One of FieldKo’s standout features is its full offline functionality for mobile users. Field staff often work in areas with limited connectivity, so FieldKo enables them to continue working offline and sync data when a connection is available. In this article, we’ll discuss how data synchronization works, what offline capabilities FieldKo provides, and how to configure and support these features as an admin.
FieldKo’s Offline Capability Overview
FieldKo’s mobile application is designed to be fully operational without internet access. Everything a user can do online, they can also do offline. This includes viewing assigned visits, completing tasks and surveys, capturing photos, and even using features like barcode scanning or geo-fenced check-ins (the geo-calculations happen on the device).
All data on the mobile app is stored locally when offline, and the app will synchronize with Salesforce once connectivity is restored. FieldKo boasts a robust sync engine, meaning it can handle large volumes of data and will reliably send/receive updates when possible, without losing data. Sync operations and performance can even be monitored to ensure everything is working smoothly.
For the user, the experience is seamless: they continue using the app offline, and FieldKo queues their changes. For admins, a key responsibility is to ensure initial data sync and ongoing sync settings are optimal.
Initial Sync and Data Caching
When a user first installs or logs into the FieldKo mobile app, the app will perform an initial sync. This process downloads all relevant FieldKo data for that user to the device:
User’s Visits and Tasks: Upcoming scheduled visits, open tasks, and surveys assigned to the user are downloaded. FieldKo typically will fetch all visits in a certain date range (e.g., past 1 week and next 2 weeks) or all that are in an “Assigned” status for that user.
Master Data: Reference data like Accounts (stores) that the user has visits for, Products lists (if surveys reference products), and any templates needed for tasks/surveys. This ensures the user has context to perform their work offline.
Historical Data (optional): If configured, some recent history (e.g., last month’s completed visits or their last X records) may be synced down, so that they can review past submissions if needed from the mobile.
As an admin, you should make sure that before users go to the field, this initial sync is done while they have a strong connection (e.g., in the office or over Wi-Fi). Encourage new users to log in to FieldKo at least once and leave the app open for a few minutes to finish downloading data.
Tip: If you have a large number of accounts or other data, FieldKo may filter what is downloaded to the device to only what the user needs. Ensure that each user is properly related to their data (e.g., they are the Owner or assigned rep on their Visit records, or listed as the merchandiser on an Account). FieldKo will likely use these relationships to decide what to sync.
Automatic Background Synchronization
FieldKo can automatically sync data in the background whenever connectivity is available. By default (and as recommended), most FieldKo deployments have this turned on.
Here’s how it works and what you can configure:
Auto-Sync Behaviour: The app will periodically check for network (cellular or Wi-Fi) and, if found, will exchange data with Salesforce. This includes pushing up the user’s offline entries (visits completed, new photos, etc.) and pulling down any new assignments or updates (perhaps a manager rescheduled a visit or added a task).
Frequency: The exact frequency might be fixed or configurable. It could be every few minutes or triggered by certain events. Some deployments might set a sync to run, say, every 15 minutes in the background. Others rely on event-driven sync (like on significant GPS movement or a time trigger).
Device Settings: On the mobile app, users see an icon indicating sync status. They should generally leave auto-sync enabled. If a user turns it off (perhaps to save data), instruct them how and when to manually sync.
As an admin, you typically won’t need to tweak much if auto-sync is on. But do be aware of a couple of things:
The app will use cellular data for syncing unless configured to only sync on Wi-Fi. If your users have limited data plans, you might discuss with FieldKo support if there’s an option to restrict background sync to Wi-Fi. In absence of such a setting, educate users to connect to Wi-Fi daily (for example, at home or office) so heavy data (photos, etc.) can sync without mobile data usage.
If auto-sync is off for whatever reason, users will have to hit a “Sync” button manually. Make sure they know this. Automatic is highly preferred to ensure headquarters sees data in near real-time and to avoid users forgetting to sync.
Note: The FieldKo sync process is optimised not to overuse bandwidth – it typically sends only changed data. For instance, if only one new visit was assigned since last sync, it will fetch just that, not all visits again.
Working Offline and User Best Practices
From a user perspective, offline mode requires some guidance which admins can provide as part of training:
Users should not worry when they have no signal – they can continue filling out forms and completing tasks. The app will save their inputs locally.
