Managing Vendor Company Profile in Appraisal Scope®

The Vendor Company Profile menu is located at the top of the Vendor Company Profile page. The tabs available on this menu offer customization options for vendor company information to be stored in a platform-version. Admin users also have the option to turn on a setting that will have Appraisal Scope automatically calculate an appraisal fee at the vendor company functional level for jobs assigned to a vendor company.

Vendor Company Profile submenu

The Vendor Company Profile submenu is located just beneath the larger Vendor Company Profile menu. Admin users can either edit or delete an existing vendor company profile by clicking the appropriate button, or they can see if the QuickBooks sync is active from the icon on the QB Sync: tab.

The Details tab displays vendor company information saved to the vendor company profile. All information is visible under a General Information header. Admin users can edit any of this information by clicking the Edit tab from the profile submenu, entering relevant changes, and clicking Save.

The Add Users tab allows admin users to add vendor users to a vendor company profile and set permissions that will be associated with this vendor user in the platform. For instructions on adding a new user to a vendor company, see the Adding a manager to a vendor company profile and Adding an appraiser to a vendor company profile sections.

All vendor users associated with a vendor company profile will be listed at the bottom of the Add Users page, beneath the Branch Name header of the branch they’re affiliated with (see Note regarding vendor company profile branches following this section). Clicking the name of a vendor user from a list below the Branch Name header will produce that user’s vendor user profile.

The vendor users category is broken into subtypes in Appraisal Scope. Vendor users within a vendor company can be Managers or Appraisers. The Managers in a vendor company receive orders assigned to the vendor company, and they then assign these orders to Appraisers within their vendor company. Note that there is no requirement that a vendor user in the Management role have a License Number associated with their profile.

Admin users can also search for individual vendor users on a Vendor Company Profile page using the Search fields and the Branch drop-down box that are located in the center of the page, beneath the Add Manager and Add Branch buttons.

Note: Vendor users will be organized in a vendor company profile under Default Branch unless a new branch is added to a vendor company profile.

An admin user can add a branch to a vendor company profile by clicking Add Branch, located next to the Add Manager button, beneath the Notify check box. The user will enter the name they want to give the branch into the Branch Name text box and click Save. The branch will now appear at the bottom of the Add Users page and will be available to select from the Branch drop-down boxes affiliated with the Add Manager and Search sections of the Add Users page.

The vendor user entries organized under vendor company profile branches will reflect the roles that we mentioned early in the User Guide, in the portion of the User profiles section that deals with vendor users. The User Type field associated with a list of vendor users organized under a branch will denote whether a vendor user was added to the vendor company profile as Manager or Appraiser. Admin users will also find that the options for modifying the vendor user entries here are slightly different depending on User Type.

For entries associated with vendor users who were added as Managers, an admin user can access and assign permissions by clicking Set Permission. When the Add Permission dialog box opens, the admin user can choose to apply permissions to all members of a particular branch by selecting a check box associated with any or all branches under the Groups header, or they can choose to apply permissions by individual vendor user by selecting check boxes associated with vendor user names under the Users.

After all selections have been made, the user can review what vendor users have been given permission under the User Permission header, and then click Close to return to the vendor company profile. Admin users also can select the RFP Manager check box affiliated with a Manager user entry to give RFP Manager privileges to the Manager. When a Manager has been given RFP Manager privileges, the User Type field for the entry will read Manager & RFP Manager.

For entries associated with vendor users who were added as Appraisers, admin users can select the Appraiser Manager check box to give an Appraiser the Appraiser Manager privileges. When this option is selected, the User Type field associated with the entry will read Appraiser Manager. This action will also make the same Set Permission options available that were available in the case of the Manager user.

The admin user can also select the RFP Manager check box affiliated with the Appraiser’s entry. In a case where the Appraiser Manager check box has already been selected, this action will add RFP Manager privileges to the Appraiser Manager privileges, which will be reflected as Appraiser Manager & RFP Manager in the User Type field. In a case where the Appraiser Manager check box is clear, meaning the RFP Manager check box alone is selected, the Appraiser will be given RFP Manager privileges, which will be reflected as Appraiser & RFP Manager in the User Type field.

