Introduction – What is a case?



Cases deal with incidents, defects and projects at your property. This is one of the most heavily used features of MYBOS.

When to create a case?


As a building manager, you create a case when you come across any defect or damage at your property which needs repair/maintenance work by a contractor. Sometimes building managers might need to do major works themselves or they have on-site help for that. Cases can also be created in such instances.

How to create a case?


1.       Click on the cases section in the left hand side menu.
2.       Press the ‘New’ button on the right hand side to add your case details.
3.       The case numbering is automatic, starting from 1.
4.       Choose the applicable case type. If your desired case type is not in the list, you can add more case types. See How to add or remove case types for more details.
5.       The Added field marks the day when the case was created and defaults to the day you are entering the case. You can pick any date of your choosing.
6.       Due date marks the day when the case will be completed. Pick the date by which your case is expected to be completed. You can always change these details by editing your case later.
7.       Select the case priority.
8.       Select the status of your case. Default case statuses are available but you can also create custom case statuses. See How to add or remove case statuses.
9.       In the Asset Information section, you can select job areas from common assets, common non-assets and private lot.

a.       If you select common asset, you would be asked to choose asset(s) and contractor(s). You can use the Category filter for narrowing down the assets to be selected.
b.       If you choose common non-asset, you would be asked to choose contractors(s) only.
c.       If you choose private lot, you would be asked to pick from the lots in your property.

10.   You can select more than one asset, contractor or apartments for the same case. If you do not find the asset or the contractor in the list, you can add them on the fly using the ‘+’ buttons. See How to create a new asset and How to create a new contractor for details.
11.   Now enter job subject and description. There is no limit on the length of description but we suggest that you avoid pasting fancy text with graphics because that can sometimes affect your reports.
12.   You can keep job notes for a case to record any information. These notes are private to the building manager and aren’t sent out with work orders.
13.   In the options section, you can choose whether you want this case to be part of your management report, and if you want to duplicate this case to other buildings in your portfolio. If you choose to duplicate the case across other buildings, the cases are synched and change on one case reflects on all linked cases.
14.   Attachments to a case can be added in the left hand side panel. Types of attachments include photo, document, quote and invoices. To add an attachment, click the ‘+’ button at the top right side to open file upload widget. You can browse to the file or you can drag and drop the file onto this widget. After you are done choosing the files, press ‘Add’ to upload the files. You can upload up to 3 photos per case. The documents can be Word, PDF or Excel files but not any image files such as JPG, JPEG, PNG etc. Any quotes you have received for a job can be added along with the relevant contractor and quote value. Once the job is done, you can also add invoices along with invoice value, budget codes (set up in Building > Budget), the relevant contractor as well as your notes.
15.   In the Email section at the bottom of your screen, uncheck the checkbox for the contractor(s) to whom you do not wish to send the work order. This is particularly useful when recording older cases and processing backlog.
16.   Depending upon your choice in the last step, the system behaves differently when saving the information using ‘Save’ or ‘Save and Add New’ buttons. If you had not unchecked the contractor checkbox in the Email section, pressing the ‘Save’ button will take you to the ‘Email Case’ screen where you can send out work orders(s) to selected contractor(s). Otherwise, pressing the save button will save and display the case for you. Pressing the ‘Save and New’ button saves the case and opens a new case entry screen, regardless of whether contractor(s) checkbox was ticked or not.
17.   For information on Email Case screen, please see How to send out a work order.


How to search and/or edit a case?


1.       Click on the cases section in the left menu bar to view the cases table.
2.       By default, the screen shows current (not completed) cases.
3.       For viewing completed, deleted or overdue cases, you can switch between these views using by clicking the ‘Current cases’ button on the top left and choosing your desired category.
4.       You can scroll down through the list of cases or you can simply search by case number or subject by typing in the search box at the top right side, next to the ‘New’ button.
5.       Click on the relevant case row to view case information screen.
6.       To edit the case, click the ‘Pencil’ icon on the top right of case information screen. This opens the case in edit mode. You can edit any information in the case, except for the Logs at the bottom, which provide a history of case edits with date and time.  Press Save to confirm your edits.


How to add or remove a case attachment?


1.       After opening the case, click the + button at the top right corner of the attachments panel.
2.       Click on the respective menu item displaying the types of attachment(s) you want to remove.
3.       A widget will appear showing the list of attachments of your selected type, showing a Trash icon next to each file already uploaded. On pressing the Trash icon, a dialog will appear asking for confirmation. Press Okay to confirm removal.
4.       You can use the same widget to add new attachments. You can browse to the file or you can drag and drop the file onto this widget. After you are done choosing the files, press ‘Add’ to upload the files.

How to export or download a case?


1.       You can export or download a case after it has been saved in two formats, DOCX or PDF. Export buttons are at the top right, next to the edit button.
2.       Click on the blue ‘W’ button to download the DOCX file onto your system in your default download destination.
3.       For PDF format, click the red button with Adobe icon next to the ‘W’ button for the same.
4.       Exports contain complete case information including photos and other attachments. Photos are directly visible while other documents are hyperlinked to files in the cloud. You can view or download attachments by clicking on these hyperlinks.


