Actions · Product guide
Actions
Actions are your team’s to-do list in COHO. COHO raises an Action whenever something needs a person: a certificate is due, rent hasn’t arrived, a new lead has come in or an onboarding is waiting for you. You can add your own Actions too, give them a checklist (a workflow), and assign them to people in your team.
For step-by-step instructions, see Actions: how-to. For problems, see Actions: troubleshooting.
Why you’d come here
Section titled “Why you’d come here”| You want to… | Usually you start from | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| See what needs doing today, for you or the team | The dashboard Actions tile (Actions, Overdue, Certificates), or Menu > Actions | The Actions panel |
| Deal with an Action COHO raised, such as a certificate due or rent due | The Action’s View, which shows the form or page you need | Work through an Action |
| Give work to a colleague | The Assigned column | Assign an Action |
| Send each type of Action to the right person automatically | The Actions panel’s settings cog: Automatic Action Assignments | Set up automatic assignments |
| Put something off until later | The snooze bell on the row | Snooze an Action |
| Record a one-off task that COHO doesn’t raise for you | Add Action | Add your own Action |
| Follow the same checklist every time, for example a move-out | The settings cog: Workflow Templates | Create a workflow template |
| Repeat a task on a schedule, such as a quarterly check on every property | The settings cog: Recurring Actions | Set up a recurring Action |
| Share or print the list | Generate Report, Export (CSV) | Report or export Actions |
Which panel to use:
| Panel | Use it when you’re thinking about |
|---|---|
| Organisation (Menu > Actions) | Your whole portfolio: daily triage, your team’s workload, settings |
| Property (the property page’s Actions panel) | One property, including its rooms |
| Dashboard Actions tile | A quick count of what’s open and overdue |
How it works
Section titled “How it works”- Something needs a person. COHO checks your properties, tenancies and other records, straight after most changes and again at least every 8 hours. If something needs doing, it raises an Action. You can also add Actions yourself.
- COHO assigns it. Your automatic assignment rules decide who gets it. If no rule matches, your default team member for that kind of work gets it. Otherwise it’s unassigned. See Who an Action is assigned to.
- COHO tells people, once. About a minute after the Action is created, COHO sends one email and app notification: to the assigned person, or to everyone who can see that kind of Action if it’s unassigned. It isn’t repeated. See Rules and automatic behaviour.
- Someone does the task. Most Actions show what’s needed when you open them, such as the form to upload a certificate. When the task is done, the Action closes itself.
- Or you close it by hand. Some Actions are reminders only, such as a new lead or a contract expiring. You dismiss these yourself when you’ve dealt with them.
Where to find it
Section titled “Where to find it”| Level | Where | Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Organisation | Dashboard: Menu > Actions | Every Action you can see |
| Property | A property page: its Actions panel | That property’s Actions, with a Room column |
| Dashboard | The Actions tile | Counts of open Actions, overdue Actions and certificate Actions. A person icon switches between yours and everyone’s; a tag icon limits it to property tags |
| One Action | The link in an Action email | That Action on its own page |
What you see
Section titled “What you see”The Actions panel
Section titled “The Actions panel”When closed, the panel reads “A table view of outstanding actions with shortcuts to complete them.” Open it to see the filters, the category tiles and the list.
Filters
| On screen | What it does |
|---|---|
| Person filter | Mine & Unassigned (the default), Mine, Unassigned, All, a named person, or a team tag |
| Property filter | Chosen properties only (organisation panel) |
| Filter by action type | One type of Action, for example Gas Safety Certificate Add Item |
| Filter by tags | Actions with the chosen tags |
| Filter by status | New, In Progress, On Hold, Completed. Empty means all open Actions |
| Include snoozed | Shows snoozed Actions too |
| Workflow tasks ONLY | Only Actions that have a workflow checklist |
| Setup tasks | Shows the setup tasks for properties you’re still setting up, instead of the normal list. See Setup tasks |
Category tiles
Click a tile to list its Actions. Each tile shows “All done”, “1 action” or “[number] actions”.
| Tile | Holds |
|---|---|
| Critical | Urgent Actions from any category. Shown only when there are some |
| Property | Certificates and compliance, inspections, missing listing details, GoCardless mandates, rent reviews |
| Tenancy | Rent due, deposits, contracts, right to rent, tenant invites, tenant contact changes |
| Maintenance | New and in-progress maintenance issues |
| Onboarding | Onboarding steps waiting for you |
| Viewing | New leads, viewing proposals, responses and feedback |
| Other | Actions you add yourself, recurring Actions, service set-up, property owner invites, accounting sync problems |
You only see the tiles your role allows. See Who can use it.
