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Often agents choose to send a 'Reported' issue onto a landlord for advice before they choose a works flow. Fixflo allows you to 'Request landlord advice' before the job is sent onto a Contractor or an External user.
Select the issue as usual and remain on the 'Next steps' tab. This is the place you will need to be in order to use a works flow and progress the issue. The issue will begin with the issue status 'Reported'. This can be found towards the top of the page on the left hand side of the screen:
It is important that you take a look at both the issue status and who the issue lies with when you first of all click onto an issue. These two aspects will give you a good understanding as to where the job lies and who's responsibility it is to continue progressing the job. Both the issue status and the 'Task to do' will automatically update as you progress the issue.
Before you progress the issue from the 'Reported' status we would recommend that you check to see if there are any notes on the issue. Notes can be made about:
- The Property
- The Occupier
- The Landlord
- The Contractor
The notes which have been made may change the way a maintenance issue is dealt with and therefore could alter the works flow you choose to choose next. Notes will sit directly underneath the parties involved with issue on the left hand side of the screen:
To expand the note, please click on it and a pop up will appear, displaying the entire note:
You can make any changes to the note here as well.
Please click here to find out more about adding landlord notes.
The work flows can be found on the right hand side of the page, underneath 'Next step'. You will want to select 'Request landlord advice':
Please note that a landlord must be associated with the issue in order for this instruction to work. You can easily check to see if a landlord is associated as all the parties are displayed on the 'Next Steps' page:
If no landlord is associated with the issue then one can easily be added by either clicking on the 'Detail' tab and assigning one here, or when allocating an issue to them.
Assigning a landlord to an issue through the 'Detail' tab:
Click on the 'Detail' tab which is next to the 'Next steps' tab, and underneath the 'Address information' you will see that there is no landlord added. Simply click on 'Change' on the right hand side of the empty field:
As you start typing, options of landlords who are on your system under People > Landlords will start to populate:
You can then select the correct landlord and press save:
Assigning a landlord to a job when requesting landlord advice:
On the 'Next step' tab simply click on 'Request landlord advice':
A pop up box will appear where it will show that there is no Landlord in the 'Landlord' field:
Simply click on 'Change' and you will start typing the landlord's name or email address and then you can press save. You must ensure that you have a landlord in this field before you allocate the job to the landlord:
Once you have a landlord allocated to the issue, you can then type in a message to the landlord and click "Save":
This will update certain information on the 'Next Steps' tab and also send the landlord an email asking them to give their advice on the issue.
Updates made on the 'Next steps' tab:
You will notice that the issue status will have automatically updated from 'Reported' to 'Landlord instructions requested', the 'Reminder date' will have updated to a date and time in the future and the Task to do has now moved to 'Waiting for' landlord:
The 'Reminder date' is showing you the date that this issue will come back into your 'Issues requiring action', allowing the issue to not fall through the cracks. This can be changed by clicking on the 'Reminder date'.
Please note that you can click on 'Waiting for landlord' where you will be able to resolve the issue on their behalf. It is recommended that the landlord resolves the issue by logging in themselves or you will find that they may start relying on you to progress their issues. The system works best if each party logs in and resolves their own issues.
The email sent to the landlord:
The landlord will receive an email which looks similar to the below:
The landlord will need to click on 'Enter job start date', where they will log into Fixflo and resolve the issue.
Once the Landlord logs in:
The landlord 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 'Advise agency'. 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.
When the landlord clicks on 'Advise agency' the following pop up will appear:
They can see your recommendation at the top of the pop up, they must select one of the following five options:
- Proceed with works
- Request quotations
- Decline repair request
- Allocate to me to resolve
- Other
They have the opportunity to add any extra information if they wish and then they would press 'Save'.
The landlord will then be able to see that the issue status has updated to 'Landlord instructions received' and it shows that they have no actions to do.
Please note that if the landlord selected 'Allocate to me to resolve', then the issue will remain with them and they will be able to continue progressing the issue.
You can decide whether landlords at your agency will have the option to 'Allocate to me to resolve' by going to Setup > Settings > Issue settings > General.
Back on the agent system:
When you log back into the issue, you will have noticed that the issue status has now updated to 'Landlord instructions received', the 'Reminder date' will show as the date which the landlord completed the job, as the job is now in your 'Issues requiring action' as it is in the agent's 'Task to do'.
Underneath 'Landlord instructions received' which is on the 'Next steps' tab you will be able to click on 'Review landlord response' to see what the landlord has advised. This will affect the work flow you choose.
Please see below to see an example of what can be seen when you click on 'Review landlord response':
This will show the 'Agent recommendation' - this is the recommendation which you gave when you initially asked the landlord for advice. You will also be able to clearly see what the landlord has requested - this is the next step which they would like you to take. If they have added any 'Extra information', this will also be displayed here.
In this example, we can see that the landlord has requested that you proceed with the works. The correct workflow to choose here would then be 'Instruct works'.
You can find more information on how these workflows would continue on our other articles.
If you have progressed the job further and you would like to access the landlord's advice again, you can find them by clicking on the workflow 'Review landlord response'.
