Setting Dispatch Rules: What to Auto-Approve and What to Review
The short answer
Auto-approve routine, bounded repairs under your per-job ceiling — small plumbing, appliance service calls, lock and door hardware — with a trusted pro. Review anything over the ceiling, anything structural or permit-related, and any category without a proven pro. Urgent jobs like leaks or no heat should always dispatch immediately.
Draw the line once, then trust it
Every dispatch rule answers one question: does this repair need my eyes before money moves? Set the threshold too low and you're back to approving every $90 faucet washer. Too high and a $2,000 surprise shows up on an invoice. The line belongs where your regret is symmetric.
A starting framework: auto-dispatch routine, bounded jobs — plumbing under $300, appliance service calls, lock and door hardware — to your preferred pro. Queue for approval anything over your per-job ceiling, anything structural or permit-shaped, and any category where you don't yet have a trusted bench pro.
Urgency overrides amount. An active leak or a no-heat night in January should always dispatch immediately — the cost of a wrong $250 call is trivial next to the cost of a wet ceiling at midnight. Slow categories like cosmetic work can comfortably wait in the queue.
Revisit the thresholds quarterly. As a bench pro builds history with you, raising their auto-approve ceiling is how trust becomes time saved.
Put the threshold where your regret is symmetric — equally annoyed by an interruption as by a surprise.
Frequently asked questions
What repairs should a landlord auto-approve?
Routine jobs with a predictable cost, such as plumbing under about $300, appliance service calls and lock or door hardware, sent to a pro you already trust.
How often should I change my dispatch rules?
Review them every quarter. Raising a proven pro's auto-approve ceiling is how trust turns into time saved.
