A checklist template is a reusable list of questions: you write the questions once, and xMatix asks them wherever a checklist is needed. Field executives answer them during visits, warehouse staff on delivery orders and goods receipts, technicians on service orders and health checks, and claim reviewers on claim lines. Each answer is saved against the record it was given on, so a template never holds answers itself.
Overview
A template has two parts:
- The header (the Checklist Template record): its name, a Type that says what kind of checklist it is, and optional scoping by item, customer, customer group and dates.
- The questions (Checklist Template Line records, listed on the template's Related tab): each with a name, a Data Type that decides the answer control, optional answer choices, a default answer and a mandatory flag.
When someone fills in a checklist, xMatix creates one Checklist Line record for each answer. That record is linked to the question and to the record the checklist was filled on, such as a visit activity, a delivery order or a claim line.
When to use it
Create a checklist template when the same questions are asked repeatedly and you want the answers in a consistent, reportable shape. Typical examples are a store audit on a visit, a pre-delivery inspection, a vehicle health check or a warranty claim review.
Do not use a checklist template for the order of work on a visit. That is a visit task template. A visit task template can run a checklist template as one of its activities.
How xMatix handles it
Different screens look up a template in different ways. Before you build one, check which screen will ask its questions, because that decides which header fields matter.
| Where the questions are asked | How the template is chosen |
|---|---|
| A checklist activity on a visit (mobile and web) | The Checklist Template set on the visit task template's activity. |
| Other mobile visit activities such as Merchandising Audit, Competitor Capture, New Outlet Registration or Product Demo | The activity's own Checklist Template, if it has one. Otherwise the mobile app looks for a template whose Type matches the activity type (see the rules below). If it finds one, its questions replace the activity's built-in questions. |
| The Checklist widget on a record page (for example the delivery order's DO Checklist tab and the goods receipt's PDI tab) | Set on the widget in the layout designer: a fixed template, a template named by a field on the record, the first template of a given Type, or the first template with a given name. |
| Open Checklist on a claim line | The newest template with Type Claim whose Item is the claim line's item. |
| The Health Check widget (service order and service opportunity pages) | A fixed template set on the widget, or every template whose Item is the item of the record's asset. |
| Populate Checklist on a delivery order, and Checklist on a service order | The questions of every template whose Type is exactly Delivery or exactly Service Order. Each question is copied onto the document as a checklist line. |
When a mobile activity looks up a template by Type, the app picks one template using these rules, in order:
- Only templates whose Type matches the activity type. Case and surrounding spaces are ignored.
- A template with Is Active cleared is skipped. A template where Is Active was never set still counts.
- Today must fall between From Date and To Date. A blank date means no limit on that side.
- The narrowest scope wins. A template whose Account Name is the visit's customer comes first, then templates with no scope. A template scoped to a different customer is never used. Templates scoped by Account Group or Resource Group do not match at present.
- If two templates tie, the one with the shorter date window wins, then the one modified most recently.
The other lookups are simpler. The Checklist widget's type and name modes, Open Checklist and Populate Checklist ignore Is Active, From Date, To Date and the customer scoping. To retire a template from those screens, change its Type or delete it.
Prerequisites
- To build templates, you need access to the Field Sales Setup app. The template list is under Templates → Checklist Templates. You can also type
/ChecklistTemplatein the address bar after your tenant address. - The Type you need must be in the Type picklist. The delivered values are Claim, Competitor Capture, Health Check, Inspection, Merchandising Audit, New Outlet Registration, Product Demo and Window Display Onboarding. Delivery and Service Order are not delivered. An administrator adds them before anyone can build a template for Populate Checklist (see Configuration).
Procedure
Step 1 — Open the template list
Open the Field Sales Setup app and select Templates → Checklist Templates. The list shows each template's Name, Type, Partner Account, Item, From Date, To Date and Is Active, plus who created and last changed it. Two views are delivered: All Checklist Templates and All Checklist Templates (Type).
Step 2 — Create the template
- Select New.
- Enter a Name. This is the title people see on the checklist. It is required.
- Optionally enter a Code for your own reference.
- Tick Is Active.
- On the Details tab, choose the Type and, if the template is for one product, the Item. Claim checklists and health checks find their template by item, so set the Item for those.
- On the Timeline tab, set a From Date and To Date if the template should be used only for a period (for example a seasonal display audit). Only mobile visit activities that look up a template by Type honour these dates.
- Select Save.
The template's record page opens. Its header shows Partner Account, Type and Is Active, with Edit and Delete buttons.
