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Sharing Work Orders with External Vendors or Contractors

Learn how to share Work Orders with non-internal users

Updated over a week ago

Available On: Premium, Professional, Enterprise


You can share work orders in UpKeep with external vendors or contractors through the Provider Portal. This makes it easy for outside partners to view, update, and collaborate on work orders without needing full access to your UpKeep account.

With the latest enhancements, you can now:

  • Attach purchase orders directly to work orders and share them with providers.

  • Give providers access to checklists, file uploads, and work order status updates.

  • Use Smart File Upload to automatically scan and categorize files like invoices, quotes, and purchase orders.

  • Get alerts for discrepancies between documents (e.g., mismatched totals or payment terms).

  • Communicate with vendors directly through the Activity/Chat section.


How to Share a Work Order with an External Vendor

  1. Create the work order as usual

    • Go to the Work Orders tab and click + Work Order

    • Fill in the work order details (title, description, location, etc.)

    • Under Assigned To, select or add a Vendor

  2. Open the External Portal

    • After creating the work order, go to the Work Order Details page

    • Under Primary Assigned, click View External Portal

    • Toggle the portal ON to generate a public link

  3. Share the portal link

    • Click Copy Link to share via email or text

    • Or click Send Link to open a pre-drafted email with the link

    • The external vendor can access the portal without logging in (they’ll be prompted to enter their name and email once)


What Vendors See in the Portal

  • Work Order Details: Vendors can view descriptions, images, and any attached purchase orders.

  • Status Updates: Vendors can change the work order status, with color indicators to track progress.

  • Checklists: Supports all new checklist types, including multi-select and signatures.

  • File Uploads: Vendors can attach invoices, quotes, or other documentation directly to the work order.


Smart File Upload

Smart File Upload simplifies vendor file management:

  • Automatically detects the file type (invoice, quote, purchase order).

  • Extracts key fields such as totals and payment terms.

  • Provides a confidence score (e.g., 95%) for accuracy.

  • Allows vendors to manually edit fields if necessary.

Discrepancy Detection

  • If multiple files are uploaded, UpKeep will automatically compare them.

  • Any mismatched details are flagged so you can reconcile them quickly.


Activity & Collaboration

  • Vendors can upload and share files directly within the Activity/Chat section of the work order.

  • All updates, file uploads, and messages appear in both:

    • The Provider Portal

    • Your UpKeep web app under Work Order details


Important Notes

  • External workers don’t need a full UpKeep login but will need to create a username and password to access the portal

  • If they return using the same device, they’ll stay recognized

  • Both internal and external users can send updates and upload documents

Note: Learn more about the Provider Portal here

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