The list
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Assigned | Who it’s assigned to. Click to change |
| Title | What’s needed, with any tags |
| Property (organisation) or Room (property) | Where it applies |
| Due | The due date, if there is one. Overdue rows are highlighted |
| Bell | Snooze the Action, or unsnooze it |
| Tick | Mark as completed and dismiss action. Shown only on Actions you can dismiss by hand |
| Status | New, In Progress or On Hold, with workflow progress such as “In Progress 2/5”. Click to change |
| View | Opens the Action |
The list shows 50 Actions per page, earliest due first.
Buttons below the list: Add Action, Generate Report, Export (CSV) and Export ALL (CSV). The settings cog opens Action Settings.
An open Action
Section titled “An open Action”Click View on a row.
| On screen | What it does |
|---|---|
| Title and message | What’s needed |
| Tags | Add or remove tags |
| Type, Assigned, Due, Snoozed Until, Notes | The Action’s details |
| Property, Room, Tenancy | Links to where it applies |
| The task itself | For most COHO Actions, the form to do the work, such as uploading a certificate or logging a payment, or the onboarding or viewing it’s about |
| Workflow tab | The checklist, if there is one, with Create steps, Use template, Add another step and Save as template |
| Instructions tab | The workflow’s instructions and files, if the template has them |
| History tab | Who created, assigned, snoozed or changed it, and when |
| Dismiss Action | Closes an Action you can dismiss by hand |
| Edit | Changes the title, due date and detail of an Action you added yourself |
Types of Action
Section titled “Types of Action”| Raised by | Example Actions | Closes itself when |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance | “Gas Safety Certificate Required”, “EICR Required”, “Portable Appliance Test Due”, fire safety checks to approve | You add a certificate that’s valid beyond your reminder period, or switch the panel off |
| Rent collection | “Rent Payment Due: [tenant]”, “Rent payment expected today”, “Missed rent payment reason provided” | The rent is paid in full. Rent Payment Due is also removed after 28 days, if the charge is deleted or marked bad debt, or if the tenancy ends |
| Maintenance | New issue reported, estimate or invoice to review, date proposed, ready for review | The issue moves on, is archived or is deleted |
| Viewings and leads | “New Lead”, “Viewing Date Proposal Required”, “Viewing Response Required” | The viewing moves on. A new-lead Action clears when you archive the lead, not when it goes stale |
| Onboarding | “Set holding fee”, “Begin applicant referencing”, “Review applicant reference result”, “Confirm the contract”, “Pay the invoice” | You complete that onboarding step, or cancel the onboarding |
| Referencing (in onboarding) | Start referencing, review a result, pay a failed referencing invoice | The result is reviewed or the invoice is paid |
| Tenant invites | “Invite [tenant] to COHO”, “Remind [tenant] to join COHO” | You invite them, or they join |
| Deposits, contracts, right to rent, inspections, rent reviews | “Register Tenancy Deposit”, “Add Tenancy Agreement for…”, “Add Right to Rent Documents for…”, “Inspection Due”, “Rent Review Due” | The record is added or the step is done |
| Service set-up | “Configure Gas Safety Certification” and similar | You accept the service’s terms or switch it off |
| You | Your own Actions, recurring Actions, and workflows started from onboarding or tenancy forms | You dismiss them, or tick every workflow step |
Which Actions close themselves
Section titled “Which Actions close themselves”- Actions about COHO records close themselves. When you finish the task anywhere in COHO, the Action closes. You can’t dismiss them by hand: the tick and Dismiss Action don’t appear. Examples are compliance renewals, onboarding steps, Rent Payment Due, deposits, contracts and right to rent.
