Your contractors

    Save the trades you already use, and understand what happens when you have nobody for a job.

    Your contractors are the tradespeople you call. Save them once, and every job you raise can use them without you typing a number again.

    Where your contractors show

    They live in three places. Contacts holds the whole list, on its Contractors & suppliers tab. A property's Maintenance tab shows the ones assigned to that property. A building's Maintenance tab shows the ones assigned to the building. It is one record per person, so a change you make in one place shows everywhere.

    See who you have saved

    Select Contacts in the left menu, then the Contractors & suppliers tab. On a phone the tab is shortened to Contractors. Each row shows the name, the trade, how to reach them, and how many quotes and invoices they have sent you. A tick beside a name means you have marked them as a trusted contractor.

    The Contractors and suppliers tab of Contacts, a list of saved contractors with trade, contact details and quotes and invoices

    Type a name or a trade in Search by name or trade to narrow the list. The Maintenance page also shows a chip for each trade under Your contractors, with how many you have.

    Select a row to open that contractor's window. It shows their jobs, quotes, invoices and the money you have paid, on tabs along the top.

    A contractor's window for Ridgeway Roofing showing the Trusted badge, four jobs, two quotes and 560 pounds paid

    Use Edit details in that window to change anything. The bin on a row removes them from your address book altogether.

    Add a contractor

    On the Contractors & suppliers tab, select Add a contractor or supplier. A window opens. Fill it in and select Save changes.

    The Add a contractor or supplier window part filled in, with the Properties they cover list open and Flat 37 ticked, one chosen

    1. Type Their name.
    2. Choose their Trade. The list runs from General Handyman and Plumber to EPC assessor and Supplier.
    3. Under How Alfred reaches them, add an email address, a WhatsApp number, or both. You need at least one. Email is tried first, then WhatsApp. Phone call is coming soon.
    4. Under Properties they cover, select Choose properties. A list opens. Search or scroll, tick at least one property or building, then select Done.
    5. Tick Trusted contractor — can see all their jobs if you want them to open a list of every job you have given them. See What your contractor sees.

    Put a saved contractor on a property or building

    Open the property, then its Maintenance tab. The Contractors list shows who is assigned to it, with their trade, phone, email and how they are contacted.

    A property's Maintenance tab with its Contractors list: each row has the trade, phone, email and how they are contacted

    1. Select + Add contractor at the top right of the list.
    2. On From your contractors, tick the people you want. Anyone already on this property is greyed out.
    3. Select Add to property.

    The Add a contractor window on a property, with From your contractors open and one saved plumber ticked

    If the person is not saved yet, choose Someone new at the top of the same window and fill in the same form as above. A building's Maintenance tab works the same way.

    The bin beside a contractor on a property takes them off that property only. They stay in your address book and on any other property they cover.

    Find a contractor you do not have

    If nobody you know does the trade, you can search near the property. Select Maintenance in the left menu. In the Quotes box, select Get a quote. The Find a contractor window opens.

    1. Choose the trade. The window offers Plumber, Electrician, Handyman, Roofer, Boiler engineer and Painter / decorator.
    2. Choose the property.
    3. Describe what you need if you like. It is optional.
    4. Select Search.

    The Find a contractor window with Roofer chosen, Flat 37 as the property and a short description typed

    The app searches online listings near the property. You get a list of firms with each one's rating, how many reviews it has, where the listing came from and a phone number (hidden in the picture). Select a firm's name to open its listing in a new tab.

    The Find a contractor results for roofers near the property, with ratings, review counts and phone numbers for the first firms listed

    The Get quotes button on this window is marked Coming soon, so nothing is sent to these firms from here. Review message shows the message that would go to them. Phone the firm you like. If you want them again, save them with Add a contractor or supplier. Each search you run is kept under Quotes, and selecting it reopens the same list.

    When Alfred picks up a tenant's report

    If Alfred is switched on for a property and a tenant reports a problem, he offers a contractor you have saved for that trade first. If you have nobody saved for it, he searches the same way and brings the candidates to your Inbox, under approvals. He never chooses one for you. Read more in How repairs work.

    If something's not right

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