Admin users can also remove any individual vendor user from an associated branch by clicking Delete from the Action field, located in the far-right column of a vendor user’s entry. The ability to remove whole branch profiles is also available to admin users when they click Delete from the right side of the Branch Name header, as is the ability to disable a branch for a period of time by clicking the Active toggle, which will afterward read Disabled.

1. To add a manager to a vendor company profile, click the name of a vendor company from the Appraiser tab search results list, and then click the Add Users tab when the vendor company profile opens.

2. Type the relevant requested information into each text box under the Add Manager header. When you assign the password, make sure it’s a minimum of eight characters and consists of at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one number or symbol.

   Note: All text boxes from First Name to Email must be filled in for a new manager to be added to the vendor company profile.

3. If the vendor company profile is divided into branches, click the Branch drop-down list and select the branch to which you’d like the manager to be added.

4. Note: If the vendor company profile that you’re adding a new manager in hasn’t been divided into branches yet, and you’d like to add the new manager to a new branch other than Default Branch, you must add the new branch to the vendor company profile first.

5. Finally, click Add Manager to add the new manager to the vendor company profile

   Note: The Notify check box will be selected so that your platform-version notifies the new manager via email of their login credentials. If this is not required, you can clear the check box to disable this email.

1. To add an Appraiser to a vendor company profile from the Add Users page, click Add Appraiser from under the Branch Name header of the branch you’d like to associate the Appraiser with (see Note following these procedures).

2. Begin by typing information that you have available regarding the Appraiser’s personal information into the License Number, Email Address, First Name, or Last Name text box, and choose the correct Appraiser from the drop-down list that appears below the text box that you’re typing in.

3. Completing Step 2 will trigger your platform-version to auto-populate all other essential fields on the Add Appraiser page.

4. When information has been entered into all text boxes, click Add Appraiser.

5. The Appraiser will now show up on the Add Users page under the branch.

Note: An appraiser must be registered on your platform-version before they are available to add to a vendor company profile.

The Company Setting tab is where admin users can make choices that will apply if a vendor company is assigned an order.

Calculate appraiser fee based on percentage (%) of client fee. To set a platform-version to calculate the appraiser fee by a percentage of the client fee, an admin user will click the drop-down box and select Enabled.

If Enabled is selected, the user will enter the percentage to base the appraiser fee on in the Percentage of client fee text box.

Tech Fee. If an admin user wants to disable the Tech Fee for appraisals assigned to a vendor company, they will click the drop-down box and select Disable. When the Tech Fee is disabled and therefore not covered by the appraiser, the AMC will be charged the fee for any order involving that appraiser.

W9 and E&O

Pay Company W9 or appraiser W9. An admin user can choose which W9 to use when calculating withholdings for fees paid to orders assigned to a vendor company, a vendor company W9 or a vendor user W9. To make this choice, a user will click the drop-down box and choose Company W9 or Appraiser W9.

Use Company E&O or Appraiser E&O. An admin user can choose whether to use a vendor company’s E&O coverage or a vendor user’s E&O coverage for an order assigned to a vendor company by clicking the drop-down box and choosing Company E&O or Appraiser E&O.

The ACH Information tab allows AMCs to keep bank account information on file for a vendor company. To add information, a user will click Update, fill in the relevant text boxes, and then click Save.

The W9 Information tab allows AMCs to keep W9 information on file for a vendor company. A user will enter relevant W9 information directly into the form available on the W9 Information page and will then click Save.

The Pending Orders tab allows admin users to view order details and statuses that have been assigned to a vendor company.

The History tab allows admin users to view details on orders that have been completed by a vendor company.

Besides the customization and information available through the Vendor User Profile menu and submenu (covered below), an admin user can also see if a vendor user profile is active at a given time. This status is displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the vendor user profile.

Admin users can also disable or enable vendor user profiles and document an appraiser’s vacation status to reflect when the appraiser will be unavailable. These tasks can be carried out as documented in the following procedures.

