Work order statuses: 6 words to check at dispatch

• Map the six Dynamics 365 Field Service system statuses. Work order system statuses appear on the work order entity and indicate the current point in its life cycle: Unscheduled, Scheduled, In Progress, Completed, Posted, and Canceled Microsoft status definitions.
• Check ServiceTitan's dispatch trigger. As soon as the first technician is dispatched, the job moves to In Progress and stays that way until it’s completed, canceled, or put on hold ServiceTitan status definitions.
• Check assignment on Housecall Pro's exported report. Unscheduled means the job has been created but not assigned to a time/date Housecall Pro report definitions.
• Match your board words to the product. Write your own board’s matching word beside each product status so the dispatch desk knows exactly where the job sits in its life cycle.

Work Order System Statuses appear on the work order entity and indicate the current point of a work order in its life cycle (Microsoft Learn). These statuses are specific to the Dynamics 365 Field Service work order entity; they do not apply to every job management product, and they do not predict customer availability or job profitability.

This guide covers the status words used by three systems you may see on a dispatch board:

• The six Dynamics 365 Field Service work order system statuses, listed in the source’s order.
• ServiceTitan’s job statuses and appointment statuses, kept in that product’s own words.
• Housecall Pro’s report and pipeline status words as defined by the sources.

You will also find a filled reference table that names each publisher and lists the status words from that publisher’s quoted facts, plus a blank status card you can copy for today’s board. The card has three columns: your board’s word, the product’s word, and what you will do next.

When you look at a dispatch board, the status word indicates a job’s position in its workflow. It does not tell you if the customer is home, if the job will be profitable, or if the technician will arrive on time. It only marks the current point in the work order’s life cycle.

For the Dynamics 365 Field Service work order entity, the system statuses are Unscheduled, Scheduled, In Progress, Completed, Posted, and Canceled (Microsoft Learn). These six statuses are defined specifically for this product’s work order entity. They indicate where the work order is in its life cycle, but they do not apply to every job management product. Do not assume that other systems use these same six words or that these words predict outcomes like customer availability or job profitability.

Your board may use different words. The goal of this guide is to help you map the status words from the three systems covered here to the words on your own board. By understanding what each status means in its specific system, you can make better decisions about which jobs are ready for a technician and which are still waiting.

The following sections break down the status words for each system. First, you will see the six Dynamics 365 Field Service work order system statuses in the order they appear in the source. Then, you will see how ServiceTitan defines job statuses and appointment statuses. Finally, you will see the status words Housecall Pro uses on its exported report and pipeline board.

For the rest of the dispatch check, use the field service work order checklist for dispatch handoffs.

The work order entity in Dynamics 365 Field Service uses a specific set of system statuses to indicate the current point of a work order in its life cycle. The six work order system statuses, in the order provided by the source, are Unscheduled, Scheduled, In Progress, Completed, Posted, and Canceled.

The creation of a booking automatically changes the work order system status to Scheduled. You do not need to manually update the status to reflect that a time has been booked; the system handles this change when the booking is created Microsoft booking transition.

Changing the booking status to Traveling automatically changes the work order system status to In Progress. This means that the work order status is linked to the booking status. If you update the booking to Traveling, the work order reflects that the job is now active Microsoft Traveling transition.

Don't add, remove, or edit the option set values for Work Order System Status Microsoft status guidance.

In ServiceTitan, the system distinguishes between the status of the job and the status of the appointment. Understanding this separation is critical for dispatchers because the two entities do not always move in lockstep, particularly when it comes to cancellation and dispatch triggers. The product defines specific states for each, and knowing exactly when a status changes helps you read the board accurately before sending a technician.

Job status: In Progress According to the documentation on statuses and actions on jobs and appointments, the job status moves to In Progress as soon as the first technician is dispatched (ServiceTitan). The system states that the job stays in this In Progress state until it is completed, canceled, or put on hold (ServiceTitan). This means that if you see a job marked as In Progress, you know a technician has already been assigned and sent, even if they have not yet arrived at the site.

Job status: Completed When the work is finished, the job status changes to Completed. The source defines this state as occurring when either a technician or an office employee has completed the job (ServiceTitan).

Appointment status: Scheduled The appointment status operates independently of the job status in its initial phase. The documentation states that an appointment is Scheduled whether or not technicians are assigned to it (ServiceTitan). This is a crucial detail for dispatchers managing a board with multiple appointments. You may have an appointment that is Scheduled but has no technician assigned yet. Conversely, you may have a job that is In Progress (because a tech is dispatched) while the appointment record reflects the time slot. The Scheduled status confirms that the time slot is reserved on the calendar, regardless of staffing.

