Check water balance and record each treatment
Help the tech review water balance before choosing a treatment. PoolBoss calculates the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI), an indicator of scaling or corrosive conditions, from the water readings and offers dose guidance based on the pool’s volume. The balance and treatment records stay with the pool.
Free for up to 20 pools. Every feature included.
Review the full water balance before choosing a treatment
pH alone cannot tell the whole balance story. PoolBoss brings temperature, calcium and alkalinity into the same calculation.
Corrosive
The app flags a result below the default band for attention.
Balanced
The default band sits around zero and can be adjusted by your company.
Scale forming
The app flags a result above the default band for attention.
Water readings used in the LSI calculation
The calculation uses pH, water temperature, calcium hardness and total alkalinity. For the calculation, PoolBoss subtracts one third of the cyanuric acid (CYA) reading from total alkalinity and applies a dissolved-solids correction for salt.
See LSI update as readings are entered
The live row updates as the tech types. Missing inputs are named, and a carried-over temperature is identified. Results are rounded to two decimals.
Review the pool’s recorded LSI over time
LSI saves with each reading. The office can review the pool’s trend and the visit detail, while out-of-band results flag on visits and the dashboard. PoolBoss makes it easier to spot a repeated water-balance concern and decide which pools need follow-up.
How PoolBoss connects water readings, dose guidance and treatment records
Try water balance tools freeEnter the pool and water details
Keep volume and sanitizer type with the pool, then enter the current water readings.
Review the balance and dose guidance
PoolBoss calculates LSI and estimates a dose from those inputs. The tech checks the recommendation against the water and product instructions.
Record what actually happened
Log the treatment and the as-left readings. The next visit starts with the recorded work, not an assumed dose.
Every feature on every plan. Free includes up to 20 pools and 1 admin.
Estimate a dose from pool volume and readings
PoolBoss estimates doses from the pool’s volume, sanitizer and your target ranges, giving the tech a starting point to check against the water and product instructions. For a low reading or high pH, it names a product and an amount aimed at the middle of the range.
The tech reviews the recommendation and logs the amount actually added. That record updates chemical usage, cost and stock on the truck, so the office can see what was used and what needs restocking.
When a pool has no volume, the app shows the product and direction and asks for the volume. High readings other than pH receive an instruction rather than a calculated product amount.
Choose dosing products and target readings
- Seven product types
- Liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, cyanuric acid and pool salt.
- Readable quantities
- Liquid amounts use fluid ounces or gallons. Dry products use ounces or pounds.
- Sanitizer context
- Salt pools use chlorine guidance. Bromine pools do not receive chlorine advice.
- A separate actual-use record
- The Chemicals added card starts from the recommendation, then saves what the tech confirms.
Review dose guidance beside the readings
The entered readings and pool volume give the technician a starting point for treatment. Review the guidance alongside your testing and service procedures.
Know what goes into the estimate
These are the calculation rates used by the product, scaled to the pool’s volume. The tech reviews the guidance, the actual product and the conditions before treating the water.
| Product | Used to | Rate per 10,000 gallons |
|---|---|---|
| Liquid chlorine (12.5%) | Raise free chlorine | 10.7 fl oz per 1 ppm |
| Muriatic acid (31%) | Lower pH | About 12 fl oz per 0.2 pH |
| Soda ash | Raise pH | About 6 oz per 0.2 pH |
| Sodium bicarbonate | Raise alkalinity | 1.5 lb per 10 ppm |
| Calcium chloride | Raise calcium hardness | 1.25 lb per 10 ppm |
| Cyanuric acid | Raise stabilizer | 13 oz per 10 ppm |
| Pool salt | Raise salt | Gallons x ppm x 8.34 / 1,000,000 lb |
Set company targets and required readings
In PoolBoss, set your target ranges and product names. PoolBoss uses those settings in its dose guidance, so the tech sees the supplies your company actually carries.
The balanced LSI band defaults to −0.3 through +0.3. You can change it within −1 through +1, provided the band includes zero.
Recommendations start on and can be turned off. Range flags continue either way. Customers receive readings and high or low indicators; the technician and office retain the dosing details.
Feature details and requirements
Included on every plan. Set up the way your company works.
