--- title: "Dispatch" url: "https://fieldcamp.ai/hvac-software/dispatch/" date: "2026-07-27T09:43:08+00:00" modified: "2026-09-08T07:12:24+00:00" type: "Article" resource: "https://fieldcamp.ai/hvac-software/dispatch/" timestamp: "2026-09-08T07:12:24+00:00" author: name: "Jeel Patel" categories: - "Uncategorized" word_count: 4969 reading_time: "25 min read" summary: "Home › HVAC Software › Dispatch" description: "HVAC dispatch software that assigns jobs by skill, location and priority, and re-routes when an emergency lands — with the reasoning shown to the dispatcher." keywords: "Uncategorized" language: "en" schema_type: "Article" related_posts: - title: "Free Fence Invoice Template for Contractors" url: "https://fieldcamp.ai/fencing-software/invoice-template/" - title: "HVAC Maintenance Plans: How to Build, Price and Sell a Program (2026)" url: "https://fieldcamp.ai/hvac-software/maintenance-plans/" - title: "Painting Contractor Software Integrations" url: "https://fieldcamp.ai/painting-software/integrations-guide/" --- # Dispatch _Published: July 27, 2026_ _Author: Jeel Patel_ [Home](/) › [HVAC Software](/hvac-software/) › **Dispatch** HVAC · Dispatch # HVAC dispatch software that fills the board in minutes — *and shows the reason for every assignment.* **The right technician, the right route, decided in minutes — not held in one dispatcher’s head.** FieldCamp’s AI Dispatcher weighs skills, certifications, zones, capacity, and travel time for every job, then proposes an assignment with its reasoning. It’s the dispatch layer of FieldCamp’s [HVAC software](/hvac-software/) — same board, same data model as scheduling, CRM, and invoicing. [Book a 15-minute call](https://calendly.com/jeel-fieldcamp/30min) Watch the AI assign a live HVAC board on the call. Context job · technician · time · availability Mapped configured technician skills Review Immediate or Queue — your choice AI proposed the day · 1m 38s 3 trucks Dispatch · Wed, May 29 3 trucks · 9 visits AI assisting Scheduled Timeline Resource Map Technicians 8 AM 10 AM 12 PM 2 PM 4 PM RKRiya K. Truck B · EPA 608 Univ. 88% full 11m 16m#1041AlvarezUrgent No-cool · 8:00–9:45 #1043Boyd AC tune-up · 10:15–12:00 #1046Tran Heat-pump swap · 12:45–3:30 DADaniel A. Truck A · EPA Type II 63% full 9m 14m#1042Ortiz HP diag. · 9–10 #1044Shah IAQ install · 10:30–1:00 #1047Kim Plan visit · 2–3 PM MRMarco R. Truck C · EPA Type I 80% full 21m 12m#1040Weiss Tune-up · 8:00–9:15 #1045Fox No-heat · 10:00–11:30 #1048Diaz Furnace install · 12:15–3:45 Why Riya got the no-cool: EPA 608 Universal · already in Zone 2 · 11 min to her next stop · truck still has headroom. ★**4.5 G2** **Runs the board for** HVAC shops of every shape — or standalone on your current stack. • Residential • Commercial • High-volume • Emergency-heavy • Multi-branch 01 How it works ## How HVAC dispatch works — *one lifecycle, one board.* Modern HVAC dispatching follows a repeatable lifecycle, whether a human or an AI runs it. **FieldCamp runs all six stages on one board** — and a dispatched job traces back through the same records, so nothing is re-keyed along the way. 1 Intake & triage ### Booked with its urgency A job is booked — by phone, online, or the [AI receptionist](/hvac-software/ai-receptionist/) — with its equipment, location, and urgency. No-cool, no-heat, and gas calls are separated from routine work *before* they hit the board. ✓ Triaged 2 Assignment ### Matched to the right tech The job is [matched to a technician by skill and certification](https://docs.fieldcamp.ai/ai-dispatcher/skills-and-hierarchical-skills), location, travel time, availability, and priority — dispatched the moment it’s ready in **Immediate** mode, or held for review in **Queue** mode. Both are real settings, not a workaround. ✓ Assigned 3 Route ### Stops sequenced, then approved Route optimization reorders the day’s stops to cut driving time, optimising for time or distance. The result appears as a side-by-side preview — **nothing moves until the dispatcher applies it.