Manual Selection: In the New Visit form (or Edit Visit form), look for a field called Template or Visit Template. This might be a dropdown or lookup field listing all active templates. Select the desired template for this visit. Once selected, FieldKo will automatically pull in all the tasks and survey assignments from that template into the visit. You might see the tasks populate immediately in a related list, or they will appear once the visit is saved. For example, if you choose Monthly Store Audit Template, the visit’s task list will instantly include all the audit tasks and link the audit survey form for that store.

Default Templates: FieldKo also supports default templates to speed up planning. Administrators can designate a default visit template (potentially per Account or overall). When a new visit is created for that account, the system auto-applies the default template without the user having to select it​. This “auto create visit using default template” feature means, for instance, every time you create a visit for a Tier 1 customer, it might automatically attach the Tier 1 Routine Visit template’s tasks. If only one template is generally used, an admin might set it as the org-wide default so all new visits start with that checklist by default.

Confirmation and Tweaks: After selecting a template (or after the default is applied), review the visit details. You can still adjust fields like date, time, assigned user, etc. The template content (tasks/surveys) will come in as a starting point. If everything looks good, Save the visit. The visit record is now created with all the standardised content. Field reps assigned will see those tasks and forms on their mobile app for that visit.

Editing a Template: To change the contents of a template (for example, add a new task, remove or update a survey, change instructions), an authorised user can edit the template record on desktop. Navigate to the template (via Templates tab), click Edit on the relevant section. You can add additional tasks or questions, or modify existing ones (change wording, make a step mandatory, etc.). After saving, the updated template will apply to any future visits where it’s used. Existing visits that have already been created with the older template will not automatically update – those remain as they were at creation. This is important: template changes affect new usage, not past scheduled visits. If a significant process change happens, you might communicate to the field team that after date X, visits will have an updated checklist.

Customising a Single Visit: Sometimes, even with a template, a particular visit might need an extra step or a tweak. FieldKo allows adding or removing tasks on individual visits after the template is applied. For instance, if one specific store visit requires an additional task (“Inspect new freezer installation” just for that store), the planner can open that visit record and add a task to it without altering the underlying template. Similarly, they could remove a task that isn’t relevant for that occurrence. The mobile user will then see the adjusted task list just for that visit. This ad-hoc customisation is useful for one-off situations, but it’s best to keep it minimal to preserve consistency. If you find yourself frequently adding the same task to many visits that use a template, that’s a sign to update the template itself.

Template Dependencies: Keep in mind that templates might rely on other records. For example, a template might reference a specific Survey form. If that survey is retired or changed, you should update the template to use an active survey. Deleting a template that’s in use is usually restricted; you might need to ensure no future visits are scheduled with it or reassign those to a different template first. Always review impacts before deleting or drastically altering a template.

Permissions for Editing: Typically only users with admin or template-manager permissions can modify templates. Regular field users on mobile cannot change the template of their visits from the app (they just see the tasks). This safeguards the content. In some cases, a manager role might be allowed to tweak a visit’s tasks (as above) without giving full template edit rights.

Permission Sets: FieldKo likely provides custom permission sets or roles for template management. Ensure that only the appropriate users (e.g. System Administrator, Field Operations Manager, etc.) have the ability to create/edit templates. Standard field reps usually have access to view and use templates (via visits) but not modify them. Check FieldKo’s documentation for a permission set such as “FieldKo Template Admin” or similar, and assign it to those who design your processes. This prevents accidental changes and maintains consistency.

Template Governance: Establish a clear process for how templates are created and approved in your organisation. For example, you might require that any new template is reviewed by the National Field Manager or a QA team member before being published for use. Keep a naming convention for templates so they’re easily identifiable (e.g. prefix with department or purpose: “Safety – Warehouse Inspection” vs “Sales – Store Visit”). Periodically review the list of templates and clean up any that are outdated or redundant. Having too many templates can confuse users, so streamline where possible.

Change Management: When a template is updated or a new one is introduced, communicate this to the field team. You can use Chatter, email, or a team meeting to highlight what’s new in the checklist. If the changes are significant (for example, a whole new survey form), consider training the team on it. FieldKo being integrated with Salesforce means you could even use Salesforce in-app guidance or notifications to alert users of new templates or tasks.

