We're here to make managing your home as smooth as possible. Whether you need help submitting a work request, understanding maintenance processes, or learning about our services, you're in the right place.  Explore our resident help articles category below to quickly find answers, or use the search bar to locate specific topics.

Overview

Resident Help Guides

Latchel

This hub is designed to give you quick access to all the resources you need to navigate your partnership with Latchel. Whether you're managing emergencies, understanding work order processes, updating account settings, or exploring service options, our categorized help guides provide step-by-step support and key information to help you work efficiently. Browse the sections below to find guidance tailored to your needs—so you can spend less time troubleshooting and more time supporting your residents.

Property Manager Articles

When a work order is created either from the call center flow or through the resident workflow and there is already a work order for that property, then a duplicate check task will be created.

How to Approve or Deny a Duplicate Work Order

During urgent situations, clear and timely communication is critical. The Emergency Outbound Communication Process ensures that Latchel quickly notifies the right contacts when emergencies arise.

Emergency Outbound Communication Process

**On-call** is designed to provide a top-tier maintenance intake experience for multi-family customers.

How to Set-up an On-Call Rotation

A **Latchel Contracted Network Service (LCN)** Provider can be assigned to a work order if all Preferred Service Providers are unavailable, or if they have to reject the job for some reason, and all of them have been exhausted.

How to Opt-In to the Latchel Contractor Network

Opting out of the Latchel Contracted Network allows you to focus on assigning work orders exclusively to your Preferred Service Provider list. Here's how you can do this.

How to Opt-Out of Latchel Contractor Network

_**If the work order status is Waiting for PM**_, you will have the option of changing the status to **Cancel the Work Order**, **Mark it as Completed**, and or **Confirm a New Work Date**.

How to Update Status of Work Orders on Waiting for PM

When managing work orders, particularly when residents report various issues, it's essential to distinguish between two specific types of work orders: duplicates and recalls. Let's explore the differences between these two types of work orders in this guide!

Duplicate vs. Recall Work Order: Know their Difference

This help guide aims to establish a systematic and equitable refund and service process that will make the decision making process transparent and fair for both Latchel and the Property Manager.

Latchel Guarantee and Refund Request Policy

This help guide will walk you through the simple steps on how you can add and remove/disable company users in your Latchel Account Settings. Let's get started!

How to Add and Remove Company User

This guide is designed to clarify when a Latchel Associate will escalate issues to the property management company’s emergency contacts.

Emergency Escalations: Property Damaging and Extreme Habitability Situations

This help guide will provide general information on different actions you can take as a property manager once an invoice is in **Needs Approval** status. Let's check out.

Taking Action on Needs Approval Invoices

This guide offers insights into the **Invoice Auto-Approval Threshold** and its applicability. Let's explore this feature!

Understanding the Invoice Auto-Approval Threshold

This help guide will walk you through updating the schedule of a work order that is in a **Waiting for Materials** status. Additionally, it will show you how to send a reminder to the service provider if you are uncertain of the service provider's availability.

Updating Work Order on Waiting For Materials Status

Finding invoices in the Latchel Dashboard is a breeze. You can quickly **search and filter** to locate the exact invoice you need, making your financial management simpler and more efficient!

Methods of Searching Invoices

Typically, emergency work orders are issues that could potentially cause property damage or pose an extreme habitability issue for the resident or the property; otherwise, it will be tagged as non-emergency. As a Property Manager, you can configure job severity and responsibility settings from your Latchel portal.

Overview of Work Order Life Cycle

Managing the Invoice Auto-Approval Threshold

Comprehensive Work Order Guide

To select the desired work order, from the dashboard, click on the **Maintenance tab**, and open the work order by either searching and/or clicking the specific order number.

How to View Resident Work Order Links

When a Work Order is created and there is no severity setting for that problem/location combination, the work order will default to **Needs PM Approval** and a severity setting will need to be applied for this to not recur in the future. To set this up, follow the instructions below: 

How to Add a New Problem/Location Setting From the Work Order Page

From your **Dashboard**, click the **Maintenance** dropdown and select **Work Orders**.

