In the world of field service management, consistency, automation, and efficiency are essential. Salesforce Field Service (formerly FSL) offers a powerful tool to help service organizations meet these goals: the Maintenance Plan. This feature enables the automatic creation of work orders for recurring service
visits – minimizing manual effort and ensuring timely, reliable service. Whether you’re maintaining a few assets or thousands, a well-implemented Maintenance Plan can transform how your organization manages preventive maintenance and scheduled services.

What is a Maintenance Plan in Salesforce Field Service?

A Maintenance Plan automates the scheduling and creation of Work Orders and Service Appointments for recurring services. It’s particularly useful for businesses that offer regular maintenance visits -monthly, quarterly, or yearly – across various customer locations or asset types.

Key Benefits:

  • Automate repetitive tasks: Generate Work Orders automatically on a recurring schedule.
  • Enhance operational efficiency: Avoid service gaps and improve technician utilization.
  • Improve customer satisfaction: Timely and proactive maintenance builds long-term trust.
  • Optimize planning: Forecast resource requirements and service load with precision.

Generation Method:

For the creation of the ‘Maintenance Plan’ in Salesforce Field Service Lightning, enter the start date, work type, account, and contact, etc. Work Orders which are generated from Maintenance Plan inherit the duration, required skills, product and articles from Work Type.

On Maintenance Plan, we have Work Order Generation section, ensure ‘Work Order Generation Method’ and ‘Service Appointment Generation Method’ fields are present.

Work Order Generation Method:

There are two options available in the Work Order Generation method: 

1. One work order per asset 

2. One work order line item per asset

Service Appointment Generation Method:

Here you have two options which are available for Service Appointment Generation Method:

1. One service appointment per work order 

2. One service appointment per work order line item

Generating Maintenance Plan:

 One Work Order Per Asset

One Work Order Line Item Per Asset:

Maintenance Work Rules:

Work Orders should be created (e.g., monthly, quarterly) using recurrence rules. Each Work Rule is part of a Maintenance Plan that links to Assets or Products for preventive servicing. Automatically generates future Work Orders, helping teams plan ahead and ensure timely maintenance.

Key Advantages of Maintenance Plans

Automated Scheduling

Automatically generate Work Orders at set intervals to avoid last-minute planning.

Asset-Centric Maintenance

Tie Work Orders directly to assets or products, ensuring ongoing care and extending asset life.

Contract-Driven Coverage

Integrate with Service Contracts and Entitlements to align with customer agreements.

Improved Forecasting & Planning

Plan technician workloads in advance and ensure proper resource allocation.

Enhanced Reporting

Monitor task status, SLA adherence, and performance with Salesforce dashboards and reports.

Consistency at Scale

From 10 to 10,000 assets, automate service delivery at any scale.

Reduce Human Error

Automation eliminates missed maintenance tasks, improving reliability.

Flow-Friendly Integration

Use with Salesforce Flows or Process Builder to trigger notifications, escalations, or custom actions.

Real-World Use Cases

  • Automate Routine Work: Eliminate manual scheduling of monthly or quarterly appointments.
  • Improve Efficiency: Assign technicians in advance based on expected demand.
  • Avoid Oversight: Reduce the risk of missing critical maintenance that could lead to breakdowns.
  • Optimize Resource Planning: Gain visibility into upcoming workload for weeks or months.

Conclusion

Implementing Maintenance Plans in Salesforce Field Service ensures timely, predictable, and efficient service delivery. Whether you’re servicing HVAC units, elevators, medical devices, or industrial equipment – this feature streamlines preventive maintenance, improves customer satisfaction, and supports business growth.

If you’re still managing field service operations through spreadsheets and emails, it’s time to upgrade. Let Salesforce Field Service and Maintenance Plans handle the heavy lifting – so your team can focus on delivering exceptional service.

Need help setting up Maintenance Plans in your Salesforce org?


Contact Cloud Belive – your trusted Salesforce consulting partner. We’ve implemented scalable field service solutions for clients across industries and can help you optimize yours.