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Once you have received quotes from your contractors, you have the option to either: 

1. Ask the landlord for approval of the quote 

2. Ask an external user for approval of the quote 

3. Approve the quote yourself and instruct the job 

This article will walk you through option 1. 

Once you have received the quotes from a contractor, please click here to understand this works flow better, one option is to ask the landlord for approval of the quote before you award the contractor the job. 

The issue status will be 'Request for quotes ended' and this will be displayed on the top left hand side of the screen under the address:

On the 'Next steps' tab you will see that the next step lies with you as the agent and the 'Reminder date' will be today's date as the issue is back to your 'Issues requiring action':

On the right hand side on the 'Next steps' tab further down there are two options for your next step; 'Award job' or 'Request quote approval':

If you do not need a quote approval you can click 'Award job', but if you do need quote approval, then you will need to click 'Request quote approval':

When you click 'Request quote approval' you will see the following pop up:

On this example there is one quote, you will need to select the quotes which you would like to send for approval. At this stage you can add any Approval notes needed that will help the person you're sending the quotes to, to better understand the works that are required or the quote amount.

This information will be displayed on the email notification received by the user.

You will then be asked who you would like to approve the quote. You can also select the box below to say that you would like to allow the reviewer to see all quote documentation (if this has been added):

The drop down options are as below:

In this example we are going to select 'Landlord'. The landlord will then populate underneath the drop down on the pop up. You can change them if the incorrect landlord has populated in the field by clicking on 'Change'. Once you are happy, you can click 'Proceed to next step':

You will now notice that the issue status has updated to 'Awaiting user review', the 'Reminder date' has moved to a date in the future, taking the issue out of your 'Issues requiring action' and then 'Task to do' has moved from the agent to the landlord:

You can resolve the issue on the landlord's behalf by clicking on 'Waiting for' and 'Landlord' so that this is now bold and the little arrow moves underneath them:

This will allow you to see their next steps and progress the issue on their behalf:

It is now advised that you do this as you want to ensure as best as possible that all parties are doing their own part on Fixflo. It will make it much easier for you. 

The landlord will now receive an email similar to that of below:

When they click 'Review issue and quotations' it will take the landlord into their own Fixflo system. 

Their system looks similar to yours, but more stripped back. They have 4 tabs; 'Next steps',  'Details', 'Comments' and 'Appointments'. 

On 'Appointments' they can see view of all appointments which have taken place for this particular issue.

On 'Comments' they can send a comment to the agent only.

On 'Details' they can see all of the details regarding the issue, but this will not include the contact information of the reporting occupier, so no telephone number or email address. 

On the 'Next steps' tab the landlord will be able to progress the issue:

They will then be presented with the quote(s) and they will need to click on the quote to open it up and see the details:

This will open up the quote with the works cost and they can choose to either approve or reject the quote:

If they choose to reject the quote, they will need to give a reason and then press 'Save reason and reject quote'. They cannot reject a quote without giving a reason. Once the quote has been rejected it will go back to the agent:

Alternatively, they can approve the quote:

Once approved or rejected the landlord will have no further steps and the job will go back to the agent. 

In this example, the landlord has chosen to approve the quote. The landlord can clearly see on the 'Next steps' tab that the issue status has updated to 'Quotes reviewed' and they have nothing left to do:

On the agent side the issue status has also updated to 'Quotes reviewed', the 'Reminder date' is back to today's date and the issue now lies back with the agent to take the next step:

On the 'Next  steps' tab, you can click on 'Review quotes' which will show you the quote(s) and you can clearly which quote the landlord has approved:

From the 'Next steps' tab you will see that there is one next step available: 'Award job':

You will then see your quotes and you will need to click on the quote to open it up and award the job:

This will open up the quote and if you scroll down you will be able to award the job to the contractor:

Once you click on 'Award job' the pop up will expand and you can then scroll down and click on 'Instruct job'. The reason for this is that it allows you to make changes to the invoice and also add instruction notes, instruction documents and health and safety documents. 

Once happy, please click 'Instruct job':

You will now notice that the issue status has updated to 'Job awarded, awaiting appointment date', the 'Reminder date' will have updated to a future date and then job is now with the contractor you awarded the job to:

The contractor will receive an email similar to that of below.They can click on 'Enter job start date' to login and begin progressing the issue:

Once the contractor has logged in, they will be able to see a screen which looks similar to the screenshot below: 

Here they can see the issue status and they can see that the next step is to 'Set appointment date'. They can click on 'Detail' to see all of the details of the job and they can click on 'Comments' to send a message to the Agent or the Occupier.  They also have an 'Appointments' tab where they will be able to manage appointments once they have entered the first one.

Underneath 'Job award, awaiting appointment...' in the middle of the screen, they also have the option to either 'Mark as complete' (this can be used if they have bypassed the 'Set appointment date' part); 'Provide quote instead' or 'Decline job':

Before the contractor clicks on 'Set appointment date', it's important that they look at the information on the left hand side of the 'Next steps' tab as this shows whether the occupier would like to be present or not:  

When the contractor clicks on 'Set appointment date' the following pop up will appear: 

When the set an appointment date they will be asked whether the appointment time and date has been agreed with the occupier. Essentially here there are four possible scenarios:

1. The occupier doesn't want to be present and the contractor has agreed the start time with the occupier

2. The occupier doesn't want to be present and the contractor has not agreed the start time with the occupier

3. The occupier does want to be present and the contractor has agreed the start time with the occupier

4. The occupier does want to be present and the contractor has not agreed the start time with the Occupier

In scenarios 1, 2 and 3 the occupier will receive an email to say that the work is due for completion with a time and date. 

