Services is the depot's M&R and value-added work desk. It covers Cleaning, Heating, Repair and Inspection (2.5-year test, 5-year test or CSC examination) on...
Services
Services is the depot's M&R and value-added work desk. It covers Cleaning, Heating, Repair and Inspection (2.5-year test, 5-year test or CSC examination) on the units in your yard. Each job is a service order, numbered SO-1, SO-2 and so on, and it follows the work from request through repair estimate, client approval and the work itself to the invoice. When an order is marked done the ledger updates the unit itself: clean after a cleaning, sound after a repair, a new periodic-test date after a passed inspection. It also writes a movement with the order number, so the job appears in the unit's history.
Where to find it: Workspace → Logistics → Warehouse → Services. The menu entry only appears when the Depot module is on. You can also start an order from a unit's card (Request a service), and a client's orders are listed on the client's Equipment & stock tab, which has its own New service order button.
Who can use it
Anyone with any Warehouse permission can see the list and the board and open an order.
To create, start, cancel and finish orders, write repair estimates, record a client's answer and attach files, you need the permission Service orders: request, estimate, complete. A role that has the whole group Gate in and out, move units, fill and empty tanks ticked has it too.
Prices (agreed price, estimate total) show in the list to people with that service right or with See prices, revenue and margins (dashboard, trips, bookings, service orders). Everyone else sees a dash.
A role set to Does not see → Prices and billing (rates, Bill a month, estimates from work) is also kept out of saving repair estimates, because estimates are part of that area.
Select several orders and act on them at once (batch update) is not available to a role with Cannot use bulk actions.
Where it sits in the operation
A unit arrives at the gate dirty, damaged or due for its periodic test. The office raises a service order. A cleaning, a heating or an inspection can go straight to the workshop. A repair usually needs the owner's or lessee's go-ahead first, so the surveyor writes an estimate, the client approves it through a link (or by phone), and only then does the work start. Finishing the order updates the unit and makes the job billable. The job is then billed with the client's month (Bill a month) or invoiced on its own (Invoice work).
Figure 1: Only a repair with an estimate needs the client's approval before work starts. Every other order can go from Requested straight to the workshop. Marking an order done is the moment the unit changes and the job becomes billable.
What you see
The page header shows how many orders are Open. The card has two tabs, List and Board, and the New service order button at the top right.
The list
Filter tabs, each with a count:
Open (the default): Requested, Waiting for approval, Approved and In progress together.
Requested, Waiting for approval, Approved, In progress, Done, Cancelled.
All.
Column
What it shows
#
The order number (SO-12). Click it to open the order.
Service
Cleaning, Heating, Repair or Inspection, with its icon.
Unit
The unit number in ISO 6346 form.
Client
Who pays.
Status
The status, plus a Billed badge once the order is on an invoice that still exists.
Price
The agreed price, otherwise the repair estimate total, otherwise a dash. Only shown to people who may see money.
Assigned to
The team member doing the work.
When
The day the order was created.
The row buttons open the order and, for open orders that are not waiting for approval, offer Mark as done. Select several rows to use Batch update: Start them (requested or approved) or Cancel them. Each order is checked on its own, so the ones that cannot move are reported and the rest go through.
The board
The Board tab shows the orders as cards, one column per status: Requested, Waiting for approval, Approved, In progress, Done and Cancelled. Done and Cancelled show the latest 40 (the column count is still the full number). Each card shows the order number, a Billed badge, the date, the service, the unit, the client and, for people who may see money, the price. Click a card to open the order.
With the right to work on service orders, drag a card to move it on:
to In progress: the work starts (from Requested or Approved);
to Done: the completion form opens, because finishing needs the result (hours, certificate number, price, pass or fail);
from Requested to Waiting for approval: the order opens so you can write the estimate;
from Waiting for approval to Approved, or back to Requested: you approve or decline the estimate on the client's behalf, in your own name (you are asked to confirm first);
to Cancelled: after you confirm.