To help you track these distinctions, consider keeping a note of the specific status words and their triggers. The dispatch documentation says the job status changes to Dispatched (purple) on the board ServiceTitan dispatch documentation. In Progress means the job is active and not yet complete. Scheduled means the time slot is booked. Completed means the work is done. The appointment's Canceled status is automatically applied when the job is canceled; a single appointment cannot be canceled or uncanceled on its own ServiceTitan cancellation rule. Understanding these specific definitions prevents miscommunication between the office and the field.

Keep arrival communication separate from the status card; use the customer arrival updates guide to plan those messages and their owners.

When you export a report from Housecall Pro, the status column uses specific words to describe where a job stands in the workflow. The Help Center defines these terms precisely so you can interpret the data without guessing. For example, the status Unscheduled applies to a job that has been created but not assigned to a time or date, as stated in the report breakdown article Housecall Pro report breakdown. If you see this word on your exported list, it means the job exists in the system but lacks a scheduled appointment. This is distinct from a job that is scheduled but not yet started. You should check your board for these unscheduled items to ensure they are either assigned a time or moved to a different status, as they represent work that has not yet entered the dispatch timeline.

The Pipeline board uses a different set of columns to track the financial and operational state of jobs. One specific column is named Invoice Sent. According to the pipeline setup article, this column holds a job where an invoice has been sent, but has not been fully paid Housecall Pro pipeline guidance. Use this column to identify sent invoices that have not been fully paid, rather than to infer the state of field work. It does not indicate that the job is finished in every sense; rather, it flags that the billing process has begun but is not complete. When you look at the Pipeline board, jobs in this column have a sent invoice that has not been fully paid.

In summary, Housecall Pro uses Unscheduled for jobs created without a time/date and Invoice Sent for jobs with a sent invoice that has not been fully paid. These definitions are found in the Help Center articles linked above. Use them to guide your dispatch decisions and keep your board organized. Do not generalize these terms to other products; they are specific to Housecall Pro's exported reports and Pipeline board. By sticking to these defined terms, you can maintain consistency in your workflow and ensure that every job is tracked correctly from creation to payment.

The table below lists the status words defined by each publisher's documentation. Each row names the publisher and provides the specific status terms found in their source material. Use this table to cross-reference the terminology on your board with the official definitions from the software providers.

Keep this table visible while you build your own status card. The Microsoft row lists the six system statuses in the order they appear in the documentation. The ServiceTitan row highlights the specific transition rule for the In Progress state. The Housecall Pro row defines the Unscheduled state for exported reports. Note that the ServiceTitan and Housecall Pro rows in this table show a subset of the status definitions discussed above.

Use this blank worksheet to map your internal board words to the product’s defined terms and define your next action. The six work order system statuses appear on the work order entity and indicate the current point of a work order in its life cycle (Microsoft Learn). Copy this table onto a physical card or your digital board. For each row, write the word your shop uses, the corresponding product word, and the specific action you will take. Keep the card at the dispatch desk so you can quickly verify the status before sending a technician.

Suppose an illustrative board has 3 jobs: 1 created without a time/date and 2 with invoices sent but not fully paid. Using the Housecall Pro definitions above, the first matches Unscheduled on the exported report; the other 2 match Invoice Sent on the Pipeline board. On your card, write a scheduling action beside the first and a payment-check action beside the others. The invoice status alone does not establish whether field work has finished.

Copy the six Dynamics 365 status words onto a card, write your own board’s matching word beside each one, and keep the card at the dispatch desk. That card is your primary next step. It turns the product’s definitions into your shop’s working language.

What does Unscheduled mean on a work order?

In Housecall Pro's exported report, Unscheduled means a job has been created but not assigned to a time or date Housecall Pro report definition. Microsoft lists Unscheduled among the Dynamics 365 Field Service work order system statuses, which indicate the current point in the work order's life cycle Microsoft status definitions.

What is the difference between a job status and an appointment status?

In ServiceTitan, dispatching the first technician moves the job to In Progress, while an appointment can be Scheduled with or without technicians assigned ServiceTitan job and appointment definitions. In Dynamics 365 Field Service, changing the booking status to Traveling automatically changes the work order system status to In Progress Microsoft booking transition.

Does dispatching the technician change the status by itself?

Yes, in ServiceTitan, the job moves to In Progress as soon as the first technician is dispatched (ServiceTitan). In Dynamics 365 Field Service, changing the booking status to Traveling automatically changes the work order system status to In Progress (Microsoft Learn).

Can I cancel one appointment without canceling the job?

No, in ServiceTitan, there is no way to cancel or uncancel a single appointment; the Canceled status is automatically applied when the job is canceled (ServiceTitan).

Which Housecall Pro word matches In Progress?

The Housecall Pro definitions quoted here do not establish a match for In Progress. The exported report definition covers Unscheduled Housecall Pro report definition, while the Pipeline definition covers Invoice Sent Housecall Pro pipeline definition.