Managing Vendors
Vendors are service providers — contractors, delivery services, landscapers, house cleaners, or repair technicians — who need access to your property, often on a recurring basis. Registering vendors in MyWatchtower lets gate staff verify them quickly, and every visit is logged in your property's entry activity. This guide explains how to add, edit, and remove the vendors on your list.
Getting to the Vendors tab
1. Go to your Property page. 2. Select the Vendors tab.
You'll see a list of all vendors assigned to your property. Use the search box to quickly find a specific vendor by name.
Understanding vendor badges
Vendors can be either temporary or permanent:
- Temporary vendors have access only during a specific date range. Once the end date passes, they can no longer enter. Temporary vendors display an orange TEMP badge on desktop.
- Permanent vendors have ongoing access with no end date. Permanent vendors display a blue PERM badge on desktop.
You may also see these badges: UPCOMING — the vendor's access has not started yet; EXPIRED — the vendor's access period has ended; and a red DENY badge on restricted vendors.
Adding a vendor
Vendors are created in the same guided wizard as guests. You can start from either place:
- On your dashboard, select the Add Guest tile ("Register a new guest or vendor"), then choose Vendor as the type, or
- Open your Property page, select the Vendors tab, and use the create button there. Starting from the Vendors tab skips the type step, since the wizard already knows you're adding a vendor.
If you hold more than one property, also pick which property the vendor belongs to.
Enter the vendor's details
- Vendor Name — the company's name or the person's name. Accurate spelling helps gate staff find the vendor in Mission Control.
- Associate Vehicle (optional) — link a registered vehicle so staff can recognize it at the gate.
- Notes (optional) — special instructions visible to gate staff (for example, "Uses back gate").
- Photo (optional) — if your account has permission to manage profile photos, you can attach a photo of the vendor while creating them.
Set the access period
- Tick "This is a permanent vendor" for ongoing access with no end date — good for long-term service providers.
- Otherwise set a Start Date and End Date. Extend the end date to cover the vendor's whole service period (for example, weekly service for six months), and adjust it when service agreements change.
- Use the advanced schedule option to limit which days of the week (and optionally which hours) the vendor may enter. Vendors outside their schedule are flagged and grayed out at the gate.
Optional entry codes
If your community has these features enabled, you can set them up in the same step:
- Enable QR Code Access — creates a QR code the vendor can present at the gate. Choose One-time use, Limited uses (you set the maximum), or unlimited uses within the access dates.
- Enable kiosk pin access — for communities with entry kiosks. A PIN is generated automatically; use Regenerate for a new one or set a custom PIN.
If you don't see the QR code or PIN options, your community may have them turned off — contact your community's management office for more information.
Submit
Select Submit. The vendor is created (along with the QR code, if you enabled one), and they appear in your vendor list.
Sharing entry details with your vendor
MyWatchtower does not message vendors directly, so share entry details with them yourself:
- Open the QR code from the vendor's record or your property's QR Codes tab to share or download it.
- Pass along a kiosk PIN the same way.
- Make sure the vendor knows the community name and your property address. Gate staff may ask to see identification on arrival.
Editing a vendor
1. Select the vendor's name in the list. 2. Update any of the following:
- Name
- Notes
- Associate Vehicle
- Entry Start Date and Entry End Date
- Permanent Vendor — check or uncheck to change the vendor type
- Restricted Vendor — check to add this vendor to your property's restricted list
3. Select Save.
You can also generate a QR code for an existing vendor with Generate QR Code in the edit window.
Deleting a vendor
1. Find the vendor in your list. 2. Select the trash can icon next to their name. 3. Confirm the deletion.
Once deleted, the vendor no longer appears on your list and can no longer be admitted under your property.
Need help?
For community-specific questions — gate procedures, or which features are enabled — contact your community's management office. For help with MyWatchtower itself, submit a help desk ticket at [portal.jekasoftware.com/support](https://portal.jekasoftware.com/support).