The Shopping List:
Parts & Chemicals on the Go
Understand and effectively use the Shopping List as a central hub for tracking, managing, and purchasing all the parts and chemicals needed for your business operations.
Duration
15 minutes
Category
Field Operations & Work Orders
Part 1: The Challenge of Inventory & Parts Management
One of the biggest operational challenges for a pool service company is managing inventory.
Common Inventory Challenges
🔧 Field Communication
A tech in the field realizes they need a specific o-ring for a pump lid. How do they communicate that to the office?
📦 Customer Parts
A customer needs a new filter cartridge. How do you ensure it's ordered and that you remember to bill for it?
📋 Stock Management
How do you keep track of what needs to be purchased for upcoming jobs versus what's needed for general truck stock?
The Solution: The Shopping List in Upbuoy is designed to solve these problems. It's a dynamic, company-wide list that bridges the gap between what your technicians identify in the field and what the office needs to order and manage.
Part 2: Two Ways to Add Items to the Shopping List
There are two primary ways items get added to the master Shopping List, each serving a different purpose.
Method 1: From a Specific Pool
This is the most common method, used by technicians in the field.
📱 Scenario
A tech is servicing a pool and notices the pump basket is cracked.
⚡ Action
They open the customer's profile in the Upbuoy app.
They navigate to the Pools tab and find the correct pool card.
On that pool card, they click "Add Item" in the Shopping List section.
They add an entry:
"Pentair IntelliFlo Pump Basket, Part #516112"
✅ Result
This item is now on the company-wide Shopping List, and it is directly linked to that specific customer and location. The office now knows exactly which part is needed for which customer.
Method 2: From the Main Shopping List Page
This method is typically used by office staff or managers for general inventory.
📦 Scenario
You are running low on 3-inch chlorine tablets for general truck stock.
⚡ Action
Navigate to the main Shopping List page from the sidebar.
Click the "Add" button.
In the ShoppingItemDialog, you can add a "General Stock" item. You would leave the "Assign To" field as "General Stock" or similar.
Add an entry:
"3-inch Chlorine Tablets - 50lb Bucket"
✅ Result
This item is now on the company-wide Shopping List but is not tied to a specific customer. It's for general inventory replenishment.
Part 3: Managing the Shopping List
The main Shopping List page is your command center for purchasing.
🗂️ Navigate to the Shopping List
From the sidebar, click on Shopping Cart (<ShoppingCart />).
📊 The View
The page displays a table of all items that need to be purchased. It includes:
Item Name
The description of the part or chemical.
Customer/Location
If the item is for a specific job, it will show the customer and their address here. If it's for general stock, this will be blank.
Added By
The name of the technician or user who added the item.
Date Added
When the item was added to the list.
Status
An item is either "Needed" or "Purchased".
🔍 Filtering and Searching
Use the search bar to find a specific item. Use the filters to narrow down the list, for example:
Show only items for a specific Customer.
Show only items added by a specific Technician.
Show only Parts or only Chemicals.
✅ Managing Item Status: The Core Workflow
When you are at the supply store (or ordering online), pull up the Shopping List on your phone.
As you purchase each item, click the checkbox next to it to mark it as "Purchased".
The item will then move from the main "Shopping List" tab to the "Purchased" tab, giving you a clean, updated list of what you still need to buy.
Part 4: Key Concepts & Pro Tips
🔄 Shopping List vs. Work Order Items
📋 Shopping List
This is your purchasing to-do list. It's for things you don't have on hand.
💰 Work Order "Items & Materials"
This is the list of parts and labor that will be billed to the customer for a specific job.
Important:
An item can be on both lists! For example, a tech adds a "Pump Motor" to the shopping list. The office orders it. When it arrives, they create a work order for the installation and add "Pump Motor" as a line item to be billed.
📊 The "Purchased" Tab is Your History
The "Purchased" tab becomes a valuable log of all the parts and special chemicals you've bought, which can be useful for tracking expenses and job costing.
👥 Empower Your Techs
Train your technicians to add items to the shopping list directly from the field. This eliminates forgotten parts, messy text messages to the office, and unnecessary trips back to a job site.
Key Takeaways
The Shopping List bridges the gap between field identification of needed parts and office purchasing.
Items can be added from specific pools (customer-linked) or for general inventory replenishment.
The core workflow involves marking items as "Purchased" to maintain a clean, updated purchasing list.
Empowering technicians to add items directly from the field eliminates communication gaps and missed parts.
Next Steps
You now have a powerful system for managing customers, scheduling work, and tracking the parts you need. The final piece of the puzzle is turning all this hard work into revenue. It's time to dive into billing.
Ready to learn about billing?
Proceed to Module 16: Setting Up Billing & Stripe Connect