How to Add a Checklist Template to a Work Order | Latner Software Documentation

Adding a checklist template to a work order gives the mechanic a fixed list of tasks to work through and sign off, so the same checks get done - and get recorded - on every job.

Overview

Not every job can be planned in advance. A work order raised from an equipment service schedule already brings its checklist with it, but for a breakdown, a customer request or an extra safety check you add the checklist yourself, straight from the work order.

Adding a checklist copies the template's tasks onto the work order as a working copy - task groups, summaries, descriptions and photo requirements all come across.
The copy is a snapshot. Editing the template later creates a new version of the template and leaves checklists that have already been added exactly as they were.
Every checklist template is offered, whatever its type - Service, Run Up, Rental Return, Pre Sale, Pre Start or Take 5. The list isn't restricted to Service checklists.
You can add as many checklists to a work order as you need, including the same template twice.
Tasks start as TODO and are answered with the response options attached to the template, which are Pass / Fail / N/A unless someone has set up a different response set.
Once every task has an answer the checklist is marked as completed, recording who finished it and when.

Before You Begin

Adding a checklist needs one permission, at least one checklist template to choose from, and a work order that is still live.

Requirement	Where to Find It
Add Checklist to Work Order permission	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups › Service › Option
At least one checklist template	Equipment › Configuration › Checklist Templates
A work order that isn't Completed or Cancelled	Service › Work Orders
Completed Checklists Required for Work Orders (optional)	Security › Settings › Equipment
Failed Work Order Checklist Points Require Approval (optional)	Security › Settings › Equipment

Both work order checklist settings live under the Equipment module, and both are off until someone turns them on

With Completed Checklists Required for Work Orders switched on, every checklist you add becomes a gate: neither the work order nor the mechanic's Tech Status can move to Completed while a single task is still TODO. It's worth knowing before you add a checklist to a job that's nearly finished.

Adding a Checklist to a Work Order

Step 1 - Open the work order

Go to Service › Work Orders and open the work order you want the checklist on. Any status works except Completed and Cancelled, where Add Checklist is greyed out.

Step 2 - Choose Options › Add Checklist

Select Options at the top right of the work order, then Add Checklist. If you can't see the option at all, you're missing the Add Checklist to Work Order permission rather than looking in the wrong place.

Add Checklist sits with the other add actions near the top of the work order Options menu, above Complete Work Order

Step 3 - Pick the checklist template

Click into Checklist Template to see every template, or type part of a name to narrow the list down.

Checklist Template - required. The template whose tasks are copied onto this work order. This is the only field on the form.

The search lists Name and Type side by side, which is the quickest way to avoid picking up a Rental Return or Take 5 checklist by mistake

Step 4 - Save

Select Save. Latner confirms with Checklist Added to Work Order and the work order refreshes with the new checklist on it.

The chosen template ready to save. The window heading reads Add Checklist to Inspection, but opened from a work order it adds the checklist to that work order

After You Add the Checklist

The checklist shows on the work order's Checklists tab, with its type, name and a running tally of passes and fails against the total number of tasks.
Expanding the row lists the copied tasks in template order, grouped exactly as they were set up.
To answer a task from the desktop, right-click its Task Response badge and pick a response. The task's Completed By and Updated Date fill in as you go.
When the last task is answered, the checklist itself is marked as completed and stamps the Completed By and Completed Time on the checklist row.
Out in the field, the checklist appears on the mechanic's mobile work order as a Complete Service Checklist button once they've accepted the job - and, on field service work orders, once they've arrived on site and finished any required Take 5.
Quick Filters › Failed Tasks on the Checklists tab narrows the tab to checklists with a failed point, and the expanded rows to the failed tasks themselves.
Once the work order is Completed, Options › Generate Completed Checklist PDF produces a PDF of the answered checklists, which is filed on the Checklist PDF History tab.

The Checklists tab. The Tasks column tracks passes and fails against the total as the work gets done

Expanding the checklist row shows the copied tasks with the groups and descriptions they carried over from the template

Right-clicking a task's response badge. The choices come from the response set attached to the template, so a template built on a custom response set offers those options instead

A checklist can't be taken off a work order once it's been added - selecting the row offers no delete. If you add the wrong one, add the right one alongside it and answer the unwanted checklist's tasks as N/A, which clears it out of the way and stops it blocking completion.

FAQs

Add Checklist is greyed out. Why?

The work order is Completed or Cancelled. Use Options › Reopen Work Order to put a completed one back into Open, and the option becomes available again. If the option is missing from the menu entirely rather than greyed out, it's the Add Checklist to Work Order permission that's missing.

The window is headed Add Checklist to Inspection. Am I in the right place?

Yes. The heading on that window is wrong, but opened from a work order's Options menu it adds the checklist to the work order you're on, and the confirmation message reads Checklist Added to Work Order.

Can I add more than one checklist to the same work order?

Yes. There's no limit, and nothing stops you adding the same template twice - each one comes through as its own row on the Checklists tab with its own set of tasks.

I edited the template afterwards. Did the work order's checklist change?

No. Changing a template's tasks creates a new version of that template, and checklists already added stay on the version they were copied from. To pick up the new version, add the template to the work order again.

A task is marked as needing a photo. Is the photo enforced?

On a mobile device, yes - the mechanic can't answer the task until a photo is attached to it. Answering the same task by right-clicking it on the desktop Checklists tab doesn't ask for the photo, so use the desktop shortcut sparingly on checklists that rely on photo evidence.

The checklist isn't showing on the mechanic's phone. Why not?

While the Tech Status is still Allocated, the mobile work order shows the job details and an Accept Work Order button and nothing else. The checklist appears once the mechanic accepts. On field service work orders there are two more steps first - arriving on site, and completing the Take 5 if your business requires one.

What happens if a task is failed?

The failed task is counted in the Fail tally on the Checklists tab and can be pulled up with the Failed Tasks quick filter. If Failed Work Order Checklist Points Require Approval is enabled in Security › Settings › Equipment, completing the work order sends it to Pending Approval instead of Completed.

Do I have to add a checklist to every service work order?

No. Where a checklist belongs on a recurring service, attach it to the equipment's service schedule instead - the Checklist (optional) field there means every work order raised from that schedule gets the checklist automatically. Add Checklist is for the jobs that aren't planned that way, or for an extra checklist on top.

Watch the Demo

Prefer to watch it? Step through the same flow here.