Severity levels

The severity levels you define in the template are the ones the inspector assigns to each deficiency finding while writing. They color the report, structure the statistics (summary cards) and visually signal the most critical items to the client. This page describes the 7 default levels, the 3 display types, and how to customize them.

Getting there

Severity levels card with the Icons type and an expanded level

Click Template configuration (pinned at the top of the navigation), then scroll to the Severity levels card.

The 7 default levels

The system BNQ template defines 7 levels covering the severity range expected in a residential inspection:

Level (FR)	Level (EN)	Color	Meaning
Aucun problème	No Issues	Green	No significant deficiency observed.
À surveiller	Monitor	Yellow	Item to watch over time, no urgency.
Avertissement	Warning	Orange	Moderate anomaly to fix in the medium term.
Déficience	Deficiency	Magenta	Significant anomaly to fix.
Urgent	Urgent	Black	To fix quickly.
Expertise requise	Specialist Required	Blue	Requires a specialized professional’s opinion.
Danger	Hazard	Red	Immediate safety risk.

These 7 levels are the standard severity vocabulary of the BNQ 3009-500 standard. You can modify them, add others, or delete some if your practice justifies it — but keep them as a base when starting out.

The 3 display types

The Type dropdown above the list controls how each severity is visually represented in the report and the inspection editor.

Icons

Each level has an icon (modern vector icon set). Clicking a level’s icon opens the picker with search and grid.

Pros: modern, professional, readable at any size.

Emojis

Each level has a Unicode emoji. Clicking a level’s emoji opens the picker organized by category.

Pros: very expressive, mobile-friendly, familiar to the general public.

Color dots

Each level is represented by its colors only (background + text). No icon or emoji.

Pros: minimalist, sober, doesn’t distract from the text.

The Type choice applies to the whole template. All levels use the same type — you can’t mix Icons for some and Emojis for others.

Anatomy of a level

For each level, the row in the list shows:

Drag handle (left) — to reorder.
Background color swatch (clickable, opens a color picker).
Text color swatch (letter A, clickable).
Icon / emoji picker (only if Type = Icons or Emojis).
Name (FR) + Name (EN) — both labels side by side.
Delete button (trash).
Chevron to expand / collapse.

Once a level is expanded:

Preview — the chip as it will appear in the inspection and the report.
Description (French) + Description (English) — free text that appears in the report’s legend (“Definition of each severity level”).
Count as “Urgent issue” in the report checkbox.

The “Count as Urgent issue” checkbox

When checked, deficiencies at this severity level are counted in the “Urgent Issues” card of the PDF summary. Useful to:

Highlight the Urgent and Hazard levels (checked by default on those levels).
Also include Specialist Required if you want to flag those cases as needing immediate attention.

Unchecking it on a level (for example Monitor) keeps the level in the report but removes it from the urgent issues count.

Reordering

Drag and drop with the handle. Order matters: it sets the order levels appear in the inspector’s severity selector, and in the report’s legend. Put the most used levels on top.

Adding a level

Click + Add a level at the top right of the card. A new level is added at the bottom with a default name. Configure its color, icon, FR/EN names, description, and the Urgent issue checkbox.

Deleting a level

Click the trash on the right of the row. The header’s Undo button recovers an accidental deletion.

If existing findings use a level you delete, their severity becomes undefined. To avoid surprises, delete an unused level instead, or first reassign existing findings to another level.

Best practices

Keep the 7 default levels at least when starting out. They’re aligned with the BNQ standard and recognized by your clientele.
Don’t add too many — beyond 8-9 levels, inspectors hesitate and consistency erodes.
Pick the Type once and stick with it — switching between Icons and Emojis disorients users used to the previous one.
Polish the descriptions — they appear in the report and help the client understand the scale. Avoid too-short descriptions (“Anomaly.” doesn’t help) or too-long ones (beyond 2 sentences it gets wordy).
Distinct colors — pick visually distinct colors (not two shades of yellow). The client should be able to scan the report and identify severities at a glance.