JobsiteOn

Use the Dispatch Board

Master the dispatch board layout, unassigned events panel, team columns, drag-and-drop, and board filtering.

Liam Chen
Written by Liam ChenUpdated 3 days ago10 min readIntermediate

What this guide covers

This guide explains how to use the dispatch board in JobsiteOn. The dispatch board is a team-centric scheduling view designed for dispatchers who need to assign work, balance team workloads, and manage the day's operations from a single screen. You will learn the board layout, how the unassigned events panel works, what the team member columns show, how to drag and drop events for quick assignment, and how to filter the board to focus on what matters.

Before you begin

  • You need an active JobsiteOn account with access to the Schedule module.
  • Navigate to /schedule from the main sidebar.
  • Confirm at least one team member exists under the Team section. The dispatch board is most useful when you have multiple team members to dispatch work to.
  • Familiarize yourself with basic event creation if you have not scheduled events yet.

Understanding the dispatch board

The dispatch board is one of four views available in the schedule module, alongside Day, Week, and Month. While the calendar views organize events by time, the dispatch board organizes events by team member. This makes it ideal for morning dispatch sessions where you route the day's work across your crew.

When to use the dispatch board

Use the dispatch board when you need to:

  • Assign unassigned events to team members at the start of the day.
  • Rebalance workloads by moving events between team members.
  • Get a visual overview of who is doing what today.
  • Quickly identify team members with light or heavy schedules.
  • Spot unassigned work that needs attention.

Step 1: Switch to the dispatch board

Click the Dispatch button in the view switcher area of the schedule header. The calendar transitions from whatever view you were using into the dispatch board layout. The board loads for the current date by default.

Date navigation on the dispatch board

The date navigation controls work the same way as in other views. Use the left and right arrows to move forward or backward one day at a time. Click Today to return to the current date. The dispatch board always shows a single day's worth of events.

Step 2: Understand the board layout

The dispatch board is divided into two main areas:

Unassigned events panel

The left side of the board shows the unassigned events panel. This panel lists all events for the selected date that have not been assigned to a team member. Each event card in this panel shows:

  • Event title.
  • Event type badge with color coding.
  • Scheduled time range.
  • Contact or customer name if linked.
  • Property address or location if available.
  • Priority indicator if auto-detected or manually set (urgent, high, or normal).

Events in the unassigned panel are sorted by priority and then by scheduled time. Urgent events appear at the top so they get attention first.

Tip: The unassigned panel also shows unassigned jobs that need scheduling. These may include jobs created without an event, giving you a complete view of work that needs to be dispatched.

Team member columns

The right side of the board shows a column for each active team member. Each column contains:

  • Column header -- The team member's name, avatar, and color indicator.
  • Event cards -- All events assigned to that member for the selected date, ordered by time.
  • Availability indicator -- A visual cue showing whether the member is marked as off or available.

Team member columns are arranged side by side, scrolling horizontally if there are more members than fit on screen. Each column uses the member's assigned team color for visual consistency.

Reading the columns

Within each team member column, events are stacked vertically in chronological order. Each event card shows:

  • Event title.
  • Time range.
  • Event type color and badge.
  • Contact or customer name.
  • Location snippet.
  • Crew members if assigned as part of a crew.

Gaps between event cards indicate open time in that member's schedule. Large gaps suggest the member has capacity for additional work.

Step 3: Assign events with drag and drop

The primary workflow on the dispatch board is dragging events from the unassigned panel to a team member column.

How to drag and assign

  1. Locate the event you want to assign in the unassigned panel.
  2. Click and hold the event card.
  3. While holding, drag the card to the right toward the target team member's column.
  4. A visual indicator highlights the drop zone as you hover over a column.
  5. Release the card to drop it into the column.
  6. The event is immediately assigned to that team member.
  7. A confirmation toast appears confirming the assignment.
  8. The assigned team member receives an email notification.

Moving events between team members

You can also drag events from one team member's column to another:

  1. Click and hold an event card in a team member's column.
  2. Drag it to a different team member's column.
  3. Drop it in the target column.
  4. The event reassigns to the new team member.

This is useful for rebalancing workloads mid-day or correcting a dispatch mistake.

Returning events to unassigned

To unassign an event, drag it from a team member's column back to the unassigned panel. The event loses its team member assignment and returns to the pool of unassigned work.

Note: Drag-and-drop on the dispatch board changes only the assignment. The event's scheduled date and time remain the same. To change the time, use the calendar views or edit the event directly.