** ✓ Routed 4 Notification ### Tech dispatched, customer told The technician gets the job on mobile; the customer gets an accurate ETA and an on-the-way text. No dispatcher phone tag on either side. ✓ Notified 5 Live dispatch ### The board absorbs the day GPS shows every truck. Ad-hoc jobs are inserted, delays absorbed, and an emergency is triaged into the board with the affected stops re-sequenced for review. ✓ Tracked 6 Completion ### Closed into the record The job closes into the customer and equipment record; [invoicing](/hvac-software/invoicing/) and follow-up flow from the same data — nothing re-entered between intake, scheduling, and dispatch. ✓ Closed 02 What it is ## What is HVAC dispatch software? HVAC dispatch software centralizes scheduling, routing, and technician tracking to minimize drive time and maximize daily revenue — assigning the right technician to each job and keeping the office and field in sync. In practice it decides *who* goes to *which* job, *when*, and by *what* route — with GPS tracking and automated technician notifications keeping everyone informed while it happens. It replaces the whiteboard, the spreadsheet, and the string of “where’s my tech?” phone calls. Get it right and technicians drive less, complete more jobs, and customers get accurate ETAs; get it wrong and you burn fuel, idle techs, and lose after-hours calls to voicemail. **The problem it solves:** in a busy HVAC shop, demand is spiky and unforgiving. A heat wave triggers a flood of no-cool calls, an emergency has to jump the queue, and a single wrong assignment — a tech without the right certification, or one already across town — costs an hour of drive time and a frustrated customer. Manual dispatching depends on one person holding the whole schedule, and every tech’s skills, in their head. Dispatch software turns that into a system. **Why it’s mission-critical for HVAC specifically:** margins live and die on drive time and first-time-fix rate. A tech sent without the right part or skill means a second trip; a poorly sequenced route means fewer jobs per day. Dispatch is the single lever that most directly affects both. → **Scheduling vs dispatching — the distinction that matters.** Scheduling decides *when* a job happens; dispatching decides *who* goes and in what route order. This page owns the *who*. For the *when* — booking, capacity, reminders, and the recurring seasonal calendar — see [HVAC scheduling software](/hvac-software/scheduling/). FieldCamp does both, on one board. → **The dispatch board.** Every job, crew, and truck on one screen, in four views — Scheduled, Timeline, Resource, and Map. Each entry carries the job details, arrival window, assigned tech, and the customer and equipment record. Drag to override; the board updates live. → **Two features, not one.** **AI Dispatcher** decides *who* takes a job — it analyses available technicians, matches required skills, [calculates travel time from each tech’s current location, checks availability and workload](https://docs.fieldcamp.ai/ai-dispatcher/what-is-ai-dispatcher), then suggests a technician and time slot with a confidence score and its reasoning. **Route optimization** decides *in what order* one technician’s stops happen. Both are built into FieldCamp, and both hand the final call to a person. → **How it’s licensed.** AI Dispatcher is an add-on you enable from the add-ons section — no separate login or app — and each dispatch suggestion consumes credits from your monthly allocation. Route optimization is built directly into FieldCamp with no third-party routing tools and no extra fees. Emergency triaged · new order proposed Riya K. · this afternoon Preview 1:00 PM #1046Heat-pump swap · Tran 4218 Maple Ave · unchanged In progress 2:15 PM #1049No-cool · AlvarezUrgent 96°F day · nearest qualified tech Inserted 3:30 PM #1043AC tune-up · Boyd Routine · ETA text on apply was 2:15 4:45 PM #1047Plan visit · Kim Agreement visit · ETA text on apply was 3:30 Apply Discard Two visits re-sequenced in the proposal · no visit times change until you apply. ### Who HVAC dispatch software is for Different shops buy dispatch software for different reasons. Here’s where FieldCamp fits, segment by segment. For residential / high-volume teams FieldCamp — connected job and visit context with assignment recommendations for human review. For multi-location and multi-branch operations FieldCamp — assignment recommendations on a customizable operating record, with per-technician route locking so re-optimising one team doesn’t shuffle another. For commercial & construction FieldCamp — zones, contracts, purchase orders, multi-site properties, and preventive-maintenance routes on one board. For QuickBooks users FieldCamp — a configured [QuickBooks Online connection](/hvac-software/quickbooks/) for supported customer, estimate, and invoice workflows. ✦ For