Customisation for Teams: In some cases, different teams or regions may require slightly different templates. FieldKo templates can be cloned to create variations – e.g. a “North Region Visit Template” vs “South Region Visit Template” if there are regional differences. Just be cautious: the more variations you have, the harder to ensure everyone follows the core standards. Try to balance customisation with standardisation. Use template categories or descriptions to clarify who should use what.

Security and Data Governance: Templates often link to surveys that collect data. Ensure that the data captured via templates meets your organisation’s compliance standards. For example, if a template includes a photo capture task (like taking a picture of a display), ensure reps know how to do that within privacy guidelines. From a Salesforce perspective, all template-related data is stored in your org, so your existing security model (field visibility, etc.) applies. Leverage field-level security to hide any template fields that a certain user shouldn’t change.

Continuous Improvement: Encourage feedback from the field on the templates. Since they use them daily, they might suggest a step to add or perhaps identify an unnecessary task. With a proper governance process, you can take this feedback and improve templates over time. This keeps the templates effective and relevant.

Pre-populated Checklists: On the FieldKo mobile app, when the user opens a visit, they will see a list of tasks to complete. These tasks correspond exactly to what was defined in the template (unless someone manually adjusted them for that visit). For example, they might see tasks like “1. Take shelf photo”, “2. Count stock of Product X”, “3. Fill customer feedback form”. The rep can tick off tasks or mark them complete as they go. This checklist format makes it easy to remember all steps, even for new team members. It’s literally a to-do list generated by the template.

Integrated Survey Forms: If the visit template included a survey, the mobile app will present that survey (often accessible via a button or automatically at a certain point). The survey might contain questions to fill in (numerical inputs, picklists, yes/no, text notes, etc.) as well as capture photos or signatures. FieldKo being native means the survey is likely a Salesforce Survey or a custom object form that works offline. The rep can enter responses as they perform the inspection or visit. All those responses are tied to the visit record and ultimately traceable to the template’s intent.

Offline Capability: FieldKo supports offline use (the RFP materials mention offline syncing). This means that the template’s tasks and survey will be available even if the device is offline at the store. The app would have downloaded the visit and its checklist beforehand when last connected. The user can complete all items offline and sync later when connectivity is available. This reliability is crucial for remote areas. The structure provided by the template does not depend on connectivity – it’s baked into the visit data.

Real-time Guidance: Some advanced template features (like GPT tips or conditional logic) might offer guidance on mobile. For instance, a template could include notes or criteria for each task (“if temperature > X, do Y”). The mobile UI could show these instructions so the rep knows what to do if a certain answer is given. This ensures quality control is maintained at the point of execution.

Completing the Visit: Once all tasks are done and surveys submitted, the rep marks the visit as Completed on the app. Because a template was used, managers know that all standard steps were likely covered. The data (like survey results or any issues noted) syncs back to Salesforce, where it can be reviewed and reported on.

Consistency in Execution: Every visit of a given type follows the same process. This consistency means the quality of work is high no matter who performs it. For example, all sales reps checking a store’s compliance will look at the same criteria, so you can reliably compare results across stores or reps.

Time Savings in Planning: Templates eliminate repetitive setup. Planners can schedule visits much faster by applying a template rather than adding dozens of tasks individually. Over hundreds of visits, this saves significant admin time. It also speeds up training for planners – they just select a template instead of remembering all steps.

Improved Data Quality: Standard surveys and tasks ensure that the data coming back from the field is structured and complete. If the template’s survey has required questions, the rep must fill them out, reducing missing info. Standard tasks ensure important actions (like taking a photo or checking an expiration date) are not forgotten. This leads to better data for reporting and decision-making.

Easier Onboarding of Reps: New field team members can pick up the job faster because the template guides them through what to do. They don’t need to be experts on day one; the template acts as a built-in job aid or SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). Over time they’ll learn the routine, but the template ensures they don’t skip critical steps while learning.

Scalability: As your operations grow, you can rely on templates to maintain standards. Whether you double your field team or start visits in a new region, using the same set of templates means the process remains uniform. FieldKo’s templates are designed for scalable inspection management​ – you build the checklist once and reuse it everywhere needed, which is key when scaling up activities.

