What the Set arrival time question is asking, and whether to choose vehicle time or device time.
When you tap Arrive, Commusoft may ask you to confirm what time you got there, rather than just taking the moment you tapped. The answer sets the start time on the appointment, so it is worth knowing which option to pick.
Why you are asked
Two things decide what you see, and both are set by your office:
Whether your company uses Fleet. With Fleet vehicle tracking, Commusoft knows when your vehicle reached the property, because the site has a boundary around it â a geo-fence. That crossing is your vehicle time.
Whether your company allows arrival time changes. This is a setting your office controls. Some companies let you adjust the time, others only let you confirm what Commusoft already has.
What the question looks like
The prompt is titled Set arrival time and reads Confirm your arrival time for this appointment. Underneath are the options you have been given.
Your set-up | What you get |
Fleet, and arrival time changes allowed | Use vehicle time or Use device time, plus Edit time and Confirm |
Fleet, and arrival time changes not allowed | Vehicle time and device time are shown, with Confirm only |
No Fleet, and arrival time changes allowed | Use device time, plus Edit time and Confirm |
No Fleet, and arrival time changes not allowed | No prompt at all â tapping Arrive marks you as arrived straight away |
Which one to choose
Use vehicle time is when your van reached the property. Pick this when you have been on site a while before tapping Arrive â unloading, finding the meter, talking to the customer. It is the more accurate record of when the visit started, and it is the one your office can back up.
Use device time is your phone's clock at the moment you tapped. Pick this when you tapped Arrive as you got there, or when the vehicle time is wrong because you did not travel in the tracked van.
Tip: If the two times are minutes apart it rarely matters. If they are an hour apart, something is worth explaining â say so in your job report rather than leaving the office to guess.
Editing the time
If your company allows arrival time changes, tap Edit time and set the time yourself, then Confirm. You are only offered a time, not a date, so this is for correcting the hour and minute on today's visit rather than backdating a job.
Important: Once the appointment is marked as arrived it is locked, and the start time is fixed. If you confirm a time you did not mean, only the office can correct it.
If the vehicle time will not load
Commusoft waits around 10 seconds for the vehicle time. If it has not arrived by then, you see Unable to fetch vehicle time, with two buttons:
Try again â worth one attempt if your signal is poor where you are standing.
Skip â carries on without the vehicle time so you are not held up at the door.
Common questions
Why does my colleague get asked and I do not?
The prompt only appears if your company uses Fleet, or allows arrival time changes. With neither, tapping Arrive marks you as arrived with no question. Both are office settings.
Why does it say "Unable to fetch vehicle time"?
Commusoft could not get the vehicle time within about 10 seconds. Tap Try again, or Skip to carry on without it.
Which time should I pick?
Pick vehicle time if you have been on site for a while before tapping Arrive, because it records when you actually got there. Pick device time if you tapped as you arrived, or if you did not travel in the tracked van.
I tapped Arrive late. Can I put the right time in?
If your company allows arrival time changes, tap Edit time and set the correct time before confirming. If there is no Edit time option, choose the vehicle time where you have one, and otherwise ask your office to correct it afterwards.
What does Skip do?
Skip continues without the vehicle time, so you can get on with the job rather than waiting.