---
title: How To Create, Edit, Send, And Delete Work Orders
description: Create, edit, send, and delete work orders in Exterio. Covers templates, scope, materials, labor and payment, photos, e-signature, and sending to the crew.
---
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October 27, 2026
# How To Create, Edit, Send, And Delete Work Orders
## A work order is what your crew works from — the scope, the materials, what they’re getting paid, and the photos and documents they need on site. Built from a template, then tailored to the job before it goes out.
#### When would I use this?
- Sending a subcontracted crew the scope and payment for a job
- Giving an in-house crew a printed scope to work from
- Simplifying complicated estimate labor into what the crew actually gets paid
- Attaching an inspection report and photos to the work the crew is doing
#### Where do I create a work order?
Two paths, both opening the same modal:
- Open the project’s **Work Orders** tab and click **Create Work Order**
- Or click **Actions** on the project and select **Create Work Order**
The Work Orders tab’s position depends on your project tab settings — it may sit under a **More** section.
#### What do I set up first?
1. **Name** the work order.
2. Select your **work order template**, which brings in your default content and settings. Templates are configured in **Settings → Work Orders**.
3. Select the **estimate** this work order covers. You can select **multiple estimates** if the same crew is doing more than one scope.
4. Click **Next**.
#### What’s in the work order details?
Everything from your template loads in, and all of it is editable.
| Section | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| **Scope of work** | Edit freely for this job |
| **Materials list** | Pulled from the project’s material orders |
| **Labor and payment** | What the crew gets paid |
| **Notes** | Templated notes, editable |
| **Project notes** | Insert from the project |
| **Additional context** | Free text |
| **Photos** | From project photos or uploaded from your device |
#### How do I edit the materials list?
The list pulls from your material orders. From there:
- Click the **pencil icon** on any item to adjust it
- **Add a new item** if something was missed from a material order
#### How do I edit labor and payment?
This section should reflect **what the crew actually gets paid** — particularly when you’re using a subcontracted crew.
- Remove items that aren’t relevant
- Adjust the **name, quantity, unit, and amount** on any item
- Click **Add Labor** to add a description, quantity, unit, and amount
If your estimate calculates labor in a complicated way, simplify it here. The crew needs to understand what they’re being paid for, not how you estimated it.
#### How do I hide a section?
Click the **delete section** icon in the top right of any section.
**This hides the section rather than deleting it.** Click **Enable** to bring it back.
#### How do I add photos?
Add from **project photos** or upload from your device. For each photo you can:
- Edit the description
- Add a caption
- Change the order
- Delete it
#### What else can I attach to a work order?
| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Company representative** | Who the crew contacts with questions — you or another team member |
| **Inspection report** | Attach a previously created report |
| **Requested start and end date** | When the work should happen |
| **Calendar event** | Link to a scheduled event on the project |
| **E-signature** | Require a signature, or don’t |
#### Can a signed work order trigger an automation?
Yes. **Work Order Signed** is available as a trigger in Workflows and can drive any action available there — updating the project, creating tasks, or notifying your team. See *How to Set Up a Workflow Automation*.
#### How do I preview and send?
Click **Preview** to see a draft of the work order in PDF format.
Click **Next** to choose who you’re sending it to, with your default work order email template and the work order attached.
You can also **print** the work order to hand off in person.
#### Can I edit a work order after sending it?
Not currently. Once a work order is sent, its content is fixed. If something needs to change, create a new work order for the revised scope.
#### Where do I see my work orders?
All work orders appear in the list on the **Work Orders** tab, showing status — **Draft**, **Sent**, or **Signed**.
From there you can **view** or **print** any work order, and **delete** drafts and sent work orders. **Signed work orders can’t be deleted** — they’re the record that the crew agreed to the scope and payment.
#### What does the crew see?
A paper-format document built for printing, containing whichever sections you chose to include:
- Project information
- Assignment details
- Company information
- Scope of work
- Labor and payment
- Materials list
- Company notes
- Photos
- Inspection report
If the event’s Foreman portal template is set to share the work order, the crew can also open it from the Exterio mobile app rather than working from a printout. See *How To Add and Edit the Foreman Portal on an Event*.
#### Tips and gotchas
- **Get it right before you send.** Sent work orders can’t be edited. If a scope or payment amount is wrong, your only option is a new work order — which means a crew potentially holding two documents. Preview first.
- **Make labor and payment match the deal, not the estimate.** This is the section a subcontracted crew reads first, and a dispute over payment usually starts with a work order that showed estimate math instead of the agreed price. Simplify it to what you shook hands on.
- **Hide sections rather than leaving them blank.** An empty materials section on a labor-only work order looks like something’s missing. Hiding is reversible, so there’s no reason to leave noise on the page.
- **Think about what you’re exposing.** The materials list carries what you bought. On a subcontracted job, decide deliberately whether the crew should see that detail.
- **Attach photos of anything unusual.** The access issue, the section that needs extra care, the neighbor’s fence. A crew that sees it before arriving plans for it.
- **Name a company representative who’ll actually answer.** The crew is on a roof with a question. If the named contact is in a meeting all day, you’ve built a delay into the job.
- **Use e-signature on subcontracted work.** A signed work order is the record that the crew agreed to the scope and the payment before starting. It also can’t be deleted, which is exactly what you want on a payment dispute.
- **Link the calendar event.** It ties the work order to the scheduled day, so the crew, the schedule, and the paperwork all agree on when this is happening.
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