Overview
Custom statuses allow you to define a more precise work order lifecycle that reflects your operational workflows. They help improve reporting accuracy and give dispatch teams better visibility over job progression.
When to use custom statuses
Use custom statuses when default system statuses do not provide enough detail for your workflows. This is especially useful for tracking specific job phases, external dependencies, or controlling visibility in self-serve scheduling.
Managing custom statuses
Follow these steps to create or edit statuses.
- Navigate to Workforce.
- Click on Settings.
- Select the Statuses tab.
- Create a new status or edit an existing one.
Each status must be assigned to a category during creation.
Permissions
Two separate permissions apply to custom statuses, depending on whether you are configuring statuses or applying them to work orders.
Creating and viewing statuses is controlled under Settings > Roles > Workforce > Custom Statuses.
- View Statuses: Allows access to the status list and configuration page.
- Edit Statuses: Allows creating, modifying, and deleting statuses.
Changing the status on a work order — individually or in bulk — requires the Settings > Roles > Workforce > Work Orders > Edit permission, because it is an action performed on specific work orders.
System-triggered default statuses
Certain actions automatically assign a default status based on the category. You can use Workflows to update these to a custom status after the trigger.
- Travel Time: When a technician marks "En Route", the default status tracks travel time.
- Starting Procedures: Status moves to the default "In Progress" when work begins.
-
Completing Procedures: Status moves to the default "Completed" (click
Submit) when all steps are finished. - Assignment: If a work order is in an "Unscheduled" status category and is assigned to a technician — either manually, via an automation (checkout or client portal customer self-serve), or via the Technician modal — the work order is given the "Assigned" default status.
- Unassignment: If a technician is unassigned from a work order, the status shifts to "Pending".
- Technician Edit: If a technician needs to modify the work type, the system shifts the current work order to "Cancelled", creates a new work order, and preserves the original status.
Categories and behaviour
Each status belongs to a category. The category determines system behavior and visibility.
Scroll right to view the whole table on smaller screens.
| Category | System behaviour and visibility |
|---|---|
| Unscheduled | Work has been created but not scheduled. No assigned date or technician. Visible for self-serve scheduling when enabled. |
| Scheduled | A date and time are confirmed, but work has not started. |
| Active | Work is currently in progress. |
| Successful | Work has been completed successfully. |
| Unsuccessful | Work did not complete and will not proceed further. |
| On Hold | Work is paused and requires follow-up before continuing. |
Updating work order statuses in bulk
You can now update the status of several work orders at once, directly from the Work Orders table — without opening each one individually. This is ideal for back-office cleanup, such as reconciling a batch of jobs a vendor completed outside gaiia and marking them all as complete in a single action.
Bulk status changes require the Settings > Roles > Workforce > Work Orders > Edit permission, the same permission used to change a status on an individual work order.
- Navigate to Workforce and open the Work Orders table.
-
Select the work orders you want to update using the checkboxes on the left of each row.
Selection applies to the work orders visible on the current page. Use the header checkbox to select or clear all rows on the page. Changing the view, filter, or sort clears your selection.
- In the floating action bar at the bottom of the screen — which shows the number of work orders selected — click
Edit status. - In the modal, choose the new status to apply to the selected work orders from the dropdown.
- Click
Save.
Eligibility is based on each work order's lifecycle category, so any custom statuses you create under a category follow the same rules.
Work orders in the "Active" category — those currently being worked on — cannot be updated in bulk. If some of your selected work orders cannot be updated, a message appears and those work orders are skipped; update them individually. If none of the selected work orders are eligible, the update cannot be submitted.
Each updated work order receives its own activity log entry, identical to an individual status change. A bulk update has no impact on technicians or customers.
Additional considerations
- Workflow integration: Use Workflows to automatically transition from default statuses to custom statuses.
- Reporting: Reporting is available at both the category and individual status levels, allowing detailed performance tracking.
Deleted statuses remain on historical work orders and in reports, but cannot be reused.