Loaner units while a customer's unit is in for service
When a customer's laptop, TV or machine has to go to your workshop, lend them one of your own units from the ticket. They sign a loaner agreement with your terms, and the ticket does not close until the loaner is back.
PLANSScale only
Why it matters
A customer whose laptop, TV or machine goes to your workshop still needs one to work with. Spare units lent on a phone call get lost, and tickets close while the unit is still out. SmartMy Desk lends the loaner from the ticket itself, with a signed agreement carrying your terms. The ticket cannot close until the unit is back, so nothing is forgotten when the repair is done.
The problem it solves
- A customer's only laptop goes to the workshop for a week, and they ask what they are supposed to work on meanwhile.
- Spare units are lent on a phone call, with no signature, and nobody is sure which customer has which one.
- The repair is finished and the ticket closed, but the loaner is still with the customer three months later.
- A loaner comes back with a cracked screen, and there is nothing on paper about the condition it went out in.
How it works
- Keep your spare units in the fixed asset register, for example under a category Loaner Units, each with its serial number.
- On the customer's ticket, press Lend a Loaner. A loaner form opens with the customer, the ticket and your Entity filled in; your loaner terms are added when you save it.
- Pick the unit and its condition (New, Good, Fair or Damaged). Add the accessories that go with it, such as a charger and a bag, and the date it is expected back.
- The customer signs on the screen under Acknowledgment. Press Give, then Print > Loaner Agreement to hand them a copy with your terms and their signature.
- The ticket shows Loaners Out. Your technician solves the ticket as usual; while a loaner is out, the ticket stays solved and cannot close.
- When the customer's own unit goes back, open the loaner from the ticket and press Take Back. Give the condition it came back in and any damage charge. The ticket can then close.
Everything it does
Lending from the ticket
- Lend a Loaner shows on an open ticket that has a customer
- The loaner is an asset issue Given To A Customer, with the ticket number on it
- A loaner goes to a customer, so nobody answers in an app: it is Given at once and the unit moves
- Customer, ticket, Entity and Received By are filled in from the ticket
- Condition given: New, Good, Fair or Damaged; accessories, Given On and Expected Back
- The customer signs on the screen; Signed On is stamped when the signature is added
- One issue at a time per unit: a unit already lent must be taken back first
- A ticket can have more than one loaner, for example a laptop and a monitor
The loaner agreement
- Printed from the loaner: Print > Loaner Agreement, as a PDF in the customer's language
- Shows the customer, the service ticket and its title, the unit with its code and serial number, the accessories and the condition
- Shows the date it was given and the date it is expected back
- Shows your loaner terms and the customer's signature with the date
- Starting terms: the unit stays your property and is lent until the customer's item returns. It comes back in the same condition with its accessories. Damage or loss is charged at repair or replacement cost
- Change the terms for your Entity in the settings; a loaner can carry its own wording while it is in draft
Closing the ticket
- Loaner Back Before Closing: on to start with
- With it on, closing a ticket while a loaner is still out is refused, with the unit's name in the message
- When the customer confirms the fix, or the ticket would close by itself after the days set on the kind of issue, it stays solved. The team lead (or the technician) gets a to-do: Finish the ticket to close it
- Taken back after the customer confirmed: the ticket closes at once, unless another check, such as unbilled work, still holds it
- Taken back with no answer from the customer: the ticket closes at the next hourly auto-close run
- Switch the setting off to let tickets close with a loaner still out
Taking it back
- Open the loaner from the Loaners Out button on the ticket
- Condition back: New, Good, Fair, Damaged or Not Returned; Take Back needs one of them
- Not Returned also ends the loan, so the ticket can close; follow it up as a loss
- Damage Charge: noted on the loaner for whoever settles it; no invoice is made by itself
- The unit's place and the move are kept on the asset's Changes tab
Keeping track
- Invoicing > Fixed Assets > Issues with the filter Loaners shows every loaner with its ticket
- Late Back shows the loaners past their expected date; Given Out shows all that are out
- Group by customer or status; the asset shows Now With
- The loaner unit keeps depreciating in the register like any other asset
Who uses it
Service desk or store keeper (Asset Incharge)Lends the loaner from the ticket, takes the signature, prints the agreement and takes the unit back.
TechnicianSolves the ticket as usual and sees on the ticket that a loaner is out.
Team leadGets the to-do when a solved ticket cannot close because a loaner is still out.
CustomerSigns for the loaner, keeps a copy of the agreement and returns the unit.
Helpdesk AdministratorSets Loaner Back Before Closing and the terms on the agreement.
Where you use it
- Web: the ticket (Lend a Loaner, Loaners Out) and Invoicing > Fixed Assets > Issues (filter Loaners)
- Web: Settings > Helpdesk > Loaner units
- Not in the SmartMy Desk app: Lend a Loaner is on the ticket in the web back office
- Not on the customer portal: the customer gets the printed agreement, not a page
What you control
Settings
- Loaner Back Before Closing: on (per Entity)
- Terms on the agreement: a starting text you can change (per Entity)
- Auto-close of solved tickets: after the days set on the kind of issue (3 to start with)
Notifications
- Not built: a message to the customer when a loaner is due back; use the Late Back filter
- The team lead's to-do when a solved ticket is held by a loaner is a back-office to-do, not a message
Questions
Do loaner units have to be in the fixed asset register?
Yes. A loaner is lent from the register, so each spare unit is an asset with its code and serial number. It keeps depreciating while it is lent.Can a ticket close with a loaner still out?
Not with the starting setting. Switch off Loaner Back Before Closing under Settings > Helpdesk > Loaner units to allow it.What happens when the customer confirms the repair but still has the loaner?
The ticket stays solved and the team lead gets a to-do. As soon as the loaner is taken back, the ticket closes.Can we charge for a damaged loaner?
Type the damage charge when you take it back. It is noted on the loaner for whoever settles it; raise the invoice yourself.Who can lend a loaner?
A user with the Asset Incharge role: Lend a Loaner and Loaners Out show only for it. Give it to your service desk or store keeper.Which plan has it?
Scale, with the fixed asset register and asset issue and return.Related features
ASSETSAsset care, and assets issued and returnedGive an instrument to a technician, a ladder to a site or a tablet to a customer. A technician confirms in the app before the asset moves to them. Record its condition when it comes back. Keep the warranty, AMC and insurance of your vans and tools, with a reminder 30 days before each ends.ASSETSFixed assets: register and depreciationYour vans, test instruments, tools, laptops and loaner units sit in one register with their cost, depreciation and book value. Depreciation posts to your books each month, and selling or scrapping an asset waits for your approval chain first.CLOSINGConfirm, reopen and rateAfter a ticket is solved, the requester confirms the fix or reopens it with a reason. Without an answer it closes by itself after a set number of days. On closing the requester rates the service, and a low rating gives the team lead a to-do.CLOSINGClosing proof and the service reportA ticket is solved only with a resolution note and the proof its kind of issue asks for. The proof is the customer's signature, a four-digit happy code from the requester, or an after-photo. The requester then gets the solved email with a service report as a PDF.CUSTOMERS, SITES AND EQUIPMENTEquipment register with QR tags and service historyRegister each customer unit, such as an AC, a DB panel, a UPS or a lift. Keep its tag number, make, model, serial, warranty end, criticality and photo. Its tickets build its service history, its QR tag opens the raise form, and a unit that keeps failing is flagged.
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