The signature is not paperwork, it is the invoice
An invoice queried four months later is settled by what was recorded on the day. Which means the sign-off is the commercial part of the job, not the tidying up.
Ask any firm about their worst invoice arguments and you get the same shape of story: work that was definitely done, a customer who remembers it differently, and nothing in writing from the day itself. Nobody was dishonest. There was simply no record, and in that situation the person holding the money wins.
What a sign-off actually needs to carry
- What was done, in words the customer would use
- Anything extra that came up, and that they agreed to it
- What was found and left undone, especially anything unsafe
- Photos — before, after, and anything that surprised you
- The time on site
- Who signed, and when
The photographs do most of the work. A rotten pipe on camera ends a conversation about four hundred pounds in ten seconds, and it keeps working months later when the person you spoke to has left.
Get the extras agreed before they happen
This is where the money is. Work agreed verbally on a doorstep and raised on the final invoice is an argument you could have won on the day. A variation recorded on site, with a photo and a sign-off, is not an argument at all — it is a line the customer has already seen.
When there is nobody to sign
On empty properties, void works and letting agent jobs there is often no one to sign, and that is normal rather than a failure. What replaces the signature is the record: photographs with the job attached, the time on site, and the sheet sent to the agent the same day. A record sent on the day is rarely disputed; one produced a month later always is.
Where the sheet has to end up
Against the property, not against the payer. Landlords change agents, agents change staff, tenants move — the address stays. When somebody asks for the record of a job at flat 3 two years later, the address is the only thing they will definitely know.
See a job get signed off
Click through a real field app: add a variation with a photo, get a signature, and see what arrives at the office.
Open the live demo →Common questions
Is a signature on a phone good enough?
Yes — a signature on a screen is a signature in law (Electronic Communications Act 2000), and only a deed needs more than that. A job sheet is not a deed. What matters commercially is being able to show who agreed what and when.
What if the customer refuses to sign?
Record that they were asked and why they declined, keep the photographs and the time on site, and send the sheet the same day. That combination is what an unsigned job needs.
How long should we keep job sheets?
Six years covers most commercial claims, and customer records should not be kept longer than you need them under UK GDPR. Practically: keep them as long as the equipment is in service, because that is when the questions come.
Can the customer get a copy straight away?
Yes, sent as soon as the job is closed, which is usually the moment they want it.
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Also useful: Job sheet app · Job sheet template · Job sheets on site · Quoting software · Job management software