This guide shows you how to set up storages and shelf areas in Fixably, and how a repair order is assigned a numbered shelf slot so anyone can find the customer's device in your workshop.

When a device is checked in for repair it has to physically sit somewhere while you work on it. Fixably records that place on the order. A storage is one physical shelf unit at a location, for example "Workshop rack 1". Inside it, shelf areas are ranges of numbered slots, for example "Shelf A, slots 1–50". When a repair reaches the right point in your workflow, Fixably picks the first free slot and shows it at the top of the order, for example Workshop rack 1 · Shelf A · A 17. When the repair moves on or the device leaves the workshop, the slot is released for the next device.

Before you start

• Plan availability. Storages are available on Fixably Depot and Repair Enterprise plans and are switched on per account by Fixably. If you don't see Storages in System Settings, contact support@fixably.com to have it enabled.
• Permissions. Setting up storages requires the Manage storages permission (or an administrator account). Placing and removing a device from a shelf from the order view requires the Place order to shelf and Free reserve permissions. See Roles & Permissions.
• Locations. Every storage belongs to one location, so your locations must already be set up under System Settings → Locations & Stores.
• Shelf mapping. Fixably needs to know which shelves to use for which repairs. You set this on each storage by choosing the order statuses and the technicians (handlers) it serves, so plan it before you start (see Step 3 below).

Key terms

Steps

1. Create a storage

1. From the Fixably home screen, open your User menu → System Settings.
2. In the settings menu, click Storages.
3. Click Create storage in the top-right toolbar. A form opens in the right-hand panel.
4. Fill in the fields:

5. Click Save. The panel closes and the new storage appears in the list with a Settings saved notification.

The list shows the storages of one location at a time. Use the Location selector above the list to switch between your sites. To edit a storage later, click its name in the list or the Edit link on its row.

2. Add shelf areas to the storage

A storage with no shelf areas can still hold repairs, but without a slot number. To get numbered slots, add one or more shelf areas.

1. On the Storages page, click the area count under the storage's name (for a new storage it reads 0 areas). The storage's shelf-area page opens.
2. Click Add shelf area in the top-right toolbar.
3. Fill in the fields:

4. Click Save. The area appears in the list with its slot range, e.g. A 1–50.
5. Repeat for each shelf in the unit. Click Back to storages to return to the list.

Tip: Make each shelf area match a physical, labelled shelf. If your rack has five shelves of ten slots each, create five areas (A 1–10, B 1–10, …) rather than one area 1–50. Staff then find the device faster.

3. Tell Fixably which shelves to use

Fixably decides which storage a repair goes to based on either the order status or the technician (handler) assigned to it. You set this mapping on each storage, in the same panel you used to create it.

1. On the Storages page, click the storage's name to open Edit storage.
2. Scroll down to the two lists at the bottom of the form:

3. Click an entry to select it. To select more than one, hold Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ Cmd (Mac) while clicking. Click a selected entry again with the key held down to remove it.
4. Click Save. The mapping takes effect on the next order change; repairs already on a shelf keep their slot.

You can combine both lists on one storage, and the same status or technician can be mapped to several storages (Fixably then fills the highest-priority one first). A storage with nothing selected in either list is never used, not even by Generate shelf placement, which follows the same mapping.

Example: Austin Repair Center has two racks. Workshop rack 1 is mapped to IN_QUEUE, PROCESSING, WAITING_FOR_PARTS and PARTS_ARRIVED, so every device waiting for or undergoing repair sits there. Pickup cabinet is mapped to READY_FOR_PICKUP, so a finished device is moved to the front counter cabinet when its repair is closed as ready for pickup.

Using shelf placement on orders

Automatic placement

Once the mapping is in place, Fixably places a repair on a shelf automatically as it moves through your workflow, for example when it is checked in to the workshop, when its status changes, or when a technician is assigned. No action is needed from staff.

A repair is placed only when all of the following are true:

• Place repairs on shelves automatically is switched on under System Settings → Storages (it is on by default, see "Turning automatic placement off" below).
• The device is physically in the service (workshop) location, not at the store counter, in transit or handed back to the customer.
• The order has a status and a queue.
• A storage mapped to the order's status or technician exists at the same location as the order.
• The storage or shelf area has a free slot, and its slot type matches the order's queue (blank matches blank).

Fixably then picks the highest-priority storage, its highest-priority shelf area, and the lowest free slot number.

Turning automatic placement off

If you prefer to decide yourself when a device goes on a shelf, for example because devices are shelved only after diagnosis, you can switch the automatic engine off for your whole account:

1. Open User menu → System Settings → Storages.
2. Under Automatic placement at the top of the page, switch off Place repairs on shelves automatically.
3. Click Save settings.

