Opening an equipment item
When you open an equipment from the catalog, you'll see a button to create a PO directly from it, plus two tabs:
Equipment Units: shows the quantities you have in stock, where they are, and the serial numbers tied to that stock.
Activity: shows the full activity history for that equipment.
Tracking each unit by status
In the Equipment Units tab, every individual unit is listed by serial number, along with its location, services date, and a status you can update per unit.
Since each unit is tracked on its own, you can mark where it is in its lifecycle using these statuses:
Available: the unit is in stock and ready to use, sell, or install.
Installation: the unit is in the process of being installed.
Installed: the unit has been installed at the customer's property.
Service Due: the unit is due for maintenance or service.
Serviced: maintenance or service has been completed.
Retired: the unit has been decommissioned or reached the end of its life.
Drafts: the unit is still in draft (not yet confirmed or active).
You can also use Edit Availability to manage units, and the Activity tab to review a unit's history.
Using your equipment: transfers and jobs
Once an equipment unit is in a warehouse, there are two things you can do with it: send it to a job or transfer it to another location.
One important note on how to do this in the interface: if you select the unit straight from its checkbox, the only option you'll get is to create a PO. To transfer it instead:
1) Open the dropdown menu on the right
2) Check the box for the specific unit (by serial number) you want to move
3) And you'll see three options:
Transfer to job
Transfer to location
Delete equipment units
Sending equipment to a job
Open the dropdown, select the unit's serial number, and choose Transfer to job.
2. On the next screen, select the job you're transferring the equipment to, then click Assign equipment.
3. The unit disappears from stock, since it's now been transferred to the job.
If you open that job and go to its Equipment tab, the unit will be there with a status of Installation.
Marking it as Installed and recording the install
Inside the job, open the unit's three dots and choose Change Status to move it from Installation to Installed.
When you mark it as installed, you can capture the full install details:
The technician who installed it and the installation date.
Any attachments, such as technical specs.
Who it was installed for: customer name, location, contact phone, and email.
You can also activate the warranty at this step.
Once you save, the unit shows as Installed within the job. Based on the dates you entered here, Ply will calculate the maintenance and service dates for that unit in the future.
Seeing it back in the catalog
If you go back to the catalog, open the equipment, and check the Equipment Units tab, you'll see that the unit is now assigned to a job, showing the job name and the Installed status, along with the service dates Ply calculated from the install information.
Transferring equipment between locations
Moving a unit to another location follows the same flow:
From the stock location, open the Equipment dropdown and select the unit's serial number.
Choose Transfer to location and pick the destination location.
Add a note if you'd like, then transfer.
The unit disappears from the current location and appears in the destination, for example a technician's truck.
The lifecycle at a glance
Putting it together, once an equipment unit exists in Ply you can:
Track it by serial number in the Equipment Units tab.
Send it to a job (it starts as Installation) or transfer it between locations.
Mark it as Installed and record the technician, customer, dates, and warranty.
Let Ply calculate the service and maintenance dates from there, and follow the unit's status through the rest of its life.
To learn how to create equipment in the first place, see our article on creating equipment in Ply.
Still have questions?