shops without a full-time dispatcher FieldCamp — in **Immediate** mode the AI assigns the moment a job is created, inside the guardrails you set: max drive time, max jobs per technician per day, and whether overtime is allowed. Switch to **Queue** mode when you want every assignment held for review. ### From a whiteboard to AI-assisted dispatch Four ways HVAC shops dispatch today — and where each approach gives out. | Approach | How it works | Suitable for | The limitation | |---|---|---|---| | Manual dispatch (whiteboard / spreadsheet) | Jobs written down as they come in; the dispatcher assigns from memory and phone calls. | Very small shops with simple, local routes. | Depends entirely on one person — no route sequencing, no live visibility, high error rate, and total knowledge loss if that person is out. | | Basic scheduling software (calendar / board) | Jobs appear as cards on a digital board; the dispatcher drags them onto techs and time slots. | Shops that need shared visibility and history. | Assignment is still manual; no route sequencing or automated decisioning — the dispatcher remains the bottleneck. | | Rules-based / responsive dispatching | Configured rules (skills, zones, capacity) enforce who can take a job and suggest slots. | Growing shops with defined service areas and skill matrices. | Rules are rigid and need upkeep; there is no route sequencing and no proposal to compare against. | | AI-assisted dispatch (FieldCamp) | The recommendation uses available job, technician, travel-time, availability, and mapped skill context. Route optimization then sequences the day's stops and shows the result as a preview. | Operations that want structured assignment recommendations and route proposals on connected FieldCamp records. | Requires accurate configured data. Route proposals must be applied by a person, and results depend on the addresses, durations, and availability you maintain. | 03 Core capabilities ## Core capabilities of HVAC dispatch software — *the buyer’s checklist.* Each capability below is what a serious buyer evaluates — **every one handled natively in FieldCamp**, on the same board and the same records. ### The dispatch board — four views Every job, crew, and truck on one screen in Scheduled, Timeline, Resource, and Map views. Each entry carries the job details, arrival window, assigned tech, and the customer and equipment record; drag to override and the board updates live. ### Skills & certification-based assignment Skills are set per technician, so only techs with the right skill or certification for a job type can be assigned — EPA cert level, refrigerant handling, comfort with light commercial — and no CSR has to memorize the whole team's abilities. ### Capacity planning & conflict detection Availability parameters per job type, season, and zone — plus a max-jobs-per-technician-per-day ceiling you can override per person — so slots are only offered when they can be served. Conflict detection flags any violation before it books. ### Assignment suggestions with reasoning Turn on the AI Dispatch toggle when creating a job and FieldCamp analyses available technicians, matches required skills, calculates travel time from each tech's current location, and checks availability and workload — then suggests a technician and time slot with a confidence score and its reasoning. Accept, reject, or modify it. ### Route optimization — preview, then apply Reorders a technician's stops to cut driving time, weighing geographic proximity, your service areas, confirmed appointment windows that can't move, [each tech's home base and weekly availability](https://docs.fieldcamp.ai/ai-dispatcher/multi-day-and-travel-setup), and the estimated duration at every stop. Optimise for time or distance, compare original against proposed side by side, then Apply or Discard. Built in — no third-party routing tool, no extra fee. ### Live GPS tracking Real-time truck positions with movement history, stops, trips, and daily summaries, plus a “Where is Mike?” last-known-position lookup for the office. Accurate ETAs come from where the truck actually is. ### Automated notifications Techs get their jobs on mobile; customers get ETAs, reminders, and on-the-way texts — no dispatcher phone tag, no “where's my tech?” calls stacking up at the office. ### Emergency & urgent handling No-cool, no-heat, and gas calls are captured with their urgency at intake, then presented with the relevant