Welcome to Unlikely Professionals. Here is what you need to know on day one.
What We Do
Unlikely Professionals performs building code compliance inspections across Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia, primarily focused on structural foundation and water management systems. When a builder constructs or renovates a home, local building codes require third-party verification that the structure meets foundation, waterproofing, drainage, and structural integrity standards. That is us. We inspect the work, certify compliance, and deliver the paperwork the builder needs to close permits.
What the Portal Is
The portal is a custom-built web application that manages every project from the moment a client submits it to the moment they receive their certification package. It replaces spreadsheets, email chains, and manual tracking. Everything — scheduling, inspections, reviews, certifications, invoicing — flows through the portal.
Behind the portal sits SmartSuite (our project database), a FastAPI backend (the engine), and Supabase (a mirror for reporting). You do not need to interact with any of these directly. The portal is your interface to all of it.
Your Role: Admin
As the Admin (up_admin), you are the bridge between field work and final delivery. Here is what that means practically:
- Gatekeeper: You approve or reject every new project that enters the system.
- Reviewer: After an inspection, you verify the data is complete and accurate.
- Drafter: You create certification packages and invoices.
- Problem-solver: When information is missing, you send RFIs (Requests for Information) to get it.
- Reconciler: You assist with payment reconciliation — matching incoming payments to invoices. Note: this process is being automated through Revolut integrations and monitoring. Dustin will serve as the human in the loop for reconciliation decisions, but you may be asked to flag discrepancies or verify matches.
Dustin (Owner) handles final approvals and system configuration. You handle the day-to-day work that makes deliveries happen.
The Big Picture
Every project follows this general path. Understanding this flow is the single most important thing to internalize:
Accessing the Portal
Open your browser and go to unlikely.xxx. This is the admin/owner domain. Log in with the credentials Dustin provides.
unlikely.xxx is for admin and owner roles only. Other domains exist for other roles (schedulers, assistants, triage). You should only ever use unlikely.xxx.
Your Dashboard
After login, you land on your dashboard. It is role-filtered — you see what matters to your role. Here is what each section means:
| Dashboard Section | What It Shows | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Inspections | Today’s and this week’s inspections | Gives you a preview of what will land on your desk soon |
| Pending Schedule Changes | Reschedule/cancel/hold requests from schedulers | These need your approval — clients are waiting |
| Open RFIs | Information requests you’ve sent that haven’t been answered | Unanswered RFIs block projects from moving forward |
| Drafting Queue | Projects ready to draft, your active drafts, and kicked-back items | This is your primary production queue — where certs and invoices get created |
| Post-Production Review | Projects that just came back from the field | Your main action queue — these need your review before certification |
| Portal Messages | Notifications and messages from the system | Keeps you informed of changes, approvals, and issues |
Morning Numbers to Check
Every morning, glance at these numbers before doing anything else:
- Intake queue count — How many new submissions are waiting? (Zero is good. More than 5 means you are falling behind.)
- Schedule change count — Any pending requests? Rush flags?
- Review queue count — How many inspected projects need your attention?
- Open RFI count — Are any aging? (Check the escalation cadence.)
- Kicked-back items — Did Dustin return anything? These need immediate attention.
Work through these in order every morning. This priority sequence ensures nothing gets stuck.
Intake requests are new project submissions from schedulers. Nothing enters the system until you approve it. This is the first thing to check because a backed-up intake queue means clients are waiting to get on the schedule.
What to Look For
- Duplicates: Has this address already been submitted? The system helps catch these, but verify.
- Missing data: Are the required fields filled in? (Address, account, SOW items, permit info)
- Correct stage: Is this an in-production inspection (during construction) or post-production (after construction)? The stage determines what happens next.
- Correct review type: Is it a desk review (office-based) or field review (on-site)? This affects scheduling.
- Attached documents: Permits, plans, and supporting docs should be attached.
Your Options
Schedulers submit requests to reschedule, cancel, or put projects on hold. These need your approval because changes affect the field inspector’s calendar and our capacity planning.
Request Types
| Type | What It Means | What You Do |
|---|---|---|
| Reschedule | Client wants a different date | Check calendar availability, approve or counter-propose |
| Cancel Inspection | Client wants to cancel a specific visit | Approve if valid, deny if no good reason |
| Add Inspection | Client needs an additional visit | Check capacity, approve or suggest alternative date |
| Hold | Client wants to pause the project | Approve — project goes to Holding Pool |
| Cancel Project | Client wants to cancel entirely | Review carefully — may involve trip charges for late cancellation |
Your Options
- Approve: Calendar is updated automatically. Scheduler is notified.