What your team records
- pH, water temperature, calcium hardness, and total alkalinity for LSI, plus cyanuric acid and salt when you have them
- The pool's volume and sanitizer (chlorine, salt, or bromine)
- Your target ranges and chemical product names
- What the tech actually added, confirmed on the visit
What happens with the record
- Calculates LSI as the tech types, using carbonate alkalinity (total alkalinity minus a third of the cyanuric acid) and a salt correction
- Labels LSI corrosive below your balanced band, scale-forming above it, and balanced inside it (-0.3 to +0.3 by default)
- Saves LSI with every reading and shows each pool's LSI trend and history
- Flags a visit whose LSI is outside your band, on the visit, the visits list, and the dashboard
- Names the missing reading when LSI can't be calculated yet
- Recommends one of seven products with an amount aimed at the middle of your range, scaled to the pool's volume
- Gives an instruction instead of an amount for readings that are too high, other than pH
- Skips the dose calculation for impossible readings, and flags unsafe chlorine or pH
- Prefills a Chemicals added card from the recommendation, logs what the tech confirms, and uses the log for chemical cost, usage, and truck load
Who can use the information
- Technicians: the live LSI row and the dose recommendation on each visit in the app
- Office: LSI, the dose recommendation, and the chemicals added on the visit detail, plus each pool's LSI trend and history
- Customers: the reading and whether it was high or low on their service report, without LSI or dose amounts
Controls for your company
- Target ranges for each reading, set per company, with stabilizer at 60 to 80 for salt pools unless you set it
- Your balanced LSI band (-0.3 to +0.3 by default, within -1 to +1)
- Dose recommendations on or off (on by default). Out-of-range flags stay either way
- Your own names for the seven products
PoolBoss calculates the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) live on every visit from pH, temperature, calcium hardness, and alkalinity, corrected for cyanuric acid and salt, and labels the water balanced, corrosive, or scale-forming. For each out-of-range reading, it recommends a product and an amount sized to the pool’s volume.
- Cobalt Pool Co.
- Wavecrest Pool Services
- Aquavim
- Poolhouse Collective
- Deep End Supply Co.
- Turquoise Trade Pools
- Ripple Works
- Basin & Blue
How PoolBoss calculates LSI
PoolBoss calculates LSI in the visit so the technician does not have to move readings into a separate calculator. LSI combines pH, a temperature factor, calcium hardness, and carbonate alkalinity, minus a dissolved-solids factor. PoolBoss reads the temperature factor from a table in degrees Fahrenheit, from 32 to 105, and works out carbonate alkalinity as total alkalinity minus a third of the cyanuric acid, because stabilizer inflates an alkalinity test. Salt pools at 1,000 ppm or more get the higher dissolved-solids factor. The result is rounded to two decimals.
If pH, temperature, calcium, or alkalinity is missing, PoolBoss doesn’t guess. The LSI row names what it still needs. When the temperature was carried over from an earlier visit, a note says so. The balanced band starts at -0.3 to +0.3, and you can set your own, as long as it includes zero and stays within -1 to +1.
| LSI (default band) | PoolBoss label | What it means for the pool |
|---|---|---|
| Below -0.3 | Corrosive | Water can etch plaster and attack metal and heater parts |
| -0.3 to +0.3 | Balanced | Water is close to saturation with the surfaces it touches |
| Above +0.3 | Scale-forming | Calcium can deposit on surfaces, in pipes, and on the salt cell |
Where your techs and office see it, and its history
On the phone, the Water balance (LSI) row updates as the tech types each reading, so they see the verdict while they’re still at the pool. In the office, the visit detail shows the same number and label.
PoolBoss saves the LSI with every reading, so each pool has an LSI history. The pool page shows a Water balance (LSI) trend, amber when the latest value is outside your band, and an LSI column in the reading history. A visit whose LSI falls outside the band is flagged on the visit, in the visits list, and on the dashboard’s flagged visits. Your office can spot repeated water-balance concerns and decide which pools need follow-up. The readings themselves are part of chemical tracking.
- Live LSI on the phone as readings go in
- An LSI trend and history on every pool
- Out-of-band LSI flagged on the visit, the visits list, and the dashboard
Dose recommendations sized to the pool
For a low reading, or a high pH, PoolBoss picks one of seven products and works out an amount to bring the reading to the middle of your target range, scaled from a per-10,000-gallon rate to the pool’s volume. It shows it as one line: the reading, the target, the product, and the amount. Liquids are in fluid ounces, switching to gallons past 128, and dry chemicals in pounds, or ounces under a pound.
High chlorine, alkalinity, hardness, stabilizer, or salt gets a plain instruction instead of a product amount, such as waiting for it to come down or partly draining. Salt pools are dosed as chlorine pools and target stabilizer at 60 to 80. Bromine pools don’t get chlorine advice. If the pool has no volume set, the tech sees the product and direction and a prompt to add the volume.
| Product | Used to | Rate per 10,000 gallons |
|---|---|---|
| Liquid chlorine (12.5%) | Raise free chlorine | 10.7 fl oz per 1 ppm |
| Muriatic acid (31%) | Lower pH | About 12 fl oz per 0.2 pH |
| Soda ash | Raise pH | About 6 oz per 0.2 pH |
| Sodium bicarbonate | Raise alkalinity | 1.5 lb per 10 ppm |
| Calcium chloride | Raise calcium hardness | 1.25 lb per 10 ppm |
| Cyanuric acid | Raise stabilizer | 13 oz per 10 ppm |
| Pool salt | Raise salt | Gallons x ppm x 8.34 / 1,000,000 lb |
Your ranges, your product names
Set your company’s target ranges and product names in PoolBoss so technicians work from a consistent setup across the route. Target ranges start at free chlorine 1 to 4, pH 7.2 to 7.8, alkalinity 80 to 120, calcium hardness 200 to 400, stabilizer 30 to 50, and salt 2,700 to 3,400, and you can change any of them for your company. Rename one of the seven products in your chemical catalog and the recommendation uses your name for it.
