For property managers

How not-to-exceed work orders actually work

NTE is the term that decides whether a vendor is easy to work with. Here is exactly how we handle it, so there are no surprises on an invoice.

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The short version

You set a dollar ceiling per work order. We diagnose and complete the work up to that ceiling without calling for approval. If the scope turns out larger than the ceiling allows, we stop, document what we found, and call you before spending another dollar. You never receive an invoice above the limit you set without having approved it first.

Our standard proposal

Standard NTE we propose
$785
Who sets the final figure
You do — per portfolio or per property
What happens at the ceiling
We stop and call before proceeding
Documentation
Photos before, during and after
Warranty
1 year on materials and labor

We propose $785 because it covers the large majority of single-visit maintenance work — a leak, a failed fixture, a door that will not close, a drywall repair — without generating an approval call for routine jobs. Managers who want a tighter ceiling set one; managers with larger single-family portfolios often set it higher.

What you get on every work order

Response time

Our commitment is a 1-hour work-day response — a work order received during the working day gets a response within the hour, not the next morning. Separately, we hold 20 jobs per week of same-week capacity so the response can turn into a scheduled visit quickly.

The fastest way to test this is a single work order. Set the NTE, send it through your portal, and judge us on the turnaround.

Questions property managers ask us first

What does a not-to-exceed (NTE) work order mean?

An NTE is a dollar ceiling you set on a work order before we dispatch. We diagnose and complete the repair up to that limit without another approval call. Our standard proposal is $785, but the number is yours to set — per work order, per property, or across the whole portfolio.

Who sets the not-to-exceed amount?

You do. Most managers set one standing NTE for routine maintenance and a higher one for turnovers. We work to whatever is in the vendor agreement, and we do not propose changing it mid-job.

What happens if a repair will cost more than the NTE?

We stop, photograph what we found, and call before doing any additional work. You get a written scope and price for the overage, and nothing proceeds until you approve it. The one thing we will not do is finish the job and invoice you past the ceiling.

How fast do you respond to a work order?

One hour during the work day. We hold 20 jobs per week of same-week capacity for maintenance and handyman work, so a Monday request does not turn into a next-Friday visit.

How is the work documented?

Before and after photos on every work order, the technician notes, and the parts used, delivered with the invoice. After-hours and emergency calls are logged the same way.

Which portals do you accept work orders through?

Property Meld, AppFolio, Buildium and Rentvine. We are live in all four today, so work orders can stay in the system you already run rather than moving to email.

Get a maintenance quote in under 48 hours

Tell us what needs attention and we will call you back with a clear, itemized price. Same-week scheduling across metro Atlanta for homeowners, landlords and property managers.

Call (404) 394-2449

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