Maintenance Coordination SOP Template

Use this template to document how maintenance requests are handled in your company. Fill in the blanks once, and anyone who coordinates maintenance — a new hire, a virtual assistant, or a managed operations team — can follow the same process every time.

Part 1: Standing instructions

Fill these in before anything else. They're the rules every other step refers back to.

• Spend limit without approval: $______ per job
• Who approves jobs above the limit: ______________________
• Jobs that always need owner approval: ______________________
• Emergency contact order (after hours): 1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________
• Target time to acknowledge a tenant request: ______ hours
• Target time to dispatch a routine job: ______ business days

Part 2: Urgency categories

Every request is assigned one category at intake.

• Emergency — risk to life, safety, or serious property damage. Examples: gas smell, active flooding, no heat in freezing weather, fire or smoke damage, sewage backup, a door that won't lock. Action: escalate immediately using the emergency contact order.
• Urgent — affects habitability or will get worse quickly. Examples: no hot water, a refrigerator not cooling, a single non-working toilet, an active leak that is contained. Action: dispatch within 24 hours.
• Routine — everything else. Examples: dripping faucet, a broken blind, a sticking door, cosmetic damage. Action: dispatch within your routine target.

Part 3: The workflow

Step 1 — Intake

• ☐ Log the request in your PM software as a work order, with the tenant's own description
• ☐ Request photos or video if the issue isn't clear
• ☐ Acknowledge the request to the tenant, with the expected next step
• ☐ Assign an urgency category (Part 2)
• ☐ Check whether the issue could be tenant-caused or covered by a warranty

Step 2 — Vendor dispatch

• ☐ Choose a vendor from the preferred vendor list (Part 4), in order
• ☐ Confirm the vendor's insurance and W-9 are on file
• ☐ Confirm the estimated cost is under the spend limit — or get approval
• ☐ Coordinate access with the tenant: date, time window, entry permission, pets
• ☐ Confirm the appointment with both the vendor and the tenant

Step 3 — Follow-up

• ☐ Confirm with the vendor that the job was completed
• ☐ Confirm with the tenant that the issue is actually resolved
• ☐ If it isn't, reopen the work order and return to Step 2
• ☐ Record completion notes and photos on the work order

Step 4 — Invoice and close

• ☐ Collect the vendor invoice
• ☐ Match the invoice to the work order — amount, scope, and property
• ☐ Enter the bill in your accounting system with the correct property and GL code
• ☐ Flag any invoice that doesn't match the approved scope or estimate
• ☐ Close the work order

Part 4: Preferred vendor list

• Plumbing: 1. ____________ 2. ____________ Backup: ____________
• Electrical: 1. ____________ 2. ____________ Backup: ____________
• HVAC: 1. ____________ 2. ____________ Backup: ____________
• Appliances: 1. ____________ 2. ____________ Backup: ____________
• General handyman: 1. ____________ 2. ____________ Backup: ____________
• Locksmith: 1. ____________ 2. ____________ Backup: ____________
• Pest control: 1. ____________ 2. ____________ Backup: ____________
• Roofing: 1. ____________ 2. ____________ Backup: ____________

Part 5: Weekly review

Once a week, review every open work order:

• ☐ Anything open longer than your target? Why, and what's the next action?
• ☐ Any vendor repeatedly late or recalled for the same issue?
• ☐ Any property with repeated requests for the same problem? (Often a sign of a bigger repair.)
• ☐ Any invoices received but not yet matched?