Checklists are an easy, effective way to clearly communicate the scope and requirements of a job to field staff, improving quality and consistency from start to finish.
Using the Online Dashboard or the ServiceM8 iOS app, you can add one or more checklists of required tasks to the job card. Field staff members can then mark each task as complete in the app as they methodically work through the list, ensuring no requirement is overlooked. The staff member who completed the checklist item, and the time at which it was completed, will be automatically recorded in the job's Diary.
TIP: To automatically include checklists in your most common jobs and services, preset them in your Job Templates.
How to create and manage Checklists in the Online Dashboard
This section explores how to create a new checklist, set task assignments and reminders, create multiple checklists, and remove checklists or checklist items from the Online Dashboard.
Creating a new checklist
- From the Details tab of an open job card, under Checklist, click New Item.
- Enter the first item and hit Enter. Each item will appear as a separate checklist item in the job card.
- To add another item, either hit your Return/Enter key, or click New Item.
Setting task assignments and reminders
You can assign specific checklist items to individual staff members, who will receive a notification and see the items in their Tasks menu (More > Tasks), My Tasks list and the For My Review jobs list in the app. You can also set reminders for specific checklist items, either to a specific person or to whoever checks into the job.
To set task assignments or reminders:
- Hover over the task and click ⋮ .
- If you want to assign a task to a staff member, click the Assigned To: dropdown and click the desired staff member.
TIP: To remove the staff member assignment, click on their name within the Assigned To: field.
- If you want to set a reminder for the task, click the Reminder: dropdown and click the desired reminder type. The types of reminder are:
- Navigate to Job: Reminder appears when technician checks into the job. Useful for tasks that should be done on the way to the site, but before arrival.
- Check In: Reminder appears when technician checks into the job. Useful for tasks that should be done before work begins.
- Check Out: Reminder appears when technical checks out of the job. Useful for tasks that should be done after the job's done, but before leaving.
- Custom: Set a specific date and time.
- Click Save.
NOTE: Staff assignments and reminders are not dependent upon each other. You can assign a task to a staff member without a reminder, and you can set a reminder without assigning it to a specific staff member (in which case, it will appear to whomever checks into the job).
Creating multiple checklists
If you want to divide a job's requirements by category, such as by room, stage, or staff member, you can create multiple checklists per job card. To create another checklist:
- On the right of the checklist beneath which you want to add a new checklist, click ⋮ .
- Click New Checklist.
- A new checklist section will appear below. To rename each of your checklists, click and select the checklist name, and enter the new name.
Deleting checklists and checklist items
To delete an entire checklist:
- On the right of the checklist you want to remove, click ⋮ .
- Click Edit.
- Click Remove.
To edit a checklist item:
- Click into text field of the task, or hover over the task and click ⋮
To remove an item from a checklist:
- Hover over the task and click ⋮ .
- Click Remove.
How to add a photo requirement to a checklist
If you create a checklist item that has the word "photo" in it, ServiceM8 creates a photo task. When the field technician taps the checklist item within the ServiceM8 app, the camera will open automatically. Taking the photo will automatically mark the task as completed and save the photo to the Diary.
How to add a Form requirement to a checklist
If you use the Forms Add-on to complete various reports, inspections and/or certificates digitally on site, you can set the completion of a specific Form as a checklist requirement.
To add a Form, search the name of the Form when creating your checklist tasks, and click the desired Form.
How to add an Asset Management-related requirement to a checklist
If you use the Asset Management Add-on to catalogue and manage client assets, equipment, installations, or appliances, you can set the inspection or servicing of Assets as a checklist requirement. You can add tasks related to individual Assets, or tasks related to all Assets of a specific type on site (for example, Fire Extinguishers, Appliances, Solar Panels, Smoke Alarms, etc.).
Note that all checklist tasks related to Assets are denoted by the Asset icon.
To add the inspection or service of an individual Asset:
- Search the name of the Asset when creating your checklist tasks, and click the desired Asset.
To add the inspection or service of all Assets of a specific type:
- Search the Asset type when creating your checklist tasks, and click the desired type.
How to create and manage Checklists in the ServiceM8 iOS app
Note: While checklist items can be marked as complete in the field using both the ServiceM8 iOS app and the ServiceM8 Lite app for Android, checklists can only be created or edited using the ServiceM8 iOS app.
This section explores how to create a new checklist, set task assignments and reminders, create multiple checklists, and delete checklists and checklist items using the ServiceM8 iOS app.
Creating a new checklist in the app
NOTE: Before creating a new checklist in a job card on the app, the job card must be saved.
To create a new checklist:
- From the job card, under Checklist, tap New Item.
- In the Checklist name field, enter the checklist task.
- Tap Done.
- To add another item, tap New Item. Each item will appear as a separate checklist item in the job card.
TIP: To change the order of your checklist items, hold down an item, then drag and drop it to the desired position within the checklist.
Setting task assignments and reminders in the app
When creating a new checklist item, you have the option of adding a task reminder or assigning a staff member, or both. (See Setting task assignments and reminders for more information.)
Tap on the Reminder or Assigned To field to open and tap your selection, then tap Done.
If you want to add a reminder or assignee from an existing checklist item, swipe left on the task and tap Edit.
Creating multiple checklists on the app
- On the right of the checklist beneath which you want to add a new checklist, tap ⋯ .
- Tap New Checklist.
- To rename the Checklist, tap its name.
- Enter the new name and tap Done.
TIP: As with individual checklist items, you can drag and drop complete checklists in the order you'd like.
Deleting checklists or checklist items from the app
To delete an entire checklist:
- Tap the checklist name.
- Tap Remove.
To delete an item from a checklist:
- Swipe left on the item and tap Edit.
- Tap Remove.
