Open Work-Order ChaseGuide
Work order template: what to include and how to follow up
A work order template for property managers: the fields a vendor needs, a copy-and-paste layout, and how to follow up when the job goes quiet.
A good work order template has ten fields: a number, the property and unit, the issue, a priority, who reported it, the vendor, the date you sent it, access instructions, a promised date and a status. Fill those in and a vendor can do the job without calling you; keep them in one list and you can see later which jobs never finished.
This guide gives you the template, explains each field, and covers the part most templates leave out: what happens after you send it.
What fields should a work order template have?
Use these ten. Each one removes a phone call.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Work order number | One number per job, never reused. Vendors quote it back to you. |
| Property and unit | Street address and unit. Say "common area" or "roof" when it is not a unit. |
| Issue | What is wrong, in the tenant's words and yours: "kitchen sink leaking under cabinet, shut-off valve works". |
| Priority | Emergency, urgent or routine, with your own meaning for each. |
| Reported by and date | Who raised it and when, so the clock starts in the right place. |
| Vendor | Company name and the email address that reaches a person. |
| Date sent | The day the work order went to the vendor. This is the date follow-up counts from. |
| Access | Lockbox, key location, tenant availability, pets, whether the tenant must be present. |
| Promised date | The date the vendor said they would come, left blank until they say. |
| Status | Open, scheduled, waiting on parts, done, closed. |
Add a "not to exceed" amount if you approve work before it starts. Whether you need written approval above a dollar amount depends on your management agreement, so check yours.
What does a filled-in work order look like?
Copy this layout into a document or a row of a sheet and replace the example.
WORK ORDER #4471
Property: 412 Alder St, Unit 3B
Issue: Kitchen sink leaking under cabinet. Shut-off valve works.
Priority: Urgent
Reported: 10/3/2026 by tenant, by phone
Vendor: Ridgeline Plumbing, dispatch@ridgeline.example
Sent: 10/3/2026
Access: Tenant home after 4 pm. No pets.
Promised date: (blank until the vendor gives one)
Status: OpenKeep the number format boring: a running number is enough. If you also use a software system, use its numbers so your list and its list agree.
Where should the template live?
Pick one place and one list, because a template only helps if every open order is in the same list. A one-page form per job is fine for the vendor, but you also need a single table with one row per open work order, using the same ten fields as columns. Our guide to a work order tracking spreadsheet has that layout, and the work order log guide covers keeping the record after jobs close.
If you export open orders from AppFolio, Buildium, Rent Manager or a spreadsheet, the same columns map across: number, property, issue, vendor, vendor email, date opened.
What happens after you send it?
Most vendors do not answer the first time, and the work order sits open. The pattern is familiar: a job is sent on Monday, nobody replies, the tenant calls on Friday, and you find out the vendor never saw the email. Following up is the job, and it is repeated work: look at each open order, decide who is overdue, write to the vendor, wait, write again.
A simple schedule works by hand: ask on day 3, day 7, day 14 and day 21 after you sent it, and after day 21 stop emailing and call. Keep the message short, name the work order number and property, and ask one question with a few ways to answer.
What should a follow-up message say?
Here is a template you can paste.
Subject: Status of work order #4471, 412 Alder St Unit 3B
Hi Ridgeline team,
Can you tell me where work order #4471 stands? It is the leaking
kitchen sink at 412 Alder St, Unit 3B, sent on 10/3.
Reply with one of: done, scheduled for (date), waiting on parts or
approval, or can't take this job.
Thank you,
Dana, Alder Property Management, 555-0142The four answers matter. They are the only four states you need for a stuck-job list, and a vendor can give one in ten seconds. A reply that says "on it" tells you nothing.
Can software send the follow-ups for me?
Yes, for the chasing part. Open Work-Order Chase reads your open work-order export, emails the assigned vendor for status at day 3, 7, 14 and 21 with a link to a page that needs no login, and stops after day 21 to flag the order for a call. The vendor chooses done, scheduled, waiting on parts or can't take it, and can attach a photo or invoice. If a vendor has several open orders, they get one email a day listing all of them. It does not create or dispatch work orders, and it does not contact tenants.
You can see what it would do with your own data first: make a stuck list from your open work-order export.
Frequently asked questions
Is a work order the same as a maintenance request? Not quite. A maintenance request is what the tenant reports; a work order is the job you issue to a vendor or technician to fix it. One request can produce one work order or several.
How long should I wait before following up with a vendor? Many managers follow up after a few days for routine work and the same day for emergencies. Pick a rule, write it down and apply it to every vendor so the list is fair.
Do I need software for work orders? Not at first. One form and one list can run a small portfolio. Software helps when the list is long enough that checking every open order each week takes real time.
Every open work order chased, and the stuck ones on one page
It reads your open work-order export, emails each assigned vendor for status on a schedule through a no-login update page, and sends you a one-page list every Monday of the orders that are stuck.
$99/ month
Get startedCancel any time.