How to delete a case? 


1.       Click on the cases section in the left menu bar to view the cases table.
2.       Find the case you wish to delete. See How to search and edit a case for detailed search guidelines.
3.       In the cases table, tick the checkbox on the extreme left of the case row.
4.       The ‘bin’ button appears on the top of the table, next to the cases filter. Click on this button to view the confirmation dialog. Press OK button on the dialog. The case will be moved to Trash.
5.       Deleted cases remain in the trash for future reference.


How to add, edit or remove case types?


1.       Open the cases section by clicking on Cases in the left menu bar.
2.       Click on settings (gear) icon on the top left of the Cases header in blue color to view settings options.
3.       Select ‘Add or Edit Case Type’
4.       To add a new case type:

a.       Type the new case type name in the ‘New Name’ textbox and press the ‘Add’ button below it.
b.       The case type will be added and shown at the bottom of the listbox in the Change Position Order or Delete section
.c.       To move any type up or down the list, select the type by clicking on the radio button next to it. Use the up or down arrow buttons to move the selected type one place at a time.
d.       Press Save button to implement your changes.

5.       To edit an existing case type:

a.       Select the existing type in the listbox.
b.       Click on the edit icon (with a small pencil on it).
c.       A dialog will appear showing the existing type name in a textbox.
d.       Change the type name and press Save.

6.       To delete an existing case type:

a.       Make sure that the type to be removed doesn’t apply to any cases in the database. To remove a type, no case can have the type attached to it.
b.       Select the existing type in the listbox.
c.       Click on the delete icon (with the bin icon on it).
d.       A dialog will appear to confirm deletion.
e.       Press OK to remove the type.


How to add, edit or remove case status?


1.       You cannot edit or remove default case statuses, but you can add, edit or delete custom statuses.
2.       Open the cases section by clicking on Cases in the left menu bar.
3.       Click on settings (gear) icon on the top left of the Cases header in blue color to view settings options.
4.       Select ‘Add or Edit Case Status’. 
5.       To add a new case status:

a.       Type the new case status name in the ‘New Name’ textbox and press the ‘Add’ button below it.
b.       The new status will be added and shown at the bottom of the listbox in the Change Position Order or Delete section.
c.       To move any status up or down the list, select it and use the up or down arrow buttons to move the selected type one place at a time.
d.       Press Save button to implement your changes.

6.       To edit an existing case status:

a.       Select the existing item in the listbox.
b.       Click on the edit icon (with a small pencil on it).
c.       A dialog will appear showing the existing item name in a textbox.
d.       Change the item name and press Save.

7.       To delete a custom case status:

a.       Make sure that the status to be removed doesn’t apply to any cases in the database. To remove a status, no case can have the status attached to it.
b.       Select the existing status in the listbox.
c.       Click on the delete icon (with the bin icon on it).
d.       A dialog will appear to confirm deletion.
e.       Press OK to remove the type.  

How to send out a work order?


1.       You can send work orders in three different ways, all taking you to Email Case screen:

a.       When you add a new case with the default options and press Save, the system takes you to the Email Case screen. See How to create a case for more details.
b.       When you edit and save an existing case, the system takes you to the Email Case screen. See How to search and edit a case for more details.
c.       When you view a case, pressing the email case button (green button with a letter icon) would take you to Email Case screen. See How to search and edit a case for guidelines on viewing an existing case.

2.       The Email Cases screen provides you a number of options before mailing it out.

a.       Enter due date for the job completion.
b.       Select Work Order in the type of email.
c.       Select whether you want to add case description to the work order or otherwise.
d.       You can also select contractors in addition to the ones already added to the case. Use the search box or scroll down the list to find the relevant contractors. Tick each and press Add button.
e.       On the right half of the screen, you will find email boxes for each contractor selected in the last step.
f.        Click ‘Add CC’ to copy case email to yourself or any other concerned entity. You can type in any number of email addresses but make sure they are separated by a carriage return (Press Enter key after each email address).
g.       Below the CC email addresses, the case subject line is already included but you can edit it to create a more personalised message.
h.       Use the next textbox for adding job description and instructions.
i.         Repeat the above 3 steps for all email boxes. Then press Send button to send out the work order emails.
j.         The outgoing work order is saved by the system in the Work Orders Sent section. Please note that this section contains a log of all work orders sent and is not editable for ensuring transparency.  In short, work orders sent cannot be removed from the system. Before mailing out work orders, please ensure that you have entered all details correctly.


How to view the sent work order?


1.       Click on the Work Orders Sent menu item on the left to view the list of sent work orders. By default, most recent work orders are listed at the top.
2.       You can search for the work order by work order number, subject, assigned contractor and asset name by typing into the search box on the right side.
3.       Click on your desired row in the list. The sent work order will open in another tab of your browser in PDF format. You can download and save it on your device as well.


How do I assign a job to myself?


As a building manager, there may be certain tasks that you perform yourself instead of calling in a contractor. To record tasks or projects implemented by you, it is recommended to create yourself as a Contractor and assign jobs to yourself. See How to create a new contractor for more details.