Refreshing portals all day
Your practice is on several lender panels, reached through panel managers and their portals. New mortgage valuation instructions appear in each portal, sometimes with an email alert, sometimes not. Each has a window to accept, and an expected time to inspection and to report. Some expect status updates at each stage.
Someone in the office has every portal open in a browser tab and refreshes them through the day. When they are at lunch, instructions wait. When the office is busy, a status update is missed and the panel manager chases. Allocating each job to a valuer means checking who covers the postcode, who is qualified for that lender, and who has space.
Why panel work is so admin heavy
- Every panel manager has its own portal, login and workflow.
- Acceptance windows and service expectations differ by panel and by lender.
- Valuers must be approved for particular lenders or property types, which the office has to remember.
- Status updates must be entered in each portal, separately from your own records.
- Your own job list and the portals drift apart, so nobody has one view.
None of this is a surveying problem. It is a coordination problem sitting on top of surveying work.
What the portal juggling costs
Instructions not accepted in time go to another firm. Missed status updates damage your standing with panel managers, which affects the volume of work you are offered. Office staff spend the day on screens rather than on customers. And valuers get jobs allocated late, which compresses the time to inspect.
| Task | Portal by portal | With one queue |
|---|---|---|
| Spotting new instructions | Refresh each portal | Collected into one list with alerts |
| Accepting in time | Depends on who is watching | Acceptance deadline shown and warned |
| Allocating a valuer | Office memory of panels and patches | Rules suggest qualified valuers nearby |
| Status updates | Entered in each portal | Prompted when due, with the details to enter |
| Overall view | None | Every panel job on one screen |
The instruction queue we build
- For each panel source, we use whatever access is legitimately available: email alerts parsed into instructions, an API where the panel manager offers one, or a structured entry form for the office where neither exists.
- Each instruction lands in one queue with its lender, property, deadlines and fee.
- Allocation rules suggest valuers who are approved for that lender and property type, cover the area, and have diary space. The office confirms.
- Acceptance deadlines are shown with a countdown, and the office is warned before any lapses.
- As the job moves, the queue prompts the office when a status update is due in the portal, showing exactly what to enter.
- Your own records, diary and invoicing are updated from the queue, so they match what the portals show.
We only automate what each panel's terms and your agreements allow. Where a portal must be updated by a person, the queue makes that quick rather than trying to get round it.
One screen instead of six tabs
The office sees every panel job in one place, sorted by what needs doing next. Nothing is missed at lunchtime because alerts reach whoever is covering. Valuers get jobs sooner. Panel managers see prompt acceptance and updates, which is what keeps work flowing.
Partners get a view of panel volume, turnaround and fees by panel, which helps when deciding which panels are worth being on.
Is this your panel admin?
- Someone refreshes several portals throughout the day.
- Instructions have lapsed because nobody accepted in time.
- Panel managers chase for status updates.
- Allocating valuers relies on the office's memory of approvals.
- Your job list and the portals do not match.