What is GPS tracking and history playback?

GPS tracking and history playback do two jobs at once. Live tracking puts every truck on a map so a dispatcher can route the next call to the closest tech and tell a waiting customer how far out their pro is. History playback records the whole day as a breadcrumb trail you can replay later — which is what turns "I swear we were there" into "here's the map showing we were there at 10:14." One is for running the day; the other is for proving it.

What GPS tracking and history playback actually are

Most field shops already know roughly where their crews are because they call and ask. The point of built-in GPS is to stop asking. The tech's mobile app reports location while they're on the clock, and that feeds two views:

• Live map. Every active truck shows up in real time, so the dispatcher sees the field instead of imagining it. When a new call comes in, you route it to whoever's actually nearby — not whoever picks up first.
• History playback. The day's drive and stops are saved as a breadcrumb trail. You can replay any tech's route after the fact and see where they were, in what order, and how long each stop took.

The value isn't the dot on the map. It's what the dot lets you do: dispatch tighter, answer "where's my guy" without a phone call, settle a customer dispute with a record, and spot the route that quietly eats two hours every Friday.

How it works

Tracking ties to the Claver mobile app each tech already uses to see their jobs, update status, and collect payment. Before any location is shared, the tech goes through an explicit consent flow — location is opt-in and on the record, not silent surveillance running behind their back. Once they're tracking and on the clock, three things happen:

• The dispatch board goes live. The drag-and-drop dispatch board shows real positions, so reassigning a job is a swipe against reality, not a guess.
• Routes get sequenced. Drive-time route optimization orders the day's stops to cut windshield time, and the map shows whether the crew is actually following it.
• The day gets recorded. The breadcrumb trail accumulates as they drive, ready to replay whenever you need it — that evening, or three weeks later when a customer calls.

It also feeds the customer side. The same live position powers a "Track Your Pro" page, so the homeowner gets a real-time map of their tech instead of a four-hour window and a wait by the window. Fewer "are you still coming?" calls, fewer missed appointments.

Who it helps, by trade

GPS earns its keep differently depending on how your day is shaped.

Recurring-route trades — lawn care, pool service, pest control

This is where playback pays for itself. Lawn care, pool service, and pest control run dense recurring routes where the same dispute keeps coming back: "you skipped my house this week." When the visit is on a recurring plan you've already billed, you can't afford a credit every time a customer mis-remembers. Playback shows the truck was at the address, at what time, for how long — the callback ends in thirty seconds instead of a refund. And because these routes repeat, the optimization side compounds: shave ten minutes a stop across forty stops and you've found a whole tech back.

Dispatch-heavy service trades — HVAC, plumbing, electrical

For HVAC, plumbing, and electrical, the live map is the win. Emergency calls land all day, and routing the next no-cool or no-water call to the closest available truck instead of the next name on the list is the difference between a same-day fix and a lost job. The "Track Your Pro" page also cuts the no-shows that wreck a service route: the customer can see the tech coming, so they're home when the truck arrives.

Heavy-equipment and crew trades — junk removal, moving, tree service

For junk removal, moving, and tree service, the day is fewer, longer jobs spread across town, often with rented equipment and a crew on the clock. Playback is your honest timesheet check — it shows real on-site time versus billed time, and surfaces the side trips and long lunches that hourly notes never catch. That's not about distrust; it's about coaching the pattern you can finally see.

What's included, and on which tier

GPS tracking and full history playback are on the Crew plan at $39/mo flat, for up to 5 users. They don't sit behind a separate GPS add-on or a per-truck fee — they come with the plan, alongside the dispatch and routing tools that make location data useful in the first place. On Crew you get:

• Live GPS tracking — every active truck on a real-time map.
• GPS history playback — the full breadcrumb trail per tech, replayable as proof of service.
• Tech consent flow — explicit opt-in before any location is shared.
• Drag-and-drop dispatch + drive-time route optimization — so the map drives the day, not just records it.
• Live "Track Your Pro" page — a real-time map for the customer.

Because Crew is a flat monthly price with no per-seat fees, adding a tech up to the plan limit never raises your GPS bill — the trail for truck five costs the same as the trail for truck one. The HVAC and plumbing pages walk through how dispatch, GPS, and SMS fit a single service day, and the full feature list shows exactly what's on Starter versus Crew.

What it doesn't do yet (the honest part)

GPS in Claver is route-and-stop tracking built for dispatch, proof of service, and a sanity check on the day. It is not a fleet-telematics or compliance suite, and it's fair to say so:

• It's not a payroll or timekeeping system. Playback shows where a tech was and for how long, but it doesn't calculate hours or run pay. Pair it with clock-in times — Crew's payroll calculator and per-tech reports are the tools for the wage math.
• It's not engine telematics. There's no fuel monitoring, hard-braking or speeding alerts, engine diagnostics, or vehicle-health reporting like a dedicated hardware fleet system offers. Claver tracks the tech's app, not the truck's ECU.
• It depends on the phone. Tracking needs the tech's app running with location enabled on the clock. If a phone is off, dead, or location is disabled, that stretch of trail won't record.
• It's a record, not a verdict. Playback shows the trail; it doesn't decide intent. Use it to start an honest conversation, and always confirm your own state and local rules for employee location tracking before you roll it out.

For most owner-operated trade shops, that's exactly the right scope — the dispatch wins and the dispute-ending record without the cost and overhead of a hardware telematics contract. If you genuinely need ELD compliance or engine-level fleet data, a dedicated telematics provider is the honest answer, and many shops run that alongside Claver.