dispatch context. The affected stops are re-sequenced in a proposal the dispatcher reviews — the board doesn't change until it's applied. ### Zone-based dispatching & route locking Service areas with their own days, arrival windows, and slot capacity — so a job across town never silently eats an hour of a tech's afternoon. Lock a technician's route and re-optimising the rest of the team leaves theirs untouched. ### Maintenance-agreement visits Configured recurring seasonal jobs or visits stay connected to the same records as your [maintenance agreements](/hvac-software/maintenance-agreements/). Scheduling determines when; AI Dispatcher suggests who; route optimization proposes the order. ### Dispatch modes & overtime guardrails Dispatch a job the moment it's ready in Immediate mode, or hold it for review in Queue mode — a real setting, per your operation. Set a max acceptable drive time between jobs, and allow or prevent assignments that push a technician past shift end. ### Bulk dispatch from the Job Tray Unassigned jobs sit in the Job Tray. Select several, click Dispatch, and the AI assigns them in one pass across the whole team rather than one job at a time. You can also drive it from the Command Centre in plain language — “dispatch all unassigned jobs for today”. 04 The assignment engine ## How the AI assigns technicians — *and what it weighs.* For every job, the engine weighs **eight factors a seasoned dispatcher holds in their head** — then proposes the assignment in seconds, with the reasoning visible on the card. 01 Skills & certifications set per technician, matched to the job type 02 Travel time from current location where the truck is right now, not where it started 03 Confirmed time windows appointments that can’t move stay put 04 Availability & workload who’s free, and how full their day already is 05 Max jobs per day a global default you can override per technician 06 Max drive time the ceiling you set for travel between jobs 07 Overtime rule allow or prevent assignments past shift end 08 Performance history how each tech has done on similar job types Your call Optimise for time or distance one toggle, recomputed on demand One factor deserves the italics: **travel time from where the technician actually is**. The engine doesn’t assume everyone starts from the shop — it calculates from each tech’s current location, and each technician carries a vehicle routing profile that shapes how that drive time is worked out. Two of the eight are worth spelling out. Ranking **prefers underloaded technicians**, so the board balances instead of piling work on whoever is already fastest. And it weighs **performance history on similar job types** — the tech who consistently closes heat-pump work on the first visit ranks higher for heat-pump work. Candidates who fail a hard filter never reach ranking at all: no required skill, already booked, over their daily capacity, or on time-off. FieldCamp separates the two decisions on purpose. **AI Dispatcher answers *who*** — it suggests the technician and slot, with a confidence score and the reasoning behind the match. **Route optimization answers *in what order*** — it re-sequences one technician’s stops to cut driving. You can run either without the other. **The human stays in the loop where it counts.** Route proposals are preview-first: the optimized order appears side by side with the current one and nothing on the calendar moves until a dispatcher clicks Apply. Discard it and the original route stays exactly as it was. **And where the limits are.** Optimization runs asynchronously — a long run usually means a lot of stops, many fixed time windows, or technicians spread across a wide area. If the engine can’t find a valid solution, the run fails and your original schedule is left untouched. Weather overlays and performance guarantees are not part of it. Preview only · nothing applied yet Route proposal · Riya K. Reorders only Current route 96 mi · 2h 41m drive time today Proposed 71 mi · 1h 58m −43 minutes of driving 1 Plan visit · Maple Ave was 3rd 2 No-cool · Downtown was 1st 3 AC tune-up · Zone 2 was 4th 4 Heat-pump diag. · Riverside was 2nd Apply route Discard No visit time changes until your dispatcher applies it. ### AI vs manual vs rules-based | | Manual board | Rules-based | FieldCamp AI Dispatcher | |---|---|---|---| | Who assigns | A person, from memory | Rules + a human | The AI suggests; a person accepts, rejects, or