Event Log

Note: Click on the images to enlarge them. 

Recording an Event

Your property's event types will dictate the types of items, people, and situations you will be recording in the Event Log. Whenever you receive a new item or a situation occurs that should be tracked in the Event Log, you'll need to record a new event. To do this, click on the Front Desk tab and then on the green Record a New Event button.

This will take you to a form that you can fill out from top to bottom. Enter the apartment number and select the appropriate event type (based on the item received, person arriving, or situation occurring). 

Notification Options: Your notification options will be automatically selected depending on the event type selected and the settings of your property. For example, if you select the Event Type "Fedex" and the "Notification Options" field reads "All Addresses", this means that upon saving the event, each person living in the apartment will receive an automatic email notification that a Fedex package was received for their unit. You may use the drop-down menu to adjust the notification settings, if necessary.

Please note:  In a unit with at least one second-level occupant (e.g. Renters, Tenants, Subtenant etc...), BuildingLink will provide only the option to notify the Second-Level occupant(s). The assumption is that when you have a Second Level occupant in the unit, the First Level occupant does NOT physically live at the property and should not be receiving mail/items there. In the event that the first and second-level occupants live in the same unit on property, you may move that second-level occupant to a first-level type (e.g.: roommate) to see them as an option in the Notification Options drop-down menu.  Alternatively, if a First-Level occupant must be notified of an event or delivery and there is a Second Level occupant in that unit, you will need to reach out manually via call, or email to notify the offsite Owner/Occupant.

There are other notification settings available per Event Type in the Event Type Settings.

Finally, enter a comment. This is your chance to describe the item received, the person arriving, or the situation occurring. We recommend being as descriptive and concise as possible. For items being received, for example, it's a good idea to indicate what the item is and where it's coming from (Ex. "Green paper bag dropped off by Martha"). For packages with tracking numbers, this translates to scanning the barcode of the package with our barcode scanner (that will indicate what it is) and then typing in the company name (where it's coming from). Whatever you type in the comment field will be searchable and trackable later on and will also be included in the email notification that gets sent to the resident(s) of the unit in question. 

If Event Locations are turned on for your property, you can also indicate where you will be storing the item, when appropriate. Finally, click the Save Event button. 

Note: Certain Events (Ex. Contractor-In) may require a signature or photo before the event can be saved. To capture a photo, be sure that the person being photographed is standing in front of the web cam. Next, simply click the Add Photo button. When you are happy with the photo, click the blue Capture Photo button and then the green Save Photo button. To capture a signature, simply instruct the person in question to sign in on the signature pad. You do not need to click anything on the screen to facilitate the signature capture. 

Recording Multiple Events 

The Record Multiple Events button allows you to record large package deliveries from the same carrier (when Fedex or UPS arrives at your property and drops off 50-200 packages, for example) more quickly. To record multiple events, click on Front Desk, select Event Log, and then click the green Record Multiple Events button. 

First, select the Event Type in question. Remember that you must group your packages by carrier to record multiple events; once you select the Event Type, keep in mind that ALL packages logged in to the form below MUST belong to that Event Type. The form will auto-expand as you continue to add events; once you reach 15 events, click the Save and Add More button to continue.

Viewing the Open Event Grid

As soon as an event is saved, it will generally (depending on the settings for that Event Type) appear on the Open-Event Grid, the homepage for the Event Log.

The Autofit mode is a dynamic grid that will automatically resize each event to utilize available space. There is currently a toggle that allows the Autofit mode to be turned on/off, allowing users to return to the legacy view. The Grid Size features can be used to manually shrink or enlarge the Open-Event Grid. 

All events are color-coded by event type. By default, the Event Grid will show all event groups and all event types, but you can also choose to display only specific event groups/types by selecting the ones you wish to view.

Clicking on the Display Options bar will allow you to change the way the Open-Event Grid is formatted, filter by location (if applicable for your property), and decide how you’d like the Event Grid to be organized.

Viewing Unclaimed Packages and Sending Email Reminders

When your desk is cluttered with unclaimed packages that residents still haven't come to collect, you can use BuildingLink to send automatic email reminders to the residents who have left their packages uncollected. To do so, click on the Front Desk tab and select Event Log. Click on the blue button on the right-hand side of the screen that reads Send Email Reminders.

You'll be taken to a screen that displays a list of unclaimed packages from all locations that are older than 1 day. If you wish to only view unclaimed packages from specific locations, use the location menu to select the locations you wish to query. (Note: If you do not have Event Locations turned on for your property, you will not see a Locations menu.) You may also wish to change the number of days unclaimed to greater than 1, in order to view older packages. 

When you are satisfied with the list of unclaimed events you've generated, click Preview/Send Reminder. This will bring up a message box showing the number of events you've chosen to send reminders about, as well as the subject and text of your reminder email. Click Send to send your email. If you wish to make changes to your recipients, click Cancel and change the search parameters to generate a different list of unclaimed packages. 

