At a glance
The challenge
Rentals, trials and machines were tracked by hand. Service visits ended in handwritten paperwork, trial follow-ups were a manual job, and a machine's history lived in people's heads and on paper.
What we built
A system built around their rental model: a register of every machine, rentals and trials placed against each customer, service tickets that follow a machine through the workshop and back, a job sheet generated for every visit, and replacement jobs when a unit needs swapping.
The results
- Every machine tracked from the day it goes out, through every service visit after
- Rentals, trials and service tickets in one place instead of spreadsheets
- A job sheet created automatically for every service visit
- Changes made when they ask, so the system keeps up with the business
A rental business run on paper and spreadsheets
WaterADE was developed as a hydration drink for elderly residents in care homes, and it reaches them through WaterADE's own hydration stations. Each station is a physical machine that goes out to a care home on rental or on trial, and has to be serviced, collected, repaired or replaced over its life.
Keeping track of all that was manual. Which machine was at which home, which trials were due to convert or come back, and what had been done to a unit on its last visit all had to be pieced together from spreadsheets and paper.
“Every service visit ended with paperwork written up by hand. It was slow and easy to lose. A machine's service history lived in people's heads and on paper.”
What we built: set up around how a rental business works
Rather than fit WaterADE into a generic field service template, the system follows a machine's life the way their business does.
A register of every machine
Each hydration station has its own record: where it is, what state it is in, and everything that has happened to it.
Rentals and trials
Machines are placed with a customer as a rental or a trial, and a trial can be converted to a rental when the home decides to keep it.
Customers at a glance
Open any customer, or a group of homes under one operator, and see exactly which machines they have.
Service tickets
A ticket follows each machine through the service: received, checked, serviced and sent back, with every step logged.
Job sheets, automatically
Every service visit produces its job sheet without anyone writing it up afterwards.
Replacements
When a unit has to be swapped, a replacement job records what went out and what came back.
“Every machine is tracked from the day it goes out, through every service visit after. I can open any customer and see exactly what they've got.”
Less admin, not more
WaterADE is a small team, and Charles was clear that new software could not become another job in itself. It had to be quick to start and lighter than what it replaced. When something needs to change, they ask, and the system changes with them.
“Even for a small team, it was quick to get going, and it doesn't feel like more admin. It feels like less. When we need a change, we ask and it's done.”
What WaterADE would tell another business
“Practical, simple, and set up around how a rental business actually works.”
How it went
Mid 2026
Their rental, trial and service process mapped, and the system built around it.
July 2026
The existing machine register, customers and placements moved across from spreadsheets.
August 2026
In daily use: new rentals and trials placed, service tickets raised, and job sheets produced for every visit.
“Great response rate and always there for us.”