- Reminder-type Actions are dismissed by you. These show the tick and Dismiss Action. Examples are your own Actions, new leads, viewing accepted or cancelled, contract expiring or expired, maintenance issue Actions, tenant and owner invites, and workflow Actions started from onboarding or tenancy forms. Many of these also close themselves when the record moves on.
- COHO also removes Actions for disabled or deleted properties and rooms, and for services you switch off.
Setup tasks (optional Actions)
Section titled “Setup tasks (optional Actions)”When you add a property, COHO shows a setup checklist at the top of the property page. The Actions it raises for that property’s paperwork, such as adding the first gas safety certificate or inviting tenants, are setup tasks. They’re optional.
- Setup tasks don’t appear in the normal list. Switch on Setup tasks to see them.
- They don’t send any notification, then or later.
- When you click End this process on the property’s checklist, its setup tasks move into the normal list. This can’t be undone.
Statuses
Section titled “Statuses”| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| New | Not started |
| In Progress | Someone is working on it. Ticking a workflow step moves it here |
| On Hold | Paused, for example waiting for a third party |
| Completed | Done. Completed and dismissed Actions from the last 30 days show when you filter by Completed |
Status is for your team’s tracking. Changing it doesn’t do the task.
Workflows
Section titled “Workflows”A workflow is a checklist on an Action. Each step can be assigned to a person, and steps can be grouped into sections with child steps. The Status column shows progress, for example “In Progress 3/7”.
- Add steps to one Action: open it and use Create steps, or Use template.
- Workflow templates are reusable checklists, with optional instructions and files. Create them under Action Settings > Workflow Templates:
- Manual action: a checklist for Actions you add yourself (Add Action > Workflow) and recurring Actions.
- Built-in action: a checklist for one type of COHO Action, for example Gas Safety Certificate Required, or a workflow type such as Workflow -> Tenancy Move-Out Date Set. (The type list uses Action titles; the templates table and filters use type names such as Gas Safety Certificate Add Item.)
- Apply automatically: on a built-in template, Always use this workflow for actions of this type adds it to every open Action of that type, including ones already open, within about 5 minutes. Only one template per type can apply automatically.
- When every step is ticked, an Action you can dismiss by hand closes. Other Actions show Completed and stay open until the task is done.
Workflows started from forms. Some forms can create a workflow Action for you:
| Form | Section | Creates |
|---|---|---|
| Onboard New Applicant | Custom Onboarding Workflow | A “Workflow -> Onboarding Started” Action |
| Cancelling an onboarding | “Do you want to include a workflow?” | A “Workflow -> Onboarding Cancelled” Action |
| Adding a tenancy outside onboarding | “Do you want to include a workflow?” | A “Workflow -> Tenancy Created (outside onboarding)” Action |
| Ending a tenancy (setting the move-out date) | “Do you want to include a workflow?” | A “Workflow -> Tenancy Move-Out Set” Action |
Each needs a built-in template of that type first (in the type list: Workflow -> New Onboarding Started, Workflow -> Onboarding Cancelled, Workflow -> New Tenancy Added (directly), Workflow -> Tenancy Move-Out Date Set). If one is set to apply automatically, the form picks it for you. The Action is assigned to you and is due by the date you choose; for tenancies, it defaults to the move-in or move-out date.
Recurring Actions
Section titled “Recurring Actions”A recurring Action creates one of your own Actions on a schedule, for example a quarterly fire door check.
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Single action / Workflow | Whether each Action gets a workflow template |
| Title | The Action’s title |
| Property | Specific properties, or By property tag. Leave the properties blank for all your active properties |
| Due date | Immediately, or a number of Days after, Weeks after or Months after it’s created |
| Frequency | Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Fortnightly, Every 4 weeks, Quarterly, Every 6 months, Annually |
| Start date | The first run |
| Assign to, Detail, Tags | Copied to every Action created |
Settings
Section titled “Settings”Open the Actions panel’s settings cog for Action Settings.