Step 3 — Scope it to a customer (optional)
On the record page, open Details → Other Details and set Account Name (one customer) or Account Group with the pencil beside the field. Only mobile visit activities that look up a template by Type use this scope. When a customer has its own template of a Type, its visits use it instead of the general one. Leave both empty for a template that applies everywhere.
Step 4 — Add the questions
- Open the Related tab and select New on the Checklist Template Line list.
- Enter the question as the Name. The Checklist Template is filled in for you.
- Set a Sequence Number to control the order.
- Tick Is Mandatory if the question must be answered.
- Under Details, choose the Data Type (see Answer types). For a choice question, enter the choices in Picklist Values, separated by commas. Optionally set a Default Value, and a Length to limit the text length.
- To show a question only after a particular answer to an earlier one, choose the earlier question as Parent Template Line and enter the triggering answer in Dependent Answer. Only mobile visit activities that use the template in place of their built-in questions support this.
- Select Save, then repeat for each question.
The list shows each question's Name, Checklist Template and Data Type, seven at a time. Use the row pencil to edit a question and the bin to delete it.
Step 5 — Connect the template to the screen that uses it
- Visits: on the visit task template, open the checklist activity and pick this template as its Checklist Template (see Checklists and tasks). For other activity types, give the template a Type that matches the activity type, or pick it on the activity.
- Record-page checklist tabs: in the layout designer, select the Checklist widget and set Source to Template ID with this template chosen, or to By Template Type with this template's Type.
- Claims: no linking is needed. Use Type Claim and set the Item.
- Health checks: point the Health Check widget at this template, or switch it to the asset lookup and set this template's Item to the asset's item.
- Populate Checklist: use Type Delivery or Service Order. Add the action to the document's page header if it is not there (see Configuration).
Step 6 — Change or retire a template
Select Edit to reopen the create form, where you can change the Name, Code, Is Active, Type, Frequency, Parent Checklist, Item and dates. Name, Is Active and the Other Details fields can also be edited in place on the record page.
Changes to questions affect checklists filled in from then on. Answers already given keep their question link and value.
To stop a template being picked by mobile visit activities, clear Is Active or set a To Date. For every other screen, change its Type, repoint the widget or delete the template.
Answer types
| Data Type | What the person answering sees |
|---|---|
| Text, Email, Phone, URL | A text box. The claim checklist checks the format of email, phone and URL answers. |
| Numeric, Decimal, Currency | A number box. |
| Boolean | A choice between two answers: your Picklist Values, or OK / NOT OK on the record-page Checklist widget, or Yes / No on the claim checklist. |
| RAG | A Red / Amber / Green choice. The record-page Checklist widget shows your Picklist Values (or OK / NOT OK) instead. |
| Picklist | A single choice from Picklist Values. |
| MultiPicklist | One or more choices from Picklist Values. |
| Date, Time, DateTime | A date or time picker. On the record-page Checklist widget, Time and DateTime show as a text box. |
| Lookup | A record picker on the mobile app (the question names the entity in Source Entity). It shows as a text box on the record-page Checklist widget. |
| Take Picture | A photo. In a mobile visit activity, each Take Picture question becomes one required photo slot. The claim checklist asks for a photo. The record-page Checklist widget shows a text box. |
The Health Check widget ignores the Data Type: every question is answered as Good / Warning / Critical (Green / Amber / Red), with an optional reading and remarks.
Fields
Checklist Template
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The checklist's title | Required. Shown on the checklist and in pickers. |
| Code | Your own short reference | Not used by any checklist screen. |
| Is Active | Whether the template is in use | Only mobile visit activities that look up a template by Type skip a template with this cleared. |
| Type | What kind of checklist this is | Chosen from the Type picklist. Matched by mobile visit activities, the Checklist widget's type mode, Open Checklist (Claim) and Populate Checklist (Delivery, Service Order). |
| Frequency | How often the checklist is meant to be done | Free text for your reference. Nothing schedules or limits checklists by it. |
| Parent Checklist | Another template this one belongs under | For your own grouping. No screen reads it. |
| Item | The product the checklist is for | Picks the template for claim-line checklists and asset health checks. |
| From Date, To Date | The period the template is valid for | Honoured only by mobile visit activities that look up a template by Type. |
| Partner Account | The company the template belongs to | Shown in the header. It does not limit where the template is used. |
| Account Name | One customer the template is for | Narrowest scope when a mobile visit activity looks up a template by Type. |
| Account Group | A customer group the template is for | Group-scoped templates do not currently match on visits. |
Checklist Template Line (a question)
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The question as people read it | Required. |
| Checklist Template | The template the question belongs to | Filled in when you add the question from the template. |
| Sequence Number | The question's position | Mobile visit checklists sort by it. The record-page Checklist widget, the claim checklist and the health check do not, so give questions names that read well in any order there. |
| Is Mandatory | The question must be answered | Enforced by the record-page Checklist widget ("This answer is required"), the mobile Checklist widget, the claim checklist and the mobile visit checklist in its sheet view. The web visit checklist only marks it with an asterisk. The server does not check it. |
| Data Type | The kind of answer | See Answer types. |
| Picklist Values | The answer choices | Separate them with commas. The record-page Checklist widget also accepts semicolons, and the claim checklist accepts a vertical bar. |
| Default Value | A pre-filled answer | Shown as the starting answer. |
| Length | Maximum text length | Used only by the claim checklist. |
| Parent Template Line, Dependent Answer | Show this question only when an earlier question has this answer | Used only when a template replaces a mobile visit activity's built-in questions. |
| Group By | A section name for the question | Not used to group questions on checklist screens. |
| Source Entity, Options | The entity a Lookup question picks from, and its options | Read by the mobile app. Edited on the question's record page. |
| Colour Code, Value | A colour and value for the question | Not read by any checklist screen. |
Business rules
- Populate Checklist copies every matching template. It takes the questions of every template whose Type is exactly Delivery (delivery orders) or Service Order (service orders). Active flag, dates and scope are ignored. Each question becomes a checklist line on the document. Running it again adds a second full set.
