By the Templateez Team · Licensed Attorney · June 2026

Generator Service Intake Forms: Everything You Need Before the Site Visit

Generator service is not a commodity trade. A homeowner who calls you for a standby generator installation is not the same customer as a restaurant owner who needs a 60kW commercial unit with an automatic transfer switch and a 72-hour fuel supply. A property manager with a portable generator that keeps tripping under load is a different call entirely from a data center contact looking for load bank testing on a diesel prime unit. If your intake process treats all of these the same, you are setting up every technician for a wasted site visit.

The information that determines scope, pricing, permit requirements, and crew size is all available on the first call — if you know what to ask. Here is what a generator-specific intake form needs to capture, and why each field actually matters.

Service Type: The First Branch in the Decision Tree

Before anything else, identify which category of work this is. Generator service breaks into four fundamentally different job types:

• New installation — standby unit, portable hookup, or commercial prime power. This is a multi-trade job involving a licensed electrician, often a gas fitter or plumber for fuel line work, a concrete contractor for the pad, and the generator dealer or manufacturer's authorized installer. Permit requirements are extensive.
• Preventive maintenance — annual or bi-annual service: oil and filter change, air filter, spark plugs (gasoline/LP units), coolant check (liquid-cooled units), battery test, load test, fuel system inspection, control board diagnostics. This is scheduled and repeatable. The intake should capture the last service date and what was done.
• Repair — the unit won't start, runs rough, shuts down under load, throws a fault code, or has an electrical fault in the transfer switch or control panel. Capture the fault code if the customer can read it off the control panel display. This determines whether a technician needs to bring a specific board, contactor, or voltage regulator on the first visit.
• Load bank testing — typically for commercial and industrial units that need to prove they can carry their rated load. Requires scheduling, specialized equipment, and often coordination with the building owner and the utility.

The service type determines almost everything else: crew size, van inventory, permit needs, and estimated hours. Do not leave it as a free-text "describe your problem" field. Use checkboxes.

Generator Type and Configuration

Once you know what type of service is needed, you need to know what you are working on. Generator hardware varies enormously:

• Portable generators — typically 1kW to 12kW, gasoline or dual-fuel (gas/LP), manual transfer or extension cord hookup. Common customer complaint: runs fine but won't power certain appliances. Common cause: voltage regulation issues, or the customer is overloading it. Key intake questions: rated wattage (starting vs. running), what loads they are trying to power.
• Standby generators (residential) — permanently installed, air-cooled units from 7kW to 26kW, typically natural gas or LP, with an automatic transfer switch. Brands dominate this market: Generac, Kohler, Briggs & Stratton, Cummins. Each has proprietary control boards, diagnostic tools, and authorized service requirements that affect warranty. Always capture brand and model at intake.
• Standby generators (commercial/industrial) — liquid-cooled diesel or natural gas units from 30kW to 2MW+. These are engineered installations with load calculations, fuel supply infrastructure, and often utility coordination. If you are doing installation work at this scale, the intake is just the beginning of a formal scoping process.

Brand and model matter more in generator service than in almost any other trade. A Generac 22kW air-cooled unit and a Kohler 20kW air-cooled unit look similar from the outside but have completely different control systems, fault code libraries, and available service bulletins. Your technician needs to know what they are walking into.

Fuel Type: It Changes Everything Downstream

Fuel type is not a secondary detail — it is a primary field. Natural gas, propane, diesel, and bi-fuel systems have different maintenance schedules, different fault modes, different code requirements, and different infrastructure dependencies:

