Award-winning specialist repairs and maintenance software transforming property management: Fixflo

Fixflo is a leading property maintenance management software provider. Its solution makes repairs reporting, planned maintenance, and contractor management more efficient and less costly. It can help you achieve compliance too. Property professionals like you can automate time-consuming manual tasks and communicate quickly and easily with your customers. Plus, Fixflo’s software integrates with most property management systems, making adoption a breeze. And, if you have a question or suggestion, a member of its team is always there to help. Fixflo is proud to say that over 1.2 million units are already using its platform and it’s constantly finding ways to make you and your hard-working team even more successful.

Ways to maintain great contractor relationships

Streamline job communications

“Communication is key” is one of the most repeated pieces of relationship advice you’ll find on the internet, and that’s no less true when working with contractors. But what does this really mean? When commissioning a job, it’s important to start things off on the right foot by being as clear as possible about the task involved. Routine activities like gas safety checks are usually straightforward, but repairs can be more challenging .Being able to communicate as much as possible about the problem up front really helps the contractor. So too, does making them aware of constraints, such as timescale and budget. Fixflo is great at helping you get the right information straight from your tenants and passing it along in a way that answers all the common questions. The result is that your contractor is well-prepared and able to set better expectations with you about timescales and costs .Once a job has started, keeping everyone informed of progress can be a challenge. Traditionally, you’ll wait for a phone call or a verbal update from the contractor at the end of the day. Though this process seems simple enough, having to wait for an update does have drawbacks which sometimes result in misunderstandings and extra work for one person or another.

The feedback you get is not timely - there’s usually a delay, during which time the contractor may have forgotten some important detail. If the property manager dealing with the case isn’t available in the office when the contractor returns, a crucial piece of information may get missed as colleagues try to pass it on. Even if the right person is present, they are likely busy on something else when the contractor gets in touch. None of these things is anyone’s fault, but it’s easy to see why it’s less than ideal for all concerned. Furthermore, verbal feedback needs to be written down after the fact, meaning important information can be lost in translation. Sometimes there is no time to write it up, and if you get a query from a client sometime later, neither party can claim to remember exactly what was passed on .If you can enable your contractor to easily communicate notes and updates while they are onsite, you can ensure that accurate information is captured straight away and in writing so, you can refer back to it later. Messaging apps like WhatsApp are a popular way to do this, but something more structured like Fixflo’s commenting system is ideal for keeping track of feedback and giving you an accurate reference point for later. You can even reply in real time on the status of work and update landlords as you learn of progress.

Make contractors’ visits to your office quick and painless

Time is at a premium for all of us, not least for contractors. Not only are they in a hurry to get to the next job, but, as they often have to park in a temporary location to see you, they’ll thank you if you’re able to make their visit brief! Introducing more real-time communication, as discussed above, reduces the need for lengthy conversations. What’s left should be just a verbal confirmation of information already shared, collecting/returning keys, and passing along any required documentation. Unfortunately, these things do not always go as smoothly as they should. For contractors, there is nothing more frustrating than turning up to do a job, only to find there’s no key available, and having to wait whilst people in the branch scramble around to find it. The best way to prevent this is by having a reservation system, ensuring that people know when the key is going to be needed and that it will be back on the hook in time.

Using Fixflo’s integration with Keyzapp, you can easily reserve the key when you’re scheduling the work, checking availability as you go. When the contractor arrives, Keyzapp removes all the usual friction of issuing keys, with contactless smart fobs on each key, allowing you to check them out in seconds. If you have a close relationship with your contractors, you can go one step further and let them check out their own keys using their phones or a dedicated kiosk. Continuing the self-service theme, Fixflo allows your contractors to submit items such as documentation, certifications, and invoices electronically by themselves, meaning they don’t have to do it at the branch or wait for a team member to become available. This streamlines the workflow for them and you, as well as reducing the physical paperwork required.

Rajeev Nayyar, Co-Founder

“Fixflo is proud to say that over 1.2 million units are already using its platform and it’s constantly finding ways to make you and your hard-working team even more successful.”