modifies | | Assignment context | Dispatcher knowledge | Defined rules | Skills, travel time from current location, availability, workload, and your configured ceilings | | Explainability | Ask the dispatcher | Read the rule | Confidence score plus written reasoning on every suggestion | | Change control | Direct edit | Rule + edit | Immediate mode assigns inside your guardrails; Queue mode holds for review | | Route sequencing | Separate task, done by hand | Separate task | Built in — proposed side by side, applied by a person | | Operating record | Board or spreadsheet | FSM record | Connected FieldCamp job and visit records | | Bulk handling | One at a time | One at a time | Select many in the Job Tray and dispatch across the team in one pass | 05 The HVAC bottleneck ## The service-manager bottleneck — *fixed at the point of booking.* In most HVAC shops, every schedule change routes through one service manager. **CSRs can’t book independently, so customers wait on hold** while someone walks over to check the board. FieldCamp’s fix: the AI surfaces a suggested customer-and-technician slot **in real time, at the point of booking** — so the CSR books it on the call instead of queuing behind the manager. It’s the single change that most improves an HVAC dispatch operation: intake stops waiting on one person’s judgment, and the board stays sensible anyway, because the same engine that weighs the day suggested the slot. And when the call comes at 9 PM, the [HVAC answering service](/hvac-software/answering-service/) books against the same live board — so after-hours emergencies become dispatched jobs, not voicemails. Slot surfaced while the customer is on the line Booking · on the call Live slot CANo-cool · Mrs. Alvarez Downtown · Zone 2 · urgent On call AISuggested slot · today 3:30 PM Riya K. · 11 min from her last stop Suggested OKBooked by the CSR No service-manager check needed Confirmed TXETA text queued “Riya is on the way” · 3:12 PM Queued 06 Benefits & limits ## What software-driven dispatch changes — *and where it doesn’t.* The honest version of the benefits list — **including the limitations to plan for**, because assignment quality is only as good as the data underneath it. What you gain - ✓ Explainable assignments — every suggestion carries a confidence score and the reasoning behind it. - ✓ Human control where it matters — accept, reject, or modify a suggestion; apply or discard a route. - ✓ Less windshield time — stops re-sequenced against proximity, fixed windows, home base, and job duration. - ✓ Connected records — jobs, visits, technicians, and schedule context stay together. - ✓ Guardrails you set — max drive time, max jobs per day, and whether overtime is allowed. - ✓ Operational consistency — dispatch decisions no longer live in one person’s memory. The straight talk - Garbage in, garbage out — results depend on accurate addresses, skills, durations, and availability. - AI Dispatcher is an add-on and each suggestion consumes credits from your monthly allocation. - Optimisation works best when flexible jobs are set to “Anytime”. Lots of fixed windows leave the algorithm little room. - Runs are asynchronous and can fail on very large or heavily constrained days — the original schedule is left untouched. - Very small shops with trivial routes may not need optimisation yet — two techs covering one zip code can wait. - Always review before applying. The algorithm minimises drive time; it doesn’t know about gate codes, customer preferences, or access restrictions. 07 Your stack ## Dispatch on the connected *FieldCamp operating record.* FieldCamp AI Dispatcher operates on FieldCamp jobs and visits. Two-way overlays with other FSM or CRM platforms are not claimed here. → **Inside FieldCamp, or standalone.** The add-on runs in your existing job-creation and calendar workflow — no separate login. The standalone AI Dispatcher app adds a live map, agents, and connectors; if you outgrow the add-on you can move across without losing data. → **QuickBooks Online boundary.** The separate [QuickBooks Online connection](/hvac-software/quickbooks/) supports configured customer, estimate, and invoice workflows; dispatch remains an operational record. → **Live team tracking.** Truck positions, movement history, stops, trips, and daily summaries — so ETAs and the operator view come from where the trucks actually are. → **Run it from the Command Centre.