Contractor Quotes & Approvals
When a repair needs parts or specialist work beyond the initial scope, contractors submit quotes through MaintenanceOS. This guide covers the end-to-end quote workflow.
When Quotes Are Needed
- • Parts required not in contractor's standard kit
- • Specialist sub-trade needed (e.g., roofer for a plumbing job)
- • Scope change discovered on site
- • Tenant upgrade request (e.g., premium fixture replacement)
- • Insurance claim requiring detailed breakdown
Quote Workflow
```
Contractor Identifies Need
↓
Submits Quote in Portal
↓
Manager Notified (email + in-app)
↓
Manager Reviews → Approve / Reject / Request Revision
↓
If Approved → Contractor Notified → Work Continues
If Rejected → Contractor Notified → Alternative Plan
If Revision → Contractor Updates → Back to Review
```
Quote Details
Each quote includes:
- • Line items (labour, materials, plant, disposal, subcontractor)
- • Quantity, unit, unit price, total per line
- • VAT breakdown (standard 20%, reduced 5% for energy efficiency)
- • Estimated duration additional days
- • Photos of issue requiring quote
- • Contractor notes explaining necessity
Approval Rules
Auto-approve thresholds (configurable per workspace):
- • Under £250 → Auto-approve (notify only)
- • £250–£1,000 → Manager approval
- • £1,000–£5,000 → Senior Manager approval
- • Over £5,000 → Admin approval + Safety Officer if safety-related
Emergency spend limit: Safety Officer can authorise up to £2,000 without standard approval for Safety Hold repairs.
Reviewing a Quote
1. Notification → Review Quote
2. Compare against:
- Previous similar repairs (MaintenanceOS shows benchmarks)
- Contractor's historical pricing for same trade
- Market rates (optional integration)
3. Check:
- Materials itemised (not "materials — £500")
- Labour hours reasonable
- No duplicate charges
- VAT correctly calculated
4. Approve / Request Revision / Reject
Revision Requests
- • Add comment specifying what needs changing
- • Contractor receives notification with your comments
- • Contractor updates quote → status returns to "Under Review"
- • Maximum 2 revision cycles before escalation
Rejection
- • Must provide reason (budget, scope, duplication, alternative)
- • Contractor sees reason
- • Repair stays in "Needs Parts/Quote" status
- • Manager must assign alternative or close repair
Post-Approval
Once approved:
- • Quote becomes Purchase Order (PO number auto-generated)
- • Contractor can order materials
- • Additional SLA days added to resolution target
- • Final invoice matched against PO (three-way match)
Invoice Matching
When contractor submits invoice:
1. System matches to PO
2. Flags discrepancies (>5% variance or new line items)
3. Manager reviews exceptions
4. Approve for payment → sent to accounting integration
Audit Trail
Full history stored:
- • All quote versions
- • Approver, timestamp, decision
- • Comments at each stage
- • Linked to repair, property, contractor
Export at Reports → Quote Audit.
Next Steps
- • Setting Approval Thresholds
- • Invoice Matching & Accounting
- • Emergency Spend Limits
- • Budget Tracking by Property
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Pre-launch documentation. Features and workflows may change before general availability.