Who pays when you only know after the work?

The payer (owner, tenant or co-ownership) is set upfront when it is clear. Otherwise it is decided after the work, from the cause the contractor reported: a leak from wear is not a leak from neglect. The invoice is then sent to the right party, with the case as supporting evidence.

What happens when the invoice does not match the quote?

The discrepancy is flagged in the case before approval. You can accept it with a comment, ask the contractor for a corrected invoice from the thread, or refuse it. Every step stays recorded.

Can we recharge the owner with the supporting documents?

Yes. The export by owner includes, for each case, the accepted quote, the invoice and the history. It comes out in one click, by mandate or by period.

Do contractors need to use a particular quote format?

No. They can enter their lines in the secure link or send their own PDF. A text PDF is read automatically: total, VAT, dates and scope are pre-filled, with the line from the document shown alongside, and you confirm. Scanned PDFs and photos of documents are not read yet: you enter the amount yourself.

Quotes and invoices

Month end: thirty invoices, twenty-eight quotes, and two that do not match.

The problem with maintenance invoices is not paying them, it is finding them and matching them to the quote, the property and the owner. Colively keeps every amount attached to the case that produced it. Here is the work order as accounting reads it.

Try it on your own requests See how it works

Ref.: DF-4470
Property: Av. Louise 215, apt 12, Deroose mandate
Opened: Wed. 11:03

01Report

The case is born with the property and the owner already known.

From the moment of the report, Colively attaches the case to a property and a mandate. It is this link, set at the start, that makes recharging possible at the end without retyping anything.

Property and mandate identified on opening
One case per job, never a parallel thread
Every later document inherits the link

EmailMrs Nguyen, apt 12 · 11:03

Hello, the flat's front door does not close properly, you have to force it to turn the key. Please arrange what is needed.

Extracted by Colively

Issue: Stiff lock, front door
Property: Louise 215, apt 12
Mandate: Deroose

NORMAL

02Triage

You approve, and the approval route is recorded in the case.

Depending on the mandate, the quote will go to the owner or be accepted by you. The case knows which. For a lock, you ask for two quotes: both contractors receive the same request. Every decision is timestamped and signed by the person who made it.

Mandate instructions visible in the case
Several quotes requested in one click
Decision timestamped and attributed

Suggested contractors

Serrurerie GoossensLocksmith · Stable pricing across your last 12 cases
Clés et Serrures LouiseLocksmith · Preferred · Louise area

Request two quotesOne click, 11:20

SENT TO 2 CONTRACTORS

03Quote

Quotes are structured at the source. You choose, the amount is frozen.

Each contractor enters his quote line by line from his link, or sends his own PDF. Colively reads the PDF and pre-fills the total, VAT, dates and scope, with the exact line from the document shown beside each value. You check and confirm. You keep one of the quotes, or forward it to the owner. The accepted amount is frozen for reconciliation.

PDF read automatically, source line shown, you confirm
Quotes compared, accepted by you or by the owner
Accepted amount frozen for reconciliation

Serrurerie Goossens

via email link, 16:30

€260.00

Cylinder replacement and 3 keys: €150.00
Labour and call-out: €110.00

QUOTE ACCEPTED

Other quotes received

Clés et Serrures Louise · received 17:05, not retained€295.00

04Appointment

The appointment is set. The case moves on without you.

The tenant proposes her slots by link, the retained contractor takes one or proposes another, reminder the day before. Accounting has nothing to do here, and that is the point: nothing gets lost between the quote and the invoice.

Tenant's slots, contractor's choice
Counter-proposal confirmed by the tenant
No amount circulates outside the case

Slots proposed by Mrs Nguyen

Fri. 09:00 to 10:30
Mon. 14:00 to 15:30

No slot works? The contractor proposes another, Mrs Nguyen confirms by email.

Reminder sent to Mrs Nguyen and the contractor Thu. 18:00

05Closure

The tenant's confirmation triggers invoicing.

When the tenant confirms, the contractor is invited to invoice from the same link. No invoice before confirmation, no invoice without a recorded job.

Invoicing opened after confirmation
Dispute possible before any payment
Quote, job, confirmation, invoice chain intact

EmailMrs Nguyen, apt 12 · Fri. 10:45

The lock works perfectly, thank you.

CONFIRMED

06Invoice

The invoice is reconciled with the quote. Any overrun is flagged.

The invoice PDF arrives through the contractor's link and is read like the quote: amounts pre-filled, source line shown, you confirm. Colively compares it with the accepted quote or the agreed price. Here, €35 over the quote: the invoice is flagged before you approve it. Then the export by owner, by property or by period comes out in one click, ready for your accountant.

Invoice compared with the accepted quote or agreed price
Overrun flagged before approval
Export by owner, property or period

F-2026-0398Serrurerie Goossens

€295.00

Quote accepted: €260.00
Invoiced: €295.00
Overrun flagged: +€35.00

Attached to case DF-4470, Deroose mandateExport by owner

CLOSED. Case archived. Every message, file, quote and decision is kept.

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Frequently asked questions

No. Colively keeps the maintenance case up to the reconciled invoice, then exports to your accounting. It does not keep a ledger and does not make payments on your behalf.

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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