Offline mode#
The PWA is designed to work in the field without internet: basements, parking garages, remote sites, “5G not here yet” country roads.
What works offline#
✅ Browsing tasks — last-fetched tasks and their details are cached.
✅ Logging hours — the modal works normally, the saved line queues.
✅ Logging expenses — same as hours, including receipt photos stored locally.
✅ Adding photos — camera opens, photo stores locally, queues for upload.
✅ Product search and price lookup — uses the offline-cached product catalogue (~170,000 LVISnet products).
✅ Previously opened time entries — you can browse and edit (within the 5-day edit window).
What does NOT work offline#
❌ Creating new tasks — needs a server-assigned unique number.
❌ Inviting an assistant installer — needs a live connection to the other installer and the server.
❌ Discuss messages — emails / chat wait for the net.
❌ Receiving push notifications — naturally requires connectivity.
❌ Inventory refresh — if someone changed stock balances, you won’t see the change until you’re back online.
Sync#
All your changes queue up locally and sync to the server when the connection returns:
- Bottom bar “Offline” indicator shows when you’re disconnected.
- Number of queued changes is also shown: “Offline — 3 changes queued”.
- When connected, the queue syncs automatically in the background.
**Don't worry if the queue shows a number briefly.** Sync is one line at a time, so emptying a 10-line queue takes a few seconds.
Pre-loading the product catalogue#
The PWA pre-loads 170,000 products for offline use on first launch. This takes 1–3 minutes (depending on your connection). Settings → “Sync inventory now”.
After that, product search works offline. If the office updates stock levels, the change is fetched into the PWA automatically once a day (in the background while you’re online).
You can force a refresh: Settings → Sync inventory now.