What it's forCommittees often set the amount above which the strata manager must ask them before a repair invoice is paid. StrataWorx keeps that amount per building and per kind of work, asks every committee member by email, and records who said what.
Who it's forStrata managers and portfolio managers (building setup needs the edit roll permission; sending and recording approvals needs the Approve invoices permission). Administrators keep the firm's default set.
Before you start
- The building's committee members, each with an email address
- The threshold amounts the committee has agreed (GST included)
Step by step
- Step 1: Add the committeeOpen the building › Strata committee & approvals. Press Add member and give the name, position, email and optionally their lot. Tick Receives approval requests for each person who should be asked. You can also add the chair, secretary and treasurer when you add a scheme.
- Step 2: Set the repair thresholdsUnder Repair thresholds press Add the standard types (general repairs, plumbing, electrical, lifts, fire safety, emergency, capital works), or Add type for your own, such as Roof & gutters, Pool or Intercom. Each row has a name, the words that match a work order's type or trade, the threshold in dollars including GST, and the rule: any one member, a majority, all, or a set number. Edit a row inline, switch it off, or remove it.
- Step 3: General / anyTick General / any on the type to use when an invoice's work order matches no other type. An invoice is matched by the work order's job type, its trade and its title; you can also pick the type on the invoice yourself before it is checked.
- Step 4: Firm default setAdministrators can keep a default set under Business rules › Committee approval thresholds. A new building copies it (or the standard types) and then has its own rows to edit.
- Step 5: When an invoice is overThe invoice shows “Needs committee approval: $1,800 is over the $1,500 plumbing threshold” (an invoice equal to the threshold doesn't need it). Approving and paying are blocked. Press Send to committee: every active approver gets an email with the invoice, amount, threshold, work order, contractor and a link to the invoice file.
- Step 6: How members answerEach email has Approve and Reject links personal to that member (no sign-in; each works once and expires after 14 days) and a reference like [SWX-APR-ABCD2345] in the subject. Members can also just reply by email. Opening a link changes nothing until they press Confirm.
- Step 7: Replies by emailWhen a reply arrives, StrataWorx matches it by the reference and the sender's address and reads it (approve, reject, question or unclear, with a confidence and reason). A clear, confident answer from the member is counted. Questions, unclear or low-confidence replies, and replies from another address are flagged under the invoice: press Approve, Reject or Dismiss to confirm. The email stays in your inbox, linked to the approval.
- Step 8: Phone and meetingsIf a member tells you their decision another way, press Record beside their name and choose Approved or Rejected, with a note on how.
- Step 9: The decisionWhen the rule is met, the invoice moves to Approved and you're emailed. If it can no longer be met (for example a majority rejects), the invoice moves to Disputed with the committee's comments. Members who haven't answered are reminded after 3 days, up to three times. Take back cancels the request.
- Step 10: EmergenciesOn a type marked Emergency you can press Emergency: approve now, ratify later and record the reason. The invoice can then be approved and paid, and Ask the committee to ratify sends the request afterwards. Everything is recorded in the invoice history and the audit log. Check what your Act and by-laws allow; StrataWorx records the reason, it doesn't decide it for you.
Tips
- Invoices has an Awaiting committee tab and tile.
- Insurance and utility bills aren't checked against repair thresholds.
- Replies are only counted automatically when the reference matches and the email comes from the member's own address.
Common problems
“No committee member receives approval requests.”
On the building page, edit a member and tick Receives approval requests; they need an email address.
A reply is flagged but it is clearly a yes.
Press Approve beside their name. Replies are only counted without a check when the AI is confident and the sender and reference match.
A member didn't get the email.
Check their address on the building page and the spam folder. A reminder sends a fresh link.
Does the AI act on what the email says?
No. It only classifies the reply; text in an email can't approve or pay anything.
Previous and next follow the Inbox & work section.