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| Recurring Actions | Your recurring Actions. See Recurring Actions |
| Workflow Templates | Your workflow templates: Name, Action Type, Steps, Auto. Edit, Archive, Restore, Delete (archived templates only) |
| Automatic Action Assignments | Rules that assign new Actions by Action types, Properties, or both, to one person |
Default assignees for each kind of work are set separately in the Users panel: Automatic assignments (Lettings and sales, Property management, Tenancy management), for the organisation and for each property.
Who an Action is assigned to
Section titled “Who an Action is assigned to”When COHO raises an unassigned Action, it picks the first match:
- Your automatic action assignment rules, newest first. A rule with no action types matches every type; a rule with no properties matches every property.
- The property’s default for that kind of work (in the Users panel): Lettings and sales for leads, viewings and onboarding; Property management for compliance, maintenance and owner Actions; Tenancy management for rent, deposits, contracts and tenant Actions.
- The organisation’s default for that kind of work.
- Otherwise it stays unassigned.
Some Actions arrive already assigned. Your own Actions and recurring Actions on a property go to the person you choose, or else the property’s (or organisation’s) Property management default. Workflow Actions from forms go to you. Actions about a maintenance job in progress go to the issue’s assignee.
Who can use it
Section titled “Who can use it”| To | You need |
|---|---|
| See the Actions panel | View permission for Actions, or for Compliance, Property services, Inspections, Maintenance, Onboarding or Viewings |
| See the Property, Tenancy and Other tiles | View permission for Actions |
| See the Maintenance, Onboarding and Viewing tiles | View permission for Maintenance, Onboarding or Viewings |
| See certificate Actions | View permission for Compliance, or Property services for Boiler Servicing, PAT and Other Certificates |
| Assign, snooze, change status, dismiss, add and edit Actions | Edit permission for Actions |
| Generate the report or export | View permission for Actions |
| Open Action Settings | Edit permission for Actions, or for User management |
| Manage workflow templates and recurring Actions | Edit permission for Actions |
| Manage Automatic Action Assignments | Edit permission for User management |
Rules and automatic behaviour
Section titled “Rules and automatic behaviour”- Snoozing hides an Action until the date you pick. It doesn’t change the due date. The Action comes back on that date. Include snoozed shows snoozed Actions.
- Completed Actions are shown for 30 days when you filter by Completed. Export ALL (CSV) covers older ones.
- Your own Actions need a title of at least 3 characters, can’t start as Completed, and can be edited later (title, due date, detail). COHO’s own Actions can’t be edited.
- One automatic template per type. Archiving a template turns off Always use this workflow…. Only archived templates can be deleted.
- Calendar: creating an Action from the Calendar adds a normal Action, with a due date required.
What COHO sends
| When | Who gets it | How |
|---|---|---|
| A new Action is created (about a minute later) | The assigned person; if unassigned, everyone who can see that kind of Action (rent, deposit and rent review Actions also need Rent Collection access) | Email and app notification, once |
| Someone assigns an Action to you | You | A notification |
| Setup tasks, recommendations, or Actions already closed before COHO sends | Nobody | — |
Each person controls these in their own account under Subscriptions (for each channel: Grouped, Immediately or Off).
What COHO does automatically
- Raises Actions when something needs a person, and closes most of them when the work is done.
- Assigns new Actions using your rules and defaults.
- Notifies the right people once when an Action is created.
- Adds workflows to open Actions of a type with an automatic template, every few minutes.
- Creates recurring Actions on their schedule.
- Removes Actions for disabled or deleted properties and rooms, and for services you switch off.
What COHO doesn’t do automatically
- send a reminder again. Notifications go once, when the Action is created. Snoozing, unsnoozing or reaching the due date doesn’t send another;
- notify anyone about setup tasks, even after you end the property’s setup process;
- reassign existing Actions when you add or change a rule, or when someone leaves (reassign them yourself);
- close a new-lead Action when the lead goes stale (archive the lead or dismiss the Action);
- let you dismiss an Action that closes itself (do the task, or snooze it).
Related guides
Section titled “Related guides”- Actions: how-to: step-by-step instructions.
- Actions: troubleshooting: fixes and error messages.
- Compliance, Rent Schedules & Rent Collection, Maintenance, Viewings, Onboarding, and Users & Your Account.