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Customer Intake: Request Guide

Nate H avatar
Written by Nate H
Updated over a month ago

Customer Intake is available with the Voice, HCP Assist, or Pipeline add-ons.


What is the Request Guide?

The Request Guide is a customizable form that appears during the Request step of your Customer Intake process.

By default, your account comes with standard questions. You can edit, add, or remove questions at any time, and include Reminders or Branches to guide employees and collect more relevant details.


Access Your Request Guide Settings

New users:

  • Click the gear icon in the top right corner of your Housecall Pro account to access your Settings.

  • Select Customer Intake in the left Settings menu.

  • Ensure that the Request Guide tab is selected at the top of the page.

If you have the previous version of Settings:

  • Click the gear icon in the top right corner of your Housecall Pro account to access your Settings.

  • In the Settings menu on the left, scroll down to the Booking section and select Customer Intake > Request guide.



Request Guide Questions

Request Guide questions can be:

  • Single Choice: Customers pick one option (e.g., service type).

  • Multiple Choice: Customers pick multiple options (e.g., areas of a home).

  • Text: Customers provide a free-form answer (e.g. square footage of home).


How to Add Questions

  • Access your Request Guide settings.

  • Click + Question at the bottom of the page.

  • In the sidebar, enter your question text.

  • Select a Type:

    • Single choice – Customers can select one option

    • Multiple choice – Multiple selections allowed

    • Text – Customers can provide a free-form response

Example: For the home cleaning industry, you could ask, "Which areas of your home would you like us to clean?"

  • For Single/Multiple choice, use the Answers dropdown to select an answer type:

    • Custom

    • Industries

    • Service types

📌 Note: To change the answer type for a multiple-choice question, switch the Type to Single choice first. Update the Answers dropdown, then switch back to Multiple choice.

  • Custom answers:

    • Add: Click + Answer and enter your custom answers in the text fields.

    • Move: Drag the handle (two bars to the left) to reorder your answers.

    • Delete: Click the X to the right of an answer to delete it.

  • Industries:

    • Move: Drag the handles (two bars to the left) to reorder.

    • Show/Hide: Use the toggle to the right of an Industry to show/hide it for this specific question.

📌 Note: Industry answers are pre-defined based on your Customer Intake Onboarding and cannot be added or deleted.

  • Service types:

    • Add: Click + Service type to add a new service type answer.

    • Move: Drag the handles (two bars to the left) to reorder.

    • Delete: Click the trash can to delete a service type answer.

  • Add a Reminder for team members (optional).

  • Click Add in the top-right of the sidebar to save.


Branching Questions

Branching enhances your Request Guide by allowing you to tailor follow-up questions based on a customer's responses. This feature helps streamline the intake process and ensures you gather the most relevant information by presenting specific questions only when certain answers are provided.

For instance, if a customer selects Cleaning as their service type, you can follow up with additional questions related to various cleaning tasks, making the information collected more precise and actionable.

📌 Note: Branching is available only for Single Choice questions.

Example:

  • Question: "Is this request covered by insurance?"

  • If the customer selects "Yes," follow-up questions may include:

    • "What is the provider's name?"

    • "What is the claim number?"

To branch a question:

  • Access your Request Guide settings and find the question you want to branch.

  • Click the Branch icon (two arrows) to the left of a question or the More icon () to the right, then select Add Branch.

  • In the Show for: section, select the answer that should trigger follow-up questions. The selected answer will be highlighted in blue.

  • Add your new question(s) or reminder(s).

  • Click Add to save.


Edit, Move, or Delete Questions

  • Access your Request Guide settings.

  • Click the More icon (⋮) to the right of a question.

  • Select Edit to change the question, answers, or reminder.

  • Select Move up or Move down to change the order the questions are presented.

  • Select Delete to remove the question from your Request Guide.

📌 Note:

  • ⚠️ There is no confirmation prompt when Delete is selected. Double-check that you want to remove the question to avoid any accidental deletions.

  • Question Types (Single choice, Multiple choice, and Text) and Answer Types (Custom, Industries, Service types) cannot be edited for existing questions.



Answers in the Request Guide

For Single Choice or Multiple Choice questions, you can select:

  • Service Types: Predefined options include Install, Repair, Maintenance, Cleaning, Diagnosis, and Get a Quote.

  • Industries: Predefined based on what was input during your Customer Intake onboarding (e.g., Home Cleaning, Laundry).

  • Custom: Create your own (e.g., Regular Cleaning, Deep Cleaning, Move-In/Move-Out).


Add, Edit, or Delete Answers

To manage answers in your Request Guide:

  • Access your Request Guide settings.

  • Click the More icon (⋮) to the right of a question.

  • Select Edit.

Custom answers:

  • Add: Click + Answer.

  • Delete: Click the X icon.

  • Reorder: Drag the handle (two bars) to the left of an answer.

Industries:

📌 Note:

  • Industry answers cannot be edited, shown/hidden, or reordered for existing questions. To make changes, delete the existing question and create a new one with the desired settings.

  • If you would like to see more flexibility in this area in the future, please submit a product suggestion via the Blue Chat Bubble or through our Product Roadmap.

Service types:

📌 Note:

  • Service types cannot be edited, shown/hidden, or reordered for existing questions. To make changes, delete the existing question and create a new one with the desired settings.

  • If you would like to see more flexibility in this area in the future, please submit a product suggestion via the Blue Chat Bubble or through our Product Roadmap.



Request Guide Reminders

You can add Reminders to guide team members while they complete intake forms. Reminders help ensure consistency and clarity in responses.

You can add Reminders in three ways:

  • Before or after a question → standalone context between questions.

  • As part of a question → linked directly to a specific question.

  • As part of a branch → triggered only when certain answers are selected (e.g., if you select "Repair" as the response to a question and you want to include a reminder that all repairs include a service charge)


Add a Reminder Before or After a Question

  • Access your Request Guide settings.

  • Click + Reminder at the bottom of the page.

  • Enter the Title and Note in the sidebar.

  • Click Add to save.

Example:

  • Title: Deposit Requirement

  • Note: All jobs require a $50 deposit. Remind the customer before confirming.


Add a Reminder to a Question

  • While adding or editing a question, locate the Reminder field in the sidebar.

  • Enter your Reminder text.

  • Click Add or Save.

Example: "All repair jobs include a standard service charge - make sure to explain this to the customer."


Add a Reminder to a Branch

  • Access your Request Guide settings.

  • Create or edit a branch.

  • Click + reminder in the expanded section.

  • Enter a Title and Note.

  • Click Add.

Example:

  • Title: Confirm Insurance Claim Info

  • Note: Ask for the customer's insurance company and claim number. Confirm the adjuster's name and contact info (if available). Remind the customer to have a copy of the policy/claim paperwork ready for the tech.


Manage Reminders

To manage reminders in your Request Guide:

  • Go to your Request Guide settings.

  • Click the More icon (⋮) to the right of a question (for question-level reminders) or a standalone reminder.

  • Select one of the following options:

    • Edit → Update the reminder text, Title, or Note, then click Save.

    • Move up / Move down → Reorder standalone reminders.

    • Delete → Remove a standalone reminder.

⚠️ Important: There is no confirmation prompt when Delete is selected. Double-check that you want to remove the reminder to avoid any accidental deletions, as this action cannot be undone.


What happens to the information I collect during Customer Intake?

After completing your customer intake, the information you gather from the Request Guide will be included on the new lead, job, or estimate under the Request Guide section.


Need help or have questions?

We're here for you! Chat with Support using the Blue Chat Bubble in your Housecall Pro account, or give us a call at (858) 842-5746.

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