# Rental Workflow Guide

A step-by-step guide to using Rentalot for your typical rental workflow — from first contact with a prospect to lease signing.

## Overview

The core Rentalot workflow looks like this:

1. **Send pre-screening link** to a prospect (new or existing contact)
2. **Prospect completes pre-screening** — Rentalot auto-creates their contact record
3. **Review and approve/deny** the submission on the contact details page
4. **Follow the contact checklist** — schedule showings, send follow-ups, track progress

Each step is explained below.

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## Step 1: Send a Pre-Screening Link

Every agent gets a sharable pre-screening URL. You can send it to prospects via email, WhatsApp, text — whatever works.

### Finding your link

- Go to **Properties** and expand any listing — the workflow share links are listed there
- Or go to **Workflows** and click the **Copy Link** button on your pre-screening template
- For a specific property, use the property-scoped link which pre-fills the property context

### Who to send it to

- **New prospects** who haven't interacted with you yet — they'll fill in their name, email, and phone during the flow
- **Existing contacts** — you can generate a personalized link from their contact page that pre-fills their identity

### What happens on the prospect's end

The prospect sees a conversational questionnaire that collects:
- Personal info (name, email, phone)
- Budget and move-in timeline
- Household details (occupants, pets, vehicles)
- Employment and income
- Rental history

The flow is mobile-friendly and takes 3–5 minutes. Voice input is also available if you've enabled it.

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## Step 2: Prospect Completes Pre-Screening

When a prospect finishes the questionnaire with valid contact info (email or phone), Rentalot automatically:

1. **Creates a contact record** with all the information they provided
2. **Stores the full submission** — viewable on the contact's detail page
3. **Runs qualification scoring** based on your configured thresholds (income ratio, credit, rental history)
4. **Shows matching properties** to the prospect (if enabled in your workflow settings)
5. **Sends you a notification** so you know there's a new submission to review

No manual data entry needed. The contact appears in your **Contacts** list immediately.

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## Step 3: Review the Submission

Go to **Contacts** and find the new prospect. Their detail page shows:

### Submission review

- Click on the pre-screening submission to see all their answers
- Use the **Approve** / **Deny** buttons to record your decision
- Add internal notes (visible only to you) with any context

### What to look for

- **Qualification score** — automatically calculated from your thresholds
- **Income-to-rent ratio** — does their stated income meet your minimum?
- **Move-in timeline** — does it align with your availability?
- **Red flags** — eviction history, incomplete answers, mismatched information

Approving or denying is optional but helps you track pipeline status and triggers appropriate follow-up automations.

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## Step 4: Follow the Contact Checklist

Each contact has a checklist on their detail page to guide you through the remaining steps:

### Typical next steps after approval

1. **Schedule a showing** — use the management chat ("schedule a showing for [contact] at [property]") or create one manually from Events
2. **Send a booking link** — email the prospect a link to pick a showing time (requires calendar integration)
3. **Follow up after showing** — Rentalot can auto-send a post-showing follow-up via the nudge engine
4. **Send application link** — share your rental application when you're ready to move forward
5. **Track status** — update the contact status as they progress (Prospect → Scheduled → Applicant → Renter)

### Automated follow-ups

If you've enabled nudges in **Settings**, Rentalot automatically:

- Sends a **showing reminder** before the appointment
- Sends a **post-showing follow-up** after a completed showing
- Nudges **idle prospects** who haven't responded in a while
- Reminds prospects with **incomplete pre-screenings** to finish

You can also manually send nudges from any contact's page using the **Send Nudge** button.

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## Tips

- **Use the Management Chat** for quick actions — "draft an email to John about the Oak St apartment" or "show me contacts who completed pre-screening this week"
- **Connect your email** early — it enables auto-send for follow-ups and lets you send directly from the dashboard
- **Connect your calendar** — two-way sync means showings created in Rentalot appear on your calendar and vice versa
- **Enable voice** — prospects can complete pre-screening by voice instead of typing, which improves completion rates
- **Property Blast** — use the blast page to let prospects browse all your listings and express interest in bulk