Disabling and enabling an appraiser’s vendor user profile in a platform-version

1. To disable an appraiser from an Appraisal Scope vendor user profile, click the green Appraiser toggle icon in the upper right-hand corner of the profile and enter a message in the Reason for Appraiser Disabled dialog box.

2. The vendor user profile for this appraiser will then be moved to the Disabled tab, located on the Users tab menu, and the vendor user status will read Appraiser is not active.

3. To enable a vendor user profile that’s under the Disabled tab, navigate to the Disabled tab from the Users tab menu and click the Appraiser toggle icon, now showing clear.

4. This action will change the appraiser’s status back to Appraiser is active, not on vacation, and it will move the vendor user profile back under the Appraiser tab.

Note: Disabling an appraiser generates an email that will be sent out to relevant admin users notifying them that the vendor user profile has been disabled. The message entered into the Reason for Appraiser Disabled dialog box will be accessible in the Show Notes section of the appraiser’s vendor user profile.

Changing an appraiser’s vacation status from a vendor user profile

1. To change an appraiser’s vacation status from an Appraisal Scope vendor user profile, click the clear Suitcase toggle icon in the upper right-hand corner of the profile.

2. In the Appraiser Vacation Details dialog box, select On for Vacation Status, and then enter dates in the Vacation Start Date and Vacation End Date text boxes.

3. When you’ve entered the relevant dates, click Save.

4. The Suitcase toggle icon will now show green, and the vendor user status will read Appraiser is active, on vacation.

5. After the Vacation End Date passes, the Suitcase toggle icon will again show clear, and the vendor user status will read Appraiser is active, not on vacation.

6. You can also access the User Vacation Log to see details about when vacation statuses were documented and by whom by clicking Vacation History.

The Vendor User Profile menu is located at the top of the Vendor User Profile page. The tabs available on this menu offer a vendor user’s platform-version registration details, information related to the user’s appraisal licenses and certifications, and customization options for the vendor user information that’s stored in a platform-version.

Vendor User Profile submenu

The Vendor User Profile submenu is located just beneath the Vendor User Profile menu. The tabs available on this submenu offer options for admin users to edit a vendor user profile and send platform-version login details to the User, as well as view certain information related to configurations impacting a vendor user profile. The functionality of each submenu tab is explained below.

The Details tab displays vendor user information and documents that are saved on an AMC’s Appraisal Scope platform-version.

The Details page will also display documents uploaded to, or modified directly through, the vendor user profile, as well as information that can help an AMC track an appraiser’s performance on orders that originate from that AMC’s platform-version.  

Vendor users are able to modify certain fields that appear under the Details tab from their platform interface. They can edit their contact information, upload a resume, and fill in or edit their W9 details, and this information will be saved to an AMC’s platform-version.

Vendor users can also upload sample appraisal reports showing their work to the Details page by clicking Select File in the Appraisal Reports section toward the bottom of the page and choosing files to upload.

Admin users can also see if and when a vendor user has accepted the Appraisal Scope End User License Agreement on the Details page. The date of acceptance and a link to the PDF version of the agreement can be seen at the bottom of the page, under the End User License Agreement header.

Documents and analytics available on the Details page

The Show Notes tab displays a list of notes associated with a vendor user. The list will show notes that were added manually by an admin user, and also notes that reflect changes that have been made to a vendor user’s status on an AMC’s platform-version. Each entry in the list will display the admin user who created the note or made the status change and when they did it.

An admin user can add a note by clicking Add Notes from the right-hand side of the Notes header. The user will type and format the note in the text box. If a user wants to make sure that the note is visible when assigning an order, they should select the Flag check box. When finished, the admin user will click Save to add the note to the vendor user’s profile.

Each entry in the Notes list can be flagged. When a note is flagged for a vendor user, a Clipboard icon will display under the Notes column of the Appraiser Assign search results when the vendor user appears in the results. The admin user assigning the order can click on the icon to see the contents of the note.

Each entry in the list can also be edited or deleted by clicking the Edit or Delete icon.

