Read or write
Just view, or also fill in the order. Two very different use cases with the same mechanism.
Feature
Give access to someone who'll never have a user account
The electrician who does two jobs a month for you isn't going to register on your platform, and won't remember your password six weeks from now. And you still need them to hand back the report.
What a public link is
It's a web address that points to a specific work order and can be opened without a platform account or password. Whoever receives it sees that order — and only that one — and, if you've allowed it, can fill it in: hours, materials, photos, checks and signature. It's not access to the system, it's a window onto one job, and it closes whenever you want. The difference from emailing the order is that whatever that person writes goes straight into your history, instead of coming back as a PDF someone will have to retype.
Who it's for, in practice
Real cases where requiring a user account doesn't work.
- The self-employed tradesperson or small firm that does one-off jobs and isn't going to adopt your tool.
- A manufacturer's technician who comes once a year for the warranty inspection.
- The site manager who has to sign off on a specific job.
- Someone from a client who just wants to see the report of an intervention.
- A new subcontractor you haven't set up yet and the job is today.
What you can control
Opening a door without leaving it open.
Password protected
Optional, for when the link is going to travel over a channel you don't control.
With an expiry date
Set in days, with a maximum of ninety. A link that never expires is a link someone will keep indefinitely.
Revocable instantly
If the job changes hands or you simply change your mind, revoke it. It can be recreated with a new URL, which invalidates the old one.
Scoped to one order
It doesn't give access to your client, your other jobs, or your prices. Only to that order.
With a log of what was issued
There's a report of the public links generated and their status, which is what lets you review from time to time what's still open.
A link is a credential, even if it doesn't look like one
The convenience of a public link comes from precisely what needs watching: whoever has it, gets in. That means thinking about it the way you think about a password, not the way you think about any old web address. The sensible approach is for each link to be scoped to a specific job and give access to nothing else, to expire, and to leave a record of when it was used. With those three conditions, the risk is proportionate to what's being shared, which is usually one report with one specific supplier. Without them, a link forwarded by email three times ends up in some random inbox and keeps working months later, which is exactly the kind of thing that shows up in an audit.
Shall we look at it with your way of working?
Leave your details and we will get in touch to see whether we fit. No commitment, no lock-in period.
Where it fits among the other options
There are three ways for someone outside to feed work back into your system, and the link is the middle one. The most complete is the supplier portal with its own user account: it gives continuous access, lets them see their portfolio of jobs, and is the sensible choice for a regular subcontractor. The lightest is for them to keep sending their report by email and having the document read automatically to propose the order. The link sits in between: it requires no registration or password to remember, yet the data comes in structured and on time. For the tradesperson who does two jobs a month, it's usually exactly the right fit.
A link is a credential, and should be treated as one
It's worth saying plainly: whoever has the address can open it, just as whoever has the key can walk in. That's why the mechanism comes with an optional password, mandatory expiry capped at ninety days, and instant revocation, and why the system warns when an order changes supplier and the previous contact still holds their link: that's exactly the moment to recreate it. The practical recommendation is the same as with any shared credential: the shortest expiry that works for the case, a password when the link travels over a channel you don't control, and a periodic review of what's still active.
When a link makes sense and when a user account does
The practical rule is frequency. A supplier who works with you every week deserves their own user account: they'll see their workload, their history and their pending jobs, and the relationship benefits both ways. A one-off supplier, the one who comes once a year for a specific inspection, isn't going to register or remember a password, and asking them to guarantees they'll send the report back by email as always. For that case, the link is what makes the difference between getting the information inside the system or getting a PDF someone will have to file by hand. It's not a choice between two ways of doing the same thing: it's recognising that there are two different types of supplier.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly does whoever opens the link see?
The specific job it was generated for and whatever they need to hand it back: its description, its location and the form to record what was done. Nothing else in the system, no other clients, no other jobs, no asset history beyond what was decided to share in that particular send.
Does whoever receives the link need an account?
No. They open the address and see the order, without registering or remembering any platform passwords. It's exactly the case it exists for.
Can they modify the order?
Only if you generate the link in write mode. It can also be issued in read mode, for when all that's needed is for someone to check on the job.
How long does a link last?
Whatever number of days you set, up to a maximum of ninety. It can also be revoked at any time and recreated with a new URL, which invalidates the previous one.
Is it safe?
A link is a credential: whoever has it can open it. That's why it supports a password, always expires, and can be revoked instantly, and why there's a report of the links issued so you can review what's still active. Used with those three things, it's reasonable; sent with no expiry through a WhatsApp group, it's not.
What happens if the job changes supplier?
The system warns that the previous contact still holds the URL, which is the moment to revoke or recreate it. It's one of the things that always get forgotten, which is why the warning is built in.
Try it with a trade of yours
In the demo we generate a link on a real order and open it from a phone, just as they would.