Custom Checklist Outcomes, Required Photos & Auto-Flagging

Pass / Fail / N/A works fine for a simple lock-or-unlocked check. But "is the roof okay?" usually isn't a pass/fail question. It deserves a scale, like Good, Monitor, or Professional Attention Required. Outcome Sets let you define exactly that: your own answer options, per checklist item, with each option carrying a color-coded meaning and its own photo and flagging rules.

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Step 1: Create an Outcome Set

1. Open Checklists → Outcome Sets.
2. Click New Outcome Set.
3. Give it a Set Name, for example "Property Condition."
4. Add 2 to 6 options. For each option, set:
   • A label (what your team sees and taps in the field: "Good," "Monitor," "Maintenance Recommended," whatever fits how you actually describe conditions).
   • A meaning: Positive (all good), Neutral (monitor), Negative (problem), or Not applicable. Meaning drives the color your team and clients see: green for positive, amber for neutral, red for negative, grey for not applicable.
   • An Auto-flag toggle. Turn it on for any option that should automatically flag the item (more on what that triggers below).
5. Click Save.

A good example to copy: Good / Monitor / Maintenance Recommended / Professional Attention Required, a four-point scale that tells a homeowner far more than a plain Pass/Fail ever could.

The two built-in sets stay put. Pass / Fail / N/A and Yes / No / N/A ship with every account, marked System and read-only. You can't edit or delete them, but you can keep using them right alongside any custom sets you build. Only one option per set can be "Not applicable," and once an option has been saved it can be renamed but not removed (so past visits that used it always resolve correctly).

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Step 2: Assign an Outcome Set to Each Checklist Item

Outcome sets are chosen per item, not per checklist. Open a checklist template (Checklists → [template] → Edit), and on each item you'll find:

• Outcome Set: pick which set of answer options this item offers in the field. Mix and match freely: use Pass/Fail for a simple lock check and your custom Property Condition scale for a roof inspection, on the very same checklist.
• Photo required: Never, Always, or When negative. "When negative" only demands a photo if the tech picks a negative-meaning option, so you're not forcing photos of a locked door every visit.
• Auto-flag: Use outcome set default (the option's own Auto-flag setting decides), Never (this item never auto-flags, even if the chosen option normally would), or Always on negative (any negative-meaning answer flags the item, regardless of the option's own default).

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Step 3: What Your Team Sees in the Field

Each item shows its outcome set's options as tap targets, plus Photo and Notes buttons:

Photo and auto-flag rules are enforced everywhere, not just as a suggestion:

• If a photo is required and missing, review nudges the tech before they can move on, and completion itself is blocked server-side until the photo is attached. The same rule applies whether the visit is being completed online or offline. Photos taken offline queue locally and the rule is re-checked the moment the visit syncs, so nothing slips through just because a property had no signal.
• A flagged answer requires a tech note (the existing notes-on-flag rule still applies) and automatically opens an Issue on the property the moment the visit is completed, so you don't have to remember to log it yourself.

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Step 4: Reports Freeze the Outcome Definitions They Were Completed With

Visit reports, PDFs, and the client portal all render your custom labels with the same color coding your team saw in the field: green for positive, amber for neutral, red for negative, grey for not applicable:

Renaming an outcome later never rewrites history. Each completed report permanently keeps a snapshot of the outcome definitions as they existed at the moment the visit was completed. If you rename "Maintenance Recommended" to "Needs Attention" next season, every report completed before that change still shows the label the client actually saw.

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Bonus: AI Checklist Import Assigns Outcome Sets for You

If you import a checklist with AI (Checklists → Import Checklist), you don't have to go back and set outcome sets item by item. The import automatically matches each item to the outcome set (system or one of your own) that best fits how the item is phrased, defaulting to Pass / Fail / N/A when it's a close call.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to build a custom outcome set, or can I keep using Pass/Fail/N/A? Keep using it. The built-in Pass / Fail / N/A and Yes / No / N/A sets aren't going anywhere. Custom outcome sets are additive, and you can assign them item-by-item only where a richer scale actually helps.

Can one checklist mix different outcome sets across its items? Yes. Each item picks its own outcome set independently, so a single checklist can have some items on Pass/Fail and others on a custom scale.

What happens to old reports if I rename an outcome label? Nothing. Completed reports snapshot the outcome definitions as of completion, so renaming a label going forward never changes how a past report reads.

Does the required-photo rule really work offline? Yes. It's enforced by the same server-side rule online and offline. Photos taken with no signal queue on the device, and the rule is re-checked when the visit syncs, so a visit can't complete without its required photos either way.

What exactly happens when an item gets auto-flagged? The tech is required to add a note (same as any flagged item today), and an Issue is created automatically on the property when the visit is completed. No separate step needed.

How many options can an outcome set have? Between 2 and 6.