Guided Media Capture FAQ

What is Guided Media Capture?

Guided Media Capture helps your technicians capture the right photos on every job. Your office decides which photos are required, guides technicians to capture them in the field, and saves each photo to the Work Order or Estimate. This gives you consistent, reliable proof of work.

Who has access to Guided Media Capture?

All customers. Guided Media Capture is included in every plan: Essential, Enhanced, and Complete.

Do my technicians need a special camera or app?

No. Guided Media Capture uses your phone's built-in camera, so your device's usual camera features still work.

Which ServiceBridge apps do I use?

Technicians capture photos in the ServiceBridge Mobile app. Office users set up required photos and review them in ServiceBridge Web.

Which version of the ServiceBridge Mobile app do I need?

Photo To-Dos require iOS version 7.10.0 or Android version 4.30 to show up on Estimates and Work Orders. If you don’t see these features, update the app through the App Store or Google Play.

Where are photos and notes saved?

Technicians can capture photos on both Estimates and Work Orders in the mobile app. Photos and notes save to the Estimate or Work Order they were captured on, and each has its own media library on the Photos tab.

Do I need to set anything up before using it?

No. Four default photo labels are ready to use right away: Interior, Exterior, Repair, and Damage. These default labels can be edited. You can also use Before/After pairing and Ghost Overlay without any extra setup.

Photo To-Dos are NOT set up by default. If you want techs to capture specific photos before they can complete a work order or estimate, your office can set up Photo To-Dos as an optional step.

Can I capture video?

No. You can only capture photos right now.

Do photos upload if a technician is offline?

Yes, once the device is back online. Photos taken offline are saved on the device and upload automatically when the device reconnects.

How are photos organized on a Work Order?

The Photos tab has two views. To-dos shows a guided list of the photos to capture. Library shows all photos captured on the Work Order.

What photo categories are available?

Photos are organized into four categories:

What are the ways to capture a photo?

There are two ways to capture a photo:

How does guided capture work?

The Photo To-Do list walks technicians through each required photo. Tap a To-Do, capture the photo, and save. You'll return to the list so you can move on to the next one.

How can my technicians tell what photos are still needed?

The To-Do list shows live progress, such as "Required proof · 2 of 5," so technicians can see what's left. Required photos can be captured in any order.

Can photos be edited or deleted after capture, and by whom?

Yes, depending on where you’re working and your access:

Where do I create Photo To-Dos?

Go to Settings > Jobs > Job To-dos, then click + Add new. After you create a Photo To-do, you can reuse it on any job.

What can I set up on a Photo To-Do?

You can set a Display Name (up to 60 characters), Input Type (Photo), one or more Photo Types with a minimum number of photos for each, a Default description, Required by Default, and Display on Job Print View. For step-by-step instructions, see Setting Up Photo To-Dos.

Can I add Photo To-Dos to every job of a certain type?

Yes. Add Photo To-Dos to a Job Template, and every Work Order created from that template will include them automatically.

How do before and after photos work?

Capture a Before photo, then capture the matching After photo. The two photos are shown together as a pair.

What is the Ghost Overlay?

When taking an After photo, a faint image of the Before photo appears on the camera screen. This helps technicians line up the same angle so the two photos are easy to compare.

Can I view a before and after pair side by side?

Yes. You can see Before and After photos together on both web and mobile.

Question

Answer

What can I add to a photo?

You can add a note, a label, and markup such as arrows, shapes, and text. You can also move a photo to a different To-Do.

To move a photo on mobile, go to Photos > All and tap the ... next to the photo. Tap Reassign, then choose the new To-do. If you want the photo to stay on the work order or estimate without a To-do, choose None.

If I retake a photo, will I lose my notes?

No. Notes and labels are kept when you retake a photo. Markup is cleared, so you'll need to add it again.

Can I keep a note private from my customer?

Yes. Notes are internal by default. To show a note in the Customer Portal, turn on Visible to customer on the Note screen.

Can a technician finish a job without the required photos?

It depends on your company’s settings. If your company requires To-dos to be completed before a job can be finished, technicians need to capture the required photos or enter a reason they can’t before they finish the job.

What if a technician can't take a required photo?

The technician can tap Mark as Can’t do, type the reason in the text box, and tap Save. They can then finish the job, and the reason is saved to the job so your office can review it.

Can more than one technician add photos to the same job?

Yes. Multiple technicians can capture photos on the same Work Order, and progress updates can include photos from everyone.

Can I see who took each photo?

Yes. Each photo shows who captured it, the date and time it was taken, and the GPS coordinates of where it was taken. For a To-do marked as Can’t do, you can also see who marked it.

For GPS coordinates to be saved, set the mobile app’s location permission to at least While using the app. Photos can still be captured and uploaded without this permission, but they won’t include GPS coordinates.

Can my customers see job photos?

Yes. In the Customer Portal, customers can see Before, After, and Recommended photos on the related work order or estimate. They can also see labels and any notes set to Visible to customer. Private photos are never shown to customers.

Which notes can my customers see?

Customers only see notes that have Visible to customer turned on. This setting is on the Note screen and is off by default, so all notes are internal unless you turn it on.

Where can my office team review photos?

Open the Work Order or Estimate in ServiceBridge Web to see its photos, notes, and To-dos.

Can my office team move photos to a different category?

Yes, on the web. While editing a work order, you can drag and drop photos between the Before, After, Private, and Recommended categories. You can also open a photo, click Edit, and choose a new category.

Photos in a Before and After pair can’t be moved because changing the category would break the pair. To move a paired photo, unpair the Before and After photos first, then edit the photo and choose a new category.