The Coverage/License tab displays the specific states and counties that a vendor user performs appraisals in. An admin user can add to this list by clicking Add Another State from the right-hand side of the Coverage Areas header. When the New Coverage Area form opens, the user will select the new state and enter a license number, expiration date, and type. A license document can be added to the profile by clicking Select File, choosing the file to upload, and clicking Open. Clicking Save will add the new coverage area to the vendor user’s profile.

The settings for Automatic FHA Roster Management can also be modified for a vendor profile from the Coverage/License page. An admin user can leave the Automatic FHA Roster Management drop-down list on Use Global Setting, or a user can click on the box and choose Enabled for this Profile or Disabled for this Profile.

An admin user also has the option to edit a vendor user’s Coverage Areas information by clicking the Edit icon in the Action column. When the Edit Coverage Area form opens, the admin user can make and save changes to the information that will be reflected in the vendor user’s profile.

The Appraisal Forms tab is where an admin user can see what jobtypes a vendor user is available to perform. This list is available for either vendor users to modify from their platform-interface, or admin users to modify from their platform-version. Users will select or clear the check boxes associated with the relevant jobtypes in the list. Admin users can also keep a vendor user from updating their fees by selecting the Lock fee update for appraiser check box.

The Fee Settings tab offers a few fee setting options that an admin user can choose. An admin user can set a platform-version to calculate the appraiser fee for a vendor user as a percentage of the client fee. To do this, the admin user will click the Calculate appraiser fee based on percentage (%) of client fee drop-down list and select Enabled. This will bring up the Percentage of client fee text box, where the user will enter the percentage value that will be used to calculate the appraiser fee.

An admin user can also disable the tech fee on orders assigned to a vendor user by clicking the Tech Fee drop-down list and choosing Disable. And in the Supervisor Fee Settings section, an admin user can set their platform-version to calculate an appraiser supervisor fee based on a percentage of the client fee. This option will be set in the same way as the appraiser fee above.

The Pending Orders tab displays a list with details for all orders assigned to a vendor user, including the status of an order. Admin users can choose a specific list entry to view by typing details in the Name, Address, or File# text boxes, or they can narrow the list down by choosing a client from the Client drop-down list or a jobtype from the Job Type drop-down list.

The History tab displays a list with details for all orders completed by a vendor user. Admin users can choose a specific order to view by typing specific details in the Name, Address, or File# text boxes, or they can narrow the list down by choosing a client from the Client drop-down list or a jobtype from the Job Type drop-down list.

The Additional Docs tab offers a repository for additional appraiser documents associated with a vendor user. An admin user can upload documents by clicking Select File, choosing a file to upload, and then clicking Open. Uploaded files will be displayed in the list on the page, and a user can access a document by clicking on it in the File column.

The AMC tab gives an AMC a place to manage a relationship they might have with another AMC. The AMC tab is only available on a platform-interface after it’s been turned on by a member of the Appraisal Scope team. Please contact Customer Support for more information.

If an AMC has been configured to use the AMC tab, they will be able to assign orders to a secondary AMC that they have a relationship with. An AMC vendor user profile for the secondary AMC will be kept in the primary AMC’s Appraisal Scope platform-version. Admin users from the primary AMC will then be able to go to this location to find information related to the secondary AMC, as well as any orders that this secondary AMC has been assigned.

In order for a primary AMC to assign an order to a secondary AMC, the secondary AMC must be registered in the Appraisal Scope directory as an AMC. The secondary AMC receiving orders from a primary AMC does not, however, need to have this AMC-to-AMC integration enabled to receive and manage orders from the primary AMC. From the secondary AMC’s perspective, an order assigned this way will appear and be managed the same as any other order.

An admin user will click on an entry from the search results list in the AMC tab to access an AMC vendor user profile. The AMC page menu offers many of the same options for interacting with the profile that are available for the vendor profiles associated with appraisers. In order to deactivate an active AMC profile, a user will click Active from the page menu. For AMC profiles that have been disabled, an admin user will click Disabled to make the profile active again.

The Settings tab in the AMC page menu offers the following four main options and a secondary option that are available to turn on by selecting the check boxes.