Inspection templates are the digital forms that guide your Due Diligence walks — they define what your inspectors see, rate, and photograph. Think of them as digital versions of the paper forms you'd otherwise use, pre-loaded with items to rate. When your templates are set up the way your team works, walks move faster and the reports are more accurate.
This article covers how to edit your inspection templates — from adding individual items to configuring outlines for different unit types.
What This Article Covers
- Best practices to know before you edit
- Accessing the Template Editor
- Adding items to a section
- Understanding and configuring Rating Sets
- Requiring items, photos, and notes
- Adding new sections
- Reordering sections and items
- Working with Outlines (floorplan-based configurations)
- Deleting items or sections
- Applying template changes to in-progress walks
Before You Start — Best Practices
- Edit before the walk begins. Template edits only apply to inspections in Scheduled status. Inspections that are in Draft, In Progress, or Complete status will not pick up template changes — so make edits before your walk kicks off (or before a specific unit is started).
- Permissions. Only Administrators and Process Managers can edit template outlines. Other roles can adjust template items and sections but won't have access to outline configuration.
- HappyCo has a recommended template. If you're starting from scratch or want a well-tested baseline, our team has a best-practice template built from thousands of Due Diligence walks — reach out to us if you'd like to use it as a starting point.
- We can help with setup. If you'd like our team to add sections, adjust outlines, or make broader template changes on your behalf, just submit a Service Request when placing your Due Diligence Order (or through your existing order).
Accessing the Template Editor
- Log into Manage.
- Click Settings.
- Click Inspection Templates and select the template you'd like to edit.
- Click Edit Template.
Adding an Item to a Section
- In the Template Editor, scroll to the bottom of the section where you'd like to add a new item.
- Click Add New Item.
- Fill in the following fields:
- Name — the item name (e.g., "Window").
- Info — helpful notes that appear as a blue icon next to the item during inspections. For example, next to a "Window" item, the note might read "check for proper sealing."
- Comments — any text you'd like pre-populated for the inspection item.
- Configure the item's Rating Set (see the next section for details).
Rating Sets
Rating Sets define how inspectors score each item — Good / Repair / Replace / N/A, Yes / No, and so on. Configuring them correctly is critical for accurate reporting.
Choosing an existing Rating Set
Click Select Another Rating Set to pick from HappyCo's pre-built options. We recommend using an existing Rating Set whenever possible — it ensures a smooth path to a complete Due Diligence condition report.
Creating or customizing a Rating Set
You can create your own Rating Set or customize an existing one. When you do, pay careful attention to these fields:
- Label — the most important field for reporting. For an item to appear in Due Diligence reports, its Rating Set label must be either "Condition" or "Type."
- Shorthand — this can be any text, but if you're using a Radio Rating Set, we recommend descriptive shorthand that matches the ratings themselves (e.g., "Good - Repair - Replace - N/A").
- Grade description — each grade has its own description that appears in reports.
- Grade icon and color — each grade gets a customizable icon and color for at-a-glance visual clarity.
- Require Photo — as a data-quality safeguard, the Repair and Replace grades default to requiring a photo when selected. That means inspectors will need to take a photo and add a note before continuing, so anyone reviewing knows the extent of the damage.
When you're happy with the Rating Set, click the Checkmark to lock it in.
Requiring Items, Photos, and Notes
You can require inspectors to complete specific items, take photos, or add notes before an inspection can be marked Complete. These requirements help ensure your walk team consistently captures the data you need — especially for items where documentation matters (like flagged Repair or Replace ratings).
There are two types of requirements you can set:
Making an item itself required
To require inspectors to enter a rating for a specific item (so the inspection can't be marked Complete until that item has been rated):
- In the Template Editor, click on the item you want to require.
- In the Edit Item module, look for the Required checkbox below the Rating Set field.
- Check the box to require this item, then save your changes.
To check whether an item is already required, click on the item and look for the same Required checkbox — if it's checked, the item is required.