** Open it with Cmd+/ and ask in plain language — “optimize today’s route for Mike”, “how many miles is David driving today?”, “who’s available tomorrow afternoon?”. Results come back into the same thread. ETA texted from the truck's real position Live map · 3 trucks Tracking BTruck B · Riya K. En route · I-10 E ETA 3:24 ATruck A · Daniel A. On site · 44 Oak Ct On site CTruck C · Marco R. Stopped · supply house · 12 min Stopped ?“Where is Mike?” Last known · 5th & Main, 2:41 PM Found 08 Compare ## How to compare *dispatch products.* Use the same criteria on every product you evaluate — including ours. **Verify each competing claim against that vendor’s own current documentation** rather than a comparison page. | Criterion | FieldCamp | What to ask the other vendor | |---|---|---| | Assignment inputs | Skills, travel time from current location, availability, workload, plus your max-drive-time and max-jobs ceilings | Which inputs are used, and which of them you can configure yourself | | Explainability | Confidence score and written reasoning on every suggestion | Can a dispatcher see *why* a tech was chosen, before accepting? | | Human approval | Immediate or Queue mode; route proposals require an explicit Apply | Is there a review step, and can you turn it on or off per operation? | | Route sequencing | Built in — optimise for time or distance, side-by-side preview, per-technician route locking | Included, an add-on, or a third-party tool? What does it cost? | | Data model | Customizable — client → location → unit → equipment, plus custom objects and fields | Can you add your own objects and fields without a developer? | | Scheduling integration | One record chain — request → job → visits, on the same calendar | Do dispatch and scheduling share one record, or sync between two? | | Commercial model | AI Dispatcher is a credit-based add-on; route optimization is included | What is per-seat, what is metered, and what does implementation cost? | FieldCamp’s defensible difference is a recommendation layer with visible reasoning, sitting on a data model you shape yourself — and a route proposal a person always approves. Pricing conversations happen on a demo, scoped to your shop. 09 How to choose ## How to choose HVAC dispatch software — *seven factors.* Whichever tool you evaluate — including ours — weigh it against these. If the demo can’t show an answer, **the board will still be run by a person.** 01 ### Operating complexity & growth Evaluate branch structure, job and visit volume, technician context, approval controls, integrations, and implementation needs rather than choosing from a crew-size label. 02 ### Residential, commercial, or both Commercial needs POs, contracts, multi-site, and zone routing; residential needs speed and memberships. Choose one that adapts to both. 03 ### Emergency volume If a large share of jobs are urgent, prioritize triage at intake and fast re-sequencing of the affected stops — not just a board. 04 ### Integration needs Does it connect to QuickBooks Online and your phone and calendar stack? Ask which records sync, in which direction. 05 ### Constraint handling Ask how fixed appointment windows, technician home bases, and [per-person job ceilings](https://docs.fieldcamp.ai/ai-dispatcher/capacity-and-workload-limits) are respected — that is where optimisation quality actually shows. 06 ### Dispatcher availability No dedicated dispatcher? Look for a mode that assigns inside guardrails you configure, rather than software that assumes someone is driving the board all day. 07 ### Budget model Ask what is per-seat, what is metered by usage or credits, what is a paid add-on, and what implementation involves — before you compare anything. 10 The foundation ## Built on a customizable data model — *so the AI understands your shop.* Dispatch runs on FieldCamp’s data model — think Airtable or Salesforce, for field service: **custom objects and a schedulable location → unit → equipment → client hierarchy.