Skip to content

Create a maintenance task

Overview

A maintenance task tracks a piece of recurring or one time upkeep work, separate from your reserve study planning. Property Managers, Account Admins and the Maintenance Coordinator role use maintenance tasks to schedule the work, assign who does the work, and keep a record of what happened.

Create a task whenever work needs to happen on a schedule or on a single date, whether or not the work is tied to a specific component.

What this affects

  • Reports. A task with no component does not appear in reports that roll maintenance up by component.

  • Notifications. People listed under "Assign to" receive notifications about the task. A task with no one under "Assign to" sends no notifications.

Setup

  • Maintenance is turned on. SmartProperty turns on Maintenance for your workspace. If "Maintenance" does not appear in your left navigation, contact SmartProperty.

  • Fiscal year. "Maintenance" appears in the left navigation only while you are viewing your current fiscal year. With a past or a planning fiscal year selected, "Maintenance" is not in the navigation.

  • Write access. You need write access to the Maintenance module to create a task. Without write access, "Create Task" is not shown. See What Can Each User Role Do? (Role Permissions Reference) for what each role can do.

How-to

Step 1: Open the Create Maintenance Task page

  1. Select "Maintenance" in the left navigation, under "OPERATE". This opens the "Preventative Maintenance" page.

  2. Select "Create Task". This opens the "Create Maintenance Task" page.

On some workspaces, "Create Task" is replaced by an "Actions" menu. Select "Actions", then select "Add Task".

Step 2: Enter the task details

  1. Enter a "Task Name". This field is required.

  2. Under "Component(s)", search for and select one or more components to link the task to. This field is optional.

  3. Select a "Type". This field is required.

  4. Under "Assign to", search for and select one or more people. This field is optional.

"Type" offers a fixed list: "Check", "Fill", "Clean", "Inspect", "Replace", "Repair" and "Preventative Maintenance".

Step 3: Set the schedule

  1. Enter a "Start Date". This field is required.

  2. Select a "Frequency". This field is required. Select "One Time" for work that happens once, or "Recurring" for work that repeats on a schedule.

  3. If you selected "Recurring", the "Custom Frequency" window opens.

  4. Set "Repeat every" to a number and a unit: "Day", "Week", "Month" or "Year".

  5. Under "Ends", select "Never", "After" with a number of occurrences, or "On date" with a date.

  6. Select "Done". This closes the window and shows a short description of your schedule next to "Frequency".

With "Week", you can check off specific days. With "Month" or "Year", you can repeat on a fixed day of the month, or on a relative day such as the first Monday. To change the schedule later, select the pencil icon next to "Frequency". If you select "Cancel" in the "Custom Frequency" window before a schedule is set, "Frequency" returns to "One Time".

For irregular work, select "One Time" and create a new task each time the work comes up.

Step 4 (optional): Add estimates, photos, and files

  1. Enter "Est. Hours" and "Est. Cost".

  2. Under "Photos" in the right column, add any photos.

  3. Under "Files" in the right column, add any files.

Step 5 (optional): Add details and instructions

  1. Open "Additional Details". Enter any "Maintenance Suggestions", "Safety Points", "Timetable" or "Implications of Deferred Maintenance".

  2. Open "Instructions" and select "+ Add". This adds a numbered instruction row.

  3. Enter the instruction, then select the checkmark. This saves the row.

  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each instruction.

Step 6: Save the task

  1. Select "SAVE". This saves the task and shows "Maintenance Task Created".

  2. The "Preventative Maintenance" page opens.

You can select "SAVE" only after "Task Name", "Type", "Start Date" and "Frequency" are complete. A "Recurring" task also needs a frequency schedule. To leave without saving, select "CANCEL".

Reference

Fields on the Create Maintenance Task page

Field What to enter Limits
Task Name A name for the work Required
Component(s) One or more components the work is for Optional
Type The kind of work Required. Fixed list
Assign to The people who do the work Optional
Start Date The date the work starts Required
Frequency "One Time" or "Recurring" Required. "Recurring" needs a schedule
Est. Hours The estimated hours Optional
Est. Cost The estimated cost Optional
Photos and Files Supporting photos and documents Optional
Additional Details Maintenance Suggestions, Safety Points, Timetable, Implications of Deferred Maintenance Optional
Instructions Numbered steps for the work Optional

Type values

"Type" offers "Check", "Fill", "Clean", "Inspect", "Replace", "Repair" and "Preventative Maintenance".

Frequency

Select "One Time" for a single occurrence, or "Recurring" for work on a repeating schedule. For irregular work, create a "One Time" task each time the work is needed.

What happens when a field is left blank

  • Component(s). The task does not appear in reports that roll maintenance up by component.

  • Assign to. Nobody receives a notification for this task.

Notifications

People listed under "Assign to" receive a notification when the task or an occurrence changes, when a photo or file is added, and when a note is added, along with reminders as the work comes due.

Troubleshooting

  • SAVE is not available. Check that "Task Name", "Type", "Start Date" and "Frequency" are all complete. With "Recurring" selected, also check that a frequency schedule is set. Select the pencil icon next to "Frequency" to set one. If no schedule is set, "Please complete the recurring frequency schedule." appears under "Frequency".

  • Maintenance is missing from your left navigation. Confirm you are viewing your current fiscal year. Contact SmartProperty if "Maintenance" still does not appear.