In scenario 4, the occupier receives an email where they have to login to the system to either accept or decline the proposed date and time. 

Once they have set the appointment date, they click on 'Save appointment date'. 

The contractor will now see that the issue status has automatically updated to 'Awaiting job completion' and the next step is to mark the job as complete. This button is sitting on the right hand side of the screen:

The appointment will be sitting in the 'Appointments' tab, where the contractor can cancel the appointment and add a follow up appointment if necessary:

Back on the 'Next steps' tab the contractor would click on 'Mark as complete' where they can add the job completion details. They also have the option to provide a quote instead in case they would rather do this. The 'Job completion date' must be added, and this will pull through based on the appointment date which the contractor gave before. 

The job duration, feedback to the agent, the issue photos, the completion documents and the certificate documents are optional:

They must provide an invoice method and say whether they will provide the costs of the job. If they select the option to 'Create invoice within system' then the 'Provide costs' section will disappear, as they will have to provide the costs when creating the invoice. 

The following invoice methods are available by default:

1. Invoice not required
2. Invoice sent outside the system
3. Upload invoice
4. Create invoice within system

Once they are happy with the job completion information, they click on 'Mark as complete': 

The Contractor will then be shown the following pop up: 

The next screen will depend on the invoice option they have selected. 

If they have selected 'Invoice not required' or 'Invoice sent outside the system' and said that they would like to provide the costs then they will see the following screen:

The 'Type' can be split between 'Labour', 'Materials' and 'Other' using the drop-down and they can easily add a new row. The rows will then be tallied up.

If they have selected 'Invoice not required' or 'Invoice sent outside the system' and said that they would not like to provide the costs then they will see the following screen:

Here the contractor can clearly see that the issue status has now moved to 'Job completed, ready for closure' and they can see that there are no outstanding actions for them to complete.

In the middle of the screen they have the option to 'Quote for further works', view the 'Job completion details' or 'Undo job complete'. 

If they have selected 'Upload invoice' and said that they would like to provide the costs then they will see the following screen:

If they scroll down, they will see where they can upload the invoice, add the invoice number and click 'Submit': 

If they have selected 'Upload invoice' and said that they would not like to provide the costs then they will see the following screen: 

If they have selected 'Create invoice within system', then they will be taken to the following screen: 

The invoice date and due date will pull through. They will need to add an invoice number.

Underneath the costs which were on the original quote which was approved by the landlord will pull through. They can make any changes, if necessary, and then click 'Create':

The contractor will then see the following screen which will show them that the issue status has updated to 'Job completed, ready for closure', they have the option to 'Quote for further works', view their 'Job completion details', view their 'Job costs and invoices' or 'Undo job complete'. They can also see that they have no next step as they have no actions. 

Back on the agent's side of the issue,the job status will either show as 'Job completed, ready for closure',  or 'Job completed, awaiting feedback'. This will all depend on whether you have your settings turned on to ask the occupier for feedback once the contractor has marked the job as complete. 

If you have your settings turned on to ask the occupier for feedback, they will receive an email (which will go out over night) and look similar to that of below:

They will need to click on 'Provide feedback' which will then log them in and they can give feedback. Alternatively you can click on the 'Occupier' on your 'Next steps' tab, call them and then fill this section in for them. This can be done by clicking on 'Feedback':

It is best if each party is resolving an issue on their behalf. When the occupier clicks on 'Provide feedback' from the email they receive they will be logged into Fixflo and taken to the following page: 

They have access to four tabs. On the 'Next steps' tab they can click on 'Feedback' to provide their feedback, therefore progressing the issue along. On the 'Detail' tab they can see all of the detail about the issue which they reported (or was reported on their behalf). On the 'Comments' tab they can send a message either to the agent or the contractor. They will have visibility of the appointment(s) by clicking on the 'Appointments' tab. 

When the click on 'Feedback', they will first of all be asked if the issue has been resolved:

If it hasn't, they will click 'No' and they will be asked why this is. They have the opportunity to provide additional information: 

If they say that the issue has been resolved then they have the option to give the contractor a star rating (out of 5 stars) and additional information. 

Once happy they will press 'Save':

The occupier will now noticed that the issue status has updated to 'Job completed, ready for closure' and they have no further actions to do:

Back on the agent's side of the issue, the 'Reminder date' will show as the date which the occupier gave feedback, as the job is now in your 'Issues requiring action' as it is in the agent's 'Task to do'. The issue status has updated to 'Job completed, ready for closure' and the next step is to 'Close issue':

By clicking on 'Close issue' you will be taken to a pop up where you can add the closure information. First of all you will need to provide a close reason. This is a required field and is chosen from a drop down. The close reason notes are optional:

Please see the drop down options below:

In this example, the reason selected is 'Works completed':

This will pull through to the issue status once the issue has been closed. 

Next you can send an FYI onto a party who was involved with the issue or another email address altogether:

In the same pop up, you can give a contractor star rating. This is optional and internal and will pull through to the contractor side when you are awarding the job to a contractor:

Finally, if the invoice was either uploaded to the issue or created through the system then you have the option to forward this onto a party involved with the issue or another email address:

Once happy you will want to click on 'Close issue':

The job will then be closed. The issue status will update to 'Closed' and then add the close reason you selected:

You will be able to see the following screen: 

Comments can still be sent through the 'Comments' tab on a closed issue and the issue can be re-opened by clicking on the 'Actions' button and then 'Re-open issue':