Schedule, reschedule, or reassign a visit
Use drag and drop on the Scheduling page to place work on the calendar, move it, or change the assigned technician.
If you are asking "How do I reschedule a visit?", first check whether the visit is an exact-time visit or an estimated visit - both can be dragged directly on the calendar, and dragging keeps each one's timing type as-is.
Exact-time visits have a specific promised start time. Dragging one to a new slot keeps that exact time; it snaps to the new technician's column and the nearest 15-minute mark.
Estimated visits are flexible route blocks. Rescheduling one usually means changing the technician or date, then letting Essential estimate timing from the technician's route, commute time, and visit duration.
Schedule from the Backlog
Open the Scheduling page.
Find the visit in the Backlog.
Drag the visit onto a technician's calendar at the day and time you want.
Dropping the visit sets its start time and assigns that technician.
Reschedule or reassign
Reschedule an exact-time visit
Use this path when the customer still expects a specific appointment time. Exact visits show a bullseye-style icon; hovering it says Exact start time expected by the Customer.
The fastest way: press and hold the visit card on the calendar and drag it to the new technician and time. It snaps to the nearest 15-minute mark and previews the time as you drag; release to drop it there. The visit keeps its exact time and saves immediately.
Use the edit form instead when you also need to change something else about the visit at the same time, like adding a second technician:
Open the Scheduling page from the left navigation.
Find the visit on the calendar.
Click the visit card once to open the visit popover.
Click the edit icon in the popover header. It looks like a pencil on paper.
On the edit form, click Choose Start Time.
Keep the visit in exact-time mode. You should see technician selection, date, and start-time controls.
Select the technician or technicians for the visit.
Select the new date.
Select the new start time.
Click Save to save the new exact appointment time. (The button reads Schedule instead when the visit is coming off the Backlog and getting its first start time.)
Reschedule an estimated visit
Drag the visit to the new technician or date.
Drop it on the new schedule location.
Let Essential recalculate the timing from the route context.
Switch a visit between exact and estimated
Open the visit form, go to step 2, and choose Exact time or Estimated, then save. The choice is available for existing visits as well as new ones. You can also use the Exact or Estimated chip next to the time in the visit popover. Exact keeps a specific start time; Estimated places the visit after all of the technician's other exact and estimated visits that day, allowing for commute time. Estimated requires a single technician.
See Exact time vs. estimated, duration, technician count, and due date for what each mode means.
Unschedule a visit
Drag a scheduled visit back to the Backlog.
Drop it there to clear its scheduled placement.
Drag-and-drop changes take effect as soon as you drop the visit, for both exact and estimated visits. An Undo button appears at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds afterward - click it to put the visit back. Changes made from the edit form save when you click Save (labeled Schedule when the visit is being placed on the calendar for the first time). Saving updates the existing visit - it never creates a duplicate.
If a visit needs more than one technician, staff it with the required technician count instead of treating duplicate calendar blocks as separate visits.
You cannot reschedule a visit from the calendar if it is on a past day. By default, Essential also blocks rescheduling after a technician clocks in: the time, duration, timing type, and technicians with clock events stay locked, although you can still use Edit Technicians to add another technician.
An administrator can turn on Enable re-scheduling after technician clock-in under Settings > Scheduling > Features. When it is on, same-day and future visits can be fully rescheduled after clock-in, including changing their time, duration, exact/estimated timing, technician assignment, or moving them to the Backlog. Past-day visits stay locked. Deleting the visit or reverting it to a draft remains separate from rescheduling and keeps its existing restrictions.
Where to find it: Scheduling page, drag visits between the Backlog and the calendar
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