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Contractor Portal — User Guide

The Contractor Portal is a web-based interface that allows contractors to manage works orders, appointments, and invoicing raised by the organisation in QL. Contractors log in via a browser using credentials provided by the organisation.

Note: Contractors cannot raise new orders. All orders must be raised by the organisation in QL and pushed to the portal.

Logging In

Contractors are provided with a URL, username, and password. There are no restrictions on the number of users per contractor account.

After successful login the portal home page displays a navigation menu. The menu can be expanded to show area names, or you can hover over icons to see tooltips.

To exit, click the arrow icon in the top right corner.

Portal Icons

Icon Meaning
Calendar icon Create a new appointment from the Orders page
Green tick Complete an order or appointment
Yellow triangle Order is in Variation Awaiting Approval — cannot be updated until the organisation approves
Yellow triangle (on order detail) Warning/notification against the client or property (e.g. large dog, asbestos)
Red icon Order or appointment is overdue (past target completion date)
Invoice icon Create an invoice (visible only when order status is Completed)
Credit note icon Submit a credit note (available after an invoice has been submitted)

Managing Works Orders

Viewing Orders

Click the Orders icon in the portal menu. Orders can be filtered by:

  • Time Scale — defaults to Last 7 Days; "Specify Range" allows a custom date range. The date used is the Order Issued Date (when the contractor received the order).
  • Trade — filter by trade type.
  • Status — e.g. Open, Completed, Variation Awaiting Approval, Historic.
  • Variation Awaiting Approval — dedicated filter for orders pending organisation approval after a contractor-submitted variation.
  • Show Only Overdue — filters by orders past their target completion date, including overdue appointments.
  • Quick Search — search by order number, tenant name, address, postcode, or invoice number.

Order Details

Drilling into an order shows:

  • Property address
  • Client (tenant) name and contact details
  • Registered On — date/time the order was issued
  • Order status
  • Warnings/notifications icon — shows CRM alerts, free text property warnings, coded property warnings, rent account warnings, client warnings, asbestos information, and components due/overdue for servicing

What Contractors Can Do on an Order

  • Vary the order (change SoR quantities, add/delete SoRs) within their approval spend limit
  • Make and manage appointments
  • Complete detail lines and the whole order
  • Register invoices for completed orders
  • Submit credit notes (full value of the order only)
  • Bulk complete orders via CSV import
  • Create and view notes
  • View the property's order history — other contractors' details and costs are not visible

Managing Appointments

Viewing Appointments

Click the Appointments icon in the menu. The default filter is Next 7 Days by appointment date. Additional filters are available via dropdown.

The status column in the appointment list shows the current state of each appointment (e.g. cancelled, kept).

Creating a New Appointment

  1. Find the order using the Order status filter (OPEN) or Quick Search by order number.
  2. Click the calendar icon on the order.
  3. Select appointment date, start time, and end time.
  4. Click Create Appointment.

The appointment is then visible against the order in the portal and in the Access field on the order in QL, giving the organisation visibility when speaking with tenants.

Updating / Completing an Appointment

Two routes:

Route 1 — via Appointments screen: 1. Click Appointments icon, use Specify Range to find the appointment by date. 2. Click the green tick to complete it. 3. Select an Outcome Reason from the dropdown (configurable in Dictionary Maintenance).

Route 2 — via the Order: 1. Drill into the order, go to the Appointments tab. 2. Click the green tick. 3. Select an Outcome Reason and Outcome (configurable in Category & General Code Maintenance). 4. Click Complete Appointment.

Important: There is no option to change an existing appointment in the portal. To change an appointment: complete the existing one with outcome "Changed", then create a new one.

The same process applies for cancelled appointments, tenant-requested changes, and not-kept appointments (operative sickness, van breakdown, bad weather, etc.).

Changes made in the portal are reflected immediately in QL against the appointment on the order.

Invoicing

Invoices can only be created when the order status is Completed. Contractors cannot invoice the same order more than once.

Single Order Invoice

  1. On the Orders page, filter by status Completed.
  2. Click the invoice icon against the order.
  3. Confirm the action.
  4. Enter a unique reference number (the portal warns if the reference has been used before).
  5. The order cost is auto-populated. VAT applied at order time is automatically included.
  6. Click Create Invoice, then confirm.

Once submitted, the invoice is registered and posted in QL automatically and is ready for the organisation to invoice-match. The order status changes to Invoice Pending. Only a credit note can be submitted after this point.

Multiple Orders Invoice

  1. Filter Orders by status Completed.
  2. Tick the orders to include.
  3. Click Create Invoice, confirm.
  4. Enter a unique reference number.
  5. The combined order costs and VAT are auto-populated (multiple VAT codes are handled correctly).
  6. Click Create Invoice, confirm.

All included orders update to Invoice Pending. Once invoice-matched in QL, orders move to Historic.

Submitting a Credit Note

  • Credit notes can only be submitted for single orders and for the full value of that order.
  • Not available for orders included on a multi-order invoice.
  • Find the order under Historic status and click the credit note icon.

Bulk Order Completions

Contractors can bulk-complete orders by uploading a CSV file.

CSV format:

OrderNumber,CompletionDate,Notes

(The portal shows the exact required columns — refer to the portal's Bulk Order Completion import screen for the current format.)

Steps: 1. Click the Bulk Order Completion icon in the portal menu. 2. Drag and drop the CSV, or browse to the file. 3. The portal displays the orders from the CSV for review. 4. Click Process to apply completions.

Export CSV

Contractors can export order information to CSV for use in their own systems. Select orders using the checkbox on the left, then click Export CSV. Exported fields include order details, addresses, and status.