How to Change the User Notification Group via Work Order

To add a file to a work order, follow these steps:

How to Upload Files to a Work Order for Property Manager

Previously, Property managers have to contact Latchel to adjust the severity settings of a work order, but with the latest improvement, Property managers are now empowered to do it at their own convenience.

How to Change the Severity Settings on a Work Order

A work order can be placed on hold for several reasons and can go in almost any direction once the next update is provided. Latchel provides the following options once you’re ready to get the work order moving again.

How to Take Action When a Work Order Is Pending

To access the work order page, click the **Maintenance** drop-down from your dashboard and hit **Work Order**.

How to Reopen a Work Order

Work Order Status Definitions (Maintenance Page Overview)

How to Submit a New Work Order

Latchel creates tasks when an action is required to move a job forward. Alternatively, tasks can be created by you and are for you and your team to manage action items.

How to Defer a Task

Tasks are essentially the **To Do** items for a work order. They should be used to describe future actions that will be taken by your internal team, owners, preferred vendors, or residents to progress the work order. Both existing and newly created tasks will automatically appear on the Task Page.

How to Create a Task

At the center of your Latchel Dashboard, you will find the **Action Required** bin/bank which contains the open task.

How to Complete a Task

How to Assign and Reassign Service Providers on Work Order

Invoicing and Handling Payments for Service Providers

On your Latchel dashboard, click the **initial icon** located at the right corner of the page, and then select **Account Settings** from the dropdown.

How to Turn on Preferred Service Provider Payments

The **Latchel Vendor Network** is composed of extensive service provider companies from across the nation, many of which have only recently joined forces with Latchel to handle work orders for residents and property managers/owners.

Enabling Latchel Vendor Network Via Work Order

Navigating Your Preferred Service Provider's Profile

Property managers and owners may opt for Latchel Contracted Network Service Providers to handle their maintenance jobs.

Setting Up Latchel Contracted Network (LCN) Preferences

Keep track of pictures, invoices, receipts, and other files from a work order. Here's how you can download or manage files from a work order.

How to Download or Manage Files from Work Orders

How to Change the Service Provider on a Work Order

The approved budget on the work order is visible to the assigned Service Provider. Changes to this budget will be seen by the Service Provider and logged on the work order for verifying budget changes.

How to Update the Approved Budget on an Active Work Order

From your Dashboard, click the **Maintenance** dropdown and select **Work Orders**.

How to Provide Permission for Service Provider to Access Property for a Work Order

From your Dashboard, click the **Maintenance** dropdown and select **Work Orders**. Now to select the desired work order, use the Search Bar, then click on the Work Order ID on the Work Order page. You can also use the Filter option for easy searching.

How to Enable Service Provider Locked-In on a Work Order

Latchel SMS provides several advantages for you if you wish to improve customer relations and communication flow. These SMS messages are sent from your **Latchel Communication Phone Number**. This number can be found on your account under **Maintenance Communication Settings**.

How To Send SMS Messages From Latchel

This guide walks you through how to add or update a resident’s move-in and move-out dates in Latchel. These dates help manage resident access and ensure accurate billing based on their time at the property.

How to Add Resident's Move-In/Move-Out Dates

User Groups define a group that will receive emails when a job alert is triggered. You can create one or multiple groups wherein each group may have members belonging to another group.

How to Create User Groups

To find the work order from which you need to download the invoices, there are 2 possible ways:

How to Download a Work Order Invoice

This field updates in real-time so the Service Provider will see this information the next time they view the job details.

How to Add or Update Service Provider Instructions on a Work Order

The description of a work order is crucial for Service Providers to understand the problem that needs to be addressed. It provides a summary of the responses to the diagnostic flow completed during the work order creation. Moreover, a **Special Note** will provide other additional information on how a work order must be treated or considered.

How to Add a Special Note to a Work Order

If there’s a repair that must be completed without the option for cancellation, you can mark the work order as mandatory. This guide walks you through how to toggle this setting so residents are unable to cancel the request.

How to Set a Work Order as Mandatory

To select the desired work order, from your Latchel dashboard, go to the **Maintenance tab** and click on **Work Orders.**  Search and select the work order that you want to work on. Use the Search Bar then click on the Work Order ID.

How to Update the Skill Required on a Work Order

If the work order status is Scheduling with Service Provider, then you will have the option to **Schedule Now** or **Remind Service Provider**.

