Getting Started

What Is Sytewise?

Sytewise is a systems operations platform built for teams that manage physical spaces and the work that keeps them running. Whether you're overseeing a portfolio of commercial properties, coordinating vendors across dozens of locations, or tracking the AV systems inside a building, Sytewise puts the whole operation in one place.

For Property Managers

Managing a portfolio means keeping track of a lot of moving parts simultaneously. Sytewise is built around that reality.

Properties and Fixtures are the foundation. Every property in your portfolio gets its own record, and every piece of equipment or infrastructure inside that property is tracked as a fixture. You always know what's where, what trade it belongs to, and what's been done to it.

Work Orders are how you assign and track jobs. Create a work order, assign a vendor, attach the relevant fixtures, and send it. The vendor gets an email with everything they need, including links to any checklists assigned to that job. When the work is done, the record stays.

Checklists let you define exactly what a vendor needs to do, step by step. Require photos, signatures, notes, or file uploads at specific steps. Vendors complete checklists from their phone through a simple public link, no login required. Completed checklists with all their attached media are stored permanently and downloadable in one ZIP file.

Surveys let you send structured inspections to surveyors and track their responses across properties.

Contracts and Bills keep the financial side organized. Track vendor contracts, service agreements, and bills all tied to the properties and work orders they belong to.

Reminders handle the recurring stuff automatically. Set up rules tied to property events and Sytewise keeps the actions queue filled so nothing slips through.

The Email Log records every outbound email the platform sends, so you can always confirm what was delivered and when.

For Vendors

Vendors don't need to learn a new system. When a work order is created and assigned to them, they get a plain email with the job details and direct links to any checklists they need to complete. No account required, no app to download.

If a work order is reassigned, vendor assignments on linked checklists update automatically. Vendors only ever see what's theirs.

For AV Integrators

AV integrators working in commercial spaces often manage complex fixture environments: racks, cabinets, displays, control systems, and the relationships between them. Sytewise handles this through the Fixtures and Cabinets modules.

Fixtures track every piece of equipment at a property, organized by trade. Each fixture has its own record, its own checklist history, and its own media archive. Nothing gets lost in a spreadsheet.

The Cabinets module takes it further. Build display cabinet preset layouts using a grid-based editor to represent cabinet configurations and equipment wiring layout drawings. These presets can be attached to fixture records, giving integrators a visual reference for what's installed and how it's arranged.

Checklists on fixtures make commissioning and maintenance workflows precise. Define a commissioning checklist with required photos at specific steps, assign it to a fixture, send it to the integrator, and collect signed photographic proof of completion. The same checklist template can be reused across every similar installation in the portfolio.

Work Orders tie it all together. When a service call is needed, the work order captures the scope, the vendor, the fixtures involved, and the checklists required to close the job out. Integrators receive everything they need in a single email and complete the job record without a back-and-forth paper trail.

Sytewise is designed to reduce the communication overhead that comes with managing physical spaces and the people who work in them. Less chasing, more doing.

Quick Start: Getting to Know Sytewise

Managing buildings and the systems inside them involves a lot of moving parts, and most of the friction in that work comes down to one thing: communication. Who needs to know what, when, and whether it actually happened. Sytewise is built to reduce that friction across every relationship in your operation.

Property managers get a single place to track every property, every fixture, every vendor, and every work order across their entire portfolio. Instead of chasing status updates through email threads and spreadsheets, the information is in the system, timestamped, searchable, and attached to the record it belongs to.

Vendors receive clear, complete work orders with everything they need to do the job: scope, fixtures, due dates, checklists, and a direct link to their portal. No phone tag to clarify what's needed. No guessing about which location or which unit. And when the job is done, they submit their completion through the same link, with photos, notes, and signatures that become part of the permanent record.

Clients get visibility into the properties and work being done on their behalf, through reports, linked records, and direct communication built into the workflow rather than bolted on as an afterthought.

Tenants connect to the operation through surveys and service records, keeping the people who actually use the spaces part of the picture.

The result is a system where planned work runs on a schedule, unplanned work gets handled without losing track of the routine, and every action leaves a documented trail that gets more useful the longer you use it.

