Use Case

Multi-site project and job tracking for HVAC and mechanical field contractors

A mechanical services and HVAC contractor replaced a legacy ERP that could not handle project volume or visibility with Airtable, giving project managers mobile access to 100-plus concurrent jobs, real-time schedule and PO tracking, and client-facing shared views that eliminate manual status reporting.

The problem

The contractor's legacy ERP could not handle the volume or visibility demands of field project work. Project managers overseeing more than 100 concurrent jobs had no reliable way to track schedule dates, PO delivery timelines, or open work items across all of their sites in one place.

Clients requesting status updates on repairs and ongoing projects required manual outreach from project managers to gather and report information. There was no self-service view for clients and no consistent way for field teams to stay aligned on job progress without calling or emailing back to the office.

What they built

The contractor built a project and job tracking base in Airtable covering schedule dates, job status, PO dates to vendors, and open work items for every active project. Project managers access their full workload on mobile from any job site, without needing to return to a desktop or call the office for current information.

Client-facing shared views give building owners and facility operators direct visibility into the progress of their repairs and projects. Updates made by the project management team appear in the shared view in real time, removing the need for manual status calls and allowing clients to check progress on their own schedule.

The outcome

Project managers now coordinate 100-plus concurrent jobs from a single Airtable base, with schedule dates, vendor PO timelines, and open items all tracked in one record. Mobile access means field staff can update and review job status from anywhere without a separate system or a trip to the office.

The client-facing shared views eliminated the manual status reporting cycle for projects and repairs. Clients access real-time progress without contacting the project management team, and the contractor has a scalable structure for handling high project volumes that the legacy ERP could not support.

Inside the solution

Multi-site Project and Job Tracking

Project and Portfolio Management

Program and Project Management

  • Project schedule and status tracking across 100-plus concurrent jobs
  • PO and vendor delivery date monitoring
  • Client-facing shared views for work item progress
  • Cross-functional project coordination
  • Legacy ERP unable to handle the volume or visibility needs of concurrent field projects
  • Manual status reporting to clients on repairs and ongoing work
  • No real-time project transparency for building owners and facility operators
  • Mobile access for project managers in the field across all active jobs
  • Client self-service visibility through shared Airtable views
  • Scalable structure for high project volumes
  • Project Management
  • Operations
  • Service Management
  • Airtable
  • Shared Views
Build out this use case

Multi-site project & job tracking

Track every concurrent field job in one place - schedule dates, job status, open work items and vendor PO delivery dates - with project managers working from mobile and clients following progress in a read-only shared view instead of calling for status. Automations flag jobs the moment a vendor PO slips, push completed milestones into the client-facing note, and email a weekly PO delivery risk digest, while Airtable AI drafts the client status summary, the on-site job brief and the client-safe wording for each open item.

Use this template
Multi-site project & job tracking - Overview dashboard
How it works

How the contractor tracks projects and jobs across multiple sites in Airtable

Track every active job in one base

Each project is entered in Airtable with its schedule dates, current status, open work items, and the vendor PO dates relevant to that job. Project managers see their full portfolio of 100-plus concurrent jobs in a single view, filterable by status, site, or priority without switching between systems.

Monitor PO and vendor delivery timelines

PO dates to vendors are tracked directly alongside project records so that project managers can see at a glance whether materials or subcontractor work are on track relative to the job schedule. When a delivery date changes, the update is made in one place and immediately visible to everyone coordinating on that project.

Give clients real-time progress through shared views

Airtable shared views let building owners and facility operators check the status of their repairs and projects without contacting the project management team. The view shows only the records relevant to that client and updates in real time as the contractor's team makes progress, removing the manual reporting cycle entirely.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Each active job has its own record in the project tracking base, with schedule dates, status, open work items, and vendor PO dates all in one place. Project managers use filtered and grouped views to focus on the jobs that need attention, and the mobile app means they can update records from any job site without returning to a desktop.

Shared views expose a filtered set of records relevant to a specific client, showing the status and open items for their repairs and ongoing projects. Clients see real-time updates as the project management team works, without needing to request a status report. The view is read-only and shows only the information relevant to that client.

PO dates are captured in the same record as the project they support, so project managers can see at a glance whether materials or vendor work are scheduled to arrive before the next milestone. When a delivery date shifts, the project manager updates it in Airtable and the change is immediately visible to anyone coordinating on that job.

Project Management, Operations, and Service Management teams all work from the same base. Project managers use it daily to track job progress and update open items. Operations staff use it for cross-functional coordination, and service managers can see where their jobs stand relative to the broader project portfolio.

The prior system lacked the flexibility to handle the volume of concurrent field projects the contractor runs, and it had no mechanism for sharing real-time project status with clients. Airtable's shared views, mobile access, and configurable record structure let the contractor build a solution tailored to field project management in a way the ERP could not support.