One block, a managing agent and thirty residents
You clean the communal windows of a block every month under a contract with the managing agent: stairwells, entrance lobby, communal corridors. While you are there with the pole, several residents pay you to do their flat windows too. Some pay by card on the day. Some leave cash with the concierge. Some asked you once and you are not sure if they are still on. A new resident on the third floor stopped you last month and asked if she could join.
Then the agent queries an invoice. They think the contract includes all external glass on the block, including the flats. You think it covers communal areas only. The contract says "external windows", and residents have been paying you for years.
Two kinds of customer, one visit, and records built for neither
Round records work house by house. Commercial records work contract by contract. A block of flats is both at once, and most tools make you choose one.
- The agent's contract scope is vague, and residents' arrangements are informal.
- Which flats are signed up and at what price is in your head.
- Payments from residents come in several ways, some through the concierge.
- New residents have no easy way to join, and leavers are not noticed.
- The visit is recorded once, so it is unclear what was done for whom.
What your contract with the agent covers is between you and them. We make sure the records show what was agreed and what was done.
Disputes with the agent and money missed from residents
A disagreement with a managing agent about scope can cost you the contract, or a credit on past invoices. On the resident side, flats you clean but cannot match to a payment are income lost, and residents who moved out may still be on your list. Meanwhile new residents who want the service are not being signed up.
A block record with communal and private work side by side
We build a block record type into your round and commercial records.
- The block has a contract section: the managing agent, the scope in writing (which elevations and areas, which glass), frequency, price and invoicing rules.
- Each flat has its own entry: occupant, whether they have signed up for private cleaning, price, payment method and access notes.
- At the visit, you mark communal work done for the contract and tick flats done for residents, in one list on your phone.
- The agent is invoiced for communal work by their rules, with the visit record, and residents are charged per clean by their own payment method.
- Residents can join or leave through a link on a small notice in the lobby, with the agent's permission, and new sign-ups appear on the flat list.
- A block summary shows the agent contract, private flats signed up, and payments outstanding.
| Question | Notebook | Block record |
|---|---|---|
| What does the agent pay for? | Vague contract wording | Written scope in the record |
| Which flats are signed up? | In your head | Flat list with prices |
| Who paid this month? | Cash, cards, concierge notes | Per-flat payment record |
| How does a new resident join? | Stops you in the corridor | Link on the lobby notice |
| What was done on this visit? | One tick | Communal and per-flat record |
Blocks that are clear for everyone
The agent knows exactly what the contract covers and sees a record of each visit. Residents know what they pay for and can join or leave easily. You can see every block's contract and private income together. And when the agent retenders the contract, your records show a well-run block, including the private work you do that other contractors might not.
On a normal block visit, you open the block, do the communal glass, then work through the signed-up flats, ticking each one. Invoices and resident charges follow from those ticks.
Do your blocks look like this?
- You clean communal and private flat windows on the same visit.
- Your contract with the agent is vague about which glass it covers.
- Residents pay in several ways, including through the concierge.
- You are not sure which flats are still signed up.
- New residents have no simple way to join.