- Process
- Vendors
AppFolio work orders: what the Work Done button can’t tell you
How a maintenance request moves through AppFolio, from the resident’s request to the vendor’s Work Done button, and the follow-up your team still carries.
· 4 min read
Vendor management
Vendors who answer And a backup who does
Posts for property managers on getting replies from plumbers and electricians, following up on a schedule, stopping repeat repairs and keeping vendor files current. Start with the vendor management guide and the scorecard.
Start here
Start with these two Then read the posts
- Building a vendor bench: scorecards, response targets and backupsHow to manage maintenance vendors: a backup for every trade, response targets, a worked scorecard, a backup order, spend limits and a quarterly review.
- Vendor scorecardA one-page maintenance vendor scorecard: reply time, visit time, first-time fix, callbacks and paperwork each quarter, plus the rules for acting on it.
Posts
Every post on this topic
- Process
- Vendors
Buildium tasks or work orders: which record holds the follow‑up
Buildium splits a repair into a task and a work order. What each one holds, from the resident’s request to the bill, and the follow-up left to your team.
· 3 min read
- Process
- Vendors
Rentvine work orders: what the settings automate, and what they leave to you
The Rentvine settings that assign, notify and move a work order on their own, from the tenant portal to the vendor’s close, and the follow-up left to you.
· 3 min read
- Process
- Vendors
Rent Manager service issues: what Resolved means, and who checks it
A Rent Manager service issue from New to Resolved: memorized issues, checklists and the Make Ready Board, and the follow-up a status can’t do for you.
· 3 min read
- Process
- Vendors
Propertyware work orders: several vendors on one job, and who keeps it moving
One Propertyware work order can carry several vendors, a comment thread and bills. Who keeps the job moving between trades, and the follow-up left to you.
· 3 min read
- Vendors
- Process
How to follow up with a vendor who isn’t responding: a cadence that works
A follow-up schedule for vendors who go quiet: when to nudge, what each text says, when to move the job to your backup and how to keep the tenant posted.
· 7 min read
- Process
- Vendors
- Tenants
How to confirm a repair is done before you close the work order
How to check a repair really happened before you close the work order: what to ask the vendor, one text to the tenant and proof to ask for by repair type.
· 7 min read
- Vendors
- Process
Repeat repairs on rental property: how to spot them and stop them
How to tell when the same maintenance problem keeps coming back to a unit, what to check before you send anyone, and when to call the vendor back.
· 8 min read
- Owners
- Vendors
Owner approval limits: how to set an NTE property owners accept
How to set a not-to-exceed (NTE) repair limit with each property owner: what you approve alone, what goes to them, and what happens in an emergency.
· 7 min read
- Vendors
- Staffing
In‑house maintenance technicians vs outside vendors: how to route each job
When a repair should go to your own maintenance technician and when to call an outside vendor, with a routing table, a checklist and the license questions.
· 7 min read
- Vendors
- Tenants
Lead paint rules for repairs in older rentals
What the EPA’s disclosure rule and its Renovation, Repair and Painting rule mean for repairs and turnovers in pre-1978 rentals, and what to ask vendors.
· 5 min read
- Vendors
- Tenants
“The vendor goes quiet and nobody tells me.”
Why vendors don’t answer. What helps
The first text, the nudge schedule and the backup vendor that get replies.
· 5 min read
Also on this topic
Guides, templates and terms that go with it
- GuideMaintenance KPIs: what to measure and how to count it
- GuideOnboarding vendors: W-9, insurance and expectations
- TemplateWork order template
- TemplateVendor onboarding checklist
- GlossaryAfter-hours rate
- GlossaryFirst-time fix rate
- GlossaryLead-safe certified firm (RRP)
- GlossaryScope of work
- GlossaryVendor
- GlossaryIn-house technician
- GlossaryW-9
- GlossaryCOI (certificate of insurance)
- GlossaryTrip charge
- GlossaryWarranty callback
- GlossaryNTE (not to exceed)
Read up Then hand the chasing to Ours