Where to Start

The articles below cover the core features of Sytewise. If you're new to the system, reading them in order is a reasonable path. If you're looking for something specific, jump straight to it.

Welcome to Your Dashboard

The dashboard is the first thing you see after logging in, and it earns that spot. It gives you a live count of everything happening in your account, a map of all your properties, a full browsable property list, and quick access to vendors and clients. Whether you're getting your bearings or jumping straight into a busy day, this is where it all starts.

The Info Boxes

Running across the top of the page is a row of colorful stat boxes. Each one shows a live count of something important in your account: Properties, Vendors, Users, Work Orders, Surveys, Tenants, Reminders, Contracts, Bills, and Clients. Every box is clickable and takes you straight to the corresponding page.

You choose which boxes appear. Scroll to the bottom of the info box row and click Shortcuts to pick the ones that matter most to your day. If you only care about Work Orders and Vendors, show just those. If you want the full picture every morning, keep them all.

If your account has an overdue invoice, a red alert banner will appear at the top of the dashboard above everything else. It won't be subtle.

Quick Actions

Just below the info boxes is a three-part action bar.

On the left, you have property management shortcuts:

In the middle, there's a vendor search field. Type at least three characters and a matching list of vendors appears. Select one and you go straight to that vendor's detail page.

On the right, a client search works exactly the same way. Three characters minimum, pick from the results, land on the client page.

The Map

The left half of the lower dashboard is an interactive Google Map showing a red pin for every property in your account. The map automatically adjusts its zoom level to fit all your properties in view when it loads.

Click any pin and a small popup shows the property name as a clickable link. Clicking that link takes you to the property page. At the same time, that property gets highlighted in the list on the right side of the page, so you always know exactly which one you clicked.

If you don't need the map taking up screen space, click the chevron in the Map card header to collapse it. Click again to bring it back.

The Properties List

The right half of the lower dashboard is your full browsable property list. By default it loads up to 200 properties at a time. If you have more, a Load Next 200 button appears at the bottom to pull in the next batch.

Searching and Filtering

You have four ways to narrow the list:

Search by Name or Zip is the search field at the top of the properties card. Type at least three characters and matching properties appear instantly. Selecting one takes you to that property's page.

View By State is a dropdown that filters the list to a single state. Pick a state and only properties in that state are shown. Changing the state filter automatically clears any manager filter you had active.

All Properties (the manager dropdown) filters the list to properties assigned to a specific manager or user in your account. Selecting a manager clears the state filter. These two filters work independently of each other.

Search by Address is a secondary search tucked below the other filters. Click the "Search by address" link to expand it. Type at least six characters of a street address and click Search to find a property by its address. This is handy when you know the street but not the property name.

What Each Property Shows

Every property in the list displays:

If a property has been marked as sold, a red SOLD! label appears next to its name.

How the Map and List Work Together

The map and the property list are connected. When you apply a state or manager filter, both the list and the map update together. The map clears its current pins and redraws with only the properties that match your filter. Whatever you're looking at in the list, the map reflects it.

Clicking a map pin highlights the matching property in the list. Clicking a property link in the list navigates to that property. They're two views of the same data, and you can use whichever makes more sense for what you're trying to find.

 

The Left Menu: Your Navigation at a Glance

Every page in Sytewise is one click away from the menu on the left side of the screen. Here's what each item does. Some menu items only appear if your account has that module activated, so your menu may not show all of these.

Dashboard — You're already here. The starting point with your stats, map, and property list.

Properties — Your full list of managed properties. From here you can browse, search, and open any property record. The submenu also gives you a direct link to create a new property, run an advanced property search, and merge duplicate records if your account has that feature enabled.

Clients — Manage the client organizations associated with your properties. Each client record holds contact information and links to the properties they own or manage.

Vendors — Your full vendor roster. Add new vendors, view contact details, track insurance certificates, and see the work order history for any vendor in your account.

Surveyors — Manage the surveyors assigned to properties in your account. Surveyors operate separately from vendors and are used for inspection and survey-related workflows.

Tenants — Track tenants associated with your properties, including contact information and unit assignments.

Users — Manage the admin users who have access to your Sytewise account. The submenu also gives you access to Contacts, which are the property-level contacts used throughout the system for notifications and correspondence.