Governance and Accountability: With predefined tasks, it’s clear what was expected in a visit. If an issue arises (say a compliance failure), you can look back and see if the rep completed all template tasks. If something was missed, it’s an opportunity for coaching. Essentially, templates set expectations, and completion data holds people accountable to those expectations.

Scaling Planning with Templates: If you need to schedule a large number of visits (for example, a quarterly visit to 500 stores), templates make it feasible. Rather than creating 500 visits from scratch, you could use a combination of tools: perhaps a Mass Create process or even Data Loader/Excel import, paired with templates. For instance, your admin could prepare a CSV of 500 new visits (each with date, account, assigned user, and a column for Template Name or ID) and import them. Thanks to FieldKo templates, each of those visits will automatically include all the required tasks and surveys once created. This approach is great for big initiatives like product launch audits or seasonal campaigns. It ensures that even at scale, every single visit is executed with the exact same checklist. (Always test on a small batch first when doing mass creation!). Additionally, FieldKo’s Field Campaigns feature (if your org uses it) can generate visits across many accounts in a date range​ – those visits could all use a predefined template so that the campaign’s purpose is fulfilled consistently in each store. This is effectively scaling a template-driven plan to a broad campaign.

Flow-Triggered Template Assignment: Salesforce Flow can add intelligence to template usage. You can create a Record-Triggered Flow on the Visit object such that whenever a new visit is created, the flow sets or verifies the template assignment based on criteria. For example, if a Visit is created for an Account of type “Franchise”, the flow could automatically assign the “Franchise Visit Template” to that visit (if not already set by the user). Or if a user forgets to choose a template, the flow can populate a default one. Similarly, flows could attach additional dynamic tasks. Another use case: trigger a flow when an Opportunity reaches a certain stage to create a Visit record and assign a relevant template (e.g. a “Site Survey Template” when an opportunity is close to closing). This ties your sales process with field execution seamlessly. Using flows ensures templates are applied uniformly without relying solely on manual selection. It’s a low-code way to enforce business rules around when certain templates must be used.

Template Customisation via Apex or Scripts: For extremely customised behaviour, developers could utilise Apex to manipulate templates or visit tasks. For example, an Apex trigger on Visit could detect a template and auto-populate some task details or even merge in data (like product lists) into tasks. Or an Apex utility could create a new template on the fly by copying an existing one and tweaking it (though most orgs will rarely need to dynamically create templates in code). If your organisation has very specific needs – say each account has a slightly different checklist generated from a separate database – a developer might fetch that external data and create the tasks on a visit accordingly. FieldKo being on Salesforce makes such custom extensions possible. Always ensure you’re not duplicating what the built-in template system can do; use code only if truly necessary for edge cases.

Reporting by Template Usage: Because visits carry a reference to which template was used (either explicitly via a Template lookup or implicitly by the tasks present), you can report on performance or outcomes by template. For instance, you can compare Visit outcomes across different templates: perhaps one template is for audits that result in compliance scores. You could run an average score report per template to see which process is yielding higher compliance. Or simply count how many visits of each template type were done in a period – useful for understanding workload (e.g. 200 “Maintenance Visits” vs 50 “Incident Response Visits” last month). You might also find that certain templates correlate with certain findings – e.g. the “Safety Audit” template visits often create follow-up tasks or cases. Such insights can drive improvements. Moreover, if you have multiple templates for similar purposes, reporting can help determine if they are all needed or if one is rarely used (perhaps it can be consolidated). Using Salesforce’s reporting and dashboard tools, you can visualize template usage and effectiveness. This level of analysis ensures that the templates are not just static checklists, but a source of actionable data for continuous improvement.

Template Governance via Change Sets or Packages: In organisations with multiple Salesforce environments (sandbox vs production), you might manage templates like metadata especially if heavily standardized. For example, you create/refine templates in a sandbox and then deploy them to production using change sets or an unlocked package. This is more relevant for larger orgs or partners managing FieldKo for clients, but it’s worth noting that templates (being Salesforce records, not metadata) might need a deployment strategy if you want to strictly control changes through a development lifecycle. An alternative simpler approach is to document template configurations so you can reproduce them in another org or revert changes if needed.