Step 4: Filter the dispatch board

When you have many team members, the dispatch board can become wide. Filters help you focus on the relevant subset.

Filtering by team member

Use the team filter controls in the schedule header to select which team members appear on the board. You can:

  • Select individual team members to show only their columns.
  • Deselect members to hide their columns temporarily.
  • Click "All" to restore all team member columns.

Filtering by event type

If available, use event type filters to highlight or isolate specific types of work on the board. This helps when you need to prioritize dispatching all emergency events before routine maintenance.

Filtering by status

Events on the dispatch board may have different statuses such as scheduled, en route, in progress, or completed. Filtering by status lets you focus on events that still need attention versus those already underway.

Tip: Combine team member and event type filters to create focused views. For example, show only plumbers and filter to emergency events to see which urgent calls need plumbing dispatch.

Step 5: Review workload balance

The dispatch board gives you a visual sense of workload distribution. Compare the number and density of events across team member columns to identify:

  • Overloaded members -- Columns packed with back-to-back events suggest that member is at capacity. Consider redistributing some work.
  • Underutilized members -- Columns with few events or large gaps have availability for additional dispatches.
  • Scheduling conflicts -- Overlapping time ranges within a single column indicate potential conflicts that need resolution.

Using the board for morning dispatch

A typical morning dispatch workflow:

  1. Switch to the Dispatch view.
  2. Review the unassigned panel for any overnight or newly created events.
  3. Check each team member column for existing commitments.
  4. Drag unassigned events to team members based on skills, location, and availability.
  5. Review the board one final time to confirm no events are missed.
  6. Switch to Day or Week view for detailed time-based planning.

Step 6: Handle off-day team members

Team members who are off for the day display a visual indicator in their column header. Their column may appear muted or collapsed depending on your workspace configuration.

If a team member is unexpectedly off:

  1. Identify events assigned to the off member.
  2. Drag those events to other available team members or back to the unassigned panel.
  3. Confirm the reassignment by checking the updated columns.

Note: Off-day indicators are based on data entered into JobsiteOn. If off-days are not tracked as events or settings, the indicator may not appear automatically.

Step 7: Open event details from the board

Click any event card on the dispatch board to open the event detail sidebar. From there you can:

  • View full event information including description, linked records, and crew details.
  • Click Edit Event to open the edit form and make changes.
  • Navigate to the linked contact, property, or job record.

The sidebar opens over the board without navigating away, so you can review details and return to dispatching quickly.

Troubleshooting

The unassigned panel is empty but I know there are unassigned events

Check the date. The unassigned panel shows events for the currently selected date only. Navigate to the correct date using the arrows or Today button. Also verify that the events were saved with a date and time -- events without scheduled times may not appear.

Drag and drop is not responding

Ensure you are clicking and holding the event card before moving. A quick click opens the detail sidebar instead of initiating a drag. If the board seems frozen, refresh the page and try again.

I cannot see all team members

If your team is large, some member columns may be off-screen to the right. Scroll horizontally on the board to find additional columns. You can also use the team filter to narrow down to the members you are dispatching for.

Events are not updating after I drop them

After a successful drop, a toast message confirms the assignment. If you do not see the toast and the event snaps back, the save may not have completed. Refresh the page and confirm the assignment status by clicking the event card.

The board shows events from the wrong date

Confirm the date shown in the schedule header matches the date you intend to dispatch for. Use the arrow buttons to navigate to the correct date.

FAQ

Can I use the dispatch board for multi-day planning?

The dispatch board displays one day at a time. For multi-day planning, use the Week or Month calendar views and then switch to Dispatch for daily assignment sessions.

Does the dispatch board show recurring events?

Yes. Recurring event occurrences that fall on the selected date appear on the board like any other event. They can be assigned or reassigned using the same drag-and-drop workflow.

Can I print the dispatch board?

The Print action in the More menu generates a print-friendly version of the current schedule view. If you are on the Dispatch view, the print output reflects the board layout with team columns and assignments.

Is the dispatch board available on mobile?

The dispatch board is designed for desktop and tablet screens where you have enough width to display multiple team columns. On smaller screens, use the standard calendar views for scheduling.

Can multiple dispatchers use the board at the same time?

Multiple users can access the dispatch board simultaneously. However, changes made by one dispatcher may not appear in real-time for another. Refresh the page periodically to see the latest assignments.

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