ElectricalBossPro Blog — Commercial Accounts

Turnover Electrical Work Between Tenants: Fast Jobs When a Unit Changes Hands

Every time a tenant moves out, a property manager has a clock running. The unit needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired and ready before the next tenant's move-in date, and every empty day costs the owner rent. Electrical items are usually a small part of the turnover list, but they are often the part that waits on an outside contractor. The electrician who can turn those items around quickly earns a lot of repeat calls.

Turnover Is the Steadiest Property Manager Work

Yearly inspections across a portfolio are covered in Yearly Safety Inspections Across a Portfolio: Every Building on a 365-Day Plan. Turnover work is the opposite kind of job: unplanned, short and urgent, but it comes in all year long.

A typical turnover list for an electrician might include:

• Light fixtures broken or missing.
• Outlet and switch covers cracked or painted over.
• A GFCI outlet that will not reset.
• Smoke detectors that need attention.
• A ceiling fan the owner wants added or replaced.
• A breaker that the departing tenant said kept tripping.

None of it is big. All of it needs to be done before the new tenant arrives.

Put the Job on the Right Unit

In ElectricalBossPro each unit can be its own address under the property manager's client. When the manager sends a turnover list, the office creates the job at that unit, so the work lands in the unit's history and on the right line of the statement. Each item from the list becomes a line item from your service list: a $165 GFCI replacement, a light fixture swap, a ceiling fan install.

If the unit has been worked on before, the office and tech can see the past jobs and notes. A breaker that tripped in the last turnover and is tripping again is worth knowing about.

Turnover lists from managers often come in as a text with a photo or a forwarded email. The office does not need to retype it all into a note. Turning each electrical item into a line item on the job is enough, because that is what the tech works from and what the statement shows. Anything the manager says about access or timing goes into the address notes or the job notes, where the tech will see it.

Vacant Units Need Their Own Access Notes

Turnover units are usually empty, which makes access different from an occupied unit. Nobody is home to answer the door, and the manager is not always on site. The access notes on the address should cover it:

• “Vacant, lockbox on the front door, combination from the leasing office.”
• “Keys at the leasing office, return by 5pm.”
• “Painters may be on site, coordinate with maintenance.”

The tech sees those notes on the job card and can get in without a call. Access notes stay behind the tech's personal PIN in the app, which matters for lockbox information.

Speed Comes From Scheduling

Turnovers are rarely planned weeks ahead. The manager calls on Monday wanting it done by Thursday. On the dispatch board, the office can see which van is near that property on the days in between and slot the turnover into that route. Auto-route will put it in a sensible place in the day, and the office can move it by hand if the unit needs to be done first, before the painters arrive.

Crew GPS on the office map helps for truly urgent ones. If a tech is already near the complex, the office can see it and add the job to their day.

Proof the Unit Is Ready

The manager approving turnover work often never sees the unit between tenants. Before-and-after photos taken in the tech app show the new fixture, the replaced covers and the working outlet. The photos and notes stay with the job at that unit address. For more on using photos with commercial accounts, read Before-and-After Photos as Proof for Commercial Electrical Accounts.

An automatic arrived text tells the manager the tech made it to the unit, and the tech's notes on completion tell them it is done. If something on the list could not be finished, the tech notes why, and the office can text the manager right away.

Billing Every Turnover Together

A busy complex might turn over several units in a month. Set the client to Monthly and each turnover job becomes a line on one statement, labeled with the unit's address. The manager sees exactly which units had which work, and can charge each owner or budget correctly. No separate invoice for each unit, and no chasing.

Becoming the Turnover Electrician

Property managers send turnover work to whoever makes it easiest. Quick scheduling, clean access, photos on completion and one bill a month make you that contractor. For more on how property manager accounts work, see the commercial electrical software page.