WOs — Work Orders. A searchable list of all open and completed work orders across every property. Create new work orders, track status, manage vendor assignments, and link checklists.

Surveys — Create and manage property surveys. Assign them to surveyors and track completion.

Bills — Track bills associated with work orders and vendor services across your portfolio.

Fixtures — A cross-property view of all fixtures in your account. Useful when you need to find or manage a specific piece of equipment without navigating through individual property pages.

Cabinets — Build and manage cabinet preset layouts used in grid-based fixture planning. This is a specialized tool for accounts that track interior fixture grids.

Forms — Configure and review vendor-submitted forms. Forms are assigned to vendors for health, safety, and compliance documentation, and submissions are tracked here.

Checklists — Manage checklist templates and search fixture checklists across all properties. This is the top-level view; individual checklists are also accessible from each fixture and work order.

Insurance — Track insurance policies associated with vendors and properties. Manage policy details, expiration dates, and coverage records in one place.

Library — A document and resource library for your account. Store reference files, standard operating procedures, or any shared materials your team needs access to.

Reference — Manage reference articles that can be published and shared within the platform.

Email Log — A record of every email sent through Sytewise: work orders, checklists, surveys, and more. Useful for confirming delivery or tracking what was sent to a vendor.

Reminders — Set up automated reminders tied to property events and track pending reminder actions. The Reminders dashboard shows both incomplete actions and the active reminder rules driving them.

Account — Your account settings. Manage your company information, module activations, integrations, and billing.

 

 

Add and Edit Vendors

Vendors are the people that work for you on your properties.  They can be employees, outside contractors, or even you or your co-workers if you have jobs that you do regularly, or want record of when they were completed.

Listing your vendors in the Vendor section does some great things for you.

 

Keep Track of Vendor Information everywhere, anytime

Who was it that fixed that HVAC unit on the top of Dollar General Store last April?  What is their phone number?  Answers to all of those questions about how to get in touch with the vendors that work on your properties are at your fingertips, anywhere you need the information, anytime you want to look it up.  You can look up vendors by Property, By Work Order.

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To open the Vendor Page, select Vendors in the menu and then click on Vendors.  Once on the page you can type the vendor name in the search box and hit enter.

Or if you are on a Work Order, select the Vendor Name.  Either of these methods will open the Vendor's Profile Page.

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The vendor profile page includes a lot of details about the Vendor including address and contact information, any Contracts they have, Work Orders they have been assigned, or documents such as Insurance Certificates or copies of written contracts. 

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Lists of the Vendor's Work Orders and Contracts are to the right of their contact info.

Below the list of contracts you can add Insurance Documents and any other fields that you would like to keep on hand.  File types include .Pdf docs, Excel, and Word documents.

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To add a document, just select the Add a File or Policy button, select the file you wish to add and upload.

Most People want to keep a Certificate of Insurance (COI) for vendors that work on their properties. To add an Insurance Policy document of any kind, Select the Add a File or Policy Button, then Select the Insurance Policy Tab. Enter the information about the Insurance Policy and click on Save.  After the policy info is entered and saved you will see the Insurance Policy listed with a button that says Choose File.  Select the file for your Insurance Policy and click Save.  Your policy information will be listed with a link to the actual Insurance File.

To edit the information about the document, select the pencil next to the file link.  All of the information about the document or insurance policy can be edited, or the file can be deleted.

Quickly Find the Preferred Vendor for any trade at any property

You can track down vendors for a specific property by Trade and by Work Orders.  Just Go to the Property Page, Select the Trade Tab at the top of the window for the type of work your Vendor does.  Then look at the Preferred Vendor for that trade.  You can list your Preferred Vendor and up to six alternate vendors you use for that same type of work. 

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Scroll down to the bottom of the Property page.  There is a list of Work Orders performed on that Property under that Trade Tab.  All of the Vendors for your Work Orders are listed next to the description of each one.  It's easy to track down which Vendor did the work on each Work Order.

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Instant Access to Important information about your vendors including Insurance Documents and Contracts

Sytewise has has the ability to store specific contract terms for any Vendor contracts.  If you have agreed upon terms for your landscaping throughout the year, or a fixed price per lamp on your pole light maintenance  you can keep them with you at all times and never wonder if the contractor completed everything agreed upon.

