How Atrium screens talk to managers: tone for each moment, the words to use, and how to write dates and money.
Managers use COHO all day, often between viewings, calls and repairs. Write so they can read a screen in a glance and act. Plain words, short sentences, the most important thing first.
Tone for each moment
Your voice stays the same; your tone changes with how the manager is likely to feel. The more stressful the moment, the plainer and calmer the words.
| Moment | How it should sound | Write | Not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Error | Calm and specific. Say what happened and what to do. Never blame. | "Could not send reminders. 3 tenants have no email address." | "Oops! Something went wrong." |
| Destructive action | Serious and exact. Name the thing and the result. | "Disconnect Rent Radar? It stops receiving updates." | "Are you sure?" |
| Warning | Direct, not alarming. Say when it matters. | "Two tenancies end this week." | "URGENT: action required!!" |
| Success | Short and quiet. Confirm, then get out of the way. | "Settings saved." | "Woohoo! You're all set!" |
| Empty | Helpful. Say why it is empty and what fills it. | "No meter reads yet. Reads appear once tenants submit them." | "Nothing to see here." |
| First use | Welcoming but brief. One sentence on what the app does, then the first step. | "Connect your supplier to see readings here." | Three paragraphs about your company. |
| AI output | Honest. Say it was drafted by AI and needs checking. | "Drafted by AI. Check before sending." | Presenting AI text as fact. |
Words to use
Use the words COHO uses, so managers never have to translate between your app and the rest of COHO.
| Use | Not |
|---|---|
| manager | user, admin, customer |
| tenant | resident, occupant, renter |
| tenancy | lease, contract, agreement |
| property | building, unit, asset (a room in a property is a room) |
| owner (the person who owns a property) | landlord, client |
| rent | payment, charge (unless it is not rent) |
| log in (verb), login (noun) | sign in, signon |
| connect / disconnect | install / uninstall, enable / disable (for apps) |
Writing style
- British English: colour, organise, cancelled.
- Sentence case everywhere: "Send reminder", not "Send Reminder". Capitals only for names and proper nouns.
- No full stops in titles, labels, buttons or tags. Use them in sentences in body text, hints and messages.
- Address the manager as "you". Use "we" only for COHO, sparingly.
- Lead with the verb on buttons and links: "Book inspection", "View history".
- No exclamation marks, jokes or emoji. Managers may be reading your error after a bad day.
Formats
| Thing | Write | Not |
|---|---|---|
| Date | 4 Oct 2026, or 4 October 2026 in sentences | 04/10/2026, 10/4/26, 4th October |
| Date range | 1 Sep 2026 to 31 Aug 2027 | 1/9/26 - 31/8/27 |
| Time | 9:30am, 2pm | 09:30, 14:00hrs |
| Money | £650.00, £1,250.00 (right-aligned in tables) | 650, GBP 650, £650 |
| Money per period | £650.00 per month | £650/m, £650 pcm |
| Numbers | 1 to 9 as figures in UI (3 tenants), commas from 1,000 | three tenants, 1000 |
| Phone | 07700 900123, 020 7946 0000 | +447700900123 |
| Relative time | Updated 5 minutes ago (for under a day), then the date | Updated 1,440 minutes ago |
Buttons act, links go
A button does something on this screen: save, send, delete. A link takes the manager somewhere else. Label buttons with the action and links with the destination, and do not style one as the other.