Classifieds is a directory of local businesses that your residents add and review. Your board can also offer sponsored listings to local companies: a sponsored vendor is labeled and shown first in its categories between the dates you set. This article covers turning Classifieds on, managing sponsorships, handling reports, and setting up categories.
Turning the module on requires the Update Community Preferences permission. Once it's on, these permissions control the rest:
View Classifieds: browse vendors, read reviews, and report a listing or review.
Add Classifieds: add vendors and write reviews, and edit or remove the ones you added.
Manage Classifieds: edit or remove any vendor or review, resolve reports, and manage categories.
Manage Sponsored Listings: create and edit sponsored listings, and see their contract details.
The Community Admin and Community Leader roles have all four by default. The Resident role has View Classifieds and Add Classifieds. You'll find them in the Classifieds section of each role in Roles & Permissions, which only appears while the module is on.
Some options may be unavailable or appear differently depending on your level of account access.
Classifieds is off for every community until you turn it on. While it's off, it doesn't appear in the main navigation menu.
Log in to Communitrak at https://app.communitrak.com.
Click Community in the main navigation menu.
Click the Preferences tab.
Turn on the switch on the Classifieds card.
Classifieds then appears in the main navigation menu for everyone with the View Classifieds permission. It starts with a set of common categories, such as Lawn & Landscaping, HVAC, Plumbing, and Pool, which you can change.
Click Classifieds in the main navigation menu, then click Manage at the top of the page. You'll see the tabs your permissions allow: Sponsored needs Manage Sponsored Listings, and Reports and Categories need Manage Classifieds.
The sponsorship agreement itself, including payment, happens outside Communitrak. Communitrak keeps the dates and the details you enter, and shows or hides the listing for you.
On the Sponsored tab, click New Sponsored Listing.
Enter the company's details: Company name, Categories, contact information, About, and a Logo.
Make sure Sponsored listing is turned on.
Choose the dates the sponsorship Starts and Ends, from the contract.
Check Keep as a regular listing when the sponsorship ends if the vendor should stay in Classifieds afterward. Leave it unchecked to hide the vendor from residents once the end date passes.
Optionally, record the Amount paid, a Contact name and Contact email for the sponsor, and any Notes, such as contract terms or a renewal reminder.
Click Add Listing.
The amount, contact, and notes are only visible to people with the Manage Sponsored Listings permission. Residents never see them.
If a resident already added the company, sponsor that listing instead of creating a second one, so its reviews stay with it. Open the vendor's page, click the menu button next to Copy Link, and choose Edit vendor & sponsorship. Turn on Sponsored listing, set the dates, and save. For an existing vendor, Keep as a regular listing when the sponsorship ends starts checked, so neighbors' reviews aren't hidden when the contract ends.
Communitrak checks the dates every time the directory loads, using your community's time zone. There's nothing to turn on or off by hand.
Scheduled: the start date hasn't arrived. Residents don't see the listing yet.
Live: between the start and end dates, including both. Residents see the Sponsored label, and the vendor appears first in its categories.
Ended: the end date has passed. The listing shows as a regular vendor, without the label, if you chose to keep it. Otherwise it's hidden from residents.
The Sponsored tab lists every current and past sponsorship with its dates, amount, contact, and status. A live sponsorship within two weeks of its end date shows how many days are left, as a reminder to follow up about renewing. Click a listing to open it. Its page shows a Sponsorship card with the full details, visible only to people with Manage Sponsored Listings.
To change dates or extend a sponsorship, open the vendor, choose Edit vendor & sponsorship from the menu, and update the dates.
When a resident reports a vendor or review, it appears on the Reports tab. The first report on a vendor or review also sends a notification in Communitrak to everyone with the Manage Classifieds permission. The tab shows the reported vendor or review, the reason, any details the resident added, and who reported it.
Click Dismiss to keep the vendor or review and close the report.
Click Remove Review or Remove Vendor to take it down. Removing a vendor also removes its reviews.
Either action closes every open report on the same vendor or review. You can also remove any vendor or review directly from the vendor's page with Remove vendor or Remove review, without waiting for a report.
The Categories tab is the list residents choose from when they browse and add vendors.
Click Add Category to add one, then type its name.
Type over a name to rename it.
Use the icon menu beside each name to change its icon.
Use the up and down arrows to change the order.
Click the hide button to retire a category. Retired categories disappear from the category menu and the Add Vendor form, but vendors already in them keep them. Click the button again to restore it.
Click Save Categories when you're done, or Discard to undo your changes.
Resident-added vendors appear right away. There's no approval step, so the Reports tab is how your board keeps the directory accurate.
Every review comes from a community member. Sponsoring a vendor doesn't change its reviews or its rating.
Each member can leave one review per vendor, and can edit or delete it at any time.
If you have questions or need help, chat with Communitrak Support from any page using the messenger icon in the bottom-right corner.
