Maintenance requests, vendors and repairs

Who this is for

Landlords and property managers handling repairs. Any member can create requests, invite vendors to quote, assign work orders and confirm a work order's completion with its cost. Only an account owner can use Update Status, set an estimated cost, write Notes for the tenant or Correct Cost; team members don't see those buttons.

Before you start

• Add your vendors: Maintenance → Vendors → Add Vendor, with First Name, Last Name, Email and Trade Type. Click Invite (on a phone, under Details) to give a vendor the vendor portal, where they send quotes and invoices. Invitations expire in 72 hours.
• Optional: on the vendor's page, record how you pay them in Payout details: the Pay by method and its detail, such as a Zelle email or phone, or Cash. Only an account owner can change it, and the vendor gets an email when it changes. A vendor sees it in their portal but can't change it.
• Property managers: if owners approve repairs above an amount, see Owner approvals.

Steps

1. A request comes in. A tenant sends one from the tenant portal, or you click New Request on the Maintenance screen, pick the Unit, and fill in Title and Description.

Request Details shows the Priority and Permission to enter the tenant chose. Granted means they said someone may come in while they're out, and Not granted means they left it off. Not answered means nobody was asked: a request you made yourself, or one sent before eSamaHomes kept these answers. Owners don't see either answer. A vendor sees Permission to enter on their work order, but not while quoting, and never the priority, so tell them anything else they need.

1. Get quotes (optional). Open the request and click Request Quotes, pick vendors and click Send Quote Request. The request shows Awaiting Quotes, and each vendor is told. Their quotes appear under Quotes.
2. Choose the work. Click Accept on a quote, or click Create Work Order and pick a vendor directly. A work order is made and the request shows In Progress.

Property managers: when an owner of the property approves repairs above an amount, Create Work Order also asks for the Estimated Cost. Above the amount, no work order is made: the request goes to Pending Approval for the owner. Click Create Work Order again once an owner approves. A quote above the amount goes to the owner too when you click Accept; while the request is Pending Approval the quotes have no Accept, and the owner selects one in the owner portal. See Owner approvals.

1. The vendor does the job and sends an invoice from the vendor portal, or you click Submit Invoice and enter the Invoice Amount.
2. Close it. Click Confirm Completion and enter the Actual Cost. If the tenant caused the damage, switch on Tenant is responsible for damage and enter the Tenant Charge Amount. The request shows Resolved.

A repair with no work order (you fixed it yourself, or the vendor was paid outside a work order) is closed by an account owner with Update Status → Resolved. It asks for the Actual Cost, and the tenant charge if there is one, then click Resolve. While a work order is open, Resolved and Rejected aren't offered in Update Status: close it with Confirm Completion, or click Cancel Work Order first.

Property managers: the owner's approval covers the final cost too. An Actual Cost above the owner's amount and above what an owner approved records nothing: the request goes back to Pending Approval at that cost, and you complete it once an owner approves. See Owner approvals.

1. Pay the vendor. Pay them as you usually do: check, ACH, wire, Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, Apple Cash, cash or another way. Then go to Vendor Payments, click Create Payment, pick the Vendor, the completed Work Order and the Payment Method (it starts at the vendor's Pay by, or Check when that is Not set, and shows Paid to when their details are for that method; the payment keeps it and lists it under the method), and click Mark Processing and Mark Settled (with the check number or bank trace; on a phone, under ⋯) as it goes.

Example

Ana Ruiz reports a leaking water heater at 8 Bay Road. Lena Park asks two plumbers for quotes: Clearwater Plumbing quotes $640.00 and Delta Pipe quotes $720.00. Lena clicks Accept on Clearwater's quote. Clearwater fixes it and invoices $640.00.

Lena clicks Confirm Completion with an Actual Cost of $640.00. A guest of the tenant broke the valve, so she switches on Tenant is responsible for damage with a Tenant Charge Amount of $150.00. Ana is billed $150.00. Lena mails Clearwater check 1042 for $640.00 and marks the vendor payment Settled with reference 1042.

What happens next

What each status means. The Maintenance screen has a filter for each.

Owners see a request waiting for them as Needs Your Approval in the owner portal.