Dose recommendations are on by default, and the owner can turn them off. Out-of-range flags stay either way. Each recommendation is a starting number the tech confirms, and for acid it says to add about three-quarters and retest. The tech then logs what actually went in on a Chemicals added card, prefilled from the recommendation, and that log is what feeds chemical cost in reports.
Water balance (LSI) & dosing at a glance
- What the feature does
- PoolBoss calculates LSI live on every visit, corrected for cyanuric acid and salt, keeps an LSI history for each pool, and recommends a product and amount for each out-of-range reading.
- What you enter
- pH, water temperature, calcium hardness, and total alkalinity for LSI, plus cyanuric acid and salt when you have them
- The pool’s volume and sanitizer (chlorine, salt, or bromine)
- Your target ranges and chemical product names
- What the tech actually added, confirmed on the visit
- What PoolBoss does
- Calculates LSI as the tech types, using carbonate alkalinity (total alkalinity minus a third of the cyanuric acid) and a salt correction
- Labels LSI corrosive below your balanced band, scale-forming above it, and balanced inside it (-0.3 to +0.3 by default)
- Saves LSI with every reading and shows each pool’s LSI trend and history
- Flags a visit whose LSI is outside your band, on the visit, the visits list, and the dashboard
- Names the missing reading when LSI can’t be calculated yet
- Recommends one of seven products with an amount aimed at the middle of your range, scaled to the pool’s volume
- Gives an instruction instead of an amount for readings that are too high, other than pH
- Skips the dose calculation for impossible readings, and flags unsafe chlorine or pH
- Prefills a Chemicals added card from the recommendation, logs what the tech confirms, and uses the log for chemical cost, usage, and truck load
- Who can view the information
- Technicians: the live LSI row and the dose recommendation on each visit in the app
- Office: LSI, the dose recommendation, and the chemicals added on the visit detail, plus each pool’s LSI trend and history
- Customers: the reading and whether it was high or low on their service report, without LSI or dose amounts
- What you can set
- Target ranges for each reading, set per company, with stabilizer at 60 to 80 for salt pools unless you set it
- Your balanced LSI band (-0.3 to +0.3 by default, within -1 to +1)
- Dose recommendations on or off (on by default). Out-of-range flags stay either way
- Your own names for the seven products
Why pool pros choose PoolBoss
Built for pools, not bolted on
PoolBoss connects each pool’s readings, treatment and history to the visit report, helping your crew plan the care and your office explain it.
Flat rate by pool count
You pay by how many pools you manage. No per-seat fees, no per-pool meter, and no surprise line on the bill as you grow.
Every feature on every plan
PoolBoss includes every feature on every plan. Choose the pool capacity you need. Free allows one admin; paid plans include unlimited admins.
Works in the field
PoolBoss runs on supported iPhone and Android devices. Sign in and load the route before a signal gap, then record the visit offline and sync when connected.
“Does what I need without overcomplicating it.”
Common questions
Answers for the way you run your route.
Does PoolBoss calculate LSI?
Yes. PoolBoss calculates LSI as the technician enters the required water readings and saves it with the visit and pool history. It identifies missing inputs and flags results outside your chosen balanced range. Your crew can review the water balance at the stop, and the office can compare it with earlier visits.
How does PoolBoss calculate LSI?
PoolBoss adds pH, a temperature factor, the log of calcium hardness minus 0.4, and the log of carbonate alkalinity, then subtracts a dissolved-solids factor of 12.1, or 12.2 for water with 1,000 ppm salt or more. The temperature factor comes from a table in degrees Fahrenheit, interpolated between points. Carbonate alkalinity is total alkalinity minus a third of the cyanuric acid, which stops stabilizer from making the water look better balanced than it is. The result is rounded to two decimals.
How does PoolBoss work out how much chemical to add?
PoolBoss uses the pool’s recorded volume, entered readings, your product rates and target ranges to calculate dose guidance. The technician gets a starting amount for treatment, then confirms what to add and records the actual addition. That connects the test, treatment and later history in the same visit instead of leaving the calculation in a separate tool.
Can I use my own chemical product names and target ranges?
Yes. Set your company’s target ranges and rename the seven catalog products in PoolBoss. Dose guidance then uses the names your crew recognizes, and you can set the balanced LSI band within the supported limits. This keeps the readings and guidance aligned with how your company works.
Can I turn dose recommendations off?
Yes. Dose recommendations are on by default and the owner can switch them off in settings. That hides the amounts on the phone, on the visit detail, and on the route’s chemical list. Out-of-range flags stay on, so the tech still sees what needs attention.
Does PoolBoss record what chemicals the tech actually added?
Yes. The PoolBoss Chemicals added card starts with the recommended amount, and the tech confirms or changes it to match the actual treatment. Those logged additions feed chemical use, cost and truck inventory. Your office can connect supplies and service cost to the work recorded at each pool.
Record water balance at each visit
Start with up to 20 pools free. Every plan includes every feature, with unlimited techs and office managers.
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