** That’s why the AI understands *your* HVAC business, and why it fits residential, commercial, or both. One pipeline, one set of records: a service request — from online booking or the office — becomes a job, the job generates its visits, and the AI dispatches the visits. An approved [estimate](/hvac-software/estimating/) starts the same chain. Nothing is re-entered between intake, scheduling, and dispatch, and the same records double as the [HVAC CRM](/hvac-software/crm/) — the dispatched job, the equipment it touched, and the customer’s history live on one record the CSR, the dispatcher, and the tech all see. It’s also why the same board dispatches **multi-site and multi-branch operations**. Start on the HVAC template; as the operating model changes, reshape the objects, fields, statuses, and workflows underneath — add a refrigerant-certification field to your technicians, and skills-based assignment now dispatches on *your* skill matrix, not a preset list. Same system, no re-platform — see how the [customizable data model](/customizable-data-model/) works. → **Custom objects, your vocabulary.** Job types, zones, crews, refrigerant logs — model what your shop actually runs, without a developer. → **Customize the data, and the dispatcher behaves like your business.** The same model powers the whole [HVAC software platform](/hvac-software/) — so an assignment decision already knows the property, the system, and the plan. Locationthe property · residential or multi-site commercial Unit → Equipmentmain floor · rooftop · furnace, AC, heat pump Client & historyevery visit rolls up to the record AI dispatchersuggests on your real records 11 Glossary ## The dispatch terms that matter. Dispatching vs scheduling Dispatching decides who goes and in what route order; scheduling decides when a job happens. Dispatch board The single screen holding every job, crew, and truck — in Scheduled, Timeline, Resource, and Map views. Route optimization Reordering one technician’s stops to cut driving time, weighing proximity, service areas, fixed appointment windows, home base, availability, and each stop’s duration. Presented as a preview and applied by a person. Dispatch mode Immediate assigns a job the moment it is created; Queue holds every assignment for review. A setting, not a workaround. First-time-fix rate The share of jobs completed on the first visit — driven by sending the right skill with the right parts. Capacity planning Availability rules per job type, season, and zone, plus a per-technician daily job ceiling, so slots are only offered when they can be served. Zone-based dispatching Service areas with their own days, arrival windows, and slot capacity. Route lock Freezing one technician’s stop order so re-optimising the rest of the team leaves theirs untouched. 12 FAQ ## HVAC dispatch software, *answered.* **What is HVAC dispatch software?** HVAC dispatch software centralizes scheduling, routing, and technician tracking to minimize drive time and maximize daily revenue — assigning the right technician to each job and keeping the office and field in sync. It replaces the whiteboard, the spreadsheet, and the string of “where’s my tech?” phone calls with one live board. **How does HVAC dispatching work?** It follows a repeatable lifecycle: a job is booked with its equipment, location, and urgency (intake and triage); it’s matched to a technician by skill, certification, travel time, availability, and priority (assignment); the day’s stops are sequenced to cut driving time and the result is reviewed and applied (routing); the tech and the customer are notified with an ETA; GPS-tracked live dispatch absorbs delays and emergencies; and the completed job closes into the record for invoicing and follow-up. **What’s the difference between scheduling and dispatching?** Scheduling decides when a job happens; dispatching decides who goes and in what route order. FieldCamp does both on one board — a scheduled job is already assignable, because the calendar and the dispatcher share one data model. **Is AI dispatch the same as route optimization?** No — they’re two features, and FieldCamp has both. AI Dispatcher decides *who* takes a job: it analyses available technicians, matches skills, calculates travel time from each tech’s current location, and suggests a technician and slot with a confidence score. Route optimization decides *in what order* one technician’s stops happen, reordering them to cut driving time. You can use either without the other. **Does route optimization change my schedule automatically?** No. The optimized order appears in a side-by-side preview against the current route — nothing is applied at that point. Commit it and visit start and end times update and the dispatch calendar refreshes; discard it and the original route stays exactly as it was. You can also lock one technician’s route so re-optimising the rest of the team doesn’t shuffle theirs. **What context does FieldCamp AI Dispatcher use?