A system comprising a welding power supply and a portable electronic device , the welding power supply comprising: - power conversion circuitry configured to convert an input power into an output power for a welding operation; - wireless communication circuitry configured to wirelessly communicate with the portable electronic device via a wireless communication network ; and - control circuitry configured to pair the portable electronic device with the welding power supply in the wireless communication network , to control operation of the power conversion circuitry based at least in part on commands received wirelessly from the portable electronic device via the wireless communication network , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to set location data for the welding power supply equal to location data of the portable electronic device received wirelessly from the portable electronic device , and wherein the control circuitry is configured to transmit operational data to the portable electronic device for temporary storage and geotagging if the control circuitry determines that the wireless communication circuitry has no access or limited access to an external system over a telecommunication infrastructure; wherein the portable electronic device is configured to temporarily store and location tag the operational data if the portable electronic device has no access or limited access to the external system , and wherein the portable electronic device is configured to transmit the stored and location tagged operational data from the portable electronic device to the external system once the portable electronic device is moved to a location that has access to the external system . the welding power supply comprising: - power conversion circuitry configured to convert an input power into an output power for a welding operation; - wireless communication circuitry configured to wirelessly communicate with the portable electronic device via a wireless communication network ; and - control circuitry configured to pair the portable electronic device with the welding power supply in the wireless communication network , to control operation of the power conversion circuitry based at least in part on commands received wirelessly from the portable electronic device via the wireless communication network , - power conversion circuitry configured to convert an input power into an output power for a welding operation; - wireless communication circuitry configured to wirelessly communicate with the portable electronic device via a wireless communication network ; and - control circuitry configured to pair the portable electronic device with the welding power supply in the wireless communication network , to control operation of the power conversion circuitry based at least in part on commands received wirelessly from the portable electronic device via the wireless communication network , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to set location data for the welding power supply equal to location data of the portable electronic device received wirelessly from the portable electronic device , and wherein the control circuitry is configured to transmit operational data to the portable electronic device for temporary storage and geotagging if the control circuitry determines that the wireless communication circuitry has no access or limited access to an external system over a telecommunication infrastructure; wherein the portable electronic device is configured to temporarily store and location tag the operational data if the portable electronic device has no access or limited access to the external system , and wherein the portable electronic device is configured to transmit the stored and location tagged operational data from the portable electronic device to the external system once the portable electronic device is moved to a location that has access to the external system . <EOS>