Energy Retrofit Jobs Manager

Energy Retrofit Ireland runs day-to-day operations from a private jobs platform built around real retrofit, insulation and field-service workflows — not a generic CRM. The system connects lead intake, embeddable booking, Gmail-style email management, AI assistants, External Wrap project pipelines, work order tracking, dispatch boards, WhatsApp schedules, live job and van maps, Xero invoicing, social tooling, fleet checks and HRM modules into one authenticated operating environment used from the office, home or the road.

Challenge

The business outgrew spreadsheets, inbox threads and disconnected website forms. Retrofit work needs grant paperwork, homeowner portals, subcontractor coordination, PO-driven work orders, van planning, compliance documents and finance handoff — often for the same job. The platform had to stay fast for daily dispatch while absorbing AI, email, booking, projects and accounting without forcing staff onto a new SaaS stack.

Platform Architecture

The live app is a modular PHP operations shell with Google OAuth, role-gated navigation, category-aware branding for multiple trade lines, and a Laravel API behind task CRUD, Gmail processing, public endpoints, tickets, holidays, backups and Xero bridges. Dispatch, maps, Twilio WhatsApp, VelocityFleet polling, OpenAI extraction and Python media workers plug into the same tracker database rather than replacing it.

Lead & Booking Intake

Leads are managed in a searchable CRM with follow-up tracking, callout maps, printable schedules and survey capture. Public booking embeds handle callout and survey slots with Eircode-aware address capture, category branding, confirmation email workflows and admin review before jobs are treated as confirmed. The operations dashboard surfaces new leads, overdue follow-ups and callout starts at login.

Email Manager & AI Assistant

A Gmail-style email client caches inbox threads, supports reply tooling and links into lead records. The AI Business Assistant uses RAG over documents, email history and lead data so staff can ask operational questions without hunting through folders. Gmail order import and PDF extractors pull PO numbers, addresses and Eircodes from incoming job requests into tracker rows.

Project Manager — External Wrap

External Wrap and EWI projects run through a jobs board with pipeline stages, workspace modals for paperwork, client documents, SEAI packs, deliveries and phases. Homeowners receive a tokenised client portal for grants, deposits and document submission — often distributed by WhatsApp from the workspace. Internal messaging boards track unread client and team threads from the main navigation.

Work Orders, Maps & Field Views

The work order tracker is the operational source of truth: desktop and mobile table views, client and subcontractor filters, invoice and Xero state, weather dependency, public task links and per-job WhatsApp send. The tracker map plots active jobs with coordinates, client and worker filters, and overlays live van positions from the fleet cache. Field staff use assigned-user views and mobile job cards optimised for phones.

Dispatch Board & WhatsApp Jobs

A dispatch API layer powers a daily planning board: unplanned queue, van and subcontractor timelines, conflict detection, slot suggestions from job coordinates and nearest live van, and writeback to tracker assignment and response dates. Admins send individual job details or full daily schedules by Twilio WhatsApp with delivery, read and changed-schedule tracking plus secure worker schedule links.

AI Automations

AI is embedded where it saves field and office time: receipt and mileage capture with Document AI and structured export, Reel Builder for job-photo social videos with Irish voiceover, invoice import description generation, image OCR grouping for compliance reports, social post copy generation, quote-wizard classification for service brands, and estimate review workflows.

Finance, Fleet & HRM

Multi-brand Xero workflows draft quotes and invoices per website/category (ExternalWrap, Premier Bathrooms, LaminateFit, GreenWatt branding themes), sync contacts, attach Drive evidence and email invoices from the tracker. The invoice status screen groups jobs by Xero ID with Drafted, Sent, Paid and issue tabs, live totals from Xero, and webhook writeback to local job records. Fuel logs, vehicle compliance, tool inventory, timesheets, holidays, tickets and Google stats sit in the same shell.

Outcome

Energy Retrofit Ireland now runs leads, bookings, projects, field dispatch, maps, WhatsApp updates, AI capture tools and finance prep from one platform tuned to Irish retrofit operations. Modular case studies below cover the dispatch board, fleet map overlay, receipt scanner, reel builder, Xero bridge and Twilio field layer — all deployed on this live system.