How to track enquiries before they become jobs

Track an enquiry as work to be followed up, not as a booked job. Record the customer, site, request, person responsible and dated next action. Move it into quoting or scheduling only when the relevant decision has happened.

Explore the wider leads and customer records guides for the steps around this decision.

Keep the next action visible

Field	Example entry	Why it matters
Enquiry reference	ENQ-001	Joins calls, notes and quotations
Customer and site	Example Customer; Site A	Separates the payer from the work location
Requested work	Garden clearance	Preserves the original request
Responsible person	Office coordinator	Avoids everyone assuming someone else replied
Next action and date	Arrange survey on Tuesday	Creates a specific follow-up
Outcome	Quoting, declined or waiting	Keeps closed enquiries out of active work

These are suggested tracker fields, not a claim that every software product uses these exact labels. Do not mark an enquiry as booked just because a customer asked when you could come.

Example: a call received from the van

In an illustrative business, the owner receives a call about a clearance while travelling between jobs. The office records the request and a callback commitment. The site survey becomes the next action. After the survey, the quote receives its own reference and the enquiry links to it.

If the customer declines, record that outcome. The enquiry remains useful customer history without taking space in the work schedule. If the customer asks to wait, keep a future action rather than repeatedly treating it as a new lead.

Review the active list

Check enquiries with overdue actions, quotes awaiting an answer and requests with no owner. Resolve those exceptions before adding more status labels. Keep personal information limited to what the business needs and confirm contact details before sending a quote.

JobDiary includes lead and quotation records. That does not by itself promise automatic capture from every website, inbox or messaging service. A clear manual entry routine is preferable to assuming a connection exists.

Connect this to the next step

Continue with Quote follow-up templates for tradespeople. If the next issue is elsewhere in the workflow, use How to send a quote from your phone before leaving site.

See JobDiary customer and lead records to check how the product supports this work. Use the current product description and a trial to verify the fit for your business.