How to Update the Work Order Status (i.e. to Scheduling, Pending, Completed, Canceled)

How to Change a Work Order Number

This help guide aims to provide an informative and customizable maintenance awareness to Property Managers and Admin users.

How to Use the Filter Options in the Work Order Tab Page

From the dashboard, click on **Maintenance**, open the work order by either **searching and/or clicking the specific order number**.

How to Update a Work Order Title

To upload an invoice on a work order, follow these simple steps.

How to Add Invoices

This guide walks you through how to access and read call logs for service requests. Call logs provide a detailed record of communication between Latchel and residents or service providers, helping you track updates, follow up as needed, and stay informed on the status of each job.

How to Access & Read Call Logs

How to Cancel a Work Order

The property on a Work Order is used to reflect what address Latchel is coordinating the request on. 

How to Change the Property on a Work Order

Similar to phone calls, a video can be tagged to a work order too.

How to Tag Video Calls to a Work Order

As an owner, staying informed about maintenance and managing property approvals brings an added layer of excitement to your responsibilities!

A Property Owner's Guide in Managing Work Orders

Property managers or administrators may have their preferences when it comes to viewing or checking on work orders. Here is an overview of how to navigate the work order page.

The Work Order Page

**Latchel's Starter** feature is a **self-service option** designed for property companies and managers. It offers a firsthand experience of how Latchel operates, particularly valuable for managers overseeing properties with fewer than 50 units. Having had this enriching experience, you are then ideally placed to make an informed decision about signing up completely with Latchel.

Self-Signup - Latchel Standard

Handling an emergency work order is a high-priority task where all parties involved - be it a resident, a Latchel Admin, or a Property Manager - receive priority service. This guide will outline how to handle a resident-initiated emergency work order.

Emergency Process Quick Guide

These communication channels will help ensure you have the fastest response from our Latchel team.

How to Contact Latchel

Right now, our platform doesn't have a direct feature for property managers to resend emails of work order details to service providers.

How to Resend the Work Order Details to the Service Provider

How to Filter SMS by Portfolio

There are situations where a resident might just respond with **Thank you** and **doesn't require a response** from the Property Manager.

End SMS Conversation Without Assigning It to Property Managers

Maintenance Automation: Emergency vs. Non-Emergency

If the Service Provider is set as VIP it can accept a job without scheduling an arrival time.

How to Set Service Provider as a VIP Preferred Service Provider

From the work order page, find the **Summary** from the **Quick View**. To open summary information, click on the **arrow down**.

How to Update the Work Order Summary

You can now view a transcript of all SMS conversations that have been tagged to a work order.

SMS Transcripts

To remove a service provider from your priority list of a skill category, follow the steps below!

How to Remove a Preferred Service Provider (Priority List)

An **LCN (Latchel Contracted Network) Service Provider** can be assigned to a work order if all Preferred Service Providers are unavailable, or if they have to reject the job for some reason, and all of them have been exhausted.

How to Assign a Latchel Contracted Network Service Provider

To change your password, click the **arrow down** beside your user icon at the top right corner of your dashboard. Then, select **Account Settings**.

How to Change/Reset the Password of a Latchel User's Login

After you logged in to Latchel, click the **arrow down** beside your user icon at the top right corner of your dashboard. Then, click **Account Settings**.

How to Update a Company User's Contact Information

This help guide will provide you with the steps on how to prioritize a preferred service provider for multiple skills from different property management account levels:

How to Prioritize a Preferred Service Provider for Multiple Skills

Property managers now have the ability to view all Latchel work orders for a Service Provider company or an individual service provider user in a convenient calendar view. They are also able to print it to give to their team members to reference.

How To View the Service Provider's Calendar

You can choose which service providers you prefer to assign for each Skill Category. Additionally, you have the option to add or remove skills under a Skill Category while prioritizing your service providers. Follow these steps on how to prioritize your preferred service providers with their skills.

How to Prioritize/Edit Service Providers With Their Skills

On your Latchel dashboard, click **Places,** then on the dropdown select **Portfolios**.

How to Override/Change Service Provider Payment Method in Portfolio

From your Latchel dashboard, click **Places**, then on the dropdown select **Properties**.

