Key takeaways you will find in this article

  • A work order template is a form that outlines specific tasks or jobs that an organization must complete to fulfill a work order request. It serves as a roadmap for the entire process. 
  • The building blooks of a work order template include: work order number, date of request, requester information, work type, description of work, location, and more.
  • For maximum effectiveness, review and test your work orders, document everything, and provide your team with proper training.
  • The benefits of using a work order template include: consistency, fewer errors, better communication, and cost savings, among other things.

Work orders are vital in facilities management, whether you oversee maintenance operations, fleet management, contractor relations, or other administrative tasks. Having work order templates at your disposal can further aid your team and become an essential component of the work order process

Work order users are broken down by industry and depicted via icons: facilities management, healthcare, education, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing.

All industries can use work order templates to optimize their tasks, including: 

  • Facilities management 
  • Healthcare 
  • Education
  • Retail 
  • Hospitality 
  • Manufacturing 

What is a work order?

A work order is a document that provides directives and guides tasks from conception to completion. It centralizes information, simplifies communication, and optimizes workflows. However, a work order can only achieve those goals with a comprehensive design that covers all the needed details.

We’ve provided multiple free downloadable work order templates you can use together or separately according to your process.

What is a work order template?

A work order template is a form that outlines specific tasks or jobs that an organization must complete to fulfill a work order request. It serves as a roadmap for the entire process. 

It typically comes as a form that all parties involved fill out according to guidelines your business created to ensure the completion of tasks.

The building blocks of a work order template include:

  • Work order number: An identifier for tracking and reference purposes. 
  • Date of request: The date on which the work order is issued.
  • Requestor information: The name and contact information of the person or department requesting the task.
  • Category: The work order type, like maintenance, repair, time off, or marketing.
  • Description of work: A detailed description of the requested project, including the scope of work, objectives, and any special instructions.
  • Location: The physical location or site where the work will occur. 
  • Priority level: The urgency or priority assigned to the work order (e.g., high, medium, low) to help with scheduling and resource allocation.
  • Assigned professional(s): The name or ID of the individual or team responsible for completing the work.
  • Estimated duration: The expected timeframe to complete the work. It may also feature the best times for service if the work order could disrupt day-to-day activities, like maintenance or repair services.
  • Materials and equipment: A list of materials, tools, and equipment needed to complete the work. This helps manage inventory usage.
  • Cost estimate: An estimate of the expected costs associated with the work, like labor or material.
  • Authorization: Signature or approval fields for both the requestor and the supervisor responsible for authorizing the work.
  • Attachments: A space for attaching relevant documents to complete the work order.
  • Work order status: A section to track the status of the work order (e.g., pending, in progress, completed).
  • Completion date: The date on which the assigned professional completed the task. 
  • Quality check: A section for feedback or quality checks to ensure the work meets the required standards.
  • Feedback: Post-completion notes that may impact future work orders.

Using a template for each type of work order simplifies the process for your organization. This way, you, your teams, or your contractors can rely on a consistent, predetermined system to document the details you need to report and monitor each time you create a work order. 

Not only does this simplify the process, but it also ensures the utilization of a standardized system across the organization. 

Work order templates 

Every work order should have a separate request form template to simplify categorization and workflows.

An effective request form template typically consists of two sections:

  • One for the client, staff member, or department, submitting the work request that includes all the job details necessary to complete the task.
  • One for the department, contractor, or service provider completing the work request to report all details about the completed task.

Here are downloadable form templates for specific work orders.

Work order request template

You can use this template as a starting point and customize it to your company’s needs. It will help you efficiently manage incoming service requests or tasks, ensuring transparency and accountability. 

This work order template can help you and your team(s) familiarize yourselves with how a template works. If you use multiple work order form templates for specific tasks, a generic one can be especially helpful during training sessions, especially if you need multiple roles and teams to attend.

Maintenance work order template

Maintenance work plays an essential role in facilities management and this template can help you streamline scheduled maintenance. It helps ensure that infrastructure, equipment, vehicles, and other assets operate correctly. 

Inspection work order template

This template streamlines the inspection process, so it easily covers all the necessary checkpoints and essential information to evaluate compliance. It helps your business adhere to all industry and legal standards between audits. 

Cleaning work order template

Maintaining cleanliness and strict hygiene standards in your facilities is vital for the safety of your employees, clients, contractors, and visitors. This template outlines cleaning tasks, areas, and schedules to ensure proper sanitization.

Repair work order template

This template helps you quickly address equipment or machinery breakdowns. This way, you can minimize downtime and restore productivity quickly. 

IT work order template

In the digital age, IT issues are common, and using a dedicated template for this type of work order simplifies troubleshooting and solving technical glitches more easily. It also helps identify more complex or rare issues effectively. 

Landscaping work order template

If maintaining a clean and welcoming outdoor environment is vital in managing your facilities, this landscaping work order template helps you organize and track related tasks, such as planting trees, lawn care, light fixtures, or irrigation systems.

Warehouse work order template

Inventory management is another essential component of facilities management, and this template helps optimize the process and supply chain operations. 

This template covers stock requests, replenishment schedules, and inventory tracking. Plus, you can customize it to add any other information that increases efficiency for your inventory. 