Sytewise keeps track of which vendors you use on each of your properties for certain types of work. Take HVAC services, for instance.  If you have a company that you use on any of your properties to maintain your HVAC equipment, assign them as the default vendor for HVAC for that property.  That way every work order you create for HVAC on that property will autofill the name and information of your preferred vendor.  You don't have to worry about looking up all that data, and anyone else who needs to complete a Work Order will know who you like to use to work on the HVAC equipment at that location.

Any Contract listed on a Property includes the name of the Vendor that is a party to the contract.  It also includes the Property and Client contacts.  Selecting the Vendor name will take you to the Vendor Profile Page.

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Creating a Property in Sytewise

Every building, location, or managed space in your portfolio starts as a property record. The property is the anchor for everything else: trades, fixtures, vendors, work orders, surveys, checklists, and reports all connect back to it. Getting a property created correctly takes about two minutes, and this article walks through every step, including how to use the Library to build a fully populated property from a saved template instead of starting from a blank slate.

Before You Start

Two things need to exist before you create a property:

A vendor must be in the system. The property creation form requires a default vendor for the first trade, and you can't proceed without one. If the vendor isn't in Sytewise yet, add them on the Vendors page first.

The property limit for your account must not be met. If your account has a maximum property count and you've reached it, the creation form won't appear and you'll see a message prompting you to contact your account representative. For most accounts this won't be an issue, but it's worth knowing.

Getting to the New Property Page

From the Dashboard, click + Property in the quick action bar or navigate to Properties in the left menu and select New Property from the submenu. Either route lands you on the same page.

The page has three cards working together: the property information form on the left, a library selection card in the middle (if you have library items saved), and the map and location confirmation on the right.

Creating a Property from Scratch

Step 1: Property Title

Property Title is required and must be unique within your account. Use a name that will be immediately recognizable in lists, reports, and dropdown menus. "2400 Commerce Street Nashville" or "Riverside Plaza HVAC" will serve you better than "New Property 1." Keep it descriptive enough that it reads clearly out of context.

The system checks title uniqueness in the background as you type. If the name is already in use, you'll know before you try to save.

Step 2: Full Address

Full Address is required and needs at least nine characters. Enter the complete street address including city, state, and zip. This is the address that gets sent to Google Maps for validation and coordinate lookup, so the more complete and accurate it is, the cleaner the result.

Step 3: Default Vendor

The Default Vendor field searches your vendor list as you type. Enter at least a few characters of the vendor name and select the right one from the autocomplete results. This vendor becomes the default assigned to the first trade on the property. You can change it later and add different vendors for additional trades once the property is created.

Step 4: Trade

The Trade dropdown shows all available trades in the system. Select the trade that applies to the first service area you're setting up on this property. If the property has multiple trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, AV, etc.), you'll add the others after the property is created. Every property needs at least one trade to start.

Step 5: Lookup Geolocation

This step is required and the Create Property button will not activate until it's complete.

Click Lookup Geolocation. Sytewise sends the address you entered to Google Maps, which validates it, formats it, and returns the precise coordinates. The map on the right zooms in to satellite view at the location, drops a marker, and displays the latitude, longitude, and formatted address.

Take a look at the formatted address that comes back. If Google interpreted the address differently than you entered it (a common occurrence with suite numbers or informal address formats), the formatted version shows you exactly what was matched. If the coordinates look right on the map, you're good. If the marker is in the wrong spot, you can drag it to the correct location. Dragging the marker updates the coordinates automatically.

If the geocoding fails (wrong address, unrecognized location, or an API issue), you'll see an error message describing what went wrong. Correct the address and try again.

Step 6: Create Property

Once geolocation succeeds and the map shows the right location, the Create Property button activates. Click it.

If the address is already in the system on another property, Sytewise will warn you about the potential duplicate and ask whether to proceed or start over. This is a safety check, not a hard block. If the property genuinely shares an address with an existing record (a multi-tenant building with separate property records, for example), choose Create Property Anyway.

