Define a recurrence pattern

A booking setup defines how work orders and bookings are generated. Its recurrence defines when service is due, and its incidents define what work the technician performs. Configure all three together so a recurring date produces useful work rather than an empty or incorrectly scoped visit.

For the HVAC agreement, the annual inspection and quarterly maintenance use different booking setups. Both need equipment-specific work details; the monthly service fee follows a separate invoice recurrence.

Define the service pattern and date range

Open the relevant agreement booking setup and select Booking Recurrence on the command bar. Review both the pattern and the date range before saving:

• Recurrence Pattern: Choose how often service is due, such as daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Complete the additional options for that pattern.
• Start Date: Set the first date from which the recurrence applies.
• End Date Behavior: Choose how the recurring pattern ends.

For quarterly maintenance on the 15th, select a monthly pattern that repeats every three months. A January start can produce target dates in January, April, July, and October. For the annual inspection, use a yearly pattern aligned with the agreed inspection date.

Choose an end behavior that matches the agreement:

• No End Date: Use no separate recurrence end date. The agreement's end date still limits agreement generation.
• End by: Stop the recurrence at a specified date.
• End after: Limit the pattern to a specified number of occurrences.

Keep the recurrence range consistent with the agreement's service period. Don't assume that selecting No End Date extends the customer's contract or authorizes work beyond its end date.

Select OK in the recurrence dialog, then save the booking setup.

Review the expected calendar, including months of different lengths and any year boundary within the service period. A monthly pattern needs to match the customer's intended service dates, not just the first month of the agreement. After activation, the generated booking dates provide the records to check against that expectation.

The recurrence identifies target service dates. The booking setup's lead time controls when work orders are generated, while its flexibility and time windows help define when visits can be scheduled.

Choose separate recurrences or multiple incidents

Separate booking setups create separate recurring streams of work. Use them when frequencies differ, as with annual inspection and quarterly maintenance. When both patterns fall on the same day, don't assume Field Service merges the resulting work orders or removes overlapping tasks.

Multiple incidents within one booking setup serve a different purpose: they group work into the work order generated for that recurrence.

For example, suppose the customer has two air-conditioning units on the roof of Building A. The equipment has separate customer asset records named Rooftop Unit 01 and Rooftop Unit 02. A functional location named Roof identifies where the equipment is installed. An annual inspection setup can include one incident for each asset at the same service account.

Choose the structure based on the work:

• Use one setup with multiple incidents when the work belongs in the same recurring work order.
• Use separate setups when the work needs different recurrences or separate work orders.
• Review the resulting visit and travel requirements rather than assuming that more setups always create a better schedule.

Custom Dates can supplement a recurrence when additional planned dates don't fit its normal pattern. They don't replace the recurrence: a recurrence is required for custom-date work order generation. An unexpected repair can still be created as a separate work order when needed.

Keep the monthly invoice pattern in an invoice setup. A booking recurrence doesn't by itself define when the customer receives a recurring service-fee invoice.

Add equipment-specific agreement incidents

Use incident types to bring a reusable set of products, services, tasks, and required characteristics into recurring service. An agreement booking incident connects that work with the equipment being serviced.

1. Open the Annual HVAC inspection booking setup.
2. On General, find Incidents and select New Agreement Booking Incident. Use the grid's ellipsis menu if needed.
3. Select the appropriate Incident Type for the annual inspection.
4. Select Customer Asset, such as Rooftop Unit 01.
5. In Functional Location, select Roof, the location record for the roof of Building A.
6. Select Save & Close.

If the inspection also covers the second air-conditioning unit, Rooftop Unit 02, add another agreement booking incident for that asset. Repeat the process with the appropriate maintenance incident type on the quarterly setup.

When work orders are generated, they include the agreement incidents and their associated assets. Check that the generated products, services, and tasks refer to the correct incident and equipment. A similar asset name doesn't establish the association.

If your process doesn't use incident types, you can add products, services, and service tasks directly to the agreement booking setup. Use the approach that maintains the intended scope without duplicating items.

Decide how incident template changes apply

Review Copy Incident Items to Agreement on each incident type used by the agreement. This setting controls whether the agreement retains copied work details or uses the incident type's current definition during generation:

• Yes: Field Service copies incident details into the agreement when it is activated. Use this option when the agreement needs to retain an agreed scope even if the incident type changes later.
• No: Agreement-generated work orders use the current incident type details. Use this option when future work should follow updates to the service procedure.

For example, a contract can specify a fixed inspection task list, while a different service commitment requires the latest approved maintenance procedure. Choose the setting with the service owner rather than assuming that every agreement should use the same policy.

Changing the template isn't a substitute for reviewing already-generated work orders. Check a representative generated work order after a template change to confirm the task list, products, services, and asset associations.

Save the recurrence and incident details. Keep the agreement in Estimate until the required billing configuration and activation review are complete.

For more information, see Set up customer agreements to generate work orders and Agreements and incident types.