A services agreement governs the business relationship between the property management company and a vendor. Services agreements can cover individual units and properties, all units and properties that the vendor may provide services for, or even no units and properties (when the vendor is providing marketing services for a management company, for example).

When adding a vendor, you'll have the option to add a services agreement for them. A vendor does not need to have a specific services agreement in place in order to provide services, that's entirely up to you. A services agreement gives you a structure to track and ensure vendor compliance, and, optionally, indicate a preferred route for services provide on a specific unit or property.

If you've already added the vendor previously, you can still add a services agreement for them. To do this, select the vendor, then select the icon for Agreements, and select Add a Services Agreement.

The agreement wizard guides you through all parameters of the agreement. Complete all information that is required for the specific vendor relationship, including terms, licenses & insurance, and certifications. When you are assiging work to a vendor, or considering including a vendor in an RFQ, you can review their services agreement to determine if they meet your requirements. When a component expires (such as a license, certification, or insurance), you can send a notice to the vendor to provide you with updated information, or inactivate them if they cannot come into compliance. Notices are configured in Settings > Agreements > Templates & Defaults > Vendors: Services Agreements.

Many companies require vendors to enter into a signed agreement that covers a code of conduct, resolution of differences, procedures for billing and communications, etc. This is configured as an agreement form template in Settings > Agreements > Templates & Defaults > Vendors: Services Agreements. You can have numerous services agreement templates, as required by your business needs. After creating an individual services agreement, you'll be prompted to create the agreement form, which you select from your available templates, then send to the vendor for e-signing or other response.

Note that because services agreements are optional and at your discretion, some components of the agreement that apply to all vendors are included in the vendor profile and you can set these for a vendor without a service agreement (every vendor must have a profile, every vendor does not need to have an agreement, unless your policy dictates). These components include default billing terms, service conditions, restrictions, terms, service areas, and the like. Additionally, a generic setting for insurance company and workers comp expiration are included in the vendor profile, so you have somewhere to record this on vendors who do not have a services agreement in place.

It's common to add units or properties on an agreement when those places have some sort of relationship governed by such agreement, such as home warranties or a designated vendor who triages all or most maintenance issues that arise for that place. When a unit or property is on a services agreement, this is indicated on work orders, and that vendor becomes the preferred/default vendor for work (but you can assign the work to any other vendor as desired). You can set instructions for yourself or your staff regarding how work on a unit/property is assigned by viewing the unit/propery, select the Maintenance view, select Edit, and complete the Maintenance Info / Instructions section.

If you add a new unit or property and wish to include it on an existing services agreement, open the services agreement and select Change Agreement from the Options drop down, then select Places. Enter the unit/property address or ID to locate it, then select the Add icon to assign it to the services agreement, and select Save Change.