Set up Job Types for the work you do

Job Types are the services your business offers — "Lockout", "Garage Door Spring", "Water Heater Install". Every job can carry one, and the type drives the badge color on job lists, the Calendar's By Type coloring, and the route optimizer's duration estimates. Set them up once from the Job Types page in the sidebar: click Add Job Type, name it, pick a color, optionally set a default duration, and save.

Before you start

• You need a login with permission to manage job types — owner or admin (dispatchers can still add one inline from the New Job form).
• Think in terms of the services you quote, not marketing channels — where a job came from is a job source, not a job type.

Step 1 — Add a job type

1. Click Job Types in the left sidebar, then Add Job Type.
2. Fill in the drawer:
   • Name — required (e.g. "Garage Door Repair").
   • Description — optional note about the service.
   • Default Duration — minutes (5–480). The route optimizer uses this when actual job times aren't available; blank means 30 minutes.
   • Color — pick a swatch or add your own. The preview badge shows exactly how the type will look on job rows.
3. Click Add Job Type to save.

Step 2 — Edit, deactivate, or reactivate

Hover a job type card for its actions:

• The pencil opens Edit Job Type — change the name, description, duration, or color, then Save Changes. In edit mode there's also an Active checkbox; inactive types won't appear in dropdowns.
• The deactivate action moves the type to the Inactive section at the bottom of the page — existing jobs keep it, new jobs can't pick it.
• Reactivate brings an inactive type back.

Step 3 — Delete (with an impact check)

Deleting is permanent, so Dispatch Bros checks the impact first: the confirmation tells you how many jobs currently reference the type and that those jobs will lose their type label. You can also select several types with the checkboxes and use the bulk Delete — the confirm dialog sums the impact across all of them before anything is removed.

Adding a type on the fly

While creating a job, type a name into the Job Type dropdown — if it doesn't exist you'll get an inline add option that creates it and selects it immediately. No settings detour mid-call.

Troubleshooting

• "A job type with this name already exists." — names are unique. Edit the existing type instead, or reactivate it if it's in the Inactive section.
• A type is missing from the New Job dropdown — it's probably deactivated. Check the Inactive section on the Job Types page and Reactivate it.
• "No job types found." — you haven't created any yet. Use Add Your First Job Type to start.
• Route suggestions seem off for long jobs — set a realistic Default Duration on each type; with no duration the optimizer assumes 30 minutes per job.