External Vendors are people/organizations that are outside of your organization that you assign to perform the duties of work orders (ex: Trane, Oracle, etc.).

1. Adding Vendors: Only Admins can add or delete external vendors and primary contacts. However, other users who have access to the Work Order Management dashboard are able to view all external vendors and primary contacts.
2. Communicating with Vendors: All communication with external vendors on work orders is done by an admin opening/starting a conversation on the Conversations Tab of the work order and adding the external vendor as the recipient. See more below under the section: "Communicating to Vendors on the Work Order".
3. Attachments on Work Orders: If attachments such as a picture, spreadsheet, or PDF are added to the work order by an internal eSPACE user, the external vendor will need to first accept the work order in the email notification and then log in in order to view the attachments, unless the email notification is about a Conversation started by an eSPACE user with the external vendor (read more below). Pictures, spreadsheets, and PDF's will all download to their device in order for them to view them.
- Keep in mind that external users such as vendors can not add attachments to work orders directly. If they need to add an attachment, they can reply to an email when an internal user starts a conversation with them on the Conversations tab of a work order. However, only PDF attachments will appear with the external vendor's reply on the Conversations tab.
- As long as the internal users who have access to the work order have the "New WO Conversation Comment" email notification enabled under their profile icon/My Notifications/Notification Preferences then they will be notified when the external vendor replies back.

1. Adding External Vendors

To get started with adding external vendors, go to Settings > Basic > External Vendors.

Within Work Order Management, you have the ability to search external vendors within the system. Click on "Add/Search External Vendors" (as shown below).

Next, type in company name, choose state abbreviation, and click "Search".

A. If you get search results, then choose one of the results by clicking "Add External Vendor".

B. If nothing comes up, click "Add New External Vendor", enter the organization's name, physical address, assign the Service Categories and SAVE.

After you add an external vendor, you can also add an "External Vendor Contact".

If no external contacts already exist or you don't see the one that you want, then you can "Add New External Vendor Contact".

Enter in all the information that you need and then click "Save".

External Vendor Contact is Added

Once you add an External Vendor contact with email, they will receive an automated email, that you can view and edit, notifying them that they have been added as an External Vendor for your organization. This email includes instructions on how to access their account and address any future work orders that are assigned to them (see attached below). However, if you choose not to add the contact's email, they will not have access to the Vendor Portal.

External Vendor's Dashboard

If a work order has been assigned to an external vendor contact, this is what they see. The new work order shows under "My New Work Orders" and can be viewed.

After clicking on a work order, the external vendor contact can change the status of the work order to accepted, completed or rejected, as well as, view any tasks assigned to a work. While admins can not assign individual tasks to an external contact, they can see all the tasks assigned to the work order that is assigned to them. Once finished, the external vendor can mark each task as completed and/or they can update the status of the work order as completed.

If another external vendor contact has been added for the company, the external vendor contact can transfer the work order to another external vendor contact, if needed.

eSPACE Admins can view all work orders with status that have been assigned to the external vendor by clicking the expand button to the left of the external vendor's name.

Email Notification to External Vendor

Every time a work order is assigned to the external vendor,

...the vendor will receive an email notification from eSPACE and in that email will be a link to accept the work order.
- If there was an attachment added (picture, PDF, or spreadsheet), those will only be seen by the external vendor when they log into their portal account, except when the email notification is about a conversation started by an eSPACE user with the external vendor on the Conversation's tab of the work order (read more below).

On the next page, the external vendor can decide to accept or reject the work order.

After they accept, they will have the option to log into the portal to view all the work orders assigned to them.

2. Communicating to Vendors

If you have an external vendor added to a work order, then you can create/start a conversation on the Conversation's tab and add them to it.

When you do, the external vendor will receive an email about it.

3. Attachments on Work Orders

Attachments Added By Internal Users

If the conversation includes a picture or spreadsheet or PDF, the external vendor will see the initial comment in the conversation in their email notification. If the eSPACE user then adds attachments (one by one) and then adds another comment afterward, then the next email notification to the external vendor will include the attachments. However, the external vendor will need to sign into the portal in order to view/download the attachments.

The external vendor can also log into the portal, open the work order, and view any attachments that an eSPACE user adds to the Attachment tab of the work order in eSPACE.

The external vendor can simply reply to the email from eSPACE,

..and when they do, their reply will be added to the conversation on the work order.

Attachments Added by External Vendors

Keep in mind that external users such as vendors can not add attachments to work orders directly. If they need to add an attachment, they can reply to an email when an internal user starts a conversation with them on the Conversations tab of a work order. However, only PDF attachments will appear with the external vendor's reply on the Conversations tab.
As long as the internal users who have access to the work order have the "New WO Conversation Comment" email notification enabled under their profile icon/My Notifications/Notification Preferences then they will be notified when the external vendor replies back.