A move that is not possible puts the card back and says why. Done and Cancelled cards cannot be dragged. The page remembers the tab: warehouse/services#board opens on the board.
The order card
Opening an order shows its kind, number, unit, client and site, and its status. Under that is a paper trail: the order, then any estimate, proposal and invoice made from it, as linked steps with their status. The card then lists the facts that apply: cleaning procedure, ECD number, heat-to and reached temperature, hours, test, result and next test due, certificate number, agreed price, assigned person, approval (who decided, when, and whether it came through the link), the linked task and invoice, and the note. A repair order also shows the Repair estimate, and every order has Certificates and files. The footer holds the buttons for the current status: Client declined, Client approved, Start, Cancel the order, Mark as done, and Cleaning certificate on a finished cleaning.
The life of a service order
Status
Meaning
How it moves on
Requested
The work is asked for.
Start, Mark as done, or (repair) save an estimate.
Waiting for approval
A repair estimate is waiting for the client.
The client approves or declines through the link, or you click Client approved / Client declined. Declined sends the order back to Requested.
Approved
The client said yes.
Start or Mark as done.
In progress
Work has started.
Mark as done.
Done
Finished. The unit is updated.
Billed with the client's month, or invoiced from the work.
Cancelled
Not done.
None: it is closed.
Figure 2: The same transitions are available as buttons on the order and as drags on the board. Saving an estimate with no lines puts the order back to Requested. Saving a changed estimate on an Approved order sends it back to Waiting for approval.
Create a service order
Click New service order, or Request a service on a unit's card.
Under What needs doing? choose Cleaning, Heating, Repair or Inspection.
Choose the Unit. Only units on a site are listed, each with its position and owner.
Depending on the kind:
Cleaning: optional Cleaning procedure, for example "hot water rinse, caustic wash, dry".
Heating: optional Heat to (°C).
Inspection: choose the Test: 2.5-year test, 5-year test or CSC.
Optional: Who pays (empty means the owner of the unit), Done by (supplier) for an outside cleaning station or repair shop, Assigned to, Agreed price (empty means the approved estimate, or your rates) and a Note.
Also add it to Tasks is ticked by default. It creates a task such as "Cleaning of HOYU 123456-7" for the assigned person, linked to the client, with a link back to the order.
Click Create the service order. The order starts as Requested.
Orders can also be requested, estimated and listed through the Warehouse tools of a connected AI assistant. These follow the same rules as the screen.
Write a repair estimate and ask the client to approve
Open a repair order.
Under Repair estimate, fill in a line: Code, a description (for example "replace bottom valve gasket"), quantity and Unit price. Use Add a line for more and the bin to remove one.
If a shipping line or tank operator receives estimates by EDI, switch on Repair codes (EDI) above the lines. Each line then also shows Location, Component, Damage and Repair (use the codes of the owner's repair tariff), Size (cm) as length and width, Labour (h) and Who pays. Click Who pays to switch between Owner and User. Codes are stored in upper case, letters and digits only.
Click Save the estimate. The order becomes Waiting for approval and shows the total. For partners that take repair estimates by EDI, a DESTIM goes to the outbox. A changed estimate is sent again as a replacement (see EDI).
Under Ask the client to approve, click Copy the link and send it to the client. They see the estimate (prices before VAT), type their name and click Approve the repair or Decline, without logging in. The link is made once per order and reused.
When the client answers through the link, you get a notification, and the order shows who decided and when, for example "Approved by J. Peeters on 14-10-2026 · through the link".
If the client answers by phone or e-mail instead, click Client approved or Client declined and type the name of who decided. If you leave it empty, your own name is recorded.
You can change the estimate while the order is Requested, Waiting for approval or Approved. Every save replaces all the lines and clears any earlier approval or decline, so a changed estimate always needs a new answer. Saving it with no lines puts the order back to Requested.
Figure 3: The commercial part of a line (code, description, quantity, unit price) is all the client needs. The repair codes are only for owners who process estimates by EDI. The App stores what you type, letters and digits only, and does not check the codes against a tariff.
