An installation report is the record an installer makes when a product goes into a customer's home or premises: which unit, where, who fitted it, what was checked, and whether the customer accepted it. It is the document you will look for six months later when a warranty claim or service call arrives. The format below works for appliances, solar systems, CCTV, water treatment plants, machines and any other equipment that has to be fitted on site.
The columns an installation report needs
An installation report has two jobs: prove that the work was done properly, and tie one specific unit to one specific customer. Most columns serve one of those.
| Column | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Installation no. | A reference for the job that service and billing can both quote. | INST-2107 |
| Date | Usually the start date for warranty and AMC. Get it right. | 30-09-2026 |
| Customer and site address | Who owns the unit and where it is. Include the flat, floor or shop number. | Flat 302, Rose Apartments |
| Product and model | Exactly what was installed, in your catalogue's naming. | Split AC 1.5 T, SA15-R32 |
| Serial number | Ties the physical unit to this customer and date. | SA15R-778120 |
| Installed by | Who did the work, for follow-up and accountability. | Imran Shaikh |
| Installation checks OK? | Power supply, earthing, mounting or leak checks, whatever your product needs. Yes, No or not applicable. | Yes |
| Test run result | Proof the unit worked before you left. | Pass |
| Accessories fitted | Extra pipe, stabiliser, stand, cable. Settles later billing disputes. | Stabiliser, 3 m extra pipe |
| Demo and manual given | Shows the customer was told how to use it. | Yes |
| Customer handover | Signed off, refused or pending, and who accepted it. | Signed off, Kavita Deshmukh |
| Pending work / remarks | Anything left undone, so it becomes a task and not a surprise. | Electrician needed |
A filled-in example
Three installations by one installer in a day. The third did not complete, and the report says why, instead of showing a blank.
| Customer | Product | Serial no. | Test run | Handover | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kavita Deshmukh | Split AC 1.5 T | SA15R-778120 | Pass | Signed off | - |
| Sunrise Dental Clinic | Solar water heater 200 L | SW200-45019 | Pass | Signed off | Re-explain hot-water valve use next week |
| Om Sai Provision Store | Deep freezer 300 L | DF300-20977 | Not done | Pending | Shop wiring cannot take the load |
Rules that keep an installation report useful
- Serial number every time. Photograph the nameplate if the number is hard to read, and type it exactly as printed.
- One row per unit, not per visit. A customer with three units gets three rows, each with its own serial number.
- Test before you leave. "Installed" without a test result only means it is in place, not that it works.
- Record the handover, even when it fails. "Pending" with a reason is more useful than a missing row.
- Photograph the finished job. A photo of the installation and one of the nameplate settle most later arguments.
- Log extras separately. Extra pipe, cable or fittings that are billed to the customer belong in the accessories column.
Decide the checks for each product
"Installation checks" mean different things for different products, so write the list once per product type and let installers tick against it. Some typical items:
- Split AC: dedicated power point and MCB, earthing, outdoor unit mounting, drain slope, pipe joints checked for leaks, cooling confirmed after running.
- Solar system: panel mounting and shadow-free placement, earthing, inverter or controller display normal, cable routing, output reading noted.
- CCTV: every camera showing on the recorder, angles checked with the customer, recording tested, password handed to the owner, not kept by the installer.
- Water purifier or heater: inlet and outlet joints leak-free, power and earthing, first run tested, filter or tank details noted.
The exact list depends on the manufacturer's installation manual, which always takes precedence over any generic checklist, including this one.
Who fills it in, and when
The installer fills it in at the customer's premises, straight after the test run and handover, while the serial number is in front of them. The service or accounts team reads it later: service to start warranty and AMC records, accounts to bill accessories and extras.
Common mistakes
- Filling the report at the end of the week, from memory, with serial numbers copied from the delivery challan instead of the unit.
- Marking a job complete when the customer was not at home to accept it.
- No pending-work column, so half-finished jobs quietly become forgotten jobs.
- Photos sitting in the installer's phone gallery and never linked to the customer.
The real problem: reporting before leaving the customer
An installer's day is measured in jobs completed, and the paperwork is the part that gets pushed to later. By evening, three serial numbers have blurred together and one customer's remarks are missing. The report has to be made at the customer's door, in seconds.
That is what vBol is for. After each job, the installer sends one WhatsApp number a voice note, a photo of the nameplate and the finished work, and a location, in their own language: Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and more:
vBol transcribes it, extracts the fields, and reads the record back on WhatsApp with buttons to confirm or fix a field. Nothing is written until the installer confirms. The confirmed row goes into your Google Sheet, Excel workbook on OneDrive or SharePoint, or Ekatm ERP, with the photos and GPS location attached. Installation is not one of the built-in record types (those are sales visit, order, service job, meter reading, expense, complaint and site report), so Vritti sets it up with you: serial number, checks, handover and the rest of the columns above, in your destination sheet. Every evening at 7 PM owners and managers get one WhatsApp message listing what was filed, by whom, and which installers sent nothing. It is free for 30 days (up to 5 confirmed reports per person per day), then ₹199 per user per month for teams of up to 100 users, with a custom plan for bigger teams.
Prefer to start on a spreadsheet? Download the free template on this page. It has the columns above, dropdowns for checks, test run and handover, and example rows you can overwrite. If your installers also handle breakdowns, the service report format is the companion sheet.
Frequently asked questions
What is an installation report?
An installation report is the record made when a product or system is installed at a customer's premises: what was installed, its serial number, who installed it, what checks were done and whether the customer accepted it. It also marks the date from which service or warranty is normally counted.
What should an installation report include?
The customer and site, product and model, serial number, installation date, installer, the checks and test run done, accessories fitted, whether the customer was given a demo and manual, and the customer's sign-off. Pending work should be written down instead of left in memory.
Why is the serial number so important in an installation report?
It links the physical unit to the customer, the installation date and the warranty. Without it, a later service or warranty claim starts with an argument about which unit and when.
What is a customer handover in installation?
The handover is the final step where the installer shows the customer how the product works, hands over manuals and accessories, and gets acceptance that the installation is complete. Record who accepted it and whether anything is still pending.