Activating PropertyFile Maintenance

Within PropertyFile, the Maintenance module allows tenants to report maintenance issues via the Tenant Portal website. You will be able to view and process the reported maintenance issues in Alto, and Tenants and Landlords will also have visibility of the Works Orders you choose to share. You can also configure the tenant options for reporting an issue, create custom advice notes, as well as create checklists to help tenants manage small issues themselves.

This article includes: 

• Sharing Historic Works Orders
• Activating Maintenance in PropertyFile
• Configuration required for tenants to report maintenance jobs
• Setting a maintenance sub-category status as an emergency or non emergency
• Setting default text for emergency contact details
• How to set up notifications for your branch
• How tenants can report a maintenance issue
• Maintenance progress notifications

Sharing Historic Works Orders

Landlords and Tenants will only have access to view Works Orders raised in Alto, or via their PropertyFile portal, once the Maintenance Reporting/Tenant Dashboard/Landlord Dashboard modules are activated.

If you wish to share ALL Historic Works Orders:

1. Click Tools on the main toolbar
2. In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
3. On the side menu, under System Tools, click PropertyFile
4. On Alto PropertyFile Administration, click the number below your Branches
5. A list of your Selected branches will display. Within the Maintenance box, note that Share Historic Works Orders is set as Not Shared
6. To activate the sharing of historic maintenance works orders, click the Pencil alongside your Domain
7. The PropertyFile Dashboard will open. Click Advanced Configuration on the side menu
8. Scroll down to Maintenance and click the relevant tickbox(es) to activate them
9. Click Save

Activating Maintenance in PropertyFile

If you have already activated PropertyFile, you will need to go the configuration page to switch on the Maintenance module.

1. Click Tools on the main toolbar
2. In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
3. On the side menu, under System Tools, click PropertyFile
4. On Alto PropertyFile Administration, click the Pencil alongside your Domain
5. The PropertyFile Dashboard will open. Click Manage Modules on the side menu
6. Scroll down to Maintenance Reporting and slide the toggle to On
7. Click Save
8. Click Confirm

Configuration required for tenants to report maintenance jobs

PropertyFile offers default settings for the configuration of maintenance jobs. Tenants can report issues under one of the following categories:

• Alarms and smoke detectors
• Appliances kitchen/household
• Bathroom and toilets
• Blinds, curtains, furniture, fixture and fittings
• Boilers, heating and hot water
• Doors, windows and locks
• Drainage and guttering
• Electricity and lighting
• Garden and property exterior
• Leaks, running water and taps
• Other

Each category has several sub-categories that you can edit as required. PropertyFile allows you to customise the following:

• Sub-categories available for reporting “other” maintenance issues
• The order of the sub-categories
• The option to mark the issue as an emergency
• To display a warning message and allow the tenant to continue
• To display a warning message and prevent the tenant from proceeding
• Add additional information text for each sub-category
• Add a checklist for each sub-category (i.e. Have you changed the battery in the smoke alarm?)

Setting a maintenance sub-category status as an emergency or non emergency

You can set a sub-category as an emergency. To do this:

1. Click Tools on the main toolbar
2. In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
3. On the side menu, under System Tools, click PropertyFile
4. On Alto PropertyFile Administration, click the Pencil alongside your Domain
5. The PropertyFile Dashboard will open. Click Maintenance Issues on the side menu
6. Select a maintenance issue type
   1. You can reorder the sub-types by dragging them up and down as required, from the Order column
   2. Click the Description to over-type it, if you want to edit the sub-type
7. Click the blue down arrow to set the Emergency Status for the subcategory

• Mandatory - This issue will always be an emergency. The tenant will not be able to report an issue with this sub-type, instead, they will be shown an emergency directive message that you have set up
• Enabled - This allows tenants to report an issue as an emergency.  There will be an additional option for tenants to state whether the issue is deemed as an emergency to them.  
  When an issue is marked as an emergency, the emergency directive message that you have set up will be displayed, but the tenant will still be able to proceed to report the issue
• Disabled - If you disable the Emergency Status and that sub-category is selected by the tenant, they will not have the option to mark that issue as an emergency

Working down the selected sub-category customisation:

1. Your Default Emergency Text is automatically generated or you can select Custom to add your own text for this specific issue
2. Enter your Advice Text
3. Enter your Responsibility Text
4. Add your Checklist Items as required
5. Click Save 

Setting default text for emergency contact details

You can set default text for all emergencies. To do this:

1. Click Tools on the main toolbar
2. In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
3. On the side menu, under System Tools, click PropertyFile
4. On Alto PropertyFile Administration, click the Pencil alongside your Domain
5. The PropertyFile Dashboard will open. Click General Configuration on the side menu
6. Under Maintenance issue settings
   1. In the Emergency message and contact details for a tenant who marks an issue as an emergency box, enter the message that you want your tenants to get if they select an issue as being an emergency
   2. In the Emergency message and contact details for an agency classified maintenance issue box, enter the message that you want your tenants to get when the maintenance issue is something that your agency has selected as being categorised as an emergency
7. When you have entered both these messages, click Save

How to set up notifications for your branch

You can choose to receive a notification every time a new maintenance issue is reported. Notifications can be sent to the tenants branch, based on the email address held against your branch in Alto.

To check the email address against your branch that maintenance notifications will be sent to:

1. Click Tools on the main toolbar
2. In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
3. On the side menu, under System Tools, click System Administration
4. Click Branches
5. Click Edit next to the relevant branch
6. In the Email Address line, check the email is correct for your branch, or edit it accordingly
7. Click Save
8. On the side menu, under System Tools, click PropertyFile
9. On Alto PropertyFile Administration, click the Pencil alongside your Domain
10. The PropertyFile Dashboard will open. Click Notification Settings on the side menu
11. You have 2 tick box options for Maintenance issues
    1. Branch Default - The email address held against the branch will be notified when a new maintenance issue is reported by a tenant
    2. Custom - A box opens allowing you to enter an alternative email address(es) that you want new reported maintenance issue notifications to be sent to (You can enter multiple email addresses for these notifications by separating the emails by a comma)
12. Click Save 

How tenants can report a maintenance issue

Your tenant(s) can report a maintenance issue by logging into the tenant portal online. The tenant will need to:

1. Click/Tap Report An Issue
2. Select an Issue Type
3. Select a sub-category
4. Attach photo(s)
5. Review the content and click Submit

Maintenance progress notifications

Tenants will receive updates in their PropertyFile news feed and receive email notifications for the following events:

• Requests submitted from PropertyFile to Alto
• New works orders created in PropertyFile
• Works orders marked as being accepted or rejected
• Works orders status being changed from Reported to Supplier Instructed
• Works orders that have been Cancelled 

Related articles: 

PropertyFile Maintenance - overview, setup and configuration 

PropertyFile Landlord Portal

PropertyFile Tenant Portal

PropertyFile Vendor Portal

PropertyFile Applicant Portal