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ServiceM8 how-to

Can you scan multiple assets into one ServiceM8 form or certificate?

Not into one form: each ServiceM8 form response is linked to a single asset. The multi asset certificate is the Service Report, a PDF ServiceM8 generates on job completion listing every asset that had a form completed on that job, one asset per row, with up to 10 columns including form answers.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Partly

Partly: forms link to one asset each, but the automatic Service Report lists every asset serviced on the job in one PDF, which serves as the multi asset certificate.

Step by step

  1. Make sure Asset Management and Forms are on (Growing plan and up) and each item has a ServiceM8 QR label and asset record.
  2. Keep the per asset form short: result, readings and any defect. Put the job wide declaration and signature in a separate job level form.
  3. In Settings, Assets, Setup Asset Types, click Template Setup for each asset type and pick up to 10 columns, including the form questions that make up the certificate.
  4. Add the standard, your licence details and any declaration wording in the Title and Notes steps. Preview, then confirm.
  5. On site, the tech opens the job, taps Assets, scans each label, taps + and completes the form. Each asset turns green once done; the Map view shows which are left.
  6. Mark the job Completed. The Service Report appears in the job diary within a minute or two; email it with the job level form.
  7. Optional: download the Word template from the asset type, add your branding, and upload it with Replace.

Gotchas

  • The Service Report only generates when the job is marked Completed, and only if at least one form was completed against an asset on that job.
  • Report columns are not stored in the Word template. Changing columns means running Template Setup again, which overwrites any custom template you uploaded, so keep a copy and re-upload it.
  • The column list includes every question from every form, which gets long. Type part of the question name in the wizard to filter it.
  • Ten columns is the cap per asset type. Put long results in the form's own PDF rather than the report.
  • If you need one alert for all failed items on a job, set the Form Inbox Follow Up automation to run on job completion rather than form completion; ServiceM8 suggests this for consolidating multiple asset inspections.

What the official help article misses: It describes the Service Report but never presents it as the answer to 'one certificate for many assets', does not say a form links to only one asset, and does not warn that text questions used as scan fields create no asset history. Read ServiceM8's article.

One form per asset is the design, not a bug

Techs doing gas certificates, test and tag or extinguisher rounds hit this on day one. They want to scan ten items into one certificate, and ServiceM8 only lets them scan one asset into a form. Support is right: in ServiceM8's data model a form response has one asset attached. The API record for a completed form has a single asset field, and the asset's history is built from the forms completed against it.

That is what makes per asset history work. If one form held ten extinguishers, none of them would have a clean history of its own, and next year's tech would not see last year's pressure reading for the unit in front of them. So the pattern is: complete a short form against each asset, then let ServiceM8 roll them up.

The roll up: the Service Report

When a job is marked Completed, ServiceM8 automatically generates a Service Report if any forms were completed against assets on that job. It is a PDF with a heading, a table with one asset per row and a footer, saved to the job diary within a minute or two, ready to email. If the job covered several asset types (extinguishers and smoke alarms, say), ServiceM8 builds a section per type and merges them into one document.

That PDF is your multi asset certificate. You choose its columns per asset type in the Template Setup wizard: up to 10, drawn from the asset's own fields and from any question on any form completed against it. So a column can be "Result" from the inspection form, "Next due" from a date question, or "Serial" from the asset. The Title and Notes sections are the place for the standard you worked to and your licence number.

For branding beyond the wizard, download the Word template from the asset type, edit it and upload it with Replace. Do this last, because running the wizard again replaces your custom template.

When you truly need one job level form

Some certificates are signed once for the whole job: a declaration, a customer signature, a compliance statement. Keep that as a separate job level form, and let the Service Report carry the asset table. Two documents, one email.

A workaround people try is a single form with repeated text questions named "Serial 1", "Serial 2" and so on. ServiceM8 shows a scan button on text questions whose names include Serial, Barcode, Number or Model, so this does capture codes quickly. But it stores text, not links to assets, so none of those items gets a history and the Service Report ignores them. Use it only for items you will never service again.

Sources

  1. A ServiceM8 form response record has a single asset_uuid field identifying the asset it relates to. ServiceM8 Developer, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  2. The Service Report is a PDF of all assets that had a form completed on them within a single job, generated automatically when the job is marked Completed and saved to the job diary, usually within a minute or two. Multiple asset types are merged into one document. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  3. Report templates are configured per asset type with up to 10 fields, which can include results of any question from forms completed on the asset; the Template Setup wizard replaces any custom template you have uploaded. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  4. In forms, the scan button appears on text type questions whose names include Barcode, Number, Serial or Model. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  5. A form follow up automation can be set to run on job completion, which ServiceM8 describes as useful for consolidating multiple asset inspections into one Inbox message. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  6. Once a form is completed for an asset it is listed in the asset's history and the asset is checked green on that job. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.