How to share one vendor list across a real estate team
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To share one vendor list across a real estate team, pick one person to own it, merge everyone's lists into a single sheet with one row per business, and give the rest of the team comment access. Each agent keeps their own notes in a column with their name on it, and clients get a separate, shorter copy.
Why does a team end up with several vendor lists?
Agents bring their own lists when they join. The agent who joined last spring brought a Canva PDF from her old brokerage, your team leader keeps a note on his phone, and you have a spreadsheet you last touched in March. Nobody planned three lists; they just never got merged.
The trouble shows up when a client hears two answers. One agent sends the Garcias to a plumber who retired in the summer, and another agent on the same team sends their neighbors to someone else. Your clients don't know you have separate lists. They think the team gave them a bad name.
Who should own the team vendor list?
One person should, and everybody else should suggest. The owner decides who goes on, who comes off and how a trade is grouped, and they're the one who answers when a teammate asks why a roofer disappeared. It doesn't have to be the team leader. Pick the person who'll actually open the file every month.
Ownership is also a setting, at least in Google Sheets. Google's help says the owner can change permissions, and that an editor can't change the owner. By default editors can share the file and change its permissions too, so if you want one owner in fact as well as in name, turn that off in the sharing settings.
How do you merge everyone's lists without losing notes?
- Collect every list in one place, including the PDFs and the phone notes. Type them into one sheet rather than picking a winner.
- Make one row per business, not per person who mentioned it. Match on business name and phone number, because "Rosa's plumbing" and "Rosa Diaz Plumbing" are the same plumber.
- Give each agent a notes column with their name at the top. When two of you have used the same electrician, both notes stay, so "great on old panels" and "slow to call back" sit side by side.
- Mark the disagreements. If one agent would send a client to a contractor and another wouldn't, talk about it before that row goes to a client.
- Ask who has actually used each vendor in the last year, and move the rows nobody can vouch for to a separate tab.
If you need a starting set of columns, use the vendor list template and add the per-agent notes columns to it.
Who on the team should be able to edit?
Give edit access to the owner and one backup, and give everyone else comment access so they can suggest changes without making them. Here is what each role allows in Google Sheets and Excel, from Google's and Microsoft's own help pages.
| Tool and role | What it allows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets: Viewer | Can view. Can download by default, and the owner can control that. Can't comment, edit or share. | Google, Share files from Google Drive |
| Google Sheets: Commenter | Can view and comment. Can download by default. Can't edit or share. | Google, Share files from Google Drive |
| Google Sheets: Editor | Can view, comment, edit, download and share. Can change permissions by default, which the owner can turn off. Can't change the owner. | Google, Share files from Google Drive |
| Google Sheets: protected range | Restricts who can edit a sheet or range. Google says it shouldn't be used as a security measure, because people can still copy and export the spreadsheet. | Google, Protect, hide and edit sheets |
| Excel in OneDrive or SharePoint: Can view | People can view the file but can't edit it. | Microsoft, Share files, folders and list items |
| Excel in OneDrive or SharePoint: Can edit | People can make changes, and they can also share the file with others. | Microsoft, Share files, folders and list items |
| Excel for the web: read-only | Sharing as Can view doesn't stop someone from downloading a copy and changing their copy. Your original stays intact. | Microsoft, Share a workbook in Excel for the web |
The pattern is the same in both tools. Anyone who can edit can usually pass the file along, so keep that group small, and remember that view access still lets people walk away with a copy.
What should clients see?
Clients should see a clean copy, never the team sheet. Your notes columns are written for each other, and "cheap but you have to chase him" is useful to a teammate and awkward on a client's phone. Because a viewer can download by default and a protected range isn't a lock, hiding columns isn't enough.
Make the client copy its own file or page with the business name, trade, phone and one line about why the business is on your list. When the team sheet changes, the owner updates the client copy in the same sitting. If you send the list as a link rather than an attachment, see why a textable vendor list beats a PDF.
Sharing providers with office-mates in Proferral
Proferral has Offices, which let you share providers with office-mates, and it's part of the free plan, with no credit card needed. It only helps with teammates who use Proferral, so anyone still working from the spreadsheet won't see what you share. You can import your existing list to start.
Sources
- Google Docs Editors Help, Share files from Google Drive
- Google Docs Editors Help, Protect, hide and edit sheets
- Microsoft Support, Share files, folders and list items
- Microsoft Support, Share a workbook in Excel for the web
It's free, no credit card needed, and you're never charged unless you choose Pro.