For UK estate and lettings agencies
The property operations work that sits outside your CRM.
Your CRM holds the record. It does not do the work between the record and everything else — the documents that arrive by email, the compliance dates tracked in a spreadsheet, the contractor instruction sent by phone, the approval given verbally, the figures retyped into the accounts package. That is where the hours and the errors are, and that is what we assess.
Assessment: £950–£1,250, fixed scope, paid in full before the workshop. Build work is quoted only after the Assessment.
Where we lead
Work that crosses system boundaries
Document collection, checking and exceptions
Referencing packs, right to rent evidence, landlord paperwork and signed documents arrive by email and portal, get checked by hand and then get re-entered somewhere else. We route collection, run consistency checks, and send anything unclear to a named person instead of guessing.
Tenancy and compliance coordination
Gas safety, EICR, EPC and licensing dates live across spreadsheets, calendars and the CRM. We consolidate the record, trigger the coordination work early and keep an auditable trail of who was asked and what came back.
Maintenance and contractor handovers
A reported issue becomes a job, a contractor instruction, an access arrangement, an invoice and a landlord update. Each handover is a point where information is retyped or lost. We move the information and keep the decisions with your team.
Approval routes with decision records
Works over a threshold, deposit deductions and landlord instructions need a person to decide. We build the route to the right approver, capture the decision and the reason, and keep it retrievable later.
End-of-tenancy and property management
Notices, inspections, inventories, deposit returns and re-let preparation run to dates rather than to prompts. We assemble what each step needs before it is due, so chasing is the exception.
Reconciliation with accounting
Rent, fees, contractor invoices and landlord statements move between the property system and the accounts package. We match what can be matched safely and present the differences for a human to resolve.
Two systems after a migration
Agencies part-way through a CRM change often run the old and the new system side by side for longer than planned. We keep the necessary information moving between them and make the duplicated work visible, so the migration decision is made on evidence.
Illustrative example
Document intake for a tenancy file
Referencing documents can arrive from several sources over several days. A controlled intake workflow brings expected documents into one place, checks whether required items are present and readable, and routes incomplete or unclear items to a named team member.
Illustrative document intake workflow: a synthetic tenancy file is checked against a document checklist; complete information goes to human approval before the property record is updated, while unclear items go to a named owner.
- Synthetic tenancy file
- Document checklist
- Check outcomecomplete
- Human approval
- Record updated
Exception route: missing, unclear or inconsistent items reach a named owner.
What this example demonstrates
This controlled example uses synthetic data. It shows how document administration, exception handling and approval can be made easier to follow without replacing professional judgement.
- Expected documents are collected and checked against an agreed checklist.
- Complete information is prepared for a person to review before the property record is updated.
- Missing, unclear or inconsistent items are routed to a named owner with the reason and next action visible.
- The workflow creates an auditable handoff between documents, the property record and the responsible team member.
Decision boundary: This example does not assess tenant suitability, make referencing decisions, determine creditworthiness, or accept or reject an applicant. Those decisions remain with an authorised employee.
How we start
First establish whether a build is needed
Step 1
30-minute Fit Call
A short call to establish whether there is a workflow worth assessing. We discuss one workflow, the systems around it and who owns the decision. If it is immediately clear that your existing CRM already covers the issue, we will say so. It is a fit check, not consulting: there is no written analysis, workflow map or proposal at this stage.
Step 2
Property Operations Automation Assessment — £950 to £1,250, paid in full before the workshop
A paid, vendor-neutral written assessment of one agreed workflow. It maps the current process end to end, checks which features you already pay for in your current CRM, documents where information leaves your systems and returns as manual work, sets out feasible options with indicative costs, and recommends the smallest sensible next step.
Step 3
Fixed-scope Pilot
Proposed only where the Assessment identifies a genuine gap worth addressing: one controlled workflow with acceptance criteria, approval points, security boundaries and a documented handover. Quoted after the Assessment, with 40–50% taken in advance before delivery begins.
The Assessment can conclude that your existing CRM, a configuration change, your current supplier or no automation already provides the right answer. We will say so when that is the right outcome rather than sell a project you do not need.
What we do not lead with
Front-of-funnel enquiry work
These are real workflows and we will improve them where they matter. They are not what we lead with, because the operational cost in most agencies of this size sits after the enquiry, in the paperwork and the handoffs above.
Enquiry handling and response
Portal and website enquiries routed and acknowledged consistently.
Viewing and qualification admin
Gathering the information needed before a viewing is booked.
Integrations depend on the systems, permissions, APIs, licences and operational ownership available in your agency. We confirm feasibility during the Assessment before proposing a build.
Start with one property operations workflow
A short fit check on one workflow. If the Assessment is not the right next step, we will tell you on the call.