---
title: Begin a PM Visit and Start Each Truck
description: "Begin a PM visit: click Begin Service, then start each truck with its odometer or engine-hours reading, or mark trucks that didn't show as Not available."
---

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# Begin a PM Visit and Start Each Truck

## Begin Service when the truck drops off or the technician arrives, then start each truck with its odometer reading or mark it Not available.

**For:** Dispatchers, service managers and technicians · **Permission:** Manage appointments, or be the visit's assigned technician · **Time:** about 1 minute per truck

### Quick summary

1. Open the PM appointment and check that a technician is assigned.
2. When the truck drops off or the technician arrives, click **Begin Service**.
3. On the **PM Board**, click **Start service** on each truck and enter its odometer or engine-hours reading.
4. Mark any truck that didn't turn up as **Not available**.

### Before you start

- **You'll need:** a booked PM or inspection visit with the status **Pending Arrival**. A request from a customer has to be confirmed first (see [Confirm, Decline, Reschedule & Cancel Appointments](https://support.metafleet.ai/confirm-decline-reschedule-cancel-pm-appointmentswhat-question-is-your-article-answering?hsLang=en)).
- **An assigned technician:** Begin Service stays off until the visit has one (see [Manually Assign a Technician](https://support.metafleet.ai/manually-assign-a-technician?hsLang=en)).
- **The reading on each truck:** the odometer, or engine hours for equipment that's tracked by hours.

### Open the appointment

Open the visit from **Service › Appointment Requests**. The header shows the appointment number and the status **Pending Arrival**. Until the visit begins, only the **Details** tab works. The other tabs show a lock.

If nobody is assigned, the banner reads **Assign a technician to enable Begin.** and **Begin Service** is greyed out. Assign one in the **Technician** card on the Details tab.

![Pending Arrival appointment with locked tabs, a greyed-out Begin Service button and the Assign a technician banner](https://support.metafleet.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/knowledge-base/oct-2026/record-arrival-start-service-01-begin-locked.png?width=943&height=248&name=record-arrival-start-service-01-begin-locked.png)

### Click Begin Service

Once a technician is assigned, **Begin Service** turns on. Click it when the truck drops off or the technician arrives on site. **On My Way**, next to it, is optional: it marks the technician as on the way.

![Appointment header with the On My Way and Begin Service buttons enabled](https://support.metafleet.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/knowledge-base/oct-2026/record-arrival-start-service-02-begin-ready.png?width=943&height=122&name=record-arrival-start-service-02-begin-ready.png)

Begin Service creates the PM service order and opens the **PM Board**. The header changes to **PM Service Order #** with the status **Service In Progress**, and every tab unlocks. Each truck on the visit starts as **Not started**, with two buttons: **Not available** and **Start service**.

![PM Board after Begin Service with three trucks marked Not started, each with Not available and Start service buttons](https://support.metafleet.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/knowledge-base/oct-2026/record-arrival-start-service-03-board-not-started.png?width=941&height=535&name=record-arrival-start-service-03-board-not-started.png)

> **No mileage at this point.** Begin Service doesn't ask for a reading. Each truck's reading is taken when you start that truck, so trucks that arrive at different times each get their own.

### Start each truck

1. **Click Start service** on the truck's row.
2. **Enter the reading** from the dash in **Odometer reading** (or **Engine hours** for hours-tracked equipment).
3. **Click Start service** in the window.

![Start service window for unit FC6548 with an odometer reading of 212480 entered](https://support.metafleet.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/knowledge-base/oct-2026/record-arrival-start-service-04-start-prompt.png?width=452&height=366&name=record-arrival-start-service-04-start-prompt.png)

The truck switches to **In service** and its PM service log opens with the entry reading and start time. A truck booked for two programs gets one log per program. The technician's time shows under **Time on This Order**.

> **Readings can't go backward.** If MetaFleet already has a reading for the truck, the window shows it (for example **Above last reading 412,300 mi**). A lower number is refused with **Below last reading 412,300 mi**. If that number came from the vehicle's registration rather than a past service, the message ends with **(from vehicle registration)**.

### Or start it from the technician app

Technicians start trucks the same way in the app. They open the visit, pick the truck (it shows **Not started**), tap **Start service**, type the reading on the keypad and tap **Save & begin**.