With the switch off, Fixably no longer places repairs on shelves or releases their slots when an order's status, queue or technician changes. Everything else keeps working: staff can still place a repair with Generate shelf placement (which uses the same status and handler mapping), free a slot with the red ×, and your storages, shelf areas and mappings stay as they are. Repairs that already have a slot keep it until someone frees it. Switch the setting back on at any time; it applies to the next order change, not retroactively.

Reading the shelf label on an order

Open the order. The placement is shown as grey labels under the order header:

• Storage name (hover to see its description)
• Shelf area name
• Prefix and slot number, e.g. A 17

If the storage has no shelf areas, only the storage name is shown.

Placing a repair manually

If a repair has no shelf label, you can place it yourself:

1. Open the order.
2. Open the order's action menu and click Generate shelf placement.
3. The page reloads and the shelf labels appear.

The menu entry is only shown when the order does not yet have a placement and at least one storage exists. Placing requires the Place order to shelf permission. Manual placement works whether or not automatic placement is switched on.

Removing a repair from its shelf

To release the slot, for example because the device has been physically moved:

1. Open the order.
2. Click the small red × next to the shelf labels.
3. Confirm the prompt.

The labels disappear and the slot is free for the next repair. Removing requires the Free reserve permission. If you need the repair on a different shelf, remove the placement first and then use Generate shelf placement again.

When a placement is released automatically

While automatic placement is switched on, Fixably releases the slot when the device is expected to move. This happens when:

• the order's queue is changed,
• a technician is assigned or changed,
• the order is closed, reopened or cancelled,
• the order is turned into or out of a draft,
• the device is handed back to the customer or taken back in.

In most of these cases Fixably immediately places the repair again under the new conditions, so the label simply updates. Routing an order between repair levels within the same workflow does not release the slot, because the device does not move.

Slot type (advanced)

Slot type is an optional number that restricts a storage or shelf area to repair queues with the same number. It is used by workshops that want, for example, a separate rack for a specific queue such as data-recovery or large devices.

• On a storage, an empty slot type means "any queue".
• On a shelf area, an empty slot type means "only queues that also have no slot type".

The queue side of this setting is not visible in System Settings, so if you want to use slot types, ask Fixably support to set the matching value on the queue for you. Otherwise leave slot type empty everywhere.

Editing and deleting

• Edit a storage or its mapping: on the Storages page, click its name, change the fields and click Save.
• Edit a shelf area: click the area count under the storage's name, then click the area's name.
• Delete a shelf area: open the area as above, click Delete at the bottom of the panel, then confirm.
• Delete a storage: on the Storages page, click its name, click Delete at the bottom of the panel, then confirm. This also deletes all of its shelf areas and its status and handler mapping.

A storage or shelf area cannot be deleted while any repair is still placed on it. You will see "This storage still holds repairs and cannot be deleted. Free the shelf placements first." Open each affected order and click the red × next to its shelf label, then try again.

Shelf areas cannot be moved between storages. To reorganise your shelving, free the placements, delete the areas and create them again under the right storage.

Verify it worked

1. Open a repair that is at the workshop, has a status and queue, and is at the storage's location.
2. If it has no shelf label, open the order menu and click Generate shelf placement.
3. The order header shows the storage, shelf area and slot number, e.g. Workshop rack 1 · Shelf A · A 1.
4. Place a second repair the same way. It should get the next free slot, A 2.

Common issues

Frequently asked questions

Does Priority mean the repair is urgent?
No. On a storage or shelf area, Priority only sets the fill order: Highest-priority shelves are filled before Normal ones. It has nothing to do with the order's priority.

Can a repair be on two shelves?
No. An order holds at most one placement. Remove it before placing the order somewhere else.

Can I choose the exact slot?
Not directly. Fixably always assigns the lowest free slot in the highest-priority shelf area. To steer a repair to a particular rack, use the status or technician mapping, or shelf priorities.

Can I see everything that is on a shelf?
The placement is shown on each order. There is no separate shelf overview page at present.

Do I need to set this up at every location?
Yes. A storage belongs to one location and only serves repairs at that location. Create the storages for each site separately.

Can I edit the status-to-shelf mapping myself?
Yes. Open the storage from System Settings → Storages and change its Order statuses and Handlers lists. The change applies from the next order update; repairs already on a shelf keep their slot.

Can I use shelves without automatic placement?
Yes. Switch off Place repairs on shelves automatically on the Storages page and place each repair from its order menu with Generate shelf placement. The status and handler mapping is still needed, because manual placement uses it to pick the shelf. See "Turning automatic placement off" above.

Related articles

• Fixably Depot: The Order Journey
• How do I set up Order Statuses?
• Getting Started with Fixably (Locations & Stores)
• Roles & Permissions