• Natural gas — the cleanest-running standby fuel, no storage concerns, but the generator goes offline if the utility gas supply is interrupted (exactly when you need it most during certain emergencies). For new installations, the intake needs to capture whether the existing gas meter and regulator can support the generator's BTU demand, or whether a gas service upgrade is required. This is a utility company coordination item that can add weeks to a project.
• Propane (LP) — requires an on-site storage tank. For installations, capture tank size (100 gallon, 250 gallon, 500 gallon, 1,000 gallon) and current fill level, who the fuel supplier is, and whether the tank is owned or leased. Tank location affects code setback requirements. For service calls, a generator that runs for a few seconds and dies is often simply out of fuel — confirm tank level before sending a technician.
• Diesel — common in commercial applications. Fuel degradation is a real maintenance issue: diesel stored longer than 6 to 12 months without a fuel stabilizer treatment grows microbial contamination and forms sludge. For maintenance calls, always ask when the fuel was last treated or replaced. A load test on contaminated diesel fuel can cause injector damage.
• Bi-fuel — runs primarily on diesel with a natural gas supplement injected at load, extending run time and reducing diesel consumption. Less common in residential work, more frequent in hospitals, data centers, and municipal facilities. Requires additional controls and two fuel supply systems to service.

Capacity: kW Rating and What It Powers

The generator's nameplate kW rating is important. What the customer actually needs to power is more important, and the two are often mismatched in both directions.

For service calls, capture the rated kW from the nameplate (not what the customer guesses). For installation inquiries, you need a critical loads list before you can size the unit. This is a structured part of the intake: which circuits or appliances must stay on during an outage? HVAC, refrigerator, sump pump, medical equipment, security system, and lighting are common residential needs. A 5-ton central air conditioning system alone draws 20 to 25 amps at 240V on startup — a significant portion of a residential standby unit's capacity.

Undersizing a generator and sending a customer through a full installation only to have their air conditioner trip the unit under load is the kind of mistake that generates chargebacks and reviews. Getting the load calculation right starts at intake.

Transfer Switch: Manual vs. Automatic, and the Panel It Connects To

The transfer switch is the most electrically complex part of a standby generator installation and the most common source of service calls once a unit is running. Your intake form needs to capture it specifically:

• Switch type — manual transfer switch (MTS) requires the homeowner to physically switch over during an outage; automatic transfer switch (ATS) detects the outage, starts the generator, and transfers the load without human intervention. These are different products, different installation scopes, and different service procedures.
• Whole-house vs. critical loads panel — a whole-house ATS transfers the entire electrical service; a critical loads panel (also called a load center or sub-panel) transfers only selected circuits. The latter is significantly less expensive to install and is common with smaller residential units. Know which setup you are working with before you arrive.
• Main panel rating and capacity — existing main panel amperage (100A, 150A, 200A, 400A service) determines what transfer equipment is compatible and whether a panel upgrade is part of the scope. A 200A generator-rated ATS will not fit on a 100A panel. This is the kind of discovery that costs an extra trip if it is not captured at intake.

The transfer switch also has its own service life and failure modes: worn contactors, failed capacitors, control board failures, and voltage sensing issues. For service calls involving a generator that starts but does not transfer, or one that transfers but the utility power does not restore properly, the transfer switch is often the culprit. Capture its brand and model separately from the generator itself — they are often different manufacturers.

Site Assessment: What Determines Whether an Installation Is Straightforward

For installation projects, the intake form should kick off a site assessment workflow. These are the questions that separate a clean install from a project with change orders:

• Generator pad — is there an existing concrete pad, or does one need to be poured? What is the soil condition? Is the location level? Some manufacturers allow gravel pads in certain configurations; most AHJs require concrete.
• Distance from the electrical panel — every foot of conduit run from the generator to the transfer switch adds material and labor cost. Capture where the main panel is located relative to the proposed generator location. More than 50 feet often requires a wire upgrade.
• Gas line routing — for natural gas and LP units, where is the existing gas supply, and what is the routing path to the generator location? Underground vs. above-grade routing affects cost and permit requirements. Black iron pipe vs. CSST (flexible gas piping) requirements vary by jurisdiction.
• Code clearances — setback requirements from windows, doors, gas meters, electrical panels, and property lines. Most jurisdictions require a minimum of 18 inches from the structure, 5 feet from windows and doors, and compliance with the manufacturer's installation manual. Capture the proposed location and any known constraints.
• HOA restrictions — a significant percentage of residential installations get delayed because the HOA requires approval, a specific enclosure, or prohibits standby generators entirely in certain configurations. Ask at intake.

