Requester portal
The deliberately simple surface for occupants and residents - submit a problem, attach a photo, and watch its status. Nothing else.
The portal is what Requesters see instead of the application: one place to report a problem and watch what happens to it. No asset registry, no queues, no training required.
What a requester can do
- Submit a request - describe the problem, say where it is, attach photos from the phone camera
- Track their own submissions - status from received through converted to done
- Edit a submitted request - fix a typo or add the detail they forgot, from the tracking list
- Talk to the technicians - each request has a live message thread with staff: answer clarifying questions, add details, see replies as they arrive
- Manage their account - a third portal tab holds their security settings
- Nothing else - they cannot see other people's requests, your assets, costs, or documents
That last line is the point: you can hand portal access to every teacher, tenant, or arena user group without any data-exposure conversation.
Getting people into the portal
Invite them with the Requester role under Settings → Users (or via self-registration options if enabled for your organization). They sign in the same way staff do - email one-time passcode - and land in the portal automatically.
The zero-login path: QR codes
Most reporters won't remember a URL. Location and asset QR codes are the workaround: a scan on the broken door opens a submission form already tagged with that door. Post location codes at entrances, gyms, and rinks and problem reports start arriving pre-triaged.
What staff control
Under Settings → Requester Portal, Administrators control six toggles:
- Show work order status - whether requesters see the status of the work order their request became
- Show completion notes - whether the close-out notes are visible to the requester
- Allow location / asset / system / feature targets - which "where is the problem?" pickers the submission form offers (the feature picker additionally requires the infrastructure module)
Auto-routing for incoming requests lives under Settings → Work Orders (details).
Communicating back
Each request's conversation thread is the channel: messages staff send appear in the portal live, new replies are emailed and badged as unread, and the same thread continues on the work order after conversion - so "any update on my door?" has a place to be asked and answered. Two habits pay off:
- Close the loop on declines. "This is the landlord's responsibility - forwarded to them" costs ten seconds and preserves trust.
- Don't over-communicate mechanics. Requesters see clean statuses and your messages - not your internal queue gymnastics. Internal coordination belongs on the work order itself, which requesters never open.
Related
- Work requests - what happens after submission
- Roles & access - how the Requester role is enforced