On success, a confirmation message appears with a link to go to the new property detail page. From there you can add additional trades, assign a manager, link a client, add images, and start building out the full property record.

Creating a Property from a Library Item

If your account has property library items saved, a library selection card appears between the property information form and the map. This is one of the most powerful shortcuts in Sytewise for anyone managing a portfolio of similar or identical properties.

What a Library Item Contains

A property library item is a complete snapshot of a property's structure: trades, fixtures, and all the parts inside each fixture, including full part specifications. When you create a property from a library item, Sytewise builds all of that structure automatically as part of property creation. You end up with a fully populated property, with trades, fixtures, and parts already in place, rather than an empty shell you have to build from scratch.

The library card displays each saved item with its name and a set of trade badges showing how many fixtures each trade contains. A badge reading "HVAC 5 fixtures" means that library item includes an HVAC trade with five fixtures and all their associated parts ready to deploy.

Selecting a Library Item

The first option in the library card is always No Library: create a new, empty property, which is selected by default. To use a library item instead, click the radio button next to the one you want. The rest of the creation process is identical: fill in the title, address, vendor, and trade, run the geolocation lookup, and click Create Property.

When the property is created, Sytewise writes the base property record and then immediately layers in everything from the library item. Trades are created, fixtures are inserted with their coordinates and descriptions, and every part record from the library is recreated on the new property. You land on the property detail page with a complete structure waiting for you rather than an empty map.

What This Means for a Large Portfolio

The library feature is where Sytewise pays real dividends at scale. If you manage fifty retail locations that all run the same HVAC configuration, or a hundred venues with identical AV installations, you don't need to manually build out each property's trades, fixtures, and parts one by one. You build the first one carefully, save it to the library, and every subsequent property inherits that structure in seconds.

The consistency matters as much as the speed. When every property of a given type starts from the same library item, the records are structured identically. Trade names match. Fixture names match. Part numbers follow the same convention. That uniformity makes cross-portfolio reporting cleaner, makes searching more predictable, and makes onboarding new team members simpler because every similar property looks the same in the system.

The library item is a starting point, not a locked template. Once a property is created from it, every record on that property is fully independent and editable. You update the install dates, adjust the part numbers for the specific units on site, add location-specific notes, and the new property becomes its own complete record. The library item stays unchanged, ready for the next property.

Saving a Property to the Library

To save an existing property to the library, go to the property detail page, find the Fixtures section, and click the Library button. A small modal asks for a library title of up to 24 characters. Give it a name that clearly identifies the property type or configuration, something like "Standard Retail HVAC Config" or "Venue AV Platform v2," and click Save.

The system captures the complete structure: all trades, all fixtures with their coordinates and descriptions, all parts with their full specifications including manufacturer, model, part numbers, and technical detail fields. That snapshot is stored at the account level and immediately available on the new property page for any future property creation.

After the Property Is Created

The property detail page is where the rest of the setup happens. A few things to take care of right away:

Additional trades are added from the property detail page. Click New Trade, select the trade type, assign a vendor for that trade, and save. Each trade becomes its own operational area with its own fixture list, work orders, vendor assignment, and checklists.

Manager assignment is set on the property detail page. Assigning a manager connects this property to a specific admin user, which feeds into the manager filter on the dashboard property list and into property-level permission scoping.

Client assignment links the property to a client record. This is what makes the Clients module useful at a portfolio level: one client organization can have multiple properties grouped under it, with consolidated reporting and billing.

Property images can be uploaded after creation. Use the upload function in the map section of the property detail page to add site photos, floor plans, or reference images. Images appear in the property's map card and are included in the property print report.

Property details like square footage, number of units, contact phone and email, billing address, store hours, and QuickBooks ID are all editable on the property detail page. Fill in whatever is relevant for your workflow.

The property is ready the moment it's created. Everything else is refinement that makes the record more complete and more useful over time.

Create A Fixture

You can create a new Fixture in the following three ways:

Create a New Fixture from Scratch

Go to the Property Page where you want to Add a Fixture.  On the Property Page locate the Fixture Window

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Select the +Fixture Button to open the Create Fixture Window. 

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Enter the Fixture Name and Description for the Fixture you want to Create. 

