a built-in LSI calculator that you can enable and configure.
🔧 Enable the Feature
Toggle the switch to "Enable LSI Calculations in App".
🎯 Set Your Target Range
The ideal LSI is 0.0. A common target range is -0.3 (minimum) to +0.3 (maximum). Water outside this range is either corrosive or scale-forming.
🗺️ Map Your Readings and Dosages
This is the most important step. You need to tell Upbuoy which of your custom readings and dosages correspond to the standard LSI factors.
For each LSI parameter (pH, Calcium Hardness, CYA, etc.), select the corresponding Reading you created from the dropdown menu.
Example: For the "pH" parameter, you would select your "pH" reading.
Save Your Settings: Once everything is mapped, save your configuration.
⚡ How it Works in the Field
Now, when a technician enters their water chemistry readings on the service completion screen, the LSI will be calculated automatically in real-time, instantly showing them if the water is balanced and providing guidance on what to adjust.
Part 4: Key Concepts & Pro Tips
📊 Standardize for Success
The more you standardize your list of readings and dosage values, the cleaner your data will be, leading to more accurate and insightful reports.
💰 "Included" vs. "Plus Chems"
The "Included w/ Service" checkbox is the key to automating your billing. If unchecked, any time a tech adds that chemical, the cost will automatically be added to the customer's next invoice.
🔬 The Power of LSI
Properly configuring and using the LSI calculator transforms your service from guesswork to a scientific process. It helps prevent costly damage to pool surfaces and equipment and is a major selling point for knowledgeable customers.
📅 Custom Frequencies for Checklists
The "Frequency" setting on checklist items is powerful. Use it for tasks that don't happen every week, like "Clean Salt Cell (Every 3 Months)" or "Backwash Filter (Every 4 Weeks)". Upbuoy will automatically remind the technician when these tasks are due.
Key Takeaways
Customize readings and dosages to match your specific business practices and chemical products.
Use standardized values to ensure clean data entry and prevent technician errors.
Set accurate costs and prices to track chemical profitability and automate plus-chemical billing.
Enable and configure the LSI calculator to transform water balancing from guesswork to science.
Order readings and dosages logically to optimize technician workflow efficiency.
Next Steps
You have now customized almost every aspect of your Upbuoy account, from checklists to chemical lists. The final module will give you an overview of the reporting tools that bring all of this data together to give you actionable insights into your business.
Ready to master your business reports?
Proceed to Module 25: Understanding Your Reports