Maintenance History and Warranty Status

For any unit that is already installed and operational, the intake form needs a maintenance history section. A generator that has never had its oil changed is a different service call than one that has been on an annual maintenance contract for five years. Specifically:

• Date of last oil and filter service
• Date of last battery replacement (generator batteries typically last 3 to 5 years)
• Whether the unit runs its weekly self-test successfully (most standby units are programmed to exercise for 20 to 30 minutes per week)
• Any recent fault codes or unusual behavior
• Whether the unit is still under manufacturer warranty or extended service agreement

Warranty status is important for two reasons: the customer's expectation about who pays for repairs, and your authorization to use aftermarket parts. Many manufacturers void warranties on units serviced with non-OEM parts. If the unit is under a dealer or manufacturer service agreement, your technician may be working under that agreement's terms, not yours. Confirm this at intake before a customer gets a bill they did not expect.

Permits and AHJ Requirements

Generator installations are permitted work in virtually every jurisdiction. The authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) — typically the local building department — sets the requirements: electrical permit, gas permit, mechanical permit, and in some cases a separate inspection for the transfer switch. Some jurisdictions also require utility notification for new standby generators connected to the gas system.

Who pulls the permits is a business decision that varies by contractor. Some pull all permits and include them in the installation price. Others pass permit fees through and require the customer to be present for inspections. However you handle it, the intake form needs to capture the project address at minimum, because permit requirements vary by municipality even within the same county. A generator installation that is straightforward to permit in one township may require a variance in the next one over because of lot size, setback requirements, or wetlands proximity.

For service calls, the permit question is simpler: is the existing installation permitted? Unpermitted work creates liability and, if a homeowner's insurance claim is involved, may affect coverage. If a customer tells you their generator was installed by the previous owner and they have no documentation, flag that in the intake notes.

Pricing and Service Agreement Structure

Generator contractors operate on several different pricing models, and capturing which one applies to this customer starts at intake:

• Service call / trip charge — flat fee for diagnosis, typically $75 to $175, applied as a credit toward repair if the customer proceeds. Capture whether the customer has been quoted a trip charge and whether they have authorized it.
• Annual maintenance contract — residential contracts typically run $150 to $350 per year for a single visit; commercial contracts are priced on unit size and number of units. For new maintenance customers, the intake form is the start of the service record. For existing contract customers, the intake should link to their contract terms and renewal date.
• Installation bid — full project pricing after site assessment. The intake form captures the preliminary information; the formal bid is a separate document. The intake should note whether the customer has received competing bids and what their timeline is.

Capturing the customer's existing service relationship at intake — are they a contract customer, a repeat customer, or a new call-in? — also drives how a dispatcher prioritizes the call. A customer on a service agreement who has been with you for three years and needs a repair before a hurricane gets a different priority than a cold call from someone who wants to shop around on price.

The Questionnaire: What Goes to the Customer

The intake form is your internal record. The client questionnaire is what you send to the customer to fill out before a consultation or installation appointment. For generator service, the questionnaire should cover:

• Why they are interested in backup power (power outages in the area, medical equipment needs, work-from-home setup, recent experience during a storm)
• How often they experience outages and for how long
• What they most need to keep running during an outage — this drives the load calculation and unit size recommendation
• Whether they have any existing fuel infrastructure (gas line, LP tank)
• Budget range, if they are comfortable sharing it
• Decision timeline
• Who else is involved in the decision

A customer who tells you upfront that they have a family member on home oxygen, a basement sump pump in a flood-prone area, and a home office they work from full-time is a customer who needs a properly sized whole-house standby system, not a transfer-switched portable. Getting that context in writing before the site visit means your technician arrives with the right recommendation, not a one-size-fits-all pitch.

For related reading on electrical intake workflows, the electrician intake form guide covers panel documentation and permit workflows in detail. For the service agreement side of ongoing generator maintenance contracts, the HVAC service agreement essentials post walks through the contract terms that protect both the contractor and the customer on recurring maintenance relationships.