How to Override/Change Service Provider Payment Method in Property

If you are not utilizing a system integration, you can manually send Latchel work orders via your Property Management software system by setting Latchel up as a service provider.

Set Up Latchel as a Service Provider in Your System

We recently developed a new feature to conduct a work order attachment sync from Latchel to PropertyWare!

How to Sync Work Order Attachments from Latchel to PropertyWare

First, you need to visit your Service Provider page at **People** then **Service Providers**.

How to Remove a Preferred Service Provider (Globally)

To see the messages, click the Message icon at the top right of your portal and open the window for an incoming SMS.

How to Ensure an SMS Conversation Has the Right Tag

Go to your dashboard and select the **People** tab, then click on **Service Providers** from the dropdown menu.

How to Set the Require Detailed Invoice Setting

Here's how you can export your invoice data in Latchel:

How to Export Your Invoice Data to a CSV

Log in to your Latchel account, click **Places**, then choose **Properties**.

How to Export Properties

As a Property Manager, you can download all of the Work Orders as a CSV file from your Latchel portal.

How to Export All Work Orders

Introducing the new **360 Degree SMS communication view**! Property managers can now have enhanced visibility into the SMS conversations that take place between Latchel associates and their owners, residents, or service providers.

Property Manager 360 Degree Communication View

This capability of managing service providers' assignments based on service territories will significantly reduce the need to repeat and manage service provider setup across various entities (such as Portfolios, and Properties)

How to Assign Service Provider to a Territory / Zip Code

This guide shows you how to customize the amount of time Latchel waits before reaching out to the next available service provider. Adjusting this setting allows you to give your preferred vendors more time to respond before Latchel continues sourcing help.

Customize How Long Latchel Waits Before Contacting Your Next Service Provider

How to Edit Service Provider Skills

**There are 2 types of task notifications:**

Task Notification Settings

Latchel will text all residents for availability on the property but uses the primary resident on a job so the vendor has access in case they require a conversation with the resident.

How to Change the Primary Resident on a Work Order

You can download a PDF of the work order history from the work order page in Latchel. The PDF will include all notes, actions taken, status changes, and sent emails.

How to Download a Work Order History

How to Place a Work Order On Hold

This help guide will give step by step process for scheduling invoice payment set in the future.

How to Schedule Service Provider Payments in Future Date

These email notifications send through your own email account so that owners see the email coming from YOU instead of Latchel. Any responses from the owners will also go to your email.

How to Setup Owner Communication

How to Update the Service Provider Payment Method on File

Blacklisting a service provider is a useful option for a Property Manager Company that no longer wishes to work with a particular provider but wants to ensure that other PM companies can still maintain their relationships with that provider. By blacklisting the provider, the PM Company can prevent them from being assigned to jobs for their company without affecting other PMs' relationships with the provider.

How To Blacklist a Service Provider

For all subscription charges, Latchel automatically charges your Subscription Payment Method on file.

How to Update Your Subscription Payment Method

Latchel is here to help with the coordination and scheduling of service requests. And you can do this as a resident by accessing your dashboard.

Resident Dashboard Overview

Welcome to your go-to resource for getting the most out of your Latchel services. These guides are designed to walk you through common processes like submitting maintenance requests, understanding your Resident Benefits, and knowing what to expect during emergency or routine repairs. Whether you’re new to Latchel or just need a quick refresher, you’ll find helpful, step-by-step instructions to make your experience simple and stress-free.

Comprehensive Resident Help Guides

How to Reject a Work Order (Service Provider)

This help guide consists of different lists of guidelines meant to help you as a service provider.

Comprehensive Service Provider Guides

Exciting news for Service Providers! With the Latchel portal, you can easily access and view all jobs, providing updates to keep things moving smoothly.

Accessing Your Latchel Portal (Service Providers)

As a Service Provider, when you access your dashboard, you'll be taken to the public dashboard where you can see four columns showing the **Action Required**, **Awaiting Work Date**, **In Progress**, and **Done** status.

Resident Help Guides

Resident Help Guides

Resident Dashboard Overview

Comprehensive Guides

Maintenance Request Guides

Resident Benefits Guides