Templates are the foundation of inspections and checklists in InspectU. Only admins have access to create and manage templates. This article walks you through how to create both Inspection templates and Checklist templates from scratch.

Navigating to Templates

1. Log in to your InspectU admin dashboard.

2. Click Templates in the navigation bar.

   

3. You'll land on the Manage Templates page, which has two tabs: Inspections and Checklists.

   

4. Select the tab for the type of template you want to create, then click Create Template.

   

Tip: You can also access the Library via the Go To Library button in the top-right corner to browse pre-built templates that can be imported into your organization.

Step 1: Basic Settings

This step captures the core information about your template.

Template Name (required) Enter a clear, descriptive name for the template. This is how it will appear throughout the platform when creating inspections or checklists.

Select Organization (required) Choose which organization this template belongs to. Options include your organization(s) and the shared Library. Templates assigned to the Library are available to all organizations on the platform.

Description for Library (appears when "Library" is selected as the organization) Provide a short description explaining what this template is for. This description is displayed in the Library to help users understand the template's purpose before using it.

Thumbnail Upload an image to represent this template visually in the Library. Supported formats are PDF and images.

Categories (required) Assign one or more categories to the template to make it easier to find and filter. Categories must be created in advance under the Categories tab on the Templates page.

Instructions for Completing the Inspection / Checklist (required) Write instructions that will be shown to the user before they begin. Use the rich-text editor to format your instructions with bold, italics, numbered lists, and more.

Submission Instructions Write a message that will be displayed to the user on the final step, just before they submit. This is a good place to include review reminders or next steps.

Attachments Upload reference materials that inspectors or checklist users may need during the process (e.g., POS menu lists, health inspection reports, HACCP/Food Safety Plans, SDS sheets). Accepted formats are PDF and images, with a maximum file size of 10 MB per file.

Disable Inspector Signature (Checklist templates only) Toggle this on if you do not want to require an inspector's digital signature upon submission.

Disable Representative Signature (Checklist templates only) Toggle this on if you do not want to require the on-site representative's digital signature upon submission.

Lock Template (only Super Admins can edit) Enable this toggle to lock the template so that only Super Admins can make future edits. This helps protect templates from accidental changes.

Once you've filled in all required fields, click Next Step.

Step 2: Building the Template (Steps & Questions)

This is where you structure the body of your inspection or checklist by organizing content into Steps and Compliance Areas (Questions).

Adding Steps

Each template is divided into one or more Steps (e.g., Step 1: General Information, Step 2: Meal Counting, etc.). Steps allow you to group related questions together and guide users through the process in a logical order.

To add a step, click Add New Area at the top of the Steps section. Each step includes:

• Step Name — Give the step a descriptive name (e.g., "General Information," "Food Safety," "Corrective Actions").
• Duplicate Step — Creates an identical copy of the step, useful when you have repeating structures.
• Remove Step — Deletes the step and all its questions. This cannot be undone.

Adding Questions (Compliance Areas)

Within each step, click Add New Area to add individual questions. A modal will appear with the following options:

Question Title Enter the text of the question (e.g., "Is the school in compliance with its HACCP Plan?").

Instructions (optional) Add any supplemental guidance to help the user answer the question correctly. These instructions appear beneath the question in the app.

Type of Response Choose how you want users to respond to this question:

A Preview section at the bottom of the modal shows how the question will appear to users in the app.

Click Update Question (or Add Question for new ones) to save the question to the step.

Reordering Questions

Each question has up and down arrow buttons to the right, allowing you to reorder questions within a step without deleting and recreating them.

Saving the Template

Once you've configured all steps and questions, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Update Template (or Create Template if this is a new template). Your template will now be available for use when creating inspections or checklists.

Managing Existing Templates

From the Templates page, each template in the list has three action icons:

• 👁 View — Preview the template.
• ✏️ Edit — Open the template editor to make changes.
• ⬇ Archive — Move the template to the Archive. Archived templates are no longer available for new assignments but can be retrieved from the Archive tab.

Tips for Admins

• Plan your steps before building. Sketch out the sections of your inspection or checklist beforehand to avoid restructuring later.
• Use categories. Properly categorizing templates makes them much easier to find across your organization.
• Lock critical templates. If a template is finalized and in active use, enabling the Lock Template toggle prevents accidental edits by other admins.
• Leverage the Library. Before creating a template from scratch, check the Library — there may already be a pre-built template you can import and customize.
• Use Duplicate Step to save time when multiple steps have the same structure.