SolarCleaningBossPro Blog — Tech App

Gate Codes and Dogs: Access Notes in the Solar Cleaning Tech App

On a lot of houses, the panels face the back yard. So does the best ladder spot. So does the spigot. Between the truck and all three is a fence, and the fence has a gate, and the gate has a code, a latch or a dog behind it. For a solar cleaner, the gate is often the whole job.

Access Notes Live on the Job

Spigot and ladder notes are covered in Spigot and Roof Access Notes: Where the Hose Hooks Up and Where the Ladder Goes. Gate codes and dogs sit in the same access notes on the same card.

In SolarCleaningBossPro, those notes are saved on the job and shown under the address on the tech's phone on every visit. A house on a twice-a-year plan shows the same gate code in the fall that it showed in the spring, without anyone resending it. If the code changes, the office updates it once, and every future visit shows the new one.

Gate Codes

A good gate note says which gate, what code, and anything odd about it:

• “Right side gate, keypad code 4402, push hard after it beeps.”
• “Back gate latch is on the inside. Reach over at the top.”
• “Community gate: vendor code at the Maple entrance.”
• “Padlock on side gate. Customer leaves it open on cleaning day.”

Add what to do if the code fails. “If gate is locked, text office, customer works from home” saves the tech from standing at the fence wondering what to do. Climbing a fence with a ladder on your shoulder is never the answer.

Dogs

Dogs are access information too. They matter for the tech, the dog and the customer:

• Is there a dog? “Large dog in back yard” tells the tech to look before opening the gate.
• Is it friendly? “Friendly lab, will follow you around” is very different from “Do not enter if dog is out.”
• Can it get out? “Escape artist. Keep gate shut at all times.” A dog lost through an open gate is the worst callback a solar company can get.
• What if it is out? “If dog is in yard, text office, customer will bring it in.”

Dogs and ladders do not mix well either. A curious dog bumping a ladder footing is a real hazard. The note gives the tech a chance to ask for the dog to come in before anyone climbs.

Let the Texts Do the Work

The night-before reminder and the automatic on-the-way text help with gates and dogs more than anything else. A customer who knows the truck is coming can open the side gate and bring the dog inside before the tech arrives. A customer who did not know is at work with the gate padlocked. Customers choose their own alerts: night before, when they are next, and when the tech arrives. Those texts are covered in Automatic On-the-Way Texts From the Solar Cleaning Tech's Phone.

When Access Fails

Codes change. Dogs get let out. When the tech cannot reach the panels, the spigot or the ladder spot, the right move is to tap Skip and say why: “Back gate code 4402 did not work. No access to spigot or ladder spot.” A photo of the closed gate helps. The office sees the skip with the note, texts the customer for the new code, updates the access notes and puts the job on another day.

Sometimes access only partly fails. The front of the roof is reachable from the driveway but the spigot is in the back yard behind the locked gate. If the truck carries tank water, the tech may be able to finish anyway. If not, a skip with a clear note is better than a half-cleaned array and a customer who thinks the job was done. Either way, the note should say exactly what was and was not done.

If the tech learns about a new dog, or the old one has passed, that belongs in the job notes too, so the office can update the card before the next visit.

Off the Group Text, Onto the Card

Plenty of solar crews keep gate codes in a group text or on a printed sheet on the dashboard. Group texts get long and old codes never go away. Printed sheets sit where anyone walking past the truck can read them. Former employees keep every code they were ever sent.

A code saved on the job and shown only to techs signed in with a personal PIN is better on every count. Only the current code shows, and when someone leaves the company, turning off their PIN turns off their access. To see how access notes fit with everything else on the tech's phone, visit the SolarCleaningBossPro solar cleaning app page.