• Confirm Completion or Resolve records the repair cost once, as a maintenance expense on the property. It is charged to the property's owners by their share. In Landlord Mode, a property with no owners listed is charged to you, the account holder. Clicking it again, or on a second screen, records nothing more. A tenant charge is billed to the lease's primary tenant.
• Paying the vendor is recorded separately, on Vendor Payments (step 6). Confirm Completion records no vendor payment. Vendor Payments is a record: eSamaHomes doesn't send the money to the vendor, and marking a payment settled doesn't add a second expense.
• A vendor invoice more than 10% over the quote sends your team a notice.
• Resolved, Rejected and Closed requests are final. Their status can't be changed, and they take no new work order or quotes, so Create Work Order and the quote buttons are gone. Their work order and vendor payment stay as they are, and you can still edit the notes. On a resolved request an account owner can click Correct Cost to replace the cost with a new one, until the tenant has paid toward a tenant charge. If the repair fails again, or a rejected repair is needed after all, make a new request.
• Tenants on the same lease see each other's requests for the unit.
• Notes for the tenant are saved apart from the tenant's description, and an account owner can change them with Save Notes. The tenant and anyone on their lease read them on the request as Notes from property manager, and no email goes out. Owners and vendors don't see them.

If something looks wrong

• Resolved or Rejected isn't in Update Status. The request has an open work order. Close the repair with Confirm Completion on the work order. Before an invoice is submitted you can instead click Cancel Work Order, then resolve or reject the request.
• "This repair has an open work order. Cancel the work order before rejecting the request." Someone made a work order after you opened the page. Reload it, then click Cancel Work Order before you reject.
• "This work order is not waiting for an invoice. Reload the page to see where it stands." An invoice was already submitted, or the work order was completed or canceled, after you opened the page. Nothing was saved.
• "This request was rejected, so its repair can't be completed and no cost is recorded." The request was rejected while its work order was open. Nothing was saved. If the vendor did the work, make a new request for it.
• "Add an owner to this property before you complete a repair." (property managers) The property has no owner to charge. Click Add an owner to this property → under the message, add the owner on the property's Owners tab, then come back and confirm again. Nothing was saved, so the work order is still waiting for completion.
• "This account has no owner record to charge the repair to, so it can't be completed. Contact eSamaHomes support." (landlords) Nothing was saved. The account needs an owner record before a repair can be completed.
• "This repair has an open work order. Close it with Confirm Completion on the work order." Someone made a work order after you opened the page. Reload it and use Confirm Completion.
• "This work order is not waiting to be completed. Reload the page to see where it stands." It was already completed, perhaps by someone else. The page shows its saved status; the cost was recorded once.
• "This request is rejected, so it can't take a new work order or quotes. Make a new request for new work." (or resolved, or closed) The request was finished, perhaps by someone else after you opened the page. Nothing was saved. Click New Request for the new work.
• "This request is resolved, so its status can't be changed. Make a new request for new work." (or rejected, or closed) A finished request can't be opened again. Click New Request instead.
• "Owner approval required before assigning a vendor." (property managers) The request is waiting for an owner to approve its cost, perhaps sent there after you opened the page. Nothing was saved. Assign the vendor once an owner clicks Approve. The same message on Accept means the owner picks the quote; wait for the owner's choice.
• "Enter the estimated cost. An owner of this property approves repairs above an amount." (property managers) Enter the Estimated Cost on Create Work Order and click again.
• You clicked Create Work Order and the request went to Pending Approval. (property managers) The estimated cost is above an owner's approval amount, so no work order was made. Create it once an owner clicks Approve.
• "This cost is above what the owner approved. It was sent to the owner." (property managers) The Actual Cost is above what an owner approved. Nothing was recorded; the request is Pending Approval again. Complete the repair once an owner approves the final cost.
• "A work order already exists for this maintenance request." Use the work order that's there, or cancel it with Cancel Work Order (only before an invoice is submitted).
• "Cannot correct the cost: the tenant has paid toward the repair charge." The cost can't be changed once the tenant has paid toward the charge.
• "Tenant charge cannot exceed actual cost." Lower the tenant charge.
• "This work order already has a vendor payment. A second one can be made only if that payment failed." The job is already paid on Vendor Payments. Nothing was saved.
• "No completed work orders for this vendor." A vendor payment needs a completed work order.
• Priority or Permission to enter says Not answered. The request was sent before eSamaHomes kept these answers, or you made it yourself. Ask the tenant if it matters.