AppFolio Tutorials - Ep. 19 Maintenance (Part 1)

Hello everyone, and welcome back to APM Help Academy. In today’s video, we’ll be covering all things maintenance in AppFolio, including work orders, recurring work orders, and inspections.

1. Accessing the Maintenance Section

• Navigate from your Dashboard → Accounting → Maintenance → Task

2. Work Orders

Work orders are critical for managing property maintenance, whether submitted by:

• Tenants
• Owners
• Maintenance staff

Creating a New Work Order

1. Start a Service Request:
   • Go to Service Requests → Start New Service Request
   • Select the Property, Unit, Homeowner, or Tenant
   • If unit-specific, select the unit; otherwise, leave as Not Unit Specific
2. Work Order Details:
   • Work Order Type: Internal, Resident Request, Unit Turn
   • Permission to Enter: Specify if the maintenance tech can enter the unit
   • Priority: Low, Normal, Urgent
   • Description: Add notes for the maintenance tech
   • Owner Approval: Mark if owner already approved the request
3. Assign Vendor or Maintenance Tech:
   • Assign a specific vendor (from AppFolio database) or in-house tech
   • Vendor notifications via email or text can be set up in communication settings
   • Set vendor instructions and specific trade if applicable
4. Follow-Up:
   • Set a follow-up date to check the status of the work order
5. Save Work Order

Work Order Management

• Add Additional Work Orders: If the first work order is insufficient, click Add
• Owner Permission Requests: Request owner approval if missing
• Notifications: Notify tenants and owners of updates

Billing Summary

1. Billable Items:
   • Enter hours worked and description
   • Assign to expense account
   • Add parts or supplies purchased outside the system
2. Vendor Markup / Discount:
   • Set percentage and type (markup or discount)
3. Creating a Bill:
   • Go to Actions → Create Third-Party Vendor Bill
   • Attach invoice PDF if needed
   • Save and create the bill
4. Paying Bills:
   • Complete Pay Bills flow → Finalize → Print / eCheck
5. Completing Work Orders:
   • Update status to Mark as Complete
   • Add completion date and notes

3. Recurring Work Orders

• Use recurring work orders for monthly maintenance, such as:
  • Pool maintenance
  • Landscaping
• Set:
  • Start / End Date
  • Recurrence (Monthly or specific months)
  • Property, description, vendor, and billable information
• Click Save → System will auto-post bills for the recurring maintenance

4. Inspections

Inspections help ensure units meet standards during:

• Move-in
• Move-out

Creating an Inspection

1. Click New Inspection
2. Select:
   • Inspector
   • Date
   • Property and unit
   • Inspection layout or template
3. During inspection:
   • Mark areas as OK or Needs Follow-Up
4. Share results with tenants and owners
5. Generate work orders for any required repairs

Inspection Templates

• Create a new template for unit-specific needs
• Name the template and select starting layout (default recommended)
• Add areas: kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, etc.
• Add multiple items as needed

This concludes Part 1 of All Things Maintenance in AppFolio.

We covered:

• Work Orders
• Recurring Work Orders
• Inspections

Thank you for tuning in to APM Help Academy.
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