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Full Work Order entry
How-to guide

Create a Field Service work order

Most teams create work orders from a case or a work type so defaults flow in automatically, but you can also build one by hand. Field Service must be enabled and the WorkOrder object available before these records appear. Here is the manual path.

By Dipojjal Chakrabarti · Founder & Editor, Salesforce DictionaryLast updated Jun 16, 2026

Most teams create work orders from a case or a work type so defaults flow in automatically, but you can also build one by hand. Field Service must be enabled and the WorkOrder object available before these records appear. Here is the manual path.

  1. Open the Work Orders tab

    From the App Launcher, find Work Orders and click New. If you are working from a case, use the related list or action on the case so the account and contact carry over automatically.

  2. Set the work context

    Choose a Work Type to apply a template, then confirm the Account, Contact, and Asset. The work type can default the duration, required skills, and starting line items so you do not fill them in by hand.

  3. Define priority, territory, and timing

    Set Priority, pick the Service Territory that covers the location, and review Duration and Duration Type. These values feed scheduling and help the optimizer place the eventual service appointment.

  4. Add line items and a service appointment

    Use the related lists to add work order line items for labor, parts, or fees, then create a service appointment so the job becomes schedulable and can be assigned to a resource.

Statusrequired

The current stage of the work order; each value maps to one of the six status categories that automation and reports rely on.

Subject or Work Typerequired

A short description of the job, or a work type template that names the work and supplies sensible defaults for duration and skills.

Account / Contactrequired

Who the work is for; usually inherited from the originating case so the technician knows whom they are visiting.

Service Territoryrequired

The geographic area the work falls in, which scheduling uses to match nearby, qualified resources.

Gotchas
  • Scheduling happens on the service appointment, not the work order; a work order with no service appointment will never land on a dispatcher's board.
  • Custom status labels must each map to one of the six status categories, or category based automation and dashboards will misbehave.
  • Grand Total, Subtotal, and Tax roll up from line items, so edit the line items rather than trying to overwrite the parent totals directly.

See the full Work Order entry

Work Order includes the definition, worked example, deep dive, related terms, and a quiz.