An invoice, a landlord statement and an angry email
A plumber sends an invoice for a boiler repair. The accounts team pays it from the landlord's rent, as usual. The landlord sees it on their statement and rings: they were never asked, the amount is above what they agreed you could spend without asking, and they had a relative who could have done it. The property manager finds that the job was raised as an emergency by a colleague, the quote was verbal, and nobody recorded approval.
Why invoice control is weak
Most management agreements set a spending limit above which the landlord must approve works, except in emergencies as your terms define them. Keeping to that needs three things joined up: the works order, the quote or estimate, and the invoice. They usually arrive through different channels at different times, and the invoice is paid by someone who did not see the job raised.
Contractor invoices also vary: some itemise, some do not, and some include call-out charges or materials that were never discussed. Checking each one properly takes time accounts teams rarely have.
| Check that should happen | What often happens |
|---|---|
| Invoice matches a works order | Paid if the contractor is known |
| Amount matches the quote | Not compared |
| Within landlord's limit or approved | Not checked |
| Emergency reason recorded | Verbal |
| Evidence of work done | Photos in the contractor's phone |
What loose approval costs
Landlords who find unexpected charges on their statements lose trust quickly, and disputes over unauthorised spend can end with your agency covering the cost. Overcharging and duplicate invoices slip through. Good contractors are also let down when their invoices are held up by arguments that proper approval would have prevented.
How you deal with landlord approval and emergencies is set by your management terms and your own policies. The problem is making sure every invoice is checked against them.
The invoice approval flow we build
- Invoice intake: contractor invoices arrive in one inbox or upload page, and are read for contractor, property, job reference, lines and totals.
- Match to works order: each invoice is matched to the works order raised in your lettings or maintenance system, with anything unmatched sent to a person.
- Checks: amount against quote, duplicates, the landlord's spending limit from their terms, and whether an emergency reason was recorded.
- Landlord approval: invoices or quotes above the limit are sent to the landlord with the evidence and a one-click approve or query, and the response is recorded with a timestamp.
- Posting for payment: approved invoices are posted to your lettings software against the landlord's account through its API, with the invoice, quote, approval and completion photos attached.
- Exceptions queue: anything that fails a check is held with the reason shown, so accounts pay nothing that has not passed.
What changes for accounts and property managers
Accounts stop paying invoices on trust. Every payment from a landlord's money has the works order, quote and approval behind it, and landlords see those documents on their statement or portal. Property managers deal with the queries the checks raise rather than finding out from an angry landlord.
Contractors benefit too: invoices that pass the checks are paid without being held up.
Are contractor invoices paid on trust?
- Contractor invoices are paid from landlord funds without matching to a works order.
- Landlords have queried charges they did not approve.
- Spending limits are not checked before payment.
- Quotes are verbal or lost in email.
- You have paid a duplicate invoice.