Finish a service order
Click Mark as done on the order or on its row, or drag the card to Done.
Fill in what applies:
Cleaning: optional Cleaning certificate (ECD) number. The unit becomes clean.
Heating: the Hours (required) and optional Temperature reached (°C). The heating hours are kept for the invoice.
Repair: nothing extra. The unit is marked sound again.
Inspection: the Result (Passed or Failed), optional Next test due and Certificate number. If Passed, the test date moves on: when left empty, a 2.5-year test moves 30 months (2.5 years) and a 5-year test 5 years, and a CSC examination moves 30 months. A passed 5-year test also sets the 2.5-year test halfway, 30 months before the new 5-year date. If Failed, the unit is marked damaged and its test dates stay as they were.
Optional: change the Agreed price and add a Note.
Click Mark as done. The ledger updates the unit, records a movement with the order number (Cleaned, Heated, Repaired or Inspected) and closes the order. If the order was never started, the start time is set to the same moment.
Make an estimate, proposal or invoice from the work
A service order's card shows where it stands on paper: the order, then its estimate, proposal and invoice as linked steps with their status. Make an estimate at the end of that line opens a window with all of the client's open work, already priced from their rates. This order is ticked, and the window also lists other service orders, transport bookings, storage for the units on site and gate moves. Tick what goes on it, change a quantity or a price if needed, and click Make the estimate. A normal estimate is created and opens, ready to send or have signed. The client's Equipment & stock tab has the same button.
The same window makes a proposal: switch Estimate | Proposal at the top. A proposal gets the workspace's default proposal template and opens for you to finish and send. On the estimate or proposal page, a Warehouse work card lists the service orders, bookings, storage and gate moves it covers. In the bookings list and on the booking board, a booking shows the estimates and proposals it is on.
Invoice the work. The same window has a third choice, Invoice. It offers only finished service orders and transport. Storage and gate moves are billed per month with Bill a month, so they never land on two invoices. The invoice is a numbered draft. The service orders and bookings on it are marked billed and leave the list of work to invoice. The client's Equipment & stock tab shows how much work is not invoiced yet (Work not invoiced), with an Invoice work button. Invoicing needs the Warehouse permission Draft invoices for clients and full access to invoices.
Estimates and proposals need the Make estimates and proposals from Warehouse work permission (billing group) and the right to manage estimates, or proposals, in the app. Cancelled orders and orders already on a live invoice are never offered.
The cleaning certificate (ECD)
When a cleaning is marked as done, enter its ECD number in the completion form (optional). The finished order's card then has a Cleaning certificate button. It opens a one-page certificate with the unit, its capacity, the client, the date (Cleaned on), the procedure, the Previous cargoes (with UN number and class) and the statement that the unit was released clean and free of residue of the previous cargoes. It has two signature lines, Cleaned by and Received by. Click Print or save as PDF.
The previous cargoes are the ones the unit carried when it was cleaned: the product on board and the unit's last cargoes, up to three. They are kept with the order, so the certificate does not change when the unit is loaded again later. If none were recorded, the certificate says "No previous cargo recorded." A client with portal access can open the certificate of their own cleanings.
Attach certificates and photos
On the order, under Certificates and files, click Attach a certificate or photo. PDF files and photos up to 10 MB are accepted. Use it for test reports, CSC plates, the outside shop's invoice copy and damage photos.
How a service is priced on the invoice
When you bill a client's month, each order that was finished in that month and is not billed yet is priced in this order: the Agreed price; otherwise, for a repair, the approved estimate total; otherwise your rate for Cleaning, Heating (per hour), Repair labour, 2.5-year test, 5-year test or CSC examination. The rate used is the client's own or everyone's, for the unit's type or Any. An order with no price and no rate is listed as a warning and is not billed. A cleaning line carries its ECD number as the description.
