I offered genealogy document retrieval in Chicago for just over ten years and one of the challenges was managing requests, almost all of which came through email. The process went something like this:
- Receive a request by email.
- Message back to ask questions, if necessary, and wait for a reply.
- Decide whether or not I can handle the project and email the client back.
- Do the research.
- Send an email to let the client know the total cost and collect payment by check or PayPal.
- Wait for payment.
- Send record image(s) to client either by email or with a Dropbox link; mail a paper copy, if requested.
That might not seem like much, but multiply those steps by a few requests in various stages of completion and keeping track of things can become a time-consuming burden. For complex projects that go beyond document retrieval, there may be even more of a need for a simple way to keep a record of client/researcher interaction as projects are arranged and carried out.
Enter Genlighten and, specifically, Genlighten’s project tracking pages.
From the provider side, they serve to streamline the research process. A project summary page tells you, at quick glance, which projects you have and what their status is: new, waiting for provider to accept or decline, waiting for payment, research in progress, research completed, feedback needed. A project tracking page for each of those projects, visible to you, your client, and Genlighten Support, puts requests, including any shared documents or images, conversations about the research, and payment history, in one easy-to-navigate place.
But project tracking pages benefit clients, too. When clients and providers use them to communicate–to send messages, share documents and images, and make payments–there’s never any question of who did what when. No misplaced email conversations. No checks lost in the mail. And never a question of whether or not the provider delivered a report, as promised.
If you want to experience Genlighten’s tracking pages first-hand, send us an email–support@genlighten.com. We’d be happy to walk you through a test project from the client and/or provider side.
But, in the meantime, the short video at the top of this page will give you a feel for what the project tracking pages are all about.