Time required: 3-5 minutes to create a communication

Prerequisites:

Expected results: After reading this guide, you will be able to create cases from phone calls, physical mail, and other non-email communications, ensuring all issues are tracked in one system.

A tenant calls at 4:55 PM on Friday about a clogged drain. You jot it down on a sticky note, planning to create a case Monday morning. Over the weekend, the note gets buried under papers. Monday comes, another tenant calls about the same drain - now overflowing. "Did anyone report this before?" your colleague asks. You have no idea.

The Create New Communication feature prevents lost reports. Phone calls, physical mail, and in-person conversations become proper cases immediately - searchable, assignable, and trackable just like email-reported issues.

The New Communication feature creates an email-formatted record of non-email communications and sends it to your team's support inbox. Once there, the system processes it just like any other incoming email—creating cases, suggesting workflows, and assigning team members automatically.

Use this when:

How it works:

Navigate to the Create New Communication page from your team's main menu.

Issue Description (Required): Enter a detailed description of the reported issue. This becomes the main content of the case.

Example:

Additional Notes (Optional): Add any extra context, follow-up information, or internal notes.

Example:

Assignee (Required): Select who should handle this case:

If you select a specific assignee, the case will be assigned to that person when created. If you leave it blank, the system will automatically assign based on your team's rotation settings.

Use the Real Estate data grid to search for and select relevant properties or buildings:

To select properties:

Alternative: If you don't know the exact property, you can simply enter the contact information and address in the fields below. The system will attempt to match them automatically when the case is created.

Contact Name: Name of the person reporting the issue

Contact Company Name: Company or organization (if applicable)

Contact Email Address: Email for correspondence

Send acknowledgement email: Check this box if you want the system to automatically reply to the contact when the case is created, letting them know their issue has been received.

Contact Phone Number: Phone number for follow-up calls

Property Address: Full address of the affected property

Add up to 5 files related to this communication:

Click Choose Files or drag and drop to add attachments.

Click the Submit button at the bottom of the form.

What happens next:

After submission, you'll see a success message:

"New Communication has been submitted! You should receive an email at your company's support email address shortly."

Within 1-2 minutes:

Scenario: Tenant calls about a leaking pipe.

Steps:

Result: Case created and assigned, tenant receives confirmation, maintenance team can see full details.

Scenario: Property owner sends written complaint by post.

Steps:

Result: Complaint is documented in the system, can be tracked and responded to like any other issue.

Scenario: Tenant visits office to report noise complaint.

Steps:

Result: Issue is immediately in the system, tenant leaves knowing it's been documented.

Be specific in descriptions: Include date/time the issue started, severity, and any immediate concerns.

Always link properties when possible: Using the data grid to select properties ensures the case is connected to the right location and contacts.

Use automatic acknowledgement for tenant confidence: Checking this box ensures the contact knows their issue has been received, reducing follow-up calls.

Include attachments: Photos and documents provide valuable context for the assigned team member.

Choose assignee thoughtfully: If it's an urgent issue, assign to someone specific. For routine matters, automatic assignment distributes workload evenly.