** It analyses all available technicians, matches required skills to technician profiles, calculates travel time from each technician’s current location, and checks availability and workload — then suggests the best technician and time slot with a confidence score and its reasoning. It works inside guardrails you configure: maximum acceptable drive time between jobs, maximum jobs per technician per day, and whether overtime is allowed. It does not claim guaranteed drive-time or fuel outcomes. **Can it assign jobs without a dispatcher reviewing every one?** Yes, if you choose that. Dispatch Mode has two settings: **Immediate** assigns the moment a job is created, and **Queue** holds every assignment for your review. Immediate still operates inside the ceilings you set for drive time, daily job count, and overtime — and any suggestion can be accepted, rejected, or modified from the calendar. **How does it handle emergency calls?** Urgency is captured on the request or job at intake. The dispatcher reviews the affected schedule and the assignment recommendation, and the surrounding stops are re-sequenced in a proposal. Nothing on the board changes until that proposal is applied. **Can HVAC dispatch software support multi-branch operations?** Yes. Evaluate branch, technician, availability, job, skill, and approval context, and ask whether one team’s route can be locked while another is re-optimised. FieldCamp is positioned by operating complexity rather than crew count. **Does dispatch connect to QuickBooks or other FSM platforms?** Dispatch operates on FieldCamp jobs and visits. FieldCamp has a separate verified QuickBooks Online connection for supported records. This page does not claim two-way overlays with ServiceTitan, Jobber, Salesforce, or Dynamics. **How is AI Dispatcher licensed?** AI Dispatcher is an add-on you enable from the add-ons section; once on, it works inside your normal job-creation and calendar workflow with no separate login. Each dispatch suggestion consumes credits from your monthly allocation. Route optimization is built directly into FieldCamp with no third-party routing tool and no extra fee. A standalone AI Dispatcher app is also available with additional features, and you can move to it without losing data. **How much does HVAC dispatch software cost?** Pricing depends on dispatch requirements, available data, approval controls, integrations, credit usage, and implementation scope. A demo should verify the assignment inputs, the recommendation output, the review action, and what happens when a run fails. 13 Related ## The rest of the HVAC platform. [HVAC Software — the hub](/hvac-software/) The whole platform this board belongs to — data model, scheduling, CRM, invoicing, payments. [HVAC Scheduling](/hvac-software/scheduling/) The when: booking, capacity, reminders, and the recurring seasonal calendar — same board. [AI Dispatcher for HVAC](/ai-dispatcher/hvac/) The recommendation layer that evaluates dispatch context and explains proposed assignments for review. [Best HVAC Dispatch Software](/ai-dispatcher/best-hvac-dispatch-software/) The buyer’s comparison — what to evaluate, and how the category actually differs. [Maintenance Agreements](/hvac-software/maintenance-agreements/) The service agreements behind recurring visits that appear on the dispatch board. [AI Receptionist](/hvac-software/ai-receptionist/) Answers the call, triages the urgency, and books into a real slot — nights and heat waves included. [HVAC Estimating](/hvac-software/estimating/) Good-better-best quotes that become dispatchable jobs the moment they’re approved. [HVAC Invoicing](/hvac-software/invoicing/) The dispatched visit closes into a branded invoice, synced to QuickBooks Online. [HVAC Dispatching Tips](/hvac-software/dispatching-tips/) Practical guidance for running the board day to day, whoever is driving it. Get started ## See the board fill *in minutes.* Fifteen minutes. Watch the AI propose a live HVAC board — skills, zones, travel time, and the reason behind every card — then re-sequence it when an emergency lands. [Book a 15-minute call](https://calendly.com/jeel-fieldcamp/30min) --- _View the original post at: [https://fieldcamp.ai/hvac-software/dispatch/](https://fieldcamp.ai/hvac-software/dispatch/)_ _Served as markdown by [Third Audience](https://github.com/third-audience) v3.6.1.1_ _Generated: 2026-09-08 07:12:25 UTC_