Step 1: Access the Frequency Manager
To begin, you'll need to be an account administrator.
Go to ⚙️ Settings in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen.
Select Frequency Manager from the menu.
Click the Add Frequency button at the top of the page.
Step 2: Define Your Frequency
A new window will appear with a few key fields to fill in.
Frequency Name: Give your frequency a descriptive name, such as 'Daily', 'Quarterly' or 'First Monday of Month at 9am'. This helps you and your team easily identify the frequency later.
Frequency Rule: This is where you set the interval for your checks. In the text field, you can type a natural language phrase, such as "Every Day at 9pm" or "Every 6 months." Papertrail will automatically create a rule based on what you write. (or select from one of the suggestions in the dropdown)
Notify Period: This is the time before a check is due that people will be notified. For example, if you set the notify period to "1 Day," users will get a notification a day before the inspection is due.
Step 3: Set Inspection Rules
This is an important step that determines how the next inspection date is calculated based on when an inspection is completed. You have two primary options:
Calculate from inspection date: The next check date is calculated from the exact date and time the inspection was completed.
Calculate from current next check date: The next inspection date will always be based on the next inspection date, regardless of when the inspection was actually completed. This is useful for fixed schedules that can't shift.
For example: If a 6-month check is due on 31 July 2025 and you complete it a week early on 24 July, the next check will still be due on 31 January 2026.
You can apply one of these two rules to three specific scenarios:
Inspection Performed Early: What should happen if an inspection is completed before its due date?
Inspection Performed On-Time: What should happen if an inspection is completed on its due date?
Inspection Performed Late: What should happen if an inspection is completed after its due date?
Step 4: Select the First Date/Time
After defining your frequency and rules, a new window will appear. Here, you simply select the date for the very first inspection in this new schedule. If the Frequency rule you set had a time you will see both Date and Time selectors. Once you’ve selected the date (and time if applicable), click Save, and your new frequency will be ready to use in Schedule Manager.
Now that you've created your custom frequencies, you can use them to build schedules in the Schedule Manager. See How to Create a new Schedule in Schedule Manager.
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