CarpetBossPro Blog — Carpet Cleaning Software

Pets, Gate Codes and Where to Run the Hose: Access Notes in Carpet Cleaning Software

A carpet cleaner's first ten minutes at a house decide how the rest of the job goes. Where does the van fit? Which door does the hose go through? Is there a dog, and where will it be? Is there a gate code, or a building entry code, or an elevator to book? Getting those answers on the porch is slow. Having them on the phone before you pull up is the whole point of access notes.

Notes That Live on the Address

Access notes are part of the job details, alongside the rooms and add-ons that carry forward as described in Prefill From the Last Job: Why Repeat Carpet Customers Should Never Be Re-Typed. The difference is where they live.

In CarpetBossPro, access notes belong to the address. The tech sees them on the job card on their phone every time that address is on the schedule. A customer cleaned every six months shows the same notes each time without the office resending them. If something changes, the office updates the address once, and every future visit shows the new information.

Where to Park the Van

For a truck-mount operator, parking is not a small detail. The van needs to be close enough for the hose to reach, out of the way of the neighbors, and not blocking a driveway that the homeowner needs. Good parking notes are specific:

• “Park in the driveway, left side. Customer will move their car to the street.”
• “Driveway too steep for the van. Park on the street in front of the mailbox.”
• “Townhouse: visitor spots 14–16 behind the building. Do not use the fire lane.”
• “Apartment complex: unload at the side door by the leasing office, then move to the back lot.”

Where to Run the Hose

The hose route matters just as much. Running a hose through the front door over new hardwood is a different job than running it through the garage onto tile. Notes like these save a lot of guessing:

• “Hose through the garage and the laundry room door. Front door sticks.”
• “Second-floor condo: hose up the back stairs, not the elevator.”
• “Customer wants door guards and runners from the door to the living room.”

On commercial jobs, add where to find water and power if you are using a portable, and who has the keys after hours.

Pets

Pets come up on most residential jobs. The note should say what the pet is, whether it is friendly, and what the plan is: “Two cats, will hide upstairs. Close the bedroom doors when cleaning.” “Large dog. Customer will keep it in the backyard during the job.” “Do not let the dog out the front door.”

Pets and carpet cleaning also connect in another way: pet odor treatment. If the pet note says the old dog has accidents in the back bedroom, the office can offer the add-on before the job, and the tech is not surprised in the house. Add-ons themselves are covered in Pet Odor, Stain Protector and Deodorizer: Tracking Add-Ons in Carpet Cleaning Software.

Gate Codes and Entry

Gate codes, building codes, lockbox codes and “key under the mat” all belong in access notes. Be clear about which gate and what to do if the code fails: “Community gate, vendor code at the Oak Street entrance. If it fails, call the customer, not the office.”

Keeping codes in the software is safer than keeping them in a group text. Techs sign into the tech app with the company login and their own personal PIN. When someone leaves the company, turning off their PIN turns off their access to every code, instead of leaving years of codes sitting in their texts.

Move-Outs, Offices and Property Managers

Move-out cleanings often happen in empty homes, so the access note is the only way in: “Lockbox on the back door. Property manager says leave the porch light on.” For offices and apartment complexes on monthly maintenance, the note tells the after-hours van which entrance to use, where the alarm panel is, and who to text when the job is done.

Because a property manager can have many addresses under one client, each building keeps its own access notes. The vacant unit on Elm Street and the office on Main never get mixed up.

Keep Them Short and Current

The best access notes are short enough to read in the driveway. Lead with the thing that matters most: parking, then entry, then hose, then pets. If a tech finds a note wrong, they should write the correct version in the job notes so the office can fix the address before the next visit. A stale access note is worse than none, because the tech trusts it.

To see how access notes fit with the job details, the tech app and repeat cleanings, return to the CarpetBossPro carpet cleaning software page.