Multi-Tech Handoff in a Colab

Built for Handoffs

Real shops aren't one-person operations. A dispatcher takes the call, a tech does the work, and the owner sometimes jumps in for a tricky customer. A Colab is built for exactly this. Each thread has one primary tech who owns it, plus any number of collaborators who can read it and reply too. The timeline shows who did what.

This works on both plans, Basic and KeyBolt Pro. Setting the primary tech and adding collaborators is done by owners, managers, and dispatchers.

Setting the Primary Tech

1. Open the Colab.
2. Near the top, tap the Primary tech button (it shows 'Unassigned' or the current tech's name).
3. Pick a team member from the list, or pick Unassigned to clear it.

The primary tech is the person responsible for the Colab. Reassigning to someone else updates the record immediately.

Adding Collaborators

To bring extra people into a Colab, use the Collaborators row:

1. Tap Add collaborator.
2. Pick a team member. The list hides the primary tech and anyone already added.

The added person sees the Colab in their Inbox and can read the full thread and reply on any channel, just like the primary. Each add and remove is recorded in the timeline as an event, so there's a clear history of who was brought in and when.

Removing a Collaborator

Each collaborator shows as a chip with an X. Tap the X and confirm to remove them. They lose the ability to write to the Colab, but they keep read-only history of the parts they participated in, so nothing they did disappears. A tech who was added by mistake can also remove themselves the same way.

Note: removing a collaborator does not touch the primary tech. To change the primary, use the Primary tech dropdown.

Who Did What: the Timeline

You don't keep a separate 'who's involved' list in your head. The Colab timeline records the key moments as event entries, for example 'Added collaborator: Jess', 'Converted to Job', or 'Colab cancelled'. Scroll the timeline and you can see the chain of work.

Call Participant Markers (KeyBolt Pro)

When a call comes in on KeyBolt Pro and rings your techs, the call entry in the timeline shows who answered and any handoffs, with timing. For example: a marker showing the first tech answered at 00:00, transferred to another tech at 00:42, and the call ended at 01:30. If a transfer failed, that shows too. This only appears on the Pro plan, which is where the phone line and call recording live.

Handing Off Mid-Conversation

The big win: the next tech doesn't make the customer repeat themselves. They open the Colab and see everything already there, the call transcript, every text, every email. The customer experiences one smooth conversation from your shop; your team sees the full chain.

Need to leave context that only your team should see, not the customer? Add an internal note. In the composer at the bottom of the Colab, under the Internal heading, tap Note, type, and add it. Internal notes never go to the customer. See Replying to a Customer from a Colab.

What Techs Can See

What a tech sees on a Colab depends on your shop's privacy controls. By default, techs see only the current thread and nothing else about the customer's history. You can change this in Settings. See Owner Privacy Controls for the modes.