- Deny: You must provide a reason. Scheduler is notified with your explanation.
- Counter-propose: Suggest an alternative date or modification. Scheduler can accept or re-request.
The Work Pool is where projects land after field inspection. Some may already be claimed by you; others are unclaimed and waiting for someone to pick them up.
- Claimed items: These are yours. Work through them in order of SLA urgency (oldest first).
- Unclaimed items: Grab what you can handle. The goal is an empty unclaimed queue by end of day.
Understanding how a project moves through the system is fundamental. Every action you take is about moving a project one step closer to delivery.
Step by Step
Scheduler submits a new project via the portal
You review and approve → project record created in SmartSuite
Schedulers pick an inspection date using the Calendar
Darius goes on site, collects data, photos, measurements
Darius marks inspection done → project status changes
Project appears in your Post-Production Review Queue
All data present, SOW verified, photos attached?
Dustin reviews and approves or kicks back
Cert + invoice sent to client
Clock pauses until fulfilled
Project Statuses
Projects move through these statuses. You will see these everywhere in the portal:
| Status | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Intake | Just submitted, awaiting your approval |
| Scheduled | Inspection date is set, waiting for field visit |
| In Progress | Field inspector is currently working on it |
| Partially Inspected | Some inspection items done, more visits needed |
| Field Complete | All field work done — it is now on your desk |
| Ready for Cert | Reviewed and ready for cert/invoice drafting |
| Certified | Cert package has been generated and approved |
| Delivered | Cert + invoice sent to client — project is done |
| On Hold | Paused — waiting for something (client request, missing info) |
| Pending RFI | Blocked on an open RFI — someone needs to respond |
| Cancelled | Project was cancelled before completion |
| Closed | Fully complete, paid, and closed out |
| Archived | Old project moved to long-term storage |
This is where you spend most of your time. After a field inspection is complete, the project comes to you. Your job is to verify everything is present and accurate before drafting certification.
Opening a Project
You can open a project two ways:
- From the Review Queue: Click “View” on any item in your Post-Production Review Queue. This is the fastest path.
- From the Projects page: Search by address, project ID, or account. Click into the project detail.
What to Check
Go through this checklist for every project you review:
| Check | What You’re Looking For | If Missing |
|---|---|---|
| SOW Completeness | Every line item in the Scope of Work has data. Quantities match what was inspected. | Send Agent RFI to field team |
| Site Visit Data | Inspection date recorded, inspector noted, results for each test (blower door, duct blaster, etc.) | Send Agent RFI to field team |
| Photos | Required photos attached (foundation, waterproofing, drainage, structural elements). Must be clear and properly labeled. | Send Agent RFI to field team |
| Drive Logs | PSI and torque readings for UND (underground duct) projects. Source data must be present. | Send Agent RFI to field team |
| Files | Plans, permits, and any other supporting documents are attached to the project. | Send Agent RFI to scheduler or field team |
When Something Is Missing: Send an RFI
An RFI (Request for Information) is a formal request for missing data. When you send one, the SLA clock pauses on that project. This is important: the 3-day delivery target does not count time spent waiting for an RFI response.
This is the finish line for every project. Once you have reviewed the data and confirmed everything is complete, you draft the cert and invoice. This is a two-step process: you draft, Dustin approves.
The Cert & Invoice Page — Four Buckets
The pipeline page organizes projects into four buckets that represent the drafting workflow:
| Bucket | What’s In It | Your Action |
|---|---|---|
| Ready to Draft | Projects that have passed review and are waiting for cert/invoice creation | Pick one, draft the cert, draft the invoice |
| My Drafts | Certs and invoices you have drafted but not yet submitted for approval | Review your work, then submit for approval |
| For Approval | Items submitted to Dustin for final sign-off | Wait for Dustin’s decision |
| Kicked Back | Items Dustin returned with notes for correction | Read his notes, fix the issue, resubmit |
Drafting a Certification Package
- Open the project from the “Ready to Draft” bucket
- The system pre-populates the cert package from project data (SOW, site visit results, product specs)
- Review the generated content — verify addresses, test results, product names, and quantities are correct
- Make any necessary edits
- Save the draft — it moves to “My Drafts”
Drafting an Invoice
- From the same project, draft the invoice
- The system calculates line items from the SOW (each product/service has a price)
- Review totals, check for any adjustments (trip charges, rush fees, discounts)
- Save the draft
The SLA
The target is 3 business days from the final field inspection to cert + invoice delivery. The dashboard tracks this automatically:
- Green: On track — within the 3-day window
- Yellow: Day 2–3 — needs attention
- Red / Breached: Past the 3-day window — this is a problem
The Projects page is a searchable, filterable list of every project in the system. Think of it as your master reference. While the specialized queues (Review Queue, Cert Pipeline, Intake) are better for daily workflow, the Projects page is where you go when you need to find a specific project or get an overview.
