Back at the same flat, starting from scratch
A letting agent asks you to change the front door cylinder at a flat you worked on last year. Last time, your engineer measured it, fitted a new cylinder and cut spare keys. That information exists somewhere, probably as a line on an invoice that says "supply and fit euro cylinder". So this time the engineer goes out, measures again, finds the cylinder is not a stock size, and has to come back.
The same happens with commercial customers who call every few months about different doors, and with landlords who own several properties you look after. Each visit starts as if it is the first.
Records are organised by who paid, not by which door
Job systems and accounts packages hold jobs by customer. A landlord with ten properties is one customer. A letting agent with hundreds of properties is one customer. The information that matters to the engineer is about a specific door at a specific address.
- The property address is in the job, but the hardware on each door is not.
- Parts fitted are described generically, without sizes or brands.
- Photos of the door and hardware are not stored by address.
- Tenants and owners change, so the customer record changes, but the doors do not.
- Useful notes ("back door sticks, needs lifting to lock") live in engineers' memories.
Repeat visits cost more than they should
Every extra visit to measure something you already measured is time you usually cannot charge for. Quotes to landlords and agents are slower because the office has to ask what is fitted. Engineers new to an area are at a disadvantage because they do not have the history. And customers notice when you do not seem to remember their property.
A history that follows the property
We build a property and door history into your job flow, so it fills itself as jobs are completed.
- Each property has a record, matched by address, separate from whoever is the customer this time.
- Each door at the property has its own entry: location, door type, current hardware with sizes, brands and finishes, and photos.
- When an engineer completes a job, the parts fitted update that door's current hardware automatically, from the parts they picked on the job.
- Engineers can add notes that stay with the door, not the job.
- When a new job is booked at an address, the engineer sees the door history on their phone before setting off, and the office sees it when quoting.
- Landlords and agents can be sent a summary of what is fitted at each of their properties, if you want to offer that.
| Information | Held by customer today | Held by property and door after |
|---|---|---|
| Cylinder size | Maybe on an old invoice | Current value on the door record |
| Mechanism type | Engineer's memory | Door record with photo |
| Handle finish | Not recorded | Door record |
| Door quirks | Not recorded | Notes on the door |
| Past jobs | Under previous customers | All jobs at the address |
Access to property records is limited to your team, and what is shared with landlords or agents is your decision.
Engineers arrive knowing what they will find
The right parts are in the van before the engineer sets off. Quotes for agents and landlords are faster because the office can see what is on each door. New engineers benefit from the history others have built. And your firm starts to look like the one that knows the property best, which is a strong reason for agents and landlords to keep using you.
On a normal morning, an agent's request arrives for a cylinder change at a flat. Before anyone sets off, the office opens the address, sees the size and finish of the cylinder fitted last year and the note that the door needs lifting to lock. The engineer takes the right part, the job takes one visit, and the invoice goes out the same day.
Would a door history help you?
- Engineers regularly remeasure doors your firm has worked on before.
- Job records describe parts without sizes or brands.
- You work for landlords or agents with many properties.
- Return visits for the wrong part are common.
- Door quirks are only known to the engineer who met them.