Figure 4: An agreed price always wins, even over an approved estimate. A heating order finished with 0 hours has nothing to multiply and ends up as a warning, like an order with no rate.
Controls and exceptions
One open order per unit and kind: "There is already an open order for this: SO-12." A second cleaning can only be raised once the first is done or cancelled.
A repair with an estimate cannot be started or finished before the client approves: "The client has not approved the estimate yet." This also applies after a decline: revise the estimate and get a new approval, or save it with no lines to treat the job as unpriced.
Approving or declining an order that is not waiting: "This service order is not waiting for an approval." Only the first answer counts. A second click on an old link changes nothing.
Closed orders: "This service order is already done or cancelled."
Files: "The file is too big (10 MB at most)." and "Only PDF and photos can be attached."
When the client opens an old link: "This estimate is no longer open." or "This link is not valid any more." The client must type a name before deciding.
Finishing an order is protected against double clicks and a dropped connection. Sending the same completion form twice closes the order and writes the movement once.
When the yard and the system disagree, for example a unit cleaned without an order, raise the order and mark it done straight away, so that the unit's state, its history and the invoice are right. If an order was raised by mistake, cancel it. Nothing is deleted.
Marking an order done is final. To correct an inspection result, raise a new inspection order. To correct a price after billing, change the line on the draft invoice.
For the manager
Daily: the Open count and the board's Waiting for approval column. Repairs stuck there tie up the unit and the bay. Also watch the live yard's Being serviced filter, which shows every unit with an open order.
Weekly: Done orders without a Billed badge, and on each client's Equipment & stock tab the Work not invoiced count.
Monthly: read the warnings of Bill a month. A done order with no price and no rate is unbilled work. Note that a month's run picks up the orders finished in that month only.
Periodic tests: passed inspections move the units' 2.5-year, 5-year and CSC dates, which drive the Test due soon badges on Units and the live yard's Tests due filter.
AI Reports: "Depot services (Warehouse)" is available in AI Reports → All business data, with orders, done, open, estimate value, agreed value and the average hours from request to done, by kind, status, client, site and billed or not. Use it for M&R turnaround and revenue per client.
EDI: saved repair estimates go out as DESTIM to the partners that take them. Check the EDI outbox for failures.
Tips
Gate dirty units into the cleaning station zone. The live yard's Being serviced filter shows every unit with an open order.
Always fill in the ECD number after a cleaning. Clients and the next shipper ask for it.
Use the approval link instead of e-mailing PDFs: the answer lands on the order with the client's name and time.
Assign orders to a person and keep "Also add it to Tasks" ticked, so the work shows in their task list.
Put an agreed price on one-off jobs at creation. It wins over the estimate and the rate.
Glossary
Service order (SO)
One job on one unit: cleaning, heating, repair or inspection, numbered SO-n.
M&R
Maintenance and repair: the depot's repair work, estimated and approved before it is done.
Repair estimate
The priced lines of a repair. Saving one puts the order in Waiting for approval.
Approval link
A private web page where the client approves or declines the estimate without logging in.
Repair codes
Location, component, damage and repair codes from the owner's repair tariff, used when estimates are exchanged by EDI (CEDEX-style).
Owner / User (who pays)
On an EDI estimate line: whether the repair is for the owner's account or the lessee's (user's).
DESTIM
The UN/EDIFACT message that carries a repair estimate to a line or tank operator.
ECD
European Cleaning Document (EFTCO): the cleaning certificate, with its number and the previous cargoes.
Last cargoes
The products a tank carried before. The certificate lists up to three.
2.5-year / 5-year test
The intermediate and periodic inspections of a portable tank. A passed 5-year test also resets the intermediate date.
CSC examination
The structural examination under the Convention for Safe Containers, moved 30 months on when passed.
Agreed price
A fixed price on the order. It wins over the estimate and over the rates.
Billed
The order is on an invoice that still exists. Deleting the draft invoice makes the order billable again.
Related screens
Units: the unit's card shows its service orders and test dates, and has Request a service.