![Technician app showing unit NH-103 Not started, with Vehicle not available and the Start service button](https://support.metafleet.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/knowledge-base/oct-2026/record-arrival-start-service-05-mobile-not-started.png?width=390&height=597&name=record-arrival-start-service-05-mobile-not-started.png)

![Technician app odometer keypad showing 198,350 mi and the Save and begin button](https://support.metafleet.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/knowledge-base/oct-2026/record-arrival-start-service-06-mobile-odometer.png?width=390&height=454&name=record-arrival-start-service-06-mobile-odometer.png)

A technician can start a truck before anyone clicks Begin Service. Starting the first truck begins the visit.

### Mark a truck that didn't turn up

If a truck on the visit isn't there, click **Not available** on its row. Keep or change the **Reason** (it starts as **Did not arrive**) and click **Mark not available**. The truck won't be serviced or billed on this visit.

![Mark not available window for unit NH-102 with the reason Did not arrive](https://support.metafleet.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/knowledge-base/oct-2026/record-arrival-start-service-07-not-available.png?width=452&height=385&name=record-arrival-start-service-07-not-available.png)

The reason prints on the truck's row, so anyone reading the visit later sees why it wasn't serviced. In the app, technicians use **Vehicle not available** on the truck instead (see [Complete PM Work](https://support.metafleet.ai/complete-pm-work?hsLang=en)).

![PM Board with FC6548 and NH-103 In service and NH-102 Not available with the reason Did not arrive](https://support.metafleet.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/knowledge-base/oct-2026/record-arrival-start-service-08-board-after-arrival.png?width=941&height=290&name=record-arrival-start-service-08-board-after-arrival.png)

> **Not available is only for trucks that haven't started.** Once a truck is in service, stop its program instead (see [Complete PM Work](https://support.metafleet.ai/complete-pm-work?hsLang=en)). Once every truck is either finished or Not available, the visit is done and moves to invoicing (see [Review and Send a PM Visit Invoice](https://support.metafleet.ai/pm-invoicing?hsLang=en)).

### Walk-ins skip Begin Service

A walk-in or roadside job booked with **Now** opens as a service order straight away, already **Service In Progress**. There's no Begin Service button. You still start each truck from the PM Board, the same way as above.

### Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Begin Service** is greyed out | No technician is assigned | Assign one in the **Technician** card on the Details tab. The banner reads "Assign a technician to enable Begin." |
| There's no **Begin Service** button | The visit is a walk-in (it starts on its own), or it's still a customer request | For a walk-in, start the trucks on the PM Board. Confirm a request first. |
| Tabs show a lock | The visit hasn't begun | Click **Begin Service**. |
| **Start service** stays greyed out in the window | The reading is blank, zero, or lower than the last reading | Enter the reading from the dash. It must be at least the last reading shown. |
| A truck has no **Not available** button | It has already started | Stop its program instead. See [Complete PM Work](https://support.metafleet.ai/complete-pm-work?hsLang=en). |
| "Work is required on this vehicle" | The truck has no service program or inspection form | On the Details tab, click **Edit** on **Service work** and add the work. |
| "You are not assigned to this appointment." | You're not the assigned technician and don't have Manage appointments | Ask a dispatcher to assign you, or to start the truck. |

### FAQs

**What does Begin Service actually do?**  
It turns the appointment into a PM service order that's **Service In Progress**, unlocks the tabs and opens the PM Board. It doesn't start any truck. Each truck starts on its own.

**Why is a reading required to start a truck?**  
It records the mileage (or hours) at the time of service, which keeps the truck's history and next-due date accurate. In the app, the truck's **Coverage** card shows the next-due reading once the arrival reading is in.

**Do all trucks have to start at once?**  
No. Start each truck when you get to it. The others wait as **Not started**.

**A truck turned up after I marked it Not available. Can I undo it?**  
In the technician app, open the truck and tap **Start service**, then **Save & put back on**. This works only while the visit is still open and the truck was never started.

**Where do I do the work?**  
On the PM Board or in the technician app. See [Complete PM Work](https://support.metafleet.ai/complete-pm-work?hsLang=en).

### Related articles

- [Book a PM, Inspection or Repair Appointment](https://support.metafleet.ai/scheduling-a-pm-appointment?hsLang=en)
- [Complete PM Work](https://support.metafleet.ai/complete-pm-work?hsLang=en)
- [Manually Assign a Technician](https://support.metafleet.ai/manually-assign-a-technician?hsLang=en)
- [Review and Send a PM Visit Invoice](https://support.metafleet.ai/pm-invoicing?hsLang=en)

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