Why look for an alternative
WhatsApp and SMS suit a quick exchange or a photo taken on the spot, such as a site picture or an urgent question. But the conversation is a single stream: a document sent last week is hard to find once the discussion has moved on, and a decision made in a message is lost among the ones that follow. Folder exchanges also mix with everyone's private life.
What WhatsApp and SMS do
Fast, familiar, nothing new to install: for a photo or a one-off question, it is the simplest channel. In construction, it is often where the client spontaneously sends the photo of a crack or a joint, and where the tradesperson replies from site.
How Kolinea differs
Kolinea brings messages, documents, requests and appointments together on a single timeline that the professional and the client see identically. Each request has a recipient, a status and a deadline. The client joins the folder through a personal link, confirmed by a code received by email, with no account to create (see client access without an account). The folder stays separate from both parties' personal messaging. The professional can also pass the link on themselves by WhatsApp or SMS: Kolinea does not send messages through those channels. Once closed, the folder stays accessible to both parties as long as the professional's space exists, as closing and archiving explains.
Site photos, a quote, the client's address
A house builder receives site photos, tile choices and questions about the schedule, all in the same conversation. With choices, the client's choice is recorded in the folder, with its date, instead of staying an “ok” among twenty messages (see the house builder page).
A renovation tradesperson sends a quote, then waits for the go-ahead. The sign-off gives a dated approval, in the name of the person who gave it, whereas a conversation often keeps only a thumbs-up among the messages (see the renovation tradesperson page).
A project manager has to tell a contractor where to turn up, without posting the client's address in a group. Location sharing gives the meeting point, with an approximate location when the exact address does not need to circulate (see the project manager page).
When to stay with WhatsApp or SMS
For an isolated exchange, a photo to send once or a question with no follow-up, WhatsApp or an SMS remains the simplest, and there is no reason to give it up for day-to-day urgency. Kolinea leaves instant conversation to WhatsApp and keeps the record of what matters. It earns its place when you need to find, months later, what was requested, decided and delivered.
Related reading
- Site updates with your client, without WhatsApp, the method in detail
- Getting a client to approve a works variation