Do my contractors have to change their habits?

No. They receive requests by email or WhatsApp, their choice. The difference: each request contains a secure link to submit a quote, propose a slot or send an invoice. They can also simply reply to the message. No account, no app.

Does the AI make decisions for me?

No. The AI reads and structures. Every transition of a case (choice of contractor, quote approval, appointment, closure) is validated by a human. The details are on the Security and data page.

What about a syndic managing a co-ownership?

The same comparison holds: a spreadsheet and WhatsApp groups lose as many threads in a co-ownership as in a rental portfolio. Colively adds what is specific to syndics: common parts or private units suggested at intake (you confirm), reports from several residents merged into one case, spending rules set by the association applied when a quote is approved, the general meeting decision recorded with its minutes, and work notices sent to residents. Colively does not do the accounting and does not split costs between co-owners.

How much does it cost compared to my free spreadsheet?

The trial is free, no credit card, and your first cases are included. After that, pricing is built on your real case volume, on quote. The spreadsheet is free to license, but each case costs you the time spent chasing, searching and rebuilding. That time is what you are comparing. See the Pricing page.

Comparison

Excel, WhatsApp and the inbox, versus a case that fills itself in.

Most property managers track repairs with a spreadsheet, one or two WhatsApp groups and a shared inbox. It works, until the portfolio grows or someone goes on holiday. Here is, step by step, what Colively changes.

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Step by step

What you do by hand today, and what the case does for you.

Step	Excel + WhatsApp + email	Colively
Report (tenant, owner, caretaker)	The tenant, owner or caretaker writes wherever they can: email, WhatsApp, sometimes a call. Someone copies the gist into a spreadsheet row, when they remember.	Everyone writes by email to your organisation's address. AI reads the message and opens a structured case in seconds: property, problem, urgency, availability. If something is missing, the sender gets a secure link or simply replies.
Triage and urgency	Urgency depends on who reads the message and at what time. On a Sunday night, a leak waits in the inbox until Monday morning.	The urgency level is suggested on reading and shown in the queue. The on-call manager is alerted. You correct the level in one click if the AI got it wrong.
Chasing contractors	You message the contractor, then message again, then call. Who has replied lives in your head or in a status column nobody updates.	The contractor gets the request by email or WhatsApp, their choice, with a secure link. If they are slow, Colively chases them automatically on a schedule, on the channel they read. Their reply, or the lack of one, is visible in the case, and every morning you get a digest of what is waiting.
Quotes	The quote arrives as a PDF by email or a photo on WhatsApp. You find it again by searching the contractor's name in the inbox, three weeks later.	You invite one contractor, or several competing on the same case: the first approved quote with a confirmed date wins. Each submits their quote from the link, or simply replies. The PDF is read and pre-filled (amount, VAT, dates), you confirm. You approve or decline in one click, or send it to the owner for approval by secure link.
Scheduling	Three messages to find a slot between the contractor and the occupant, with you in the middle relaying availability.	The contractor proposes slots, the occupant picks one from their link or by replying by email. The confirmed appointment shows in the case and in the schedule.
Work confirmation	You assume it is fixed because the occupant stopped complaining. Or you write to check, if you remember.	After the job, the occupant receives a confirmation request by email. They confirm or flag a problem in one click. The case does not close without this step.
Invoices and re-billing	The invoice arrives by email. You match it to the quote by hand, then work out which owner to re-bill.	The contractor submits the invoice through the same link. The PDF is read and compared with the approved quote, and any overrun is flagged. It is attached to the case and sent to whoever pays: owner, tenant or co-ownership, set upfront or decided after the work.
History and proof	The history of a repair is scattered across a spreadsheet row, a WhatsApp thread and a few emails. Rebuilding it for an owner or an insurer takes an hour.	Each case keeps everything: messages, photos, quotes, decisions, invoice, with the time of every step. You share or export the full history in one click.

Honestly

When Excel and WhatsApp are enough.

Colively is not the right answer to every situation. Three cases where manual tracking holds up perfectly well.

Fewer than about ten units

With a handful of properties and a few repairs a month, an up-to-date spreadsheet and one trusted contractor are enough. The cost of switching tools outweighs the time saved.

One person, start to finish

If you read every message, call every contractor and check every invoice yourself, nothing gets lost between two people. The spreadsheet is your memory, and it works.

No external contractors

If repairs are done in-house by a technical team working in the same office as you, coordination through secure links adds less than a conversation in the corridor.

The day the portfolio grows, a second person joins the loop, or an owner asks for a history you cannot rebuild, the spreadsheet starts costing more than it gives back.

Frequently asked questions

No. Colively does not need an import to start. Each organisation gets a dedicated email address. The first email from a tenant, owner or caretaker creates the first case, with the property and contact extracted from the message. You fill in the rest as you go.

Ready to stop chasing contractors?

Try it on your own requests.
Free, no credit card.

Forward a real email from a tenant or co-owner and watch what it becomes. Your first cases are on us: judge the result before you pay.

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