Searching
- By address: Type part of the street address. The search is fuzzy — it will find partial matches.
- By project ID: If you have the SmartSuite ID, enter it directly.
- By account: Filter to see all projects for a specific client company.
Filtering & Sorting
- By status: Filter to show only projects in a specific status (e.g., all “Ready for Cert” projects).
- By branch: If you are working on a specific client branch, filter by it.
- By date: Sort by inspection date, creation date, or last modified.
When to Use Projects vs. Specialized Queues
| Use Projects Page When... | Use Specialized Queues When... |
|---|---|
| You need to find a specific project | You are working through your daily workflow |
| A client calls about a project and you need context | You are processing intake approvals |
| You want to see all projects for an account | You are drafting certs and invoices |
| You need a broad overview across statuses | You are reviewing schedule change requests |
The Holding Pool
The Holding Pool contains projects that have been placed on hold. This happens when:
- A client requests a pause (they are not ready for the inspection yet)
- A project is waiting for account assignment
- There is a dependency that needs to be resolved before the project can proceed
Projects in the Holding Pool are not forgotten — they still show up in your view — but they are not in the active workflow. Think of it as a parking lot.
Returning a Project to the Schedule
Desk Review
A Desk Review is a post-production, office-based review. Unlike a field review (which requires someone to go on-site), a desk review means you can evaluate the project entirely from the data, photos, and documents available in the portal.
When a project’s intake is marked as post-production stage with desk review type, it follows a streamlined path:
- No field inspection needed — the construction is already complete
- You review the submitted documentation (plans, photos, test results) from your desk
- If everything checks out, proceed directly to cert/invoice drafting
- If data is missing, send an RFI just as you would for any other project
The 45-Day Rule
This is one of the most important system rules to understand. If a project sits for more than 45 days after its last inspection without being certified and delivered, it automatically transfers to the Triage Team.
Why? Because projects that sit too long become problematic — data goes stale, clients get frustrated, and revenue does not get collected. The 45-day rule is the system’s way of escalating stuck projects.
What Happens at 45 Days
Triage Intake vs. Regular Intake
Sometimes triage projects need to be re-submitted. Triage intake is a separate path in the intake system:
- Regular intake: New project, normal flow. Submitted by a scheduler.
- Triage intake: Re-submission of a triage project. May come from the triage team or as a recovery action. Follows the same approval process but is flagged differently so you know its history.
The Tracker Page
The Dashboard and Projects page give you visibility into all projects in triage status. You can see triage counts by branch, days in triage, and current status. Use this to monitor the health of the pipeline and identify patterns (e.g., if one branch consistently has more triage projects, there may be a process issue to address).
When to Create an RFI
Create an RFI any time you need information that is not in the project record. Common situations:
- Missing or unclear photos from the field inspection
- Incomplete test results (PSI readings, torque values)
- Missing drive log data (PSI/torque readings for underground duct projects)
- Permit or plan discrepancies
- SOW quantity mismatches
- Clarification on field notes
Agent RFI vs. Client RFI
Agent RFI (You → Client)
You are requesting information from the client side (scheduler, GOA, or field team).
- You create it
- It is tied to a specific project and SOW line
- The recipient sees it in their portal
- Escalation cadence: Day 1 → Day 3 → Day 5 → Day 7+
- SLA clock pauses while open
Client RFI (Client → You)
The client is requesting information from you.
- Scheduler or assistant creates it
- It appears in your RFI queue
- You respond directly in the portal
- Common questions: cert status, inspection results, billing clarifications
Escalation Process
Escalations are for when normal communication channels are not resolving an issue. Any stakeholder can trigger an escalation on a project.
