How to send a repair job to a vendor by link, with no vendor login

What goes wrong with phone calls and text threads

Dispatching by phone or text is the default. The plumber gets an address in one message, the tenant's name in another, and the gate code from a call he did not record. Two days later nobody knows whether he accepted, whether the price was agreed or whether the job was finished. The tenant asks you for an update and you have none.

Asking every vendor to make an account in your software fixes the record but breaks the habit: a one-person plumbing company will not learn a new login for a job that pays a few hundred dollars. So the dispatch has to work with nothing but a phone and a browser.

What a good job link contains

• The trade and a one-line title, such as "Plumbing: leak under kitchen sink".
• The property address and unit, so the vendor can find it.
• The urgency, so an emergency reads differently from a routine job.
• The tenant's description and photos, so the vendor can bring the right part.
• Whether the tenant allows entry when they are out, and any access note such as a lockbox or a pet.
• A deadline to accept, so the job does not sit unanswered.

Leave out what the vendor does not need. A vendor does not need your other properties, your rent figures or the tenant's full contact history. Share the first name and the unit, not the lease.

The steps from link to finished job

1. You create the work order and choose a vendor from your list.
2. The vendor opens the link on a phone and reads the job.
3. The vendor taps accept or decline. A decline sends the job back to you right away, so you can try the next vendor.
4. If the job needs a price, the vendor enters an amount, a note and optional photos. You see the quote and approve it.
5. The vendor picks a time that works, and the tenant and you see it.
6. The vendor starts the job and, when done, marks it finished with a note and photos of the work.
7. You close the work order after the tenant confirms, and the invoice is matched to it.

Two safety details matter. The link should expire, so a forwarded message cannot be used weeks later, and it should be private to that one job, so opening it shows nothing else about your business. A link that works only for the job it was created for, and stops working once the job is done, gives a vendor convenience without giving anyone a back door.

Paperwork still applies

A link does not replace vendor paperwork. Before paid work, collect a Form W-9 so you have the vendor's taxpayer ID (the IRS instructions for the W-9 explain what it is for), and a certificate of insurance for anything beyond a small repair. Put the vendor's name, insurance expiry and W-9 on file once, and every later job link can rely on it. Our post on hiring maintenance vendors covers that checklist.

Example a made-up owner dispatches a no-hot-water call on Monday at 9:00. The link goes to a plumber, who accepts at 9:20, quotes $380 with a photo of the failed element at 9:45, and is approved at 10:00. He picks Tuesday at 2:00 pm, finishes and uploads a photo at 3:10 pm. Total time the owner spent on the phone: none. Every step has a time stamp if the tenant or an insurer asks later.

How DoorKeeping handles it

In DoorKeeping, you or your AI app send a work order to a vendor, and the vendor receives a private job link. The page shows the trade, urgency, address, unit, the tenant's description and photos and any access notes, with the deadline to accept. The vendor can accept or decline, send a quote with a note and photos, pick a time, start the job and finish it, all without an account. The link expires, and it opens only that one job. Everything the vendor does is saved on the work order. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. It costs $2 per unit a month with every feature included, no setup and no minimum.

Sources

1. IRS, Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9, read Oct 30, 2026
2. IRS, About Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Does a vendor need an account to receive a job from me?

Not with a private job link. The vendor opens the link, accepts or declines, quotes, picks a time and finishes the job from a phone, with no password.

Is it safe to send a job link by text or email?

It is safer when the link is private to one job and expires. It should show only that job, never your other properties or the tenant's full record.

Do I still need a W-9 from a vendor I dispatch by link?

Yes, if you will pay them enough to need a Form 1099-NEC. Collect the W-9 before the first payment.