Overview
Closing a job in MotionOps isn't just a status change. When you close a work order, MotionOps checks it against your closing rules first and tells you exactly what's still outstanding.
That means you don't close jobs with uninvoiced materials, unbilled hours, or money still owed. You decide which rules apply in Business Settings.
When to Use This Feature
The work is finished, the customer has paid, and you're wrapping up the job.
You're doing month-end cleanup and closing out completed work.
You want a check that nothing was left unbilled before a job goes into your history.
A job you thought was finished won't close, and you need to know why.
You need to reopen a closed job because something came back.
How It Works
When you start closing a work order, MotionOps runs a check against the closing rules your business has switched on. Rather than just refusing, it shows you a list of what isn't satisfied.
If everything passes, you confirm and the job closes. Its state becomes closed and its status becomes completed.
If something doesn't pass, the check tells you what and by how much - with links through to the invoices or change orders holding things up, so you can go fix them directly.
The Five Closing Rules
Each of these can be switched on or off in Business Settings. All five are on by default.
No open invoices - no invoices on the job are still in draft or pending.
Collected equals approved - the money collected matches the approved value of the job.
All materials invoiced - every material added to the job is attached to an invoice.
All timesheets invoiced -every timesheet on the job is attached to an invoice.
No open change orders - no change orders on the job are still in draft or pending.
How to Close a Work Order
Open the work order.
Open the More Actions menu and choose Close Work Order.
Read the check results in the window. Anything outstanding is listed with the detail you need to resolve it.
If anything is outstanding, use the links to open the invoice or change order and deal with it, then run the check again.
When everything passes, confirm to close the job.
The work order is now closed and marked completed. The header changes colour so a closed job is obvious at a glance.
Understanding What the Check Tells You
The messages are written to be specific rather than generic. Some examples of what you'll see:
"$100 is approved, but not collected." - the job's value has been invoiced but no payment has come in.
"$100 is approved, but $50 is collected." - a partial payment; $50 is still outstanding.
"$100 is approved, but $120 is collected." - you've collected more than the job's approved value, which usually means the job value needs updating or a refund is due.
Open invoices are named individually with their reference number and status, so you know which one to chase.
Uninvoiced timesheets and materials are reported by count.
Draft and pending change orders are called out separately.
The check also tells you how many appointments on the job aren't marked completed, split into past and future. This is informational - it won't stop you closing, but a past appointment that was never completed is usually worth a look.
Hourly Jobs Work Differently
On an hourly job, the collected-equals-approved rule doesn't apply.
That's deliberate. An hourly proposal sets a rate rather than a total, and the final amount depends on hours actually logged - so there's no fixed approved value to match against. The other rules still apply.
Cost-plus material jobs are treated the same way for the same reason.
What You Can and Can't Do on a Closed Job
A closed work order stays fully viewable, and you can still add to its record.
Still available:
Edit tags
Edit skills needed
Add and remove photos
Add notes
No longer available:
Scheduling new appointments
Assigning team members
Adding change orders
Adding timesheets
Adding materials
Adding invoices
On the Mobile App, a closed job can still take photos and notes, but change orders, waivers, and materials are blocked.
Being able to add photos and notes after closing matters in practice - a warranty photo six months later belongs on the job without reopening it.
Reopening a Closed Job
On a closed work order, Reopen Work Order is the button in the header. Confirm, and the job returns to open and ongoing with everything editable again.
Reopen when you need to bill something you missed, add a change order for callback work, or correct a timesheet.
See also Canceling and Reopening a Work Order.
Tips & Best Practices
Leave the rules switched on. They exist to stop you closing jobs with money on the table. Switching off "all timesheets invoiced" is how unbilled labour quietly disappears.
Use the check as a to-do list. Every item is linked. Work down the list, fix each one, and run it again.
Close jobs weekly rather than at month end. The check is much faster to clear on a job you still remember.
Investigate over-collection. "More is collected than approved" usually means a change order was never recorded or a payment went on the wrong job.
Check unassigned team members before closing. Their hours still count toward the job's cost. See Unassign vs. Remove a Team Member from a Job.
Don't reopen just to add a photo. Photos and notes work on closed jobs already.
Things to Know
All five closing rules are on by default and each can be turned off in Business Settings.
Closing sets the job's state to closed and its status to completed.
A job with a Disputed status can't be closed until the dispute is resolved.
The collected-equals-approved rule is skipped on hourly jobs and on cost-plus material jobs.
Small rounding differences of a cent won't block closing.
Appointments not marked completed are reported but don't block closing.
Closing requires the relevant permission. See Standard User Roles.
Manually recorded payments can't be edited or deleted on a closed job. See Recording a Manual Payment.
Reopening is always possible and returns the job to fully editable.
Closing a job is also possible from the Mobile App.
Troubleshooting
The check says money is approved but not collected, and I know the customer paid.
The payment may not be recorded against this job's invoice. Check the invoice's transaction log, and confirm the payment wasn't recorded on a different job.
It says more is collected than approved.
Usually extra work was done and never captured as a change order, so the job's approved value is lower than what you billed. Add the change order, or check whether a payment landed on the wrong job.
There are uninvoiced timesheets but the job is fully paid.
Hours were logged after the final invoice went out. Either attach them to an invoice, or decide whether that time should have been billed at all.
A draft change order is blocking me.
Send it for approval, or discard it if it's not going ahead. Draft and pending change orders both block closing.
The job won't close because it's disputed.
Resolve the dispute first. Closing is blocked while a job is in Disputed status regardless of your other rules.
I clicked close twice and got a message saying it's already closed.
The first click worked. Refresh the page to see the closed state.
I need to add an invoice to a closed job.
Reopen it, add the invoice, then close it again. Invoices can't be added while a job is closed.
Have questions? Reach out via the support chat or email support@motionops.com.