Creating FieldRoutes forms is easier than it looks, as long as you know where to click and aren’t afraid of a little HTML. After wrangling my first template during a summer internship at a small pest control outfit, I discovered just how liberating paper‑free paperwork can be. Below is the roadmap I wish I’d had.
Key takeaways
- You must write the template in straight HTML (no JavaScript allowed).
- Build and edit forms inside Admin ▶ Preferences ▶ Customer Preferences ▶ Form Templates.
- Finished forms can be printed, signed on a mobile device, or emailed for e‑signature, keeping your office blissfully paperless.
- Unlike contracts, forms aren’t tied to a specific service type, so you can send any form to any customer.
- The FieldRoutes Knowledge Base has the granular how‑to details; start with the Form Templates guide.
What makes a “Form” different from a “Contract”?
Contracts in FieldRoutes are locked to a service type and auto‑populate things like price tables. Forms, on the other hand, are blank canvases. That freedom means you lose some automation, but you gain the ability to deploy a document to any customer (even when no service has been scheduled yet).
Writing the HTML (no, really)
FieldRoutes strips out <script> and external <style> tags, so your HTML needs to carry its own inline CSS. Treat it like building a static PDF, so lean on <table>, <div>, and inline styles to control layout. My perspicacious roommate (a CS major) once joked that “inline CSS is the mullet of web dev,” but it’s exactly what the rendering engine expects. If you want to have fun, slip in a tiny GIF of the flux capacitor from Back to the Future (1985) as a placeholder while you test, just remember to pull it before going live.
Quick HTML pro‑tips
- Keep widths in percentages so the PDF behaves on both desktop and mobile.
- Use
<div prtype="signaturepicker" for="customer">to drop a signature box. - Test by emailing the form to yourself before rolling it out to techs.
Navigating the Admin panel
- Log in to the web app (not Sales).
- Head to Admin ▶ Preferences ▶ Customer Preferences ▶ Form Templates.
- Hit + Form Template, name it, choose page size, then flip to the HTML tab and paste your code.
- Save, preview, and you’re done.
Going paperless in the field
Once a form is saved, technicians can open it from the Customer Card ▶ Documents ▶ + New Form screen, fill it out on a tablet, capture signatures, and email the PDF to the customer on the spot, no clipboard required.
Conclusion: DIY or call in reinforcements?
Most pest control companies don’t have in‑house web developers. If HTML isn’t your jam, you can hire FieldRoutes’ own team, or a web‑savvy shop like Busy Beaver Pest Control SEO. We can turn around production‑ready forms in as little as 48 hours, so you can stay focused on squashing bugs instead of squashing code.