Tip: Selecting good naming conventions for your property is super important.  It allows you to find devices easily and makes searching for Fixtures by Type easier.  It is worth putting some thought into how you name your Fixtures.  For some tips on Naming Conventions, look here.

The Height and Default Vendor are already filled.  The height defaults to 0-7ft.  Change it to match the height of the fixture you are adding.

The Vendor shows the Default Vendor for the selected Trade on the Selected Property.  You can select a different Vendor to associate with this Fixture.

Once you enter the Name and Description and select the Height and Vendor, click Save and the Fixture Page for this Fixture will Appear.

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Once on the Fixture Page you will need to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adding Fixtures in Bulk using the Library

I have a lot of Fixtures!

Adding large numbers of Fixtures on your properties relatively quickly adds usefulness Sytewise account.  There are a couple of ways of adding Large Numbers of Fixtures to a property and both have their own benefits.

You can add large numbers of Fixtures to a single property using the import tool just below Fixture List.  This is great for large numbers of Fixtures with Specific Part Numbers that you want to import or Fixtures that don't apply to any of your other properties.  Think HVAC units and Fire Panels.

In this article we are going to discuss using the Fixtures Library to add Groups of Fixtures.  This is good for adding large numbers of Fixtures where Specific Part Numbers are not important to their maintenance.  Think Commode.  There are a few simple Sytewise Skills that you need to know to make this process go smoothly.

All of these skills are simple to learn and should take a couple of minutes. Just click the link above on the topic for a tutorial, or if your ready to learn about Bulk Fixtures, start reading below.

Think of a Group of Fixtures like a Template for that Trade on your  property.  A good template will put as many Fixtures on the property as possible without the need to remove too many.  For Example, if you want to add plumbing fixtures for all of your locations and most of your locations have just two commodes per restroom, and one or two locations have more, only put two commodes in your Plumbing Group.  This allows you to add all the necessary Fixtures on most of your properties while adding some extras to only a couple of locations.  So here are some things to consider on making a good groups for Bulk Fixture Imports.

What type of Fixtures are easily managed in Bulk?

Using the Library to add items is more about item type, unless you standardize on only one manufacturer and part number across all of your properties for a specific Fixture, it is best to consider Fixtures that make up a specific System, or are a universal type.  Plumbing is a great example of a Fixture Type easily placed on site and managed without the need for a specific Part number.

Prepare your Fixtures List for a Bulk Library Import

The best thing you can do for your Fixtures is give them easily identifiable generic names as part of a group.  A standard name for all of your Properties that makes like items easily identifiable.  Commode #1, Commode #2, Commode #3 is a good example.  Another example is Front Door, Back Door, Overhead Dock Door.  You may want to add specific data to each of these Fixtures once they are on the property, but this allows you to get the greatest number of fixtures on the property fast and economically.

Also consider groups of systems that you may want to add as a pod or one of many similar systems.  A large shopping center may have more than one Fire Sprinkler System.  Having a Generic System that you can add several times across a large center makes it easy to establish those Fixtures and survey the items later.

With that in Mind, Away we go!

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Create A Group of Fixtures

On the Property page select a Trade where you have several fixtures that you would like to view as all or a subset of all of the available fixtures.

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Select the checkbox next to each fixture that you would like in the Group.

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Once you select a Fixture you will notice that the +Group button become active.  Select the Group button and type in the Name of the Group for the list of Fixtures you have selected.

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Click Save.  Now you can view just the items in that group by selecting it from the Group Selection pull down menu and the presence of a Group title just beneath the Selection box.

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Set Up Recurring Work Orders

Setting up recurring work orders in the Sytewise platform is easy to do and keeps your recurring work up to date with minimal input.

Recurring work can be anything from grease trap maintenance to air conditioner filters.  For our purposes we will use a work order for conducting the Annual Fire Alarm Inspection.
To set up recurring work orders:
Select a Work Order you would like to Replicate

This can be any work order.  It can be Open or Completed.  It can be past due.  It doesn't matter.  When selecting a work order make sure you look at the Special Instructions to make sure they will be appropriate over time.  If you have a lot of information about special dates or times that won't be applicable in the future, it would be better to start with a new work order.  Make sure your special instructions are going to be evergreen for any future work order they will be part of.