- No populate on other documents. Goods receipts, shipments and inspections have no populate action in the delivered configuration.
- Type and name lookups take the first match. When a Checklist widget finds its template by Type or name, it uses the first matching template, with no active, date or scope check. Keep one template per Type for those screens.
- Claim checklists use the newest template. Open Checklist picks the most recently created Claim template for the item.
- Sub-questions on the Checklist widget. The record-page Checklist widget asks only questions whose Checklist Template Line field is empty. Questions linked to another question through that field are left out.
- Answers and follow-up work. Service recommendation rules are set per question. A rule with a RAG value matches a RAG answer. A rule with number bounds matches only answers stored as Numeric: Decimal and Currency answers, and health-check readings, never trigger a number rule. A rule with neither matches any answered Text question.
- Advanced answer routing. A question can send its answer to a field on a custom entity instead of a checklist line (Target Entity Name, Target Entity Field, Target Group Key). These fields are on no delivered form. If they are set by import, the question is refused on save when the entity or field does not exist, when the field's type does not suit the Data Type, or when two questions on the same template map to the same field and group.
Example
A beverage distributor wants a quarterly cooler audit on every outlet visit, plus a stricter version for one large supermarket customer.
- In Field Sales Setup → Checklist Templates, the administrator creates Cooler audit Q3: Type Merchandising Audit, Is Active ticked, From Date 1 July, To Date 30 September.
- On Related, they add four questions: Cooler switched on (Boolean, Picklist Values
Yes, No, mandatory, sequence 1); Cooler temperature °C (Numeric, sequence 2); Shelf share of own brand (Picklist,Under 25%, 25-50%, Over 50%, sequence 3); Cooler front photo (Take Picture, sequence 4). - They create a second template, Cooler audit Q3 – Greenleaf Market, with the same Type and dates. On Other Details they set Account Name to Greenleaf Market, then add a fifth question.
- On a visit to any other outlet, the mobile Merchandising Audit activity asks the four questions and requires one photo. At Greenleaf Market it uses the customer's own template.
- On 1 October neither template applies any more, so the activity falls back to its built-in questions until a Q4 template is created.
Training
Practice exercise
In a sandbox, create a template Practice – store check with Type Merchandising Audit and Is Active ticked. Add three questions: a Boolean Door clean (mandatory), a Numeric Facings counted and a Take Picture Shelf photo. Then open a test visit on the mobile app and start a Merchandising Audit activity that has no checklist template of its own.
Expected result: the activity asks Door clean and Facings counted in sequence order and asks for exactly one photo. If another active Merchandising Audit template with no scope also exists, the one modified most recently wins.
Quick reference
- Templates live in Field Sales Setup → Templates → Checklist Templates.
- The questions are on the template's Related tab. The header holds no questions.
- Type decides which screens can find the template. Delivery and Service Order must be added to the picklist first.
- Item drives claim checklists and asset health checks.
- Is Active, dates and customer scope matter only to mobile visit activities that look up a template by Type.
- Populate Checklist copies every matching template, every time it runs.
- Number-bound recommendation rules need Numeric questions.
- Code, Frequency, Parent Checklist and Partner Account are for reference only.