Requiring photos or notes for specific rating values
You can also require inspectors to attach a photo or add a note when they select a specific rating value (for example, requiring both a photo AND a note when Repair or Replace is selected, so anyone reviewing the report knows exactly what needs attention).
- In the Template Editor, click on the item whose rating requirements you want to adjust.
- In the Edit Item module, click on the Rating Set field at the top of the module (the one showing the current rating set — for example, "Condition = Good - Repair - Replace - NA").
- The Rating Set editor will open, showing each rating value with its own set of options.
- For each rating value where you want to add a requirement, check:
- Require photo — requires the inspector to take a photo when this rating is selected.
- Require note — requires the inspector to add a note when this rating is selected.
- Save your changes to the rating set, then save the item.
Adding a New Section
- Click Add New Section.
- To copy an existing section as a starting point, click the Checkmark next to the section you want to duplicate.
- Give the new section a name at the top of the screen.
- Add items to the section using the steps in the Adding an Item section above.
- Click Save and Exit.
- Add the new section to your Outlines (see the next section) — required for the section to appear during walks.
Important: New sections must be added to your Template Outlines to appear during Due Diligence walks. If you'd like our team to handle this for you, submit a Service Request.
Reordering Sections and Items
Once you've added sections and items to your template, you may want to rearrange them to match your team's preferred inspection flow (for example, moving Kitchen before Bathroom, or reordering items within a section). There are two ways to reorder in the Template Editor:
Method 1 — Drag directly within the Template Editor
- To reorder sections, click the handlebar icon on the right side of the grey section header and drag the section up or down to its new position.
- To reorder items within a section, click and drag the item directly to its new position.
Method 2 — Use the Reorder Sections module (recommended)
Most customers find this method much easier for drag-and-drop rearranging:
- Click the handlebar icon on any section header to open the Reorder Sections module.
- In the module, drag sections into your preferred order — you'll see them grouped by Header and Body, so you can rearrange within each grouping.
- Click the green Update Order button at the bottom of the module to save your changes.
⚠️ Don't forget to click Update Order after rearranging — closing the module without saving will lose your changes.
Working with Outlines
Outlines tell the HappyCo system how your template applies to units with different floorplans. For example, a 2x1 outline shows two Bedroom sections and one Bathroom section — telling the system to pre-insert two Bedroom sections for any unit assigned to that floorplan.
Adding a new section to your Outlines
After adding a new section, you'll need to add it to any outline that should include it:
- Click Configure Outlines on the right side of the screen.
- Add the new section to every outline that should include it.
- To rearrange the order of sections within an outline, click and drag them into the layout you want.
- Click Save.
Important: You must add new sections to all applicable outlines for them to appear during the unit walk. If you need help configuring outlines, submit a Service Request.
Deleting an Item or Section
To delete an item: click the checkbox next to the item, then click the Trash icon.
To delete a section: click on the section header, then click the Trash icon.
⚠️ Warning: Deleting a section automatically removes it from any outlines it's part of. Double-check that this is what you want before deleting.
Applying Changes to In-Progress Inspections
Once your template edits are saved:
- Scheduled inspections will automatically pick up the changes.
- Draft, In Progress, and Completed inspections will not be updated.
- On the mobile app: to apply template changes on a device that's already loaded the inspection list, pull down on the inspection list to sync the latest template — do this before starting the walk.
Related Articles
- Due Diligence: Pre-filling Values in Your Unit Walk Template — set default ratings so inspectors don't have to tap the same values on every unit.
- Due Diligence: Performing a Unit Walk Inspection — the primary walk-team guide.
- DD Mobile App: How to Duplicate and Remove Sections — adjusting sections mid-inspection.
- DD Mobile App: Applying Rating Values in Bulk — speed up inspections with bulk ratings.
Need Help?
The Due Diligence team is happy to assist:
- Submit a Service Request
- Email us at dd@happy.co
- For emergency, day-of support, give us a call at 447-427-7926 x2
Hours of operation: M–F, 7 AM – 5 PM PST