Click on the Reminder Bell in the Upper Right Hand Corner

Select the Reminder Bell at the Top Right Hand Corner of your browser and the New Reminder Modal will Appear.  Once the Reminder Modal opens, click on the check boxes to Attach Reminder to this WO and Replicate This WO.

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Add a Subject and Message Note about the Work Order

Once you have selected the check boxes for Attaching and Replicating the Work Order, Type in a Subject and Message about the work order.  This is a note to you or another person that will be tracking this Work Order in the Future.  Any Special items to remember as you go about getting the work completed.  This is not the work order instructions to your vendor.  Those are already in the work order you selected.

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Check the box for Priority

This may be a simple item, but it will help work orders stand out in your work order list.  It will also help you notice important items that may only come up once a year.  All items are important.  I usually add this to time sensitive items that may cause additional expense if they aren't handled in a timely manner.  You can use it however best suits your workflow.

 

Choose a recipient for Reminder from the list of Sytewise Users

Every Sytewise System User is a potential candidate to receive the Reminder you are creating.  The default will always be to the creator of the Reminder.  You can select another user, or Select All users.  If you opt to send the Reminder to Everyone it show up on everyone's Reminder List until one User completes the reminder activity.  Then it will drop off of Everyone's list.

 

Click the Repeating Check Box to establish as Schedule for the Work Orders to Repeat

Once you Select the Repeat Check box you will see two boxes for a Start Date and an End Date for Reminders ( and Work Orders) to be scheduled and created.  Reminders created today will show up the next calendar day.  Choose your Starting Date and Ending Date for the recurring work orders.  If you want them to recur indefinitely then select the Forever Check Box.  That will immediately set the reminders to last for 100 years.

 

Select your Repeat Time Frame of Day, Week, Month, or Year

The calendar for reminders is very flexible.  You can select a daily reminder for something, or make a weekly reminder for every Tuesday, or every Third Tuesday.  You can select a Monthly Schedule to have reminders and work orders recur on a specific day of the month, or every other month.  Yearly reminders are great for those annual inspections that show up again before you know it.  That being said, best practice is to factor the amount of lead time you need for this work order into the reminder date.  The work order will be generated on the date you select.  Make sure that date gives your Vendor enough time to get the work on the books and completed by your deadline.  I try to give my Fire Panel inspectors at least a couple of weeks to respond.  Your lead times may be different.

 

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A Daily Schedule will repeat every day, or every interval of days you select. If you enter a 1 the reminder will show up every day.  If you enter a 3 it will show up every day.

 

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A Weekly Schedule is much the same.  Select the days of the week you would like the reminder to occur and then select the number of weeks in between each reminder.  This is great for work orders that repeat every other week or or on specific days of the week regardless of the number of monthly visits.  Any Weekly Service Schedule is perfect for this.

 

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The Monthly schedule is great for events that occur on specific days of the month, every month, regardless of the day of the week.

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Annual is great for those inspections or reports that need to be done every year.  Send  a Work Order out to get your Annual Sprinkler or Backflow inspections on the calendar before your Vendor gets backed up.  You can also set multi year reminders and work orders for specific Contractual Work or Lease Sensitive Items.  I have tenants that require repaints every 5 years.  Asphalt repairs or striping are other good uses of the multi year reminder.  If you have new staff, they may not know when the parking lot in front of Kroger was last striped.  Sytewise remembers and can remind them that this is the year to get it done.

 

Click Save

Of course you must hit save to complete the work.  Once you click Save your Reminder can be found on the Reminder Page.  Whe a

 

What happens Next?

Once your reminder is in the Sytewise System your calendar takes over.  Every morning the Reminder System looks for actions that are to be completed today.  When that happens you will have a Notification icon telling you how many reminders or actions that are current in your Reminder and Actions List. 

The reminder will have an Action Button that says Create Work Order.  Select this button and a duplicate of the original work order is made.  Look at the work order, Make whatever changes you like.  Change the text.  Change the Vendor.  Once you are done, click on the Send Work Order button and you are done.

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If the Reminder is attached to the work order, the Action Button will say Create Work Order.  If it is attached to a Survey, the Action Button will say Create Survey.