Certain features like map views or live distance calculation will still work offline if the data was loaded. For example, FieldKo can calculate distance to a store offline since it has the store’s coordinates and the device GPS. What won’t work offline are things like real-time address search or external web links (since those need internet).
Encourage users to sync at least daily. Even with auto-sync, it’s good practice that at the end of the day, the user opens the app while connected to ensure all data has uploaded (especially if they were offline for a long stretch). They can usually confirm sync via a status (e.g., “Last synced at 5:30 PM” message in the app).
If a user is going on an extended trip with no connectivity, advise them to open FieldKo right before losing signal (to get the latest assignments), and sync as soon as they find any connection (even 2G) during the trip if possible. FieldKo is robust, but very large amounts of data unsynced for days could mean a bigger sync later.
Let users know that the app will prompt them if there are unsynced changes when they log out or close the app, in case they accidentally close it before syncing.
Sync Conflict Handling and Data Integrity
While FieldKo tries to avoid conflicts (by essentially each record being owned and edited by one user at a time), conflicts can still happen in multi-user scenarios. For example, a manager might reassign a Visit to another rep while the original rep had it offline and marked it completed.
Last Write Wins: Often the model is that the last sync overwrites data. This could mean the rep’s update might override the manager’s reassignment if it synced after. Admins should run reports to catch anomalies (like a visit showing completed by someone who’s not the current assignee, etc.). These can be rare.
Locking: FieldKo may mark some records as locked once completed to prevent further edits. Or once a survey is submitted, perhaps it cannot be changed by someone else. These business rules reduce conflict chances.
Error Notifications: If a sync conflict is detected, FieldKo might notify the user or log an error. Monitor any FieldKo sync logs for such errors. If users report seeing messages like “Record X failed to update due to conflict,” you’ll need to resolve it by deciding the correct state and possibly manually adjusting the record in Salesforce.
The admin’s role is mostly to monitor and intervene if something unusual occurs. Thankfully, FieldKo’s syncing is generally very reliable, and by design field reps are working on distinct records, so conflicts are infrequent.
Monitoring and Support
Salesforce and FieldKo provide ways to monitor offline usage and sync:
Sync Logs/Reports: As noted in the configuration article, check if FieldKo has a Sync Activity view on desktop. If available, review it periodically. It might list users and the last sync timestamp and status. This can highlight if someone hasn’t synced recently (maybe an issue with their app).
User Feedback: Encourage your field users to report any issues with syncing. For instance, if they notice data not showing up or the app being out-of-date when online, it could indicate a sync problem.
Device Management: If your company uses Mobile Device Management (MDM), ensure the FieldKo app is whitelisted and allowed to run in the background. MDM policies shouldn’t restrict its ability to store local data or connect to Salesforce.
Upgrades: FieldKo might release app updates to improve sync or offline features. Stay updated with FieldKo’s release notes and update the mobile app on users’ devices when new versions are available, to benefit from any enhancements or fixes.
Training Users for Offline Use
In your FieldKo training materials, emphasise these key points to users:
The app works offline – show them how a typical sync message or icon looks so they recognise when it’s syncing vs offline.
Explain the visual icon indicator for offline mode.
Show them how to manually initiate a sync in case they want to force one.
By ensuring everyone understands the offline capabilities, you reduce support calls like “I was out of network and couldn’t do anything” – because with FieldKo, they absolutely can continue working.
Conclusion
FieldKo’s offline and sync functionality is a game-changer for field operations. As an admin, your job is to configure it appropriately (mostly done by default), monitor it, and educate users on its use. In summary:
FieldKo provides full offline functionality, with all data available on the device.
The mobile app geo-fences and tracks work offline, ensuring compliance even without signal (e.g., check-in distance is computed on device).
Data sync is robust and automatic, typically running in the background to send/receive updates whenever possible.
Admins should ensure initial sync, keep an eye on sync logs, and handle any rare conflicts or errors.
Users should be trained to trust the offline mode and follow best practices to sync data and keep devices secure.
With these measures, your field team can confidently use FieldKo anywhere, anytime, knowing that their work will be captured and synced to Salesforce. And you, as the administrator, can trust that data integrity and security are maintained throughout the process, with Salesforce as the backbone of it all.