Before you log off each day, run through this checklist. It takes 5 minutes and prevents things from slipping through the cracks overnight.
| # | Check | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | All drafts submitted — nothing sitting in “My Drafts” that should be in “For Approval” | Dustin cannot approve what he cannot see. Unsubmitted drafts add a day to delivery. |
| 2 | No stuck projects — check for projects with no status change in 2+ days | A stuck project is a missed deadline. Find out why and take action. |
| 3 | Work Pool status — are there unclaimed items? How many are in your queue for tomorrow? | Gives you a sense of tomorrow’s workload so you can plan accordingly. |
| 4 | Open RFIs — any that were fulfilled today but not yet reviewed? | Fulfilled RFIs restart the SLA clock. Do not let them sit overnight if you can help it. |
| 5 | Kicked-back items — did Dustin return anything this afternoon? | Kick-backs are high priority. Address them first thing tomorrow if you cannot fix them now. |
| 6 | Intake queue — any new submissions that came in late in the day? | An overnight intake approval means the scheduler can get it on the calendar first thing in the morning. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| SOW | Scope of Work. The list of specific inspection items for a project. Each SOW line is a product/service that gets inspected and billed. Example: “Blower Door Test × 1” or “Insulation Inspection × 3 units.” |
| RFI | Request for Information. A formal request for missing data. Can be Agent RFI (you asking the client) or Client RFI (client asking you). Pauses the SLA clock while open. |
| SLA | Service Level Agreement. Our commitment to deliver cert + invoice within 3 business days of final inspection. Tracked automatically. Breaches are reported. |
| Cert Package | The certification document(s) delivered to the client confirming their project meets building code requirements. Generated as PDF. Contains inspection results, compliance data, and certifier information. |
| Drive Log | Field data log recording PSI and torque readings, primarily for underground duct (UND) projects. Source data that feeds into the cert package. |
| PSoW | Project Scope of Work. The specific SOW for an individual project — what is actually being inspected on this job. |
| ABSoW | Account-Branch Scope of Work. The standard SOW template for a client account/branch. Defines what products/services are available. Individual PSoWs are derived from the ABSoW. |
| Cert Status | Tracks the certification stage: Not Started → Draft → Pending Approval → Approved → Sent. Separate from Project Status. |
| Project Status | Tracks the overall project stage: Intake → Scheduled → In Progress → Field Complete → Ready for Cert → Certified → Delivered → Closed. See Section 04 for the full list. |
| Branch | A subdivision of a client account. Large builders may have multiple branches (e.g., “Valley Park” and “Mount Pleasant” under the same account). Branch scoping controls who sees what in the portal. |
| Account | A client company. Each account can have one or more branches. Examples: national builders with regional offices. |
| GOA | General Office Admin. The client-side branch manager. Has broader visibility than schedulers. Receives invoices and escalation notifications. |
| Triage | Projects that exceeded the 45-day threshold. Handled by a dedicated triage team to close out. |
| Trip Charge | A fee charged when the field inspector arrives on site but cannot complete the inspection (e.g., site not ready, late cancellation). Tracked and invoiced separately. |
Portal Access
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Your portal URL | unlikely.xxx |
| Your role | up_admin |
| Login | Credentials provided by Dustin |
Who to Contact
| Situation | Contact | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Final cert/invoice approval needed | Dustin (Owner) | Portal — submit to “For Approval” queue |
| Missing field data or photos | Darius (Field Inspector) | Agent RFI via portal |
| Missing permits, plans, or client info | Scheduler (client-side) | Agent RFI via portal |
| Branch-level issue or escalation | GOA (General Office Admin) | Escalation via portal |
| System issue, portal bug, or access problem | Dustin (Owner) | Direct message |
| Triage project questions | Triage Team | Dashboard & Projects page in portal |
Daily Priority Order
- Kicked-back items (from Dustin)
- Intake approvals
- Schedule change requests (rush flags first)
- Fulfilled RFIs awaiting your review
- Post-production review queue (oldest first / SLA urgency)
- Cert + invoice drafting
- Work pool — claim unclaimed items
Key Thresholds
| Threshold | Value | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Cert + invoice SLA | 3 biz days | After final inspection — clock pauses during RFIs |
| Triage transfer | 45 days | Auto-transfer to triage team |
| Rush flag | < 24 hrs | Schedule change with less than 24hr notice — may trigger fee |
| Max escalations | 5 per project | Hard limit on escalation count |
| RFI escalation | Day 1→3→5→7+ | Automatic reminder cadence for Agent RFIs |