Work order tracking template

This template allows your team to efficiently monitor the status and progress of work orders for better resource allocation.

Purchase order template

Using a purchase order template helps you streamline procurement processes, reduce costs, improve customer service, and optimize vendor relationships. 

Invoice template

This template can make the invoice approval process faster, prevent delays, and implement systems to address payment issues.

Time off request template

This template streamlines the process of requesting and approving employee leave for your employees and your HR department. It optimizes transparency and compliance with business requirements and local, state, or federal laws.

Marketing work request template

Marketing initiatives foster brand awareness, optimize customer journeys, and support your business growth. This template can streamline creative briefs, campaign launches, and marketing collateral production. 

Graphic design work order template

In addition to marketing requests, this dedicated template standardizes design requests and approvals for graphic projects like web design, flyers, packaging, typography, and branding assets. 

If you use audio or video content in your marketing and product education, you can use this template too, especially if your design team includes both your graphic and audiovisual specialists.

When to use a work order template and how to ensure its effectiveness

You and your organization should use a work order template whenever you need to submit a request. This way, processes remain consistent, and all teams clearly communicate their goals, needs, and tasks. Work order templates create accountability and help fulfill any compliance requirements you must adhere to. 

Whether you use a work order template as-is or customize it, make sure to:

  • Review and test: Piloting the template with a small group before full deployment can help identify improvements. Common adjustments include clarifying instructions, avoiding redundant fields, and increasing user-friendliness.
  • Document usage guidelines: This document ensures that all users understand the purpose of each field, know how to input information properly, and are aware of any best practices they must follow. 
  • Training: Host a brief training session in addition to the written guidelines to prevent confusion for template users. You can also address questions or concerns and ensure a seamless transition.

Following the initial deployment of your work order templates, periodically review them and update them as needed to optimize your business processes. 

Benefits of work order templates 

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, efficiency is vital. Work order templates provide a standardized approach to task management and minimize the risk of anything falling through the cracks.

Whether you’re managing maintenance, repairs, IT, or marketing requests, a well-designed template is a powerful business tool.

The benefits of using work order form templates include:

  • Operational consistency: Work order templates establish a uniform standard for task documentation, which builds consistency across teams and minimizes confusion. 
  • Error reduction: Work order templates function as a safety net, capturing critical details and reducing the chance of mistakes. They help everyone stay focused, even in extremely busy times or emergencies.
  • Optimized resource allocation: Work order templates require users to be intentional and specific about materials, equipment, and personnel required for a task. 
  • Streamlined communication: Effective communication is vital for successful operations within a team and a business and when collaborating with contractors. Work orders keep communication clear, which expedites task execution and fosters collaboration.
  • Efficient task tracking: Work order templates facilitate systematic task tracking with real-time visibility. Stakeholders can easily monitor tasks, identify bottlenecks, and make informed decisions to keep projects on track.
  • Time and cost savings: Work order templates are an investment that saves valuable time and contributes to cost savings by preventing resource waste.
  • Scalability: As your organization grows and your operational needs change, you can easily modify templates to accommodate new requirements.
  • Regulatory compliance: Work order templates can include compliance-related fields. You can also have a dedicated inspection template to simplify documentation for audits.
  • Historical record: Work orders help you easily log work order requests and reports, providing your business with data for future planning and performance assessment.

There aren’t necessarily drawbacks to using work order templates, although opting for a software solution in this digital age can significantly affect efficient storage and tracking.

FMX: Centralize work orders with dedicated software

You can rely on physical work orders by printing templates as needed. However, this option can result in shortcomings, like reduced visibility, lost requests, or insufficient record keeping. While this can work at a small scale, using digital copies can streamline your process. Or, better yet, consider moving to a software solution for a seamless work order system.

FMX work order management software shows new task requests in both desktop and mobile applications.

Opting for work order software is a game-changer for your business. This solution can integrate with your overall facilities management workflow, bringing everything together for an all-inclusive experience.

A cloud-based approach, like FMX, increases mobile accessibility for your field workers and in-house teams. With FMX work order software, you no longer need to carry piles of paper documents around or submit work orders by individual, department, or location. 

Updating work on the go and from any device can save time and increase productivity. If you have employees who work from home or regularly travel, a cloud-based solution increases collaboration, too.

Dedicated work order software can increase your customization options to ensure it fits your business goals based on industry, size, organization, and task categories. It makes it easier to update templates to accommodate new departments and evolving processes.

FMX's work summary dashboard shows how work order management software can oversee work requests and planned maintenance by state or module, and by outstanding, open, or completed status.

Digital management systems provide real-time data and analytics on work order statuses, resource allocation, task completion, and more. 

These centralized and detailed insights also support predictive maintenance as you can leverage historical data to anticipate maintenance needs and even plan follow-up upgrades when necessary. This can reduce downtime, extend the lifespan of your equipment, and minimize unexpected repair expenses.

Maintenance departments that use FMX’s work order templates and software often use the phrase: “If it’s not in FMX, it didn’t happen” to hold their team accountable and highlight the importance of a collaborative system.

If you are curious about our other facilities management features, you can watch the tour to see FMX in action or book a demo to see how our solutions can improve efficiency for your business.


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