Permissions
Access follows the security profile's permissions on the Checklist Template and Checklist Template Line entities. The delivered System Admin, Standard User, Sales Manager, Sales Executive and Service profiles have full access (read, create, edit and delete) to both. A user without read access does not see the list or the template picker. To answer a checklist, a user needs access to the record it is on, read access to the template and its questions, and access to Checklist Line, where the answers are stored.
The template record page offers no Clone button. To copy a template, create a new one and add its questions again.
Configuration
| What to configure | Where | What it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Type values | Setup → Design Studio → Entities → Checklist Template → Type field → Manage PickList Values (see the data model) | Which Types can be chosen. Add Delivery or Service Order for Populate Checklist. Use exactly these words, because the action compares the text. |
| Data Type values | The same screen, on Checklist Template Line → Data Type | The answer types offered. Leave the delivered values alone, because screens recognise them by name. |
| The template a record-page checklist tab shows | Layout designer → the Checklist widget → Source (Template ID, Lookup Field, By Template Type, By Template Name) | The delivered delivery order and goods receipt layouts point at a fixed template that is not part of a new tenant, so the tab shows "No checklist items found" until you repoint it. |
| The template a health check shows | Layout designer → the Health Check widget | The delivered service order layout points at a fixed template that is not part of a new tenant. Point it at your template, or switch it to the asset lookup. |
| The Populate Checklist button | Layout designer → the record page's Page Header actions. On delivery orders the action is Populate Checklist. On service orders it is Checklist. | Neither is in the delivered page header, so add it to make it available. See design a form layout. |
| Which visit activity runs which checklist | Visit task template → activity → Checklist Template | See Checklists and tasks. |
| Follow-up work from answers | Service recommendation rules on a question | See service checklists. |
| Where the list appears | The Checklist Templates entry is in the Field Sales Setup app. Add it to other apps in Setup → Design Studio → Apps | Navigation only. |
Common problems
The checklist tab says "No checklist items found"
The widget's template is not in your tenant, the template has no questions, or every question is linked to another question through Checklist Template Line. In the layout designer, point the Checklist widget at your template and check its Related tab.
Open Checklist says "No checklist defined for this item."
No template with Type Claim has the claim line's item as its Item. Create one, or set the Item on the existing claim template.
Open Checklist says "This checklist has no questions."
The newest Claim template for the item has no questions. Add them, or delete the empty template so the older one is used.
Populate Checklist did nothing
No template has the Type Delivery (delivery orders) or Service Order (service orders), or those templates have no questions. Add the Type value, create the template and its questions, and run the action again.
The same questions appear twice on a document
Populate Checklist was run twice, or two templates have the same Type. Delete the extra checklist lines, and change the Type of any template you do not want copied.
A visit activity still shows its built-in questions
The mobile app found no template that applies. Check the template's Type against the activity type, Is Active, the From and To dates, and the customer scope. Group-scoped templates do not match. If the template sits on a different customer, the visit's customer does not qualify.
A number rule never raises a recommendation
The question is Decimal or Currency, or the answer comes from a health check. Number rules read Numeric answers only. Change the question to Numeric, or use a RAG rule.
I marked a question mandatory but people can skip it
The web visit checklist and the server do not enforce the flag. Use the mobile app's checklist sheet, or the record-page Checklist widget, where a blank mandatory answer is refused.
Common questions
Do Frequency and Is Mandatory on the template do anything?
No. The template's Frequency and its Is Mandatory flag are for your reference only. Nothing schedules a checklist by its frequency, and nothing stops a visit or document from closing because a template is marked mandatory. To require answers, tick Is Mandatory on individual questions instead. To require a checklist on a visit, make the activity that runs it mandatory on the visit task template.
Can one template serve several screens?
Yes, if each screen can find it. A template with Type Merchandising Audit can be picked on a visit activity and also named directly on a Checklist widget. The Type can hold only one value, though, so a template for Populate Checklist (Delivery or Service Order) cannot also be the claim template (Claim). When the same questions are needed in two of those places, create two templates.
What happens to answers when I edit or delete a question?
Answers already given are separate records linked to the record they were filled on, so they keep their values. A new or changed question shows up the next time the checklist is opened. Questions copied onto a document by Populate Checklist are not refreshed. Run the action again only if you are ready to remove the old lines.
Why does my customer-specific template not show on the web?
Customer scoping applies when a mobile visit activity looks up its template by Type. The web visit screens and record-page Checklist widgets use the template named on the activity or the widget. To use a specific template on the web, name it there.
Related topics
- Checklists and tasks — visit task templates and the activity catalog
- Checklists on service orders
- Service recommendations
- Claims
- Delivery orders
- Goods receipts
- Checklist Template — entity reference
- Checklist Template Line — entity reference