After clicking Send, a status bar will appear at the bottom of your message box, showing the number of reminders that have been sent successfully, as well as the number of reminders the system is still sending. 

Finally, a high-priority shift log note will automatically be added to your Shift Log, notating the email reminders you've sent for your records. 

Closing an Event

When an item previously recorded in the Event Log is given away or a situation is ending (Ex. keys are returned, the envelope left for p/u is picked up, the resident comes to get his/her packages), you need to close the event in question. To do this, click on the event from the Open-Event Grid or from the Resident Lookup screen.

Next, change the “Event Status” to “Closed.”  Finally, enter a closing comment and capture a signature, if required. For physical items, the closing comment is intended to help you track the item in question should it go missing later on, so it should definitely always include the name or initials of the person taking the item. For packages with a barcode, we also recommend rescanning the tracking number of the item before typing in the recipient’s name; this will give you a record that the package you received is the exact same package you gave away.  (Note: For items with barcodes, use our barcode shortcuts to quickly open and close packages and automatically capture the tracking number in the opening and closing comments.) As soon as you’ve changed the status to “Closed,” entered your comment, and captured the signature (if required), be sure to click the Save Event button.

Closing Multiple Events

Sometimes, you will need to give away more than one item at a time to the same recipient. (Ex. One resident is picking up five packages or ABC Cleaners is picking up five bags of dirty laundry from all different apartments.) In these situations, you will want to use our Close Multiple Events screen.

If all of the items are logged under the same apartment and being given to the resident of that apartment, there are two ways to get to this screen. The first is by clicking on any of the resident’s items from the Open-Event Grid. If the resident has more than one item in the system, you will see a button in the top right corner of the screen that reads Close Multiple Events. Clicking on this button will take you the Close Multiple Events screen.

Alternatively, you can get to this screen by clicking the red Close Multiple Events button from the Open-Event Grid and selecting the unit in question. 

Additionally, if your Event Grid is set to display “One box per Unit#” clicking on any apartment with more than one item will automatically take you to the Close Multiple Events screen.

Once you’ve reached the Close Multiple Events screen, you will see a list of all of the items in the system for the apartment in question. If you need to close out all of these items, click the checkbox in the “Select to Close” column header; this will automatically select to close all of the items. If only some of the items need to be closed (Ex. You have five packages for the resident but he/she only wants three of them right now) simply check off the items that should be closed and leave the ones that need to remain open unchecked. For packages that have a previously scanned barcode, you can use our barcode shortcuts to quickly close out the correct items.

Finally, enter your closing comment. For packages, we recommend capturing the barcode of each package (already captured if you used our barcode shortcuts) along with the name of who is taking the items) and capture a signature, if required.

If the items that are being given away to the same person are logged under different apartments (Ex. ABC Cleaners is picking up laundry bags from five different units or UPS is picking up outgoing packages from 3 different apartments), click on the red Close Multiple Events button from the Open-Event Grid. Next, select the appropriate Event Type from the drop down menu in the upper left. Generally, there will be two options: Laundry Pickup and Package Return. Keep in mind that selecting either of these options will pull up ALL the laundry pickups or package returns in the system, regardless of whether they are for the carrier or laundry company that is actually on site. Be sure to use the comment to identify the correct items and select only those items that are going to the carrier or laundry company in question. For package returns that have a previously scanned barcode, you can use our barcode shortcuts to quickly close out the correct items.

Finally, enter your closing comment (Ex. “Tim from ABC Cleaners”) and capture a signature, if required.

Barcode Shortcuts

For items that have barcodes, our barcode shortcuts provide a quick and easy way to open and close packages, automatically capturing the tracking number in both the opening and closing comments. Please see the video below for an explanation of our barcode shortcuts.

Searching the Event Log

The event log will keep a permanent history of all events, open and closed.  When a particular item is lost or a resident complains that an item was never received, searching the event log can help to pull a record of everything that happened to the item. To search the event log, click on the Front Desk tab, select Event Log, and click the blue Search Event Log button.

 You’ll be taken to a screen where you can search by a variety of parameters. For packages or items not currently in your possession (previously closed) make sure that “Event Status” is set to “Closed.” The “Search for Text” field is especially useful since you can use it to search by tracking number or even company name (Ex. Amazon). If you are searching for a package received by someone who is no longer a resident of the property, you may need to change the “Include Deactivated Units” field to “Yes.”  Finally, clicking Advanced Search will allow you to choose a specific date range, should you wish.

Event Log FAQ

How should I record events that don't have to do with a specific Unit #?

When logging an item for a common area or non-resident unit (Ex. A package for a staff member or a contractor who is working in a common area), use the Management unit. 

My event will not save without a signature, but my property policy does not require that I obtain a signature for this event type. What do I do?

Anyone with Management or Security Officer BuildingLink authority at your property can set the signature to optional for specific event types in Event Types Settings. If you are unable to save an event and are not required to obtain a signature, you can mark an "X" on the signature pad to save the event until your settings are corrected.