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Approval chains

Every approval in SmartMy Society goes through a chain. Examples: a visitor waiting for a flat, a child going out, a visit request, a suggested contact, a goods gate pass, a work permit. With no set-up the usual people decide; you add levels, such as the estate manager then the secretary, without code.

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The problem it solves

A resident moving out takes a sofa past the gate and nobody on the committee signed off.
Interior work starts on a Sunday because the permit was agreed on the phone.
The secretary wants to see costly work permits after the office, and the tool knows only one approver.
Months later nobody can say who approved a gate pass, or why a permit was refused.

How it works

Each kind of request has a chain per society (Entity), ready to use with one level: the usual approvers. For a walk-in that is the flat's residents who approve visitors; for a gate pass or work permit, the office.
For more people in order, open Visitors > Configuration > General > Approval Chains and add levels, such as the estate manager, then the secretary. Any one approver of a level decides.
Add a second chain with Only For to apply it to some requests only. Set Approved at Once for a kind that needs no approval.
The buttons stay where people use them: My flat and the Resident app for residents, the guard's screen, and the back office for the office. Each answer decides the level the request waits at.
When the last level approves, the product does its part. The visitor is let in, the gate pass gets its six-digit code, the crew get their passes.

Everything it does

What goes through approval, and who decides with no set-up

Visitor at the gate: the residents of the flat who approve visitors. Reception can answer for them, and the guard records an answer given on the intercom
Daily Help, Government / Inspection and the general Delivery type start as Approved at Once. The society's own Delivery, Guest (Flat), Cab and Service / Repair types ask the flat
Visit request from the public link: the society office (reception and VMS managers)
Exit pass of a child who may not go out alone: the parents, meaning the flat's residents who approve; the office can decide for them
Suggested contact a resident puts forward: the society office
Gate pass for goods leaving a flat: the approver named on the pass, never the resident who raised it; for a resident's pass, the office
Work permit, and a request for more days on it: the office
Crew change of an approved work permit: the office

No request is made

A visitor with a pass or a pre-approval
A child who may go out alone, or a kids' exit pass a parent makes
A gate pass where the gate pass chain is set to Approved at Once

Who approves a level you add

Named users, a group, or the usual approvers of the request
If a level has nobody: the request cannot be submitted (the choice for a new level), the level is skipped, or the usual approvers decide
Otherwise: people who approve the level when it has nobody
Any one approver of a level decides; for two signatures, add two levels

Rules

The person a request is about never decides it
Requester May Approve: on for every Society chain as the system makes it, so whoever raised a request may decide a level they approve
Only For: a chain for some requests only, tried from the top; keep one chain with an empty Only For
A reason is needed to reject a gate pass or a work permit, and to refuse more days
On a gate pass and a crew change, the chain can run its own On Approve and On Reject actions
With an added level after the flat, the guard can no longer record the flat's intercom answer for that later level

Record

An Approvals tab on each request: level, approver, status, decided by, date and reason
The record's history shows who approved or rejected it
Approvers of most kinds get an Approve to-do in the back office; suggested contacts and crew changes do not
Changes to the chains are recorded; a new Entity copies the chains of its parent

Who uses it

ResidentApproves visitors to the flat and lets a child out, on My flat, My approvals or the Resident app.

Society officeDecides visit requests, suggested contacts, gate passes, work permits and crew changes, and answers for a flat.

Estate manager or committee memberApproves at a level you add, such as large interior work or a move-out gate pass.

VMS administratorSets levels, approvers and conditions under Approval Chains, without developer mode.

Where you use it

Web: Visitors > Configuration > General > Approval Chains (VMS administrators) and Approvals > Requests > To Approve
Web: the office's own screens: Visits (Waiting for Host), Expected / Passes (Awaiting Approval), Exit Passes. Also Gate Passes, Work Permits > To Approve, Useful Contacts (Suggested by residents)
Resident portal: My flat, and My approvals in the menu, at the address ending in /my/approvals
The Resident app: Home, for visitors and children going out (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
The guard page: My approvals in the menu; the guard records the answer the flat gives on the intercom
Not reminders or stand-ins for Society chains; a waiting visitor is escalated by the site settings

What you control

Settings

Levels and their approvers, per kind and Entity: one level, the usual approvers, to start with
If a level has nobody: cannot submit (new level), skip, or usual approvers
Requester May Approve (on), Only For conditions, Approved at Once
Host Approval Timeout: 10 minutes. When the Host Does Not Answer: Escalate to Reception or Guard Decides (the labels keep the word Host in a society)

Notifications

Flat: Visitor Waiting for Approval: to the residents who approve; app notification and in-app, and the first of WhatsApp or SMS
Child Wants to Go Out: to the parents; app notification and in-app, and the first of WhatsApp, SMS or email
Visit Request (Public Page): to the office; the same channels
Gate Pass to Approve, Work Permit to Approve, Work Permit Extension Asked, Work Permit Crew Change: to the approvers of the level. App notification, email and in-app
Request Waits for Your Approval: to approvers no event above reaches, such as for a suggested contact or a person named on an added level. App notification, email and in-app

Questions

Can the secretary approve after the office for work permits?

Yes. Add a second level to the work permit chain with the secretary. Use Only For if only some permits need it.

Can a resident approve their own gate pass?

No. A resident's gate pass goes to the office. The person who raised a pass is never offered as its usual approver.

What if nobody in the flat answers a walk-in?

After the timeout, 10 minutes to start with, the visitor goes to reception, or the guard decides after calling, as the society sets it.

Do approvers get reminders if a request waits?

No, apart from the walk-in escalation. Approvers are told when a request reaches them and find it in To Approve, My approvals and the apps.

Can we turn approval off for gate passes?

Yes. Set the gate pass chain to Approved at Once. A resident's pass is then approved when it is sent and gets its code at once.

Related features

CONTROLLED WORK AND GOODSGate passes for goods leaving a flatA flat raises a gate pass for anything leaving it: furniture when moving out, an appliance going for repair. The office approves it, and the pass gets a QR code and a six-digit code. The guard checks the items, lets them out or holds them. Items that must come back stay open until they do.CONTROLLED WORK AND GOODSWork permits for flat interiorsA flat asks for a permit before interior work, repairs or a move. The society office approves it with conditions, and each crew member gets a pass that works only on the permit's dates, days, hours and gates. The guard sees who works today and takes a photo and ID at first entry.VISITORS AT THE GATEWalk-in visitors approved by the flatThe guard registers a visitor without a pass for a flat. Every resident of that flat who approves visitors is asked on their phone. The first answer wins, with five answers to choose from. If nobody answers, the guard or the office decides and the flat is told who did.PARCELS AND CHILDRENChildren going out, with parent approval and exit passesA child who is not allowed out alone waits at the gate until a parent says yes on the phone. Parents can make an exit pass in advance, alone or with someone, with a time to be back and a call first. The flat is told when the child goes out, comes back or is late.GUESTS AND PRE-APPROVALPublic link to ask for a visitShare one link on your society's website or in a message. A visitor asks for a visit without a login and names the flat. The society office approves it, and the QR pass goes to the visitor by itself.COMMUNITYUseful contacts rated by residentsA list of plumbers, electricians, shops and services around your society, kept by the office. Residents call from the list, rate each contact from one to five stars, and suggest new ones for the office to publish.

See it set up for your own society.

Tell us how many towers, flats and gates you have. We will show you and your committee the resident app, the guard app and the office screens, set up that way.

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