The Circle with Line icon will delete this instance of the recurring Work Order, but future Work Orders will still be created.  To Edit the Reminder Settings for your Work Order Reminder, click on the Pencil button.

You can always edit the reminder settings for the work order .  If you want to go from quarterly filter changes to every two months.  Change it in the settings.  If you want to Change the Vendor for all future work orders, you can do that in the Settings.

 

Creating a Work Order

Work orders are easy to create in Sytewise.  Each Work Order is specific to a Property and a Trade.  Watch this video or check out the step-by-step instructions below.

 

Create a Work Order

Select a Property and Trade

Choose a Property by selecting it in either the Dashboard or Property Page list of Properties.

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Make Sure the Fixture/Parts are selected as Needing Service

Once on the property page, look in the list of fixtures to find the right Fixture and make sure the toggle switch shows as red.  This indicates that the part nees service.  If this fixture is part of a Survey, the Surveyor may have turned the service indicator from Green to Red Already.  Once all of the Fixtures you wish to place on a work order have the status indicator as red, you can return to the Property Menu.

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Open the Work Order Menu

In the upper right corner you will find a button for Work Order / Purchase Order.  Click this button to open the Work Order form.

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Add the Title / Description

When you open the Work Order form you will notice the Title / Description is prefilled with the name of the property.  Enter the Name of the Work Order here.  This will become part of the Email that is delivered to your Vendor.  To make sure you are able to search easily for this work order later it is good to add words that identify the suite number, trade, and specific fixture if only one.  Something like, Suite 100 - Dollar General Men's Room Sink has a Plumbing Leak.  For more information on best practices for naming work orders click here.

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Select the Due Date

Both Date Fields have dates entered.  The Creation Date has the current date.  The Due Date is prefilled with one week from the date of creation.  Of course, this won't work for every scenario, so replace the prefilled date with the date that works for you.  You can select a new date by clicking on the calendar.  Or if you are like me, just type the new date in the field.  either one works.

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Select the Vendor

The default vendor for this trade and this property will already be entered into the Vendor field.  This may be the vendor you want to use.  In that case, don't do anything.  If you want to change the vendor for this particular work, just start typing the name of the vendor in the Vendor field.  You will want to highlight the prefilled vendor name and then just start typing.  A list of vendors will appear.  As you continue, the list of vendors will shorten.  Keep typing until you see your vendor and then select with your cursor.

 

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Select the Fixtures / Fixtures for this Work Order

This work order is going to be sent to a particular Vendor so, even if there are several fixtures that need repair, only select the fixtures that are going to be serviced by the vendor you've selected for this work order.  You can click on the None button at the top right of the Work Order Form to deselect all Fixtures.  You can click on the All button to show all the Fixtures in this trade, even if their status hasn't been changed from red to green.  Click the box to the right of each fixture to add that fixture to this work order.

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Enter the Instructions to your Vendor

This is where you can get very specific about the work you want performed.  Don't leave anything to interpretation.  Get specific with your instructions so your vendor knows exactly how you want the work performed and what the end result needs to be.  If you have drawings or plans that would be helpful, you can attach them to the fixture and the Vendor will receive them with the Work Order. 

 

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Select the Correct Emails for Delivery and Click Save

Every Vendor can have multiple contacts.  Every contact with an email address in their profile will be listed just below the instructions.  You can send the work order to multiple people or just one person.  Here's where you select the recipients for this particular work order.  Once you've selected all recipients, just click Save and your email is on the way.

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See the new Work Order Number

Once the Work Order Form disappears you will see the new Work Order number in the banner and a message regarding the success of the email delivery.  Click on the work order number to see the Admin version of the Work Order.

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Verify Work Order Email was Delivered

Once you click Send on the work order, you will get an automatic notice if the email was successfully delivered.  If you need to see a verification of the email, look at the bottom of the work order page and you will see a list of every email that was delivered on behalf of this work order.

 

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Creating a Survey

Surveys are useful for managing the care and maintenance of the fixtures at each of your locations.  Scheduling routine or unique inspections of your equipment can make the difference of how well your property looks and operates while making next years budget a bit easier.