Vendor verification
How property managers verify a vendor showed up
How do property managers verify a vendor showed up?
Send the vendor a text link at the scheduled time. The link opens a live camera (no gallery uploads), and a server timestamp is recorded on submission, with GPS when the vendor shares location. Each site visit lands on your dashboard as a time-stamped record you can search by property or date.
Why isn't a group-chat photo enough proof?
A photo texted into a group chat can be an old picture from the camera roll, taken anywhere, on any day. There is no trusted time, no location, and no way to show it was not reused or edited. In a dispute, "a photo we have somewhere" is not a dated, tamper-evident record.
Can a vendor fake a live photo or the GPS?
The link opens the camera directly and blocks gallery uploads, so a worker cannot attach an older shot. Reminder timing is randomized, so nobody can pre-stage a photo for a predictable minute. A server timestamp is recorded with the submission, with GPS when the vendor shares location, and each submission is sealed with a SHA-256 fingerprint so later changes are detectable.
What makes a visit record hold up when a client disputes it?
Three things travel with every visit — the live photo, a server timestamp the worker cannot set, and a chain of custody showing the record has not been altered since capture — plus GPS coordinates when the vendor shares location. When a client asks months later, you pull the exact visit and share a tamper-evident link instead of searching old chats.
How is this different from a GPS check-in app?
A GPS check-in proves a phone was near a location, not that the work happened. LockProof pairs location with a live photo of the actual task and a sealed timestamp, so you see what was done, where, and when. Workers need no app and no login: they tap the text link and shoot.
Group chat vs. GPS check-in vs. LockProof
Most property managers already collect something. The question is whether it survives a dispute. Here is what each approach actually gives you.
| What you get | LockProof | Group chat / paper log | GPS check-in app |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proof the work happened | Live photo of the task | A photo, maybe | Location only |
| A time you can trust | Server timestamp | No | Sometimes |
| Location on the record | GPS when shared | No | Yes |
| Tamper-evident record | SHA-256 chain of custody | No | No |
| Worker app required | No, just a link | No | Usually |
| Findable months later | Searchable Evidence Vault | No | Rarely |
Want to see what one finished record looks like? Open a sample verified record with the photo, timestamp, event history, and GPS when it was shared, in one packet.
How the record gets sealed
Every visit runs the same short chain, from the live photo to the finished record:
For the reasoning behind that chain, our founder